Today's title seems like something you might read from an old book about theatre. We'd like to share with you some key moments "QNéA" experienced in London's theatres, focusing on the most amazing situation we've noted so far, during a class just a couple of weeks ago.
First of all we want to let you know that we don't want to say that London is better than Italy, it's only different. An example: here many theatres are located next to or as a part of the pub. So, for a person that initially only wanted to go out for a beer with some friends, attending a performance is only some steps away if they fancy it. And, as it often lasts around one hour, after the show, the same person could come back to his friends or go to a different venue or do other things in the same evening.
So, we thought, what's the difference spending an evening only drinking with some friends in London or an evening in Vicenza (where theatres are not part of the bar/so accessible)? None, the situation is basically the same if you don't take into consideration the time you would spend attending the show.
Here performances are really appreciated and people are honestly enjoying the shows. Theatres are not located next to churches as often they are in Italy, which evidently shows the close link between religion and culture, and they're not managed by the same acting company from years gone by that only use the same actors. In the UK, it could be potentially a different group every weekend and it often is!
Furthermore the people In Italy people going to theatres are mainly old or they "have to" wear something for the particular occasion. It seems that only because you are going there you must show that you belong to the system. In fact, it seems that going to the theatre is allowed only to an "élite" group where you need to behave in a particular way to be accepted. In London people don't care about it, people are just going out and they're enjoying what they are doing. Going to the theatre is just part of the local culture, everybody's has access and is welcome and this theatre culture is reflected in the society. It is not about showing off or trying to be seen in a better light.
Finally, we discovered that in London humanity exists in its purest forms, such as friendship and simplicity. In a city so big, where things are happening so fast, we were worried to not find humanity, in a society that might only be oriented to business, finding an identity might be hard. But, at the Anna Scher Theatre's class we found out that uncomplicated and kind people are also living in London. In a city that could kill your energy, if you can't find the right path for you, Anna Scher is teaching you to talk sincerely with others (initially strangers!), about yourself, about your wishes and your goals, helping you to create a true relationship between all the people participating in the class. In this way, everyone lets their inhibitions and self styled images go and after a while, everybody is considered a friend. Anna is there but only as a director, she's just conducting her "musical" without you even noticing her gentle guidance, creating points of contact between people that maybe they wouldn't have met before, but once they did, they are creating something unique and rare, in very a personal way.
This theatre experience is like a therapy, yet fun even, a place to meet and share. Maybe this last point is what is missing to the Italian theatrical experience.


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Tuesday 01 October 2013 8:12 pm
Settlement may end Google's EU antitrust case
By: Express KCS
GOOGLE'S largest EU antitrust case moved closer to an end yesterday as the EU competition chief said progress had been made towards a settlement that would address concerns about the search engine giant offering favourable results to its own services.
"With the significant improvements on the table, I think we have the possibility to work again and seek to find an effective solution… I think that the settlement route remains the best choice," said Joaquin Almunia, the European Commission's competition head.
The search engine has been under investigation for three years by the EC, which acts as Europe's antitrust regulator, over complaints it blocked competitors in search results.
Almunia did not outline details of the settlement, but said the terms would cover developments in technology.
"The new proposal relates to queries entered in Google in whatever form – whether they are typed or spoken – and irrespective of the entry point or the device," said Almunia.
Almunia said the settlement would also make it easier for a user to see competing services in search results regardless of what device is used.
The EC said it will now ask for feedback from other parties involved in the case and work with Google over the next weeks to finalise drafting of the settlement ahead of a formal decision by next spring.
"While competition online is thriving, we've made the difficult decision to agree to their requirements in the interests of reaching a settlement," Google general counsel Kent Walker said.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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About The Boy: The John Boyne Interview
Jason O'Toole
John Boyne had already penned a clutch of novels when he wrote his first book for young adults. Published in 2006, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas went on to become a literary phenomenon, selling seven million copies. But behind that remarkable success lies a very different kind of life story. Now, with the publication of his latest novel, The Heart's Invisible Furies, the best-selling writer feels that he can talk honestly and openly about his past: about growing up in Ireland, his sexuality, the break-down of his civil partnership, depression, drinking and a lot more besides.
Whoever said nice guys finish last obviously never met John Boyne. He is one of Ireland's most successful ever writers, having sold an astonishing seven million copies of his widely loved novel, The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas. The book, written for younger readers, went to No.1 on the New York Times bestsellers list and was turned into a Hollywood movie. Yet there was no ego about the man: not when I first met him back in 2009; and not when we spoke again for this interview.
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Maggie O'Farrell: "I didn't want to write the kind of novel where you need a degree in English literature to appreciate it"
Graham Norton: "I would watch The Late Late Show and fantasise about being a guest. It never crossed my mind to be the other person, the guy in the chair"
Interview: Jennifer Egan on The Candy House, Reading, Data, and The Two Americas
Interview: DBC Pierre on Big Snake Little Snake, Universal Odds, Quantum Physics, and Winning The Lotto!
Interview: Harlan Coben on The Match, Netflix, Springsteen, and The Art of the Thriller
Interview: Sinéad Gleeson on This Woman's Work: Essays On Music
Interview: Colm Tóibín - The Master And The Magician
She Gives Me Religion: Jan Carson on The Raptures
Martha Wainwright: "It was always going to be personal, as my songs are. And as I have a tendency to be in any case"


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MacGov says Australian government is becoming stifled by cloud vendor lock-in
Macquarie Government's MD details how sending everything to the one vendor has left Commonwealth entities in a similar situation to the one they were in before.
By Asha Barbaschow | April 2, 2019 -- 04:16 GMT (21:16 PDT) | Topic: Cloud
The Australian government has had cloud technology on its radar for a number of years, pushing the digital transformation of the public sector through initiatives such as the Secure Cloud Strategy and certifying cloud providers for government use via the Certified Cloud Services List.
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But despite this cloud-first approach, Macquarie Government managing director Aidan Tudehope would argue that it isn't enough to simply move to the cloud in a "forced march" as it may have left government -- as well as private sector -- with a cloud provider lock-in situation.
"The challenge at the moment for government is that they see the shiny lights of some cloud providers and often go in heavily with one particular provider," he told ZDNet.
"The problem then is they get locked in, and if you've got a long term project that needs to be rolled out in many phases ... the decision to go with one cloud provider upfront may have made sense, but by the time the rubber hits the road and it starts to deliver citizen services, that answer may have changed and they may no longer be the right one."
While cloud has been seen by many as a way of simplifying and removing complication, Tudehope believes the vendor lock-in situation isn't good for anybody in the long term. He said this was particularly apparent in the government's attempts to make sense of its data.
"I think what happened was that government departments who were early adopters of public cloud saw the 'bling bling' -- the shiny lights -- the promise of public cloud, went in early, but hadn't thought through what they were actually jumping -- they were jumping out of maybe a large outsourcing environment but hadn't picked up that they were moving into a just as proprietary environment," he explained.
"One of the items that reinforces this [as the government starts] to move into the big data environment where large datasets are being moved around, [is that the] lock-in has gone to a new level and you just can't move petabytes of data between clouds with ease."
Pointing to government entities that are some of the larger consumers of cloud in the Commonwealth -- such as the Department of Human Services and the Australian Taxation Office -- Tudehope said the bigger agencies have a bigger spectrum of skills, often resulting in more experienced decision-making. However, where government departments are heavily outsourced, they are often beholden to the outsourcer where their IT environment is concerned, which further compounds the problem.
"In many cases that outsourcer is very happy and comfortable with the old way of doing IT and so they have often been held at ransom and adopting cloud has been slow inside those agencies," Tudehope said.
"Quite a diverse range, but as a cohort they're generally considered as lagging that of the private sector -- hopefully that will change over the coming years."
Tudehope said that in 2015 the Australian government was on a "forced march" when it came to cloud computing adoption -- they were basically told it was government policy to adopt cloud and they needed to be able to tick that box that they were adopting cloud-first.
"We came back in 2018 and it had changed, it was no longer about policy being a driver, it was now about, 'How do I go from -- in many agencies -- a sprinkling of cloud deployment to being fully in?' and they were looking for blueprints and examples and easy, low-risk ways to do it," he explained.
"More agencies are all-in and I think over the next couple of years you will look back and see large workloads moving across to cloud which we haven't seen to-date.
"In 2019 it is generally recognised that [hybrid cloud] is where we're going to end and you won't get real hybrid cloud environments unless you have that portability and flexibility to move workloads between clouds."
DTA shifts to Microsoft's protected cloud
IBM scores AU$1b for whole-of-government IT
Canberra believes it's doing enough to measure government digital competency
The Australian government and the loose definition of IT projects 'working well'
READ MORE ON CLOUD LOCK-IN
Cloud computing: As the big vendors get bigger is it time to worry about lock-in?
A small set of vendors are swallowing a bigger chunk of cloud computing spending.
Enterprises learning to love cloud lock-in too: Is it different this time?
Don't look now but more enterprises are going "all-in" with select cloud providers. Will enterprises repeat the same lock-in mistakes made in the big enterprise software era?
5 ways to avoid vendor lock-in (TechRepublic)
Don't let vendor lock-in limit IT agility. Due diligence will keep your vendor options open.
Choosing cloud vendors: Does going all in mean getting locked in? (TechRepublic)
TechRepublic's Dan Patterson and Bill Detwiler, and ZDNet's Larry Dignan discussed navigating the complex cloud market, and why companies should avoid overreliance on vendors.
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Definition - What does Electrolytic Corrosion of Steel mean?
Electrolytic corrosion of steel is a process to protect steel or iron from corrosion. In this process, clean, oxide-free iron or steel is immersed into molten zinc to form a zinc coating that is metallurgically bonded to the iron or steel surface. The substrate is coated with zinc to prevent it from rusting.
The electrolytic corrosion process can be applied to a wide range of products and is a popular process for coating materials with a protective coating because of its low cost, ease of application and comparatively long maintenance-free service life. The coating normally lasts at least 20 to 40 years in industrial environments and 50 to 100 years in less aggressive environments.
The electrolytic corrosion process is also known as the electrolytic galvanization process.
In the electrolytic protection process, the material that needs to be protected from corrosion is coated with a zinc powder or coating. It is a one-time process, ensuring a long service life and virtually eliminating disruptive maintenance.
The zinc gives cathodic (sacrificial) protection because zinc is more electronegative than iron or steel.
The electrolytic galvanizing corrosion process produces a durable, abrasion-resistant coating of metallic zinc and zinc-iron alloy layers on the substrate and completely cover the work piece. No other coating for steel matches its unique combination of properties and advantages.


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Raw Deal (1986)
This is an overlooked gem in Arnold Schwarzenegger's filmography, in my opinion. It's an action film that I've loved for many, many years back to when I bought the widescreen VHS in a nice clamshell case. Today, I've got the bare bones DVD which still presents the film beautifully. I had intended to devote January to being a Schwarzenegger month with a slew of reviews of his films, but let's say I'll be getting around to those throughout the year. Today, it's a fun look at Raw Deal!
A Chicago Mafia is violently doing away with witnesses who were to incriminate them in court, making it clear to the FBI that they have a leak of information in their ranks. Mark Kaminsky (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is an ex-FBI Agent, a former FBI agent forced to resign from the Bureau due to excessive violence, is now a small town sheriff. FBI Chief Harry Shannon (Darren McGavin), whose son has been killed by a mobster named Petrovita (Sam Wanamaker), enlists Kaminsky in a personal vendetta with a promise of reinstatement into the FBI if Patrovita is taken down. Kaminsky eagerly accepts the challenge and is prepared to infiltrate and tear apart the Patrovita machine without the consent, knowledge, or protection of any law enforcement agency. But once he's in, he can't get out and when a gorgeous mole is paid off to betray him, he becomes trapped in a deadly game where loyalty means nothing and there is only one person he can trust. Using his own brand of justice, he begins an action-packed journey into the murderous world of the mob and will stop at nothing until he has successfully completed his mission.
This is definitely a bit of a different story than you would usually find Arnold in. Something about corruption in law enforcement and mobsters warring on the streets of Chicago is a little different than secret agents, commandos, or ass kicking cops. However, Arnold fits comfortably and sharply into this context. We usually see him in more straight up action roles, but Raw Deal required Schwarzenegger to be more slick and smart in how his character operates. That classic Arnold charm is what really propels him through most of it. A confident, smooth manner is what takes care of the rest. There's enough wit and smarts in his performance to maintain that sly sensibility to keep Kaminsky likable and entertaining. Yet, Arnold is able to bring out the tough bad ass competently and effectively. As is no surprise, he's excellent in every action scene with plenty of physical combat to get his hands dirty.
There are a lot of great one-liners from Arnold that I've considered solid classics. It's smart, fun writing that makes Kaminsky an enjoyable hero while never damaging the dramatic qualities of the film. It's a nice balance handled by director John Irvin. Without these moments, the film could get a little dry, but we get nice dashes of that charm and wit to liven it up where need be.
Schwarzenegger strikes up some great chemistry with Kathryn Harrold's classy, yet assertive Monique. What's nice about this film is that while it does have multiple plot threads and character relationships going on, both friendly and adversarial, it never gets complicated. This is well reflected between these two characters. It has its sweetness as well as its conflicts. They build an enjoyable relationship between affectionate charm and some heated disagreements, but ultimately, it's a simple romantic storyline that allows Kaminsky to regularly show his humanity and compassion.
There's also a fine performance by Darren McGavin who mixes the conviction of a man needing justice with that of a heartfelt friend and father. He pops in and out of the film, but his scenes have substance that hold the underlying plot together. Joe Regalbuto creates a nice counterbalance playing up the bureaucratic, slightly snide mentality of Special Prosecutor Baxter, the man who forced Kaminsky out of the FBI. We soon see that he is justifiably despicable, but also, surely lacking in backbone when things got hot.
The supporting cast has plenty of solid talents. Robert Davi is great as the somewhat blunt instrument of an enforcer in Patrovita's organization. Davi always does top notch work, and he adds a good rough, arrogant quality to Max playing opposite Schwarzenegger's smoother undercover persona of Joseph Brenner. Everyone from Sam Wanamaker to Steven Hill put in very authentic performances as Chicago mobsters. They have that refined, high class, yet detestably corrupt quality which Chicago residents are all too familiar with. Ed Lauter is damn good as Federal Agent Baker who showcases some wit, charisma, and levity to make him quite engaging and memorable. Overall, Raw Deal doesn't have a single weak link amongst its highly talented cast.
The score has some nice qualities to it. The action scenes have a strong driving rock sound to them that really kicks some ass, and adds more punch to each sequence. The dramatic scenes are more subtle keeping them generally low key but decently effective. In one instance, where Kaminsky and Monique are indulging in some campaign, we are treated to a nicely elegant saxophone as it becomes a lightly sexy moment with a humorous beat at the end.
I also think Raw Deal is very well shot making fine use of the 2.35:1 aspect ratio. John Irvin and his cinematographer utilize very good camera movement and solid angles and compositions. These are good, intelligent filmmaker who know how to dramatically stage a scene with smart camera work and very good lighting. They show off some fine 1980's elegant production design, and also give us some punch in a night club scene with vibrant colors. For whatever reason, Chicago in the 1980s and early 90s looks quite different on film than it does today. A good deal has changed since then with more development all over the place, and it's kind of intriguing to look back on a film like this that shows off some good landmarks of the city. There's an entire car chase that runs through Navy Pier, which is essentially a big amusement park area with a Ferris wheel, concert venue, attractions, and a movie theatre today. Here, it's dead empty.
But yes, indeed, this film features some solid action scenes. As I mentioned, Arnold is great getting hands-on in the fight scenes, and that car chase is really damn good with mobsters trading gunfire at high speeds. There's enough action to satisfy right from the beginning with a mobster raid on a safe house where a witness is executed. I also love Arnold plowing a truck through the front business of Lamansky's casino. But for me, the absolute BEST action scene comes when Kaminsky assaults the quarry where he provides his own soundtrack by putting a cassette tape of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" on the convertible car's stereo and blasting it as he drives around picking off bad guys. There's just putting a cool song added onto the soundtrack, and then, there's the character himself providing his own action scene soundtrack. That's purely priceless and it is one of my favorite moments in a Schwarzenegger film. It's just awesome! This scene even starts out with the standard "arming up" scene where Kaminsky unfurls his arsenal of high-powered firearms and dons a slick leather jacket.
Following this up is the real big climax where Kaminsky goes for broke and unleashes a barrage of gunfire upon his enemies. There's a great catalyst to all of this from the undercover operation to pure action revenge onslaught involving Harry. While it essentially negates all the attempted undercover manipulation and deception, it's ultimately what you are waiting for. This is what makes it a Schwarzenegger action movie. Him spraying automatic gunfire in a stellar action climax that is awesomely shot, edited, and executed. Arnold goes into full bad ass mode taking something like the police station massacre in The Terminator and upping the action hero intensity with motivations of revenge and vindication. And it still has great, clever moments. It's just an excellent climax to a rather fun film.
I will certainly say that Arnold has many greater movies than Raw Deal, but even then, it's far from being a bad film. There are solid performances all around with a good, well put together plot that keeps it simple and straight forward while delivering plenty of entertainment value. It surely had enough plot potential to be a bigger, more complex and involved film than it was, but it sort of wisely avoids doing that knowing this is a Schwarzenegger vehicle. It'll give you a good plot, but it's going to keep it nicely focused on his character and maintain a good dosage of action. The film did fairly well upon release, but surely has been one of Arnold's lesser regarded films. I think it's fun while still providing some good dramatic and romantic qualities. Arnold himself does a fine job where he clearly was having a fun time. Like I said, it's not entirely typical of his films with it's more slick, dramatic tone and some sentimental qualities near the end, but it's an enjoyable 104 minute action flick. It's got enough entertainment value between everything Schwarzenegger is doing in this role and the solid action sequences delivered by director John Irvin. As something from De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, I think this nicely meets those expectations. I definitely recommend it for a fun time.
This entry was posted on 04.20.2013 by Nick Michalak. It was filed under Movie Reviews and was tagged with action, arnold schwarzenegger, chicago, corruption, crime, criminals, darren mcgavin, dino de laurentiis, fbi agent, film, gangster, guns, john irvin, mafia, mafioso, mobster, movie, raw deal, revenge, review, robert davi, sam wanamaker, steven hill, the rolling stones, undercover, violence.
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Stacy Granda, 20, a Lehman College student who worked to clear overgrown trails of weeds and mud in Van Cortlandt Park on July 16.
Kenyah Wiggins, a Truman High School student who lives in Coop City, helps to clear mud and weeds from an overgrown trail in Van Cortlandt Park on July 16.
Steven Francis, Marcus Anderson, and Curtis Antiwi pose for a photo together as they clear overgrown trails in Van Cortlandt Park on July 16.
Ayanna Branchcomb, wearing white and soon to be a senior at the High School of American Studies, helps rake weeds and mud away from an overgrown trail in Van Cortlandt Park on July 16.
Part of the trails cleared by a group of young men and women in Van Cortlandt Park on July 16 as part of a summer jobs program.
On a recent morning, a group of teenagers were hard at work in Van Cortlandt Park. Some were raking dirt off trails to make them easier to pass through, while others were pruning invasive vines.
These teenagers are part of two programs that are running side by side at the park this summer: Green Jobs 4 Youth (run by the Van Cortlandt Conservancy) and Teen Trails Crew (run by Friends of Van Cortlandt). Both are paid internships, designed for students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Both programs train the students in trail management, while Green Jobs 4 Youth also focuses on forest restoration and horticulture and has a college readiness component where the students take a summer course on conservation at Lehman College. The goal is for graduates to leave the internships with marketable skills and a passion for the environment.
Stacey Granda is one of those graduates.
Ms. Granda, 20, is going into her third year at Lehman College. Standing on a set of stairs in the middle of the woods in Van Cortlandt on July 16, she said she grew up coming to the park, taking advantage of everything it had to offer.
"They had canoeing for free — I got to explore the lake that way — they had bicycling, they had barefoot dancing in the lot, just so many activities," she recalled.
Ms. Granda joined the Teen Trail Crew while she was in high school at DeWitt Clinton, after a friend brought her to a tree-planting day at Vannie. After a few years with the group, she joined Green Jobs 4 Youth. Last year, Paulina Mohamed, the director of Green Jobs 4 Youth, had a baby and Ms. Granda stepped up to run the program in the meantime. She was 19.
"It was really cool, but it felt really natural to me. A lot of the people that I worked with were really supportive… If I ever needed help, Margot or the people from Parks Department would always make sure I had everything I would need, so I was super well-prepared," Ms. Granda said, referencing Margot Perron, the president of the Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy.
Now, Ms. Granda is the assistant director of Green Jobs 4 Youth. Her passion for the outdoors has taken her to Lehman, where she majors in environmental science and geographic information sciences.


Samsung US mistakenly uploaded all details on the still unannounced Galaxy S6 Active. Its full specs and manual are out, its design is confirmed too - the leaks were right about the Galaxy S5 Active similarities.
The Galaxy S6 Active was rumored for quite a while, and today it is all but official. Samsung's support page reveals all details we need to know. Samsung Galaxy S6 Active has the same specs as its regular counterpart - a 5.1" Quad HD Super AMOLED display, Exynos 7420 chip with an 8-core processor, 32GB non-expandable storage, a 16MP rear and a 5MP front camera, and a 2,550 non-removable battery.
The Galaxy S6 Active is as big as the Galaxy S6 at 143.5 x 70.6 x 6.85 and weighs the same - 138 g. It has hardware control keys as the Galaxy S5 Active and an additional hardware Active key on its left side.
Naturally, as the Active moniker suggests, the Galaxy S6 Active is water and dust-proof, but there is no info if the S6 Active will come with MIL-STD-810G certification as well, which will add salt, dust, humidity, rain, vibration, solar radiation, transport and thermal shock resistance. We guess this final piece of intel will come out at the official announcement.
The Galaxy S6 Active should launch in Cameo White and Titanium Black, and probably even more paintjobs. We expect the S6 Active to be an AT&T exclusive at launch (as the manual's pictures suggest), but later to hit the international markets just like its previous Active siblings.
With Samsung US prepping its official Galaxy S6 Active pages, the announcement should happen any moment now. Not that there's much mystery remaining at this point.
Thick skin of this S6 Active makes me wonder the dimensions are identical to the original S6. Hoping the battery power is not correct and bigger. Thinking of Z3 or Z3+ for excellent battery capacity.


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Wiley Huffman Andrews
Abingdon, Washington, Virginia, United States
The Life of Wiley Huffman
When Wiley Huffman Andrews was born on 4 November 1888, in Abingdon, Washington, Virginia, United States, his father, Jasper Joseph Anders Jr, was 27 and his mother, Thursia J Bedwell, was 25. He married Ella Mae Taylor on 1 January 1918, in Grayson, Virginia, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 1 daughter. He lived in Gap Civil Township, Alleghany, North Carolina, United States in 1900 and Elk Creek, Grayson, Virginia, United States in 1920. He died on 29 October 1965, in Winston-Salem, Forsyth, North Carolina, United States, at the age of 76, and was buried in Woodland Cemetery, Winston-Salem, Forsyth, North Carolina, United States.
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Learn about Wiley Huffman's homeland.
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Ella Mae Taylor
Marriage: 1 January 1918
Thomas Clarence Andrews
Robert Harold Andrews
Margaret Anders
Ernest Theodore Andrews
Grayson, Virginia, United States
Jasper Joseph Anders Jr
Thursia J Bedwell
Osborn R Anders
Mae Anders
Female1881– • Female
Oscar R Anders
Amanda Belle Anders
1890 · The Sherman Antitrust Act
This Act tried to prevent the raising of prices by restricting trade. The purpose of the Act was to preserve a competitive marketplace to protect consumers from abuse.
1894 · Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Monument
On May 30, 18944 the Confederate Soldiers and Sailors' Monument was unveiled. It is 73 feet high and over looks Libby Hill Park. the statue represents the 13 Confederate States.
1909 · The NAACP is formed
Organized as a civil rights organization, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is a bi-racial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans. It is one of the oldest civil rights organizations in the nation.
English: patronymic from the personal name Andrew . This is the usual southern English patronymic form, also found in Wales; the Scottish and northern English form is Anderson . In North America this name has absorbed numerous cases of the various European cognates and their derivatives. (For forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988 .)
Andruss
Wiley Andrews in household of Jasper Andrews, "United States Census, 1900"
Wiley Andrews, "United States Census, 1940"
Wiley H Andrews, "United States Census, 1930"


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Documentary ManiaSimply the best Documentaries
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Kurt Cobain Montage of Heck
Winter on Fire
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The Last Dance Episode IV
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Last Stand Of The 300
He Named Me Malala
The Last Dance Episode V
Secrets of the Space Probes
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Seurat Les Poseuses
Hanging in the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, Seurat's Les Poseuses is probably his least-known painting. It is also a picture brimming with codes and hidden meanings. It shows three nudes in the artist's studio, but included in the background is Seurat's famous masterpiece, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte. Why is it there? What is it trying to say? Why two pictures at once? Waldemar Januszczak investigates.
Series: The Art Mysteries
Gauguin Vision After The Sermon
The Vision After the Sermon, also known as Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, is a painting full of symbolism and mystery. But what does Gauguin's famous work have to do with a 17-year-old girl called Madeleine, with Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, and with sumo wrestlers?
Waldemar Januszczak reveals all as he investigates Gauguin's epic religious painting about good and evil, temptation and desire.
Cezanne Card Players
One of Cezanne's best-known pictures, but it is also one of his most mysterious. Why did the so-called father of modern art paint two old men hunched over a game of cards? What is the picture trying to tell us?
By exploring Cezanne's puzzling religious beliefs and his passion for Mary Magdalene, the patron saint of Provence, Waldemar Januszczak uncovers the surprising secrets of a haunting masterpiece.
Foo Fighters prepare to record at the Austin City Limits Studio, with blues guitarist Gary Clark, Jr. In this episode is examined the roots of Austin's music scene, with interviews featuring Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top, and Roky Erickson from 13th Floor Elevators, who is considered one of the American fathers of psychedelic rock. Dave also chats with Terry Lickona, the executive producer of Austin City Limits. The song 'What Did I Do? / God As My Witness' is recorded during this chapter.
Series: Sonic Highways
Los Angeles' highly influential position in rock history is examined. Pat Smear remembers the days of Germs, and visits legendary KROQ disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer, owner of a 1970s Sunset Strip club that became the hub for the Los Angeles glam rock scene. Foo Fighters head to the desert to record their new song 'Outside', which features a solo from Eagles' guitarist Joe Walsh, at Rancho De La Luna, and in turn, Kyuss and the 1990s Palm Desert Scene is explored.
2019 Culture
Queen Live at Wembley Stadium
Barbarians: Secrets of the Dark Ages
The Private Life of Plants
Space Deepest Secrets
2019 Science
Orbit: Earth Extraordinary Journey
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Chicago, IL – Hot off the trail of last year's 105-day, 20,000-mile 'Rock N Rose' tour, Freedman Seating is gearing up for the 2017 Transit USA Tour. A team of dedicated sales managers will be traveling across the US in a 2017 Ford™ Transit Wagon promoting the latest seating products with safety, comfort and maintenance at the forefront. The Transit USA Tour kicks off mid-January in Elkhart, Indiana and makes its way to major OEMs, bus dealers, operators, and agencies across at least 40 states. The transit van will be displayed at various industry events and trade shows along the route.
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Information about the tour, including product brochures and a map of tour stops, visit www.freedmanseating.com/transitusa. Use hashtag #TransitUSA on social media for tour updates and photos.


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Election Commentary
Trump is doubling down on his evangelical supporters for his re-election
Having alienated many of his supporters from 2016, President Trump is trying to increase turnout among his core group of supporters - and promising to fight for the religious right's agenda.
Commentary by John Gallagher Saturday, January 4, 2020
Pastor Joshua Nink, right, prays for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, as his wife, Melania, watches after a Sunday service at First Christian Church, in Council Bluffs, Iowa, in January 2016.Photo: Jae C. Hong/AP
Donald Trump may be hoping that going to the brink of war with Iran may be just the ticket to re-election. But just in case, he's revving up his outreach to his favorite group of supporters: conservative white evangelicals.
On Friday, Trump took time out of his golf schedule to go to a Miami megachurch. It was the kickoff for Evangelicals for Trump, a get-out-the-Christian-vote effort – so essentially a campaign stop. The church was the perfect venue for the avaricious president: it preaches a prosperity Gospel where God rewards the faithful with cold, hard cash.
Related: Government shelled out $118 million for over two dozen of Trump's Mar-a-Lago trips
At the event, Trump promised everything short of the second coming. He said he would put prayer back in schools and pledged to remove a law that threatens the tax-exempt status of churches that contribute to political campaigns.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Trump event without the usual middle-school bullying. At this event, his target of choice for mocking was Pete Buttigieg, the gay Democratic presidential candidate, for having a hard-to-pronounce name. He also proclaimed that Democrats were "tearing down crosses and symbols of faith and banning religious believers from public life."
Buttigieg is a regular churchgoer, which is more than can be said for Trump. The president is more likely to sue God than worship him. However, he knows to employ exactly the kind of rhetoric that will resonate with believers convinced that they are engaged in a holy war.
What Trump believes in most is transactional politics – you do for me, and I'll do for you. In return for evangelical support, he has given the religious right virtually everything it has longed for.
The problem for the president is that, in the process, he's alienated a lot of voters who were with him in 2016. In particular, suburban women are turned off by Trump's vulgarity and sexism, putting his re-election at risk.
So Trump is trying to maximize his evangelical turnout. Having got more than 80 percent of the evangelical vote in 2016, there is only so much more that he can expect. Younger evangelicals are not big fans of the president, and there is a small, but sizable liberal evangelical contingent that is disgusted by Trump's policies.
So every defection is a problem for the president. That's why his supporters reacted so vehemently to the Christianity Today editorial saying that Trump deserved to be impeached. He can't afford to lose any of his evangelical base, even a few supporters. If anything, he needs to get more supporters to make up for his polling losses elsewhere.
All of which means that Trump is going to pull out all the stops to endear himself even more to the religious right during the campaign. The right's idea of 'religious liberties' – a.k.a. the right to discriminate – is going to loom large in that equation. The Supreme Court ruling expected by the end of June will give Trump a chance to rage against secularism or (more likely) take a victory lap. All at our expense, of course.
2020 election, 2020 presidential election, Christian evangelicals, Christianity, Christianity Today, Donald Trump, evangelicals, Pete Buttigieg, religious right
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More in Commentary
Tensions with my family are high, and I haven't spoken to them much in weeks. The tension between us is no longer about politics, but principles of humanity.
The Trump crusade to purge America of infidels has started
The First Crusade left to "liberate" Jerusalem in the summer of 1096. The Trump Crusade took off in 2021.
The GOP is using the impeachment to try to wash away the stench of Trump. It won't work.
Ten Republicans voted in favor of impeachment, but it's far too late to disavow four years of doing his bidding.
GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson didn't care about LGBTQ issues, but he harmed us anyway
His focus was on Israel, but Adelson spent hundreds of millions of dollars to elect anti-LGBTQ Republican candidates and was Donald Trump's largest financial backer in 2016.
Will the religious right suffer any consequences for its role in the Trump insurrection?
For years, religious right leaders called for a holy war. With the insurrection of the Capitol building, they got what they wanted.
Joe Biden needs to push the Equality Act through in his first 100 days as President
The bill is written and the votes are there in both houses. The measure just needs the commitment of the Biden administration to make it a priority.
What is the United States of America now?
How we decide where we are to go from here will determine whether we can survive.
Mike Pence sanctified President Trump. Now his own political career is as good as dead.
Pence made a deal with the devil in hopes of becoming President one day. He'll be paying the price for that bargain the rest of his life.
Trump's attempted coup requires a bold response from all of us
This is not simply a time for condemnation. Those who were horrified by what we witnessed on January 6 must take action.


There is a reason I write this on separate article, this is TWRP for axioo M5C version 2, you cannot use this for M5C and vice versa. Why? On early week on this new year, axioo release another device revision of M5C model named as M5Cv2 that has a different hardware inside it. I'm not really sure what's the different between the two, but as long as I know, the nand flash emmc and front / back camera are different.
After installing this custom recovery, you can install root and Superuser manually as usual, I recommend to use latest chainfire SuperSU. If you want to use my custom rom for this m5cv2 model, then you not need to flash this root manually, it's already included on my custom rom.


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10 Photos Taken Only One Day Apart
Lots of things can happen within 24 hours — even the destruction of an entire city. Looking at these pictures, it's hard to believe that such strong concrete streets and metal buildings could be washed away, smashed and crumbled in the blink of an eye.
In this photo compilation, WeGoRo shows the life-changing events that happened to big cities within just one day.
10. Mount Saint Helens' Eruption, 1980
© vulkania © offthegridnews
Mount Saint Helens' volcano in Washington erupted in spring, 1980. It was so strong that an ash column rose several dozen kilometers high. A huge landslide consisting of lava, stones, and hot gases raised the volcano's top and changed the area beyond recognition.
9. Chernobyl, USSR
© chernobylguide © back-in-ussr
Small industrial towns, Chernobyl and Pripyat became famous after this sad event. In 1986, there was an explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. In the blink of an eye, towns turned into what they called, the exclusion zone. Citizens abandoned their houses as invisible radioactive radiation covered their surroundings, creating a dark and dull emptiness.
8. Temperature Difference
© animalreader © telesurtv
Believe it or not, it can snow even in the hot deserts of Africa. In one particular January, a thick layer of snow covered the Sahara. Severe temperature changes can bring real winter even to the hottest tropics!
7. Tsunami in Japan
© daypic
An earthquake in the Pacific Ocean near the east coast of Honshu caused some of the strongest tsunami waves the town had ever seen. The maximum fixed height was 40 meters (130 ft) with incredibly fast water flow destroying everything in its path. That day, nature showed its enormous power over humanity as we knew it.
6. Fall of the Berlin Wall
© ingpeaceproject
After the victory over fascism, countries of the anti-Hitler coalition divided Germany into several occupation zones, split by the tall concrete wall that stood at 155 km (96 mi) long, protecting the country's capital in Berlin. 28 years later in 1989, The Berlin Wall was destroyed, changing the way the city looked completely.
5. Hurricane Harvey
© pensionpulse © ru.narodna-pravda.ua
A tropical cyclone named Harvey hit Texas as a result of heavy rains in August, 2017. The event left many parts of Texas looking like a post-apocalyptic flood. It's hard to believe that we're looking at real shots of the aftermath and not at scenes from a disaster movie.
4. Stock Market crash of 1929
© etoretro.ru © aif
Today we associate Black Friday with sales at our favorite shopping malls. But in 1929, this "black" day marked the beginning of the Great Depression, a global crisis that lasted for 10 years after the stock market entered a major slump in the USA.
3. The 2010 Haiti Earthquake
© pokazima © novate
Haiti saw its largest earthquake in January, 2010 with more than 500,000 people falling victim to its destructive power. While the quake only lasted a short amount of time, nature showed its incredible power, leaving nothing but chaos behind.
2. An earthquake in the Indian Ocean
© dailymail
This earthquake took place in the Indian Ocean, causing the largest registered tsunami in the world. Water covered shores of Indonesia, Sri Lanka, South India, and Thailand. The tsunami's waves were so powerful that the vibrations reached even the Republic of South Africa.
1. Hurricane Katrina
© vev © photochronograph
One of the most disastrous hurricanes in the history of the U.S.A. happened in New Orleans, 2005. The below sea level city was attacked by fierce winds and a flood. Streets were literally washed away, leaving much of the cities under water.
In times of terrible grief and destruction, people tend to put their issues aside and try to be there for one another. Human beings have a magnificent way of displaying kindness, sympathy and graciousness throughout cities, countries and around the world, giving tremendous support to each other in times of need.
We don't have to wait for an apocalypse to reveal our charitable sides — we need to be attentive and supportive each day! When was the last time you visited your parents? Or spent your free time with your family and friends? Put your everyday issues aside and find some time to do the things that are important in your life.
How often do you help people in need? Share your stories in the comments.
Preview photo credit pensionpulse, ru.narodna-pravda.ua
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18 January, 2020 18 January, 2020 ~ RFM	~ Leave a comment
Nightfall – Little Big Town
Here we are then, twenty-twenty, the year of hindsight, and my first (new) album purchase of the year is this new record from vocal harmony group Little Big Town. And it's great, beautiful, and if you're not uplifted by the opening track, "Next to You", you're dead inside. The band wrote 34 songs for this album, whittled down to a lucky 13 for the release. There are lush songs reflecting on things worth getting up for, drinking songs, questioning songs, heartbreak songs, and all of it lifted by the soaring power of the human voice, the harmonies and arrangements, as ever, superb. It's not all Karen Fairchild, either. At times, I've felt that she's carried the rest with her amazing voice on their standout tracks. Not this time.
On Chapel Sands – Laura Cumming
Finally got to read this, a book that was on my list from the moment I read an extract in the Graun last year. I listened to the abridged version on Radio 4, but still wanted to read it. It's an intriguing story about a child who gets snatched from a lincolnshire beach in 1929. The child was the author's mother, and the story is both a deeply personal story about identity and a documentary about rural life and hard times in the Britain of long ago. The author is an art critic and tells the story through images, including both family photos and paintings. She highlights the mysteries of both, from the blurred faces of long-dead relatives to the carefully composed works of old masters. The writing is beautiful, the story tightly controlled, with startling revelations that keep coming. Having read this and Mark Lewisohn's first volume of his Beatles biography, and knowing some of my own family history, you start to form a picture of British family life that's completely at odds with the conservative myth of "family values".
My one criticism of On Chapel Sands is that it tries very hard to be a beautiful (hardback) book, but is let down by the reproduction of the images that are so important to the telling of the story (like the one above). What it needed was an insert of glossy pages. What it ends up with is what Kurt Vonnegut so memorably described: "They were grainy things, soot and chalk. They could have been anybody."
The Whisperer in Darkness – BBC podcast.
You ay have heard this recommended. Radio drama can be hit and miss; there are so many things that can go wrong. They can rely on grownass adult women to deliver the voices of children: bad. They can have extended sequences of grunts: boring. They can dumb things down too much: Journey into Space, I'm looking at you. They can be too depressing or too middle class. But The Whisperer in Darkness is properly good, so much so that I even forgive it the already tired trope of being a podcast about a pretend podcast. It even manges to be decently creepy and scary.
(In contrast, the latest BBC attempt at this kind of thing, Murmurs, becomes quickly unlistenable. It relies too much on irritating sound effects which are, well, irritating. And it uses a sound effects library of sounds that telephones haven't made in a long time. Also, it relies on the conceit that all of this drama is happening over telephone conversations – and who, these days, ever really talks on their phone?)
Desperate Island Disco
Well, Sue Lawley's head in a jar, here we are again. It's time to revisit the Desert Island Disc list, on this my fourth visit to the island. Yes, I like what you've done with the place. Here we are with a snapshot of what's moving me right now. This time, two records survive from my previous visit, sand in their grooves, plus there's a different version of a song that was on the previous list. Without further ado:
Jessica – The Allman Brothers Band. A perennial this, something I've been listening to for forty years, since the Radio Caroline days. In many ways, this could just be background noise, and sometimes it is, but then it will catch me, and I'll pay attention, and kick myself for not paying attention to the first three minutes, or whatever it is. It's not really that Top Gear bit I love so much as the extended improvisation in the middle, which is the bit that will catch my ear. Pentatonic scales: so endlessly versatile.
Party of One – Brandi Carlile. So much in the title alone! This one is new enough to me (and this list) that I didn't know that title, but I love it just the same. Such a great song, with lines like, "You should always let the sun go down on your anger / Let it burn you to sleep" — but it's not just the lines. It's the melody, that falling line around "I loved you the first time I saw you / And you know I love you still" grabs you in the guts. And, great songwriter that she is, Brandi Carlile knows that the words don't always have to be such a stretch. The repeat of "I am yours, I am yours…" towards the end is another gut punch, and then the lush strings come in to the close. The problem with this one, Sue, is which 30 seconds to play? Because each 30 seconds is a different song.
I Won't Dance – Frank Sinatra. Last time it was the Count Basie version from 1962, arranged by Neil Hefti; this time, it's got to be the Nelson Riddle Orchestra version from 1957's A Swingin' Affair, which is my favourite Sinatra album. And this song! The second run-through of the lyric, as Frank raises the energy, and improvises a "Ring-a-ding-ding", is such a joy.
Saturday's Song – Hiss Golden Messenger. A relatively new discovery for me, MC Taylor's voice and songwriting are now two of my favourite things, something to turn to when I want to find my peace. His music is like getting into a warm bath, which might not be something that would have appealed to 17-year-old me, but. When I was that age, my habitual way of listening to music was under the warm bedclothes with a radio pressed to my ear. So yes, I do love music that makes me feel warm and comfortable, always have.
Something Good Coming – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. Surprised myself with this one. I could almost automatically reach for "Learning to Fly" or "Refugee" or "Wildflowers", but here I am, Sue, picking a late-period number from their album Mojo. It's a slow build, a mood piece, and maybe that was the mood I was in when I made this list. It's a sound that soothes you in the background but can also strike you between the ribs when you pay attention to the words. It's quintessential late-period Heartbreakers, too, because they're such an incredible unit, they could noodle for hours, playing in the gaps left by each other. Nobody here is doing very much at all, but it all swims together into the groove around Petty's muttered vocal. Mike Campbell on guitar: never forget how good he is.
Young and Angry Again – Lori McKenna. For me, this song from the great songwriter links to Petty's American Girl; with it's opening line, for example: "Sittin' on the roof to get closer to tomorrow", and later on you hear Springsteen: "Telling yourself all you'll ever need / Is a heart full of fire and gasoline". But the melody and wistful vocal are pure McKenna.
With a Little Luck – Paul McCartney & Wings. I used to hate synthy sounds like this, and I sort of still do; I'd rather a hammond organ, any day. And yet, the stripped back arrangement of this allows McCartney's superb vocal to shine through, and it's that voice in the end that gets you, a performance that lifts what might otherwise be a throwaway pop song onto a level that makes people weep. A song that throws people back to some earlier, simpler time.
The Pretender – Jackson Browne. Finally, and forever: my theme song.
Dylan wasn't all terrible in the 80s
30 December, 2019 30 December, 2019 ~ RFM
My podcast ducks are all in a row. Having identified Nothing is Real as an acceptable Beatles podcast, and Backlisted as an acceptable books podcast, I have now found a Dylan podcast, Is It Rolling Bob, which I only resent slightly for stealing the title of what would have been my own podcast.
[Which wouldn't necessarily have been a Dylan podcast, by the way. Like this blog, I'd find it impossible to focus on one topic, so it would be an eclectic mix of me talking shit with a close friend, preferably a woman (you know who you are) because the world has enough podcasts featuring two blokes talking shit.]
I've only listened to a few episodes of Is it Rolling Bob but it seems clear so far that people are generally of the opinion that Dylan was terrible in the 80s. Lost his way, got writer's block, had production problems, as documented in Chronicles, his "memoir" (and didn't he tease us with that Volume One?).
Each guest starts the episode by quoting a line or a verse of a particular Dylan song, and most of the ones I've heard so far have chosen songs recorded in the 1960s. So if I was a guest on the podcast, I'd do two things. The first would be to quote from an 80s song, "Brownsville Girl":
"How far are y'all going?" Ruby asked us with a sigh.
"We're going all the way—'til the wheels fall off and burn
"'Til the sun peels the paint and the seat covers fade and the water moccasin dies."
Ruby just smiled and said, "Ah, you know some babies never learn."
So that's one thing. And the other thing I'd do is defend the 1980s. Of course it's mostly terrible, but you can pull together a compilation album of corkers from that period, and it would stretch longer than two sides of a vinyl record. In fact, let's cap it at an hour, and do it now:
Heart of Mine. From his 1981 gospel album, Shot of Love, Heart of Mine is both a fine Dylan love song and a clear signal that the gospel era is at an end. "Jesus himself only preached for three years," as Bob said in an interview at the time. Personnel on this track include Jim Keltner on drums, Clydie King on BVs, Ronnie Wood on guitar, and it's only bloody Ringo on Tom Tom. The track starts out like a rehearsal, a noodle, and then goes into a passionate and beautiful and funky performance. Bob's voice is strong, and you can hear the musicians feeling their way: keeping it live, Bob?
Jokerman. This is from 1983's Infidels, and has both Mark Knopfler and Mick Taylor on guitar, Sly and Robbie on the rhythms. The gospel era may be over, but the mystical, religious imagery continues: "Standing on the waters casting your bread / While the eyes of the idol with the iron head are glowing". And isn't this beautiful: "Well, the Book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy / The law of the jungle and the sea are your only teachers / In the smoke of the twilight on a milk-white steed /Michelangelo indeed could've carved out your features." It needed a better chorus, but it is superb, and who is it about? It's about him, isn't it, "manipulator of crowds, dream twister". Fucking awesome. We've got 10 minutes already and we're barely getting started.
Tight Connection to My Heart. Controversial, I know, but I really like some of Empire Burlesque, which does indeed have possibly the worst album cover of all time. I think one critic described it as "good like Elton John is good" but not good enough for Dylan. Listen, all you need to know about this record is that a lot of the lyrics quote Humphrey Bogart movies. This tickles me. You can picture Dylan bingeing on Bogart and writing songs around the lines that stood out for him. Personnel: Mick Taylor again, Sly and Robbie again, and Carol Dennis et al on BVs. This is pure Bogart: "Well, I had to move fast / And I couldn't with you around my neck / I said I'd send for you and I did / What did you expect?" And this is pure Dylan: "You're the one I've been looking for / You're the one that's got the key / But I can't figure out whether I'm too good for you / Or you're too good for me." And his final farewell to his evangelical years: "Never could learn to drink that blood / And call it wine." The arrangement of the backing vocals is beautiful, by the way.
Everything is Broken. Forward to the end of the 80s now, and this track from his well-regarded Oh Mercy. Personally, while I enjoyed it, I could feel the slightness of the songs on this record. The effect depends heavily on Daniel Lanois' production. Still, there are several good tracks, and this is the first. Swampy sounds, lots of vibrato on the guitar, and some dry drums, and a clever lyric that tells us about all the things that are broken: "Broken cutters, broken saws / Broken buckles, broken laws / Broken bodies, broken bones / Broken voices on broken phones".
Sweetheart Like You. Another track from Infidels. I can leave the rest, but this is lovely. "I once knew a woman who looked like you…" And: "In order to deal in this game, got to make the queen disappear / It's done with a flick of the wrist / What's a sweetheart like you doin' in a dump like this?" There are some religious allusions here, and it feels like it might be addressed to the one who converted him to Christianity. And some of Dylan's best political lines: "They say that patriotism is the last refuge / To which a scoundrel clings / Steal a little and they throw you in jail / Steal a lot and they make you king." Some great guitar on this, from the Knopfler and Taylor team. End of Side One?
Most of the Time. The best song on Oh Mercy, and one of the most heartbreaking songs he ever recorded. That this came out as I was coming out of a long-term relationship has nothing to do with it, I tell you. "Most of the time / I'm halfway content / Most of the time / I know exactly where it went / I don't cheat on myself, I don't run and hide / Hide from the feelings that are buried inside / I don't compromise and I don't pretend / I don't even care if I ever see her again / Most of the time." Superb bass line from Tony Hall.
Ring Them Bells. Sticking with Oh Mercy, I don't think you can listen to this one and then argue that Dylan wasn't any good in the 80s. This makes me cry and I don't know why, just that it's so beautiful and moving. "Oh it's rush hour now / On the wheel and the plow / And the sun is going down / Upon the sacred cow"
Emotionally Yours. Another Empire Burlesque number. I've got a version of the O'Jays doing this, and it's fantastic. So the lyrics are simplistic, but the performance is great. Mike Campbell on guitar, Benmont on organ, Howie Epstein on bass. That's quite a lot of Heartbreakers right there. Honestly, I could pick two or three others from this record, but we'll stick with two.
Brownsville Girl. Written with Sam Shepard, this is a song with a cinematic quality, but also tremendous wit and warmth and good humour. I think it's immense. I hate the 80s production, the drum sounds, the wasp-fart saxophone, but it is still glorious. And who is it about? Gregory Peck? No, it's about Dylan himself. Shot down by a hungry kid trying to make a name for himself. "I'll see him in anything, so I'll stand in line." And: "I can still see the day that you came to me on the painted desert / In your busted down Ford and your platform heels / I could never figure out why you chose that particular place to meet / Ah, but you were right. It was perfect as I got in behind the wheel." You could write a thesis on the backing vocals alone. "I don't have any regrets, they can talk about me plenty when I'm gone (Oh, YEAH?)". What even is this album cover?
Every Grain of Sand. Back to Shot of Love, and one of his all-time greats, one of his gospel songs, this is Dylan as William Blake. "Don't have the inclination to look back on any mistake / Like Cain, I now behold this chain of events that I must break / In the fury of the moment I can see the Master's hand / In every leaf that trembles, in every grain of sand." Arpeggiated guitar, and a careful vocal ending on a sigh, and Benmont on the keys, and a lovely harmonica break (some of his best harmonica playing is on the gospel records). Also, what even is this album cover?
Series of Dreams. Finally, the bonus track. Recorded in the 80s and not released until the 90s. this was left off Oh Mercy, but of course it was. Why was it rejected? Something about not being entirely happy with the verses, preferring the bridge, but not wanting to mess with it too much. Probably titivated it too much and went off it. But it's great. "In one, numbers were burning / In another, I witnessed a crime / In one, I was running, and in another / All I seemed to be doing was climb."
59 minutes. Dylan in the 80s. Quite good.
Macca: Quite Talented Shock
Years ago, when I was a teenager and a keen listener to Radio Caroline, I came upon what I thought was a Michael Moorcock science fiction novel featuring the band Hawkwind.
Wait, come back.
Anyway, Moorcock's bibliography is chaotic, to say the least, but this book was possibly The Time of the Hawklords, long disowned by Moorcock himself and more probably written by Michael Butterworth. A post-apocalyptic novel featuring the band Hawkwind as the only saviours of humanity. It was almost certainly terrible, as were Hawkwind, but there was a moment in it that struck me, a teenage Beatles fan in the late 70s.
Back then, the only Hawkwind songs I knew were "Spirit of the Age" from their album Quark, Strangeness and Charm; and "Silver Machine", which was their hit. The former, extended album track turned up frequently on Radio Caroline and, okay, I liked it, because it sounded great swirling out of the faint nighttime airwaves, bouncing off the heavyside layer onto the transistor radio clutched in my hand under the bedclothes.
But anyway, I only remember vaguely this moment in a post-apocalyptic scene as a convoy passes in the distance, blaring music, observed by Hawkwind, and the music the convoy is playing is "Silly Love Songs", the 1976 song by Paul McCartney and Wings. In the novel this was confirmation that the convoy was unfriendly, evil, or at least deeply compromised. "Silly Love Songs" was made to stand for all that was bland, nasty, and meaningless in 70s pop.
"Silly Love Songs". I mean: I had probably only heard it the once. I'd been prejudiced against solo McCartney by a couple of things. In the main it was John Lennon's obvious disdain for Paul's solo work, as expressed in songs like "How Do You Sleep" and in many interviews. In fact, for the longest time, my awareness of Macca's solo material was limited to "Band on the Run", which was often played on Caroline, plus "Mull of Kintyre" and its companion A-side "Girls' School". Later on, in the early 2000s, when I burned my first Imaginary Beatles album, I listened to a bit of his first solo record McCartney. And wasn't impressed.
All of this is a long preamble to the news that I've spent a lot of time this year listening to Macca. Partly this is because of the quite good Beatles podcast Nothing is Real, and partly because I thought I ought to give him a chance.
He's playing Glastonbury in 2020, which, I don't know. I mean, a bit of it will be on telly, won't it? With endless interruptions for meaningless chat from presenters, and everything being "amazing" and then a frustrating cut to someone trendy playing in a tent, and then the actual footage itself will be marred by all the fucking flags.
On the latest episode of Nothing is Real, one of the presenters mentioned how different an experience it is to go to see Macca in the US, where his audience reacts with unalloyed joy and a complete absence of cycnicism. I've seen some YouTube videos this year that have reduced me to tears. When the man stands up and performs "All My Loving" there is simply nothing to beat it for sheer emotional punch. But of course, there's going to be a huge difference between an uncynical American audience (which is to their credit) and the trustfunders at Glasto, who are going to be at best a mixed bag. We could probably predict 90% of the setlist, but that's as it should be for this kind of gig.
I still struggle with much of his solo material, though I take the point that he has produced stuff that was ahead of its time, and that he was underappreciated for what he was doing, especially in terms of live work. I still think he needs an editor, and he always needed a creative foil to curb his excesses. He and Ringo have consistently gone out there and played live music. And it was a game effort, if a little insane, what with the shitty tour bus and the college gigs and everything, to pretend Wings was a proper band and not just a backing band for Paul. George did play live a bit, though his voice wasn't up to it; and John barely did anything. After a while, Paul stopped fighting against his legacy and started doing Beatles songs live, and I'm pretty sure that this is something I ought to have seen – especially before his voice was shot.
I think that I've always felt resistant to Paul's catchiness and his melodic gift, which is perverse, but I've always been suspicious of songs that appear to be catchy for the sake of it and about nothing. Unnecessary earworms. But that's clearly a prejudice borne out of being an early Lennon fan, and still infected with his belief that art is about the artist. Then again, something like "You Never Give Me Your Money" (one of my favourite later Beatles songs) can easily be read as "about" the Alan Klein controversies, and I suppose Paul has always concealed his autobiographical stuff more than John bothered to.
I've still got a lot more to explore but I've come across quite a lot already that I like. Some of it familiar, some of it not. For example, his song, "No More Lonely Nights", with Dave Gilmore on guitar, is very good. Apparently, he's never done it live, and it's tainted by association with Give My Regards to Broad Street, but it's properly good. And "With a Little Luck" is a proper gem, which notwithstanding its slightly cheesy synth backing seems to move people in mysterious ways; and then there are things like "Souvenir" and "Early Days", which show him struggling with his voice but producing some emotional depth.
He doesn't need my patronage, and it now seems like an impossible job to go through it all, but Macca solo is better than I thought. As a bonus, and thanks to the podcast, I'm enjoying the pleasure of McGear, the solo album by Mike McCartney, with most of the songs co-written and performed with Paul and Wings. It's surprisingly excellent.
And you know what? "Silly Love Songs" is great.
Solotude
8 December, 2019 8 December, 2019 ~ RFM
Back in November, I posted about Imaginary Beatles Albums, playing the popular game of wondering what albums they'd have put out if they'd settled their differences and carried on.
I've added a one more imaginary playlist since then, a post-1974 playlist featuring releases up to 1980 and beyond. But as with all of them, it's only all right.
But what if, wondered I, what if they had, in fact, split up after the white album? What would the first Beatles solo records have looked like? As it turns out, post-1968 Beatles solo records are very good indeed, much better than post-1969 imaginary Beatles releases.
First of all, with apologies, I haven't bothered with Ringo, because the truth is that his first solo record would probably be more or less the same.
Second, some idle speculation. I'm assuming that a similar selection of songs is knocking around. I'm also assuming that with no Twickenham Studios debacle, no Klein, no disputes, and no stitch-ups, the relations between the band members would have remained cordial (perhaps after a short break). Which means they might all have occasionally guested on each others records. That said, I'm still allowing for the composition of some of the "needle" songs.
Let's start with George. Unsurprisingly, his is a strong set.
I Me Mine
What is Life
For You Blue
Old Brown Shoe
I Live For You
Isn't it a Pity
Macca is more problematic. I really want to include a lot of the Abbey Road stuff because, objectively, The Long One is one of his greatest achievements. Of course, it doesn't quite hang together without John's contributions. But let's assume it would be recorded like this, and would hold together. Somehow.
Maxwell's Silver Hammer*
Oh! Darling
The Long and Winding Road†
Maybe I'm Amazed
You Never Give Me Your Money
She Came in Through the Bathroom Window
Golden Slumbers
Carry that Weight
*Well. As previously noted, a lot of people dislike this one, but I don't, and see it as an example of Paul's gift for the vernacular.
† I'm assuming the Naked version
John Lennon was, in 1969, already the most solo Beatle. I haven't included "Cold Turkey", however, because I've always hated it. Also "Give Peace a Chance" is a bit rubbish so I don't want it clogging up my iTunes. I was aiming for no more than 45 minutes, and unlike Macca, Lennon can't manage that with more than 10 songs.
Instant Karma!
I Want You (She's So Heavy)
The Ballad of John and Yoko
Dig a Pony
Best Music Downloads of 2019
2 December, 2019 ~ RFM
8. Sheryl Crow Threads
It's not that Sheryl Crow is retiring, but she says that Threads will be her last album. I guess that doesn't preclude EPs, singles, and other download formats. Here, she calls on a variety of different friends and performs across a range of genres. Not everything here is to my taste, but once I've weeded out the unlistenable from the original 17 tracks, there's still a core of decent stuff to make up a 10-12 track album. It's too eclectic to hang together, but there are still highlights, including "Prove You Wrong" (performed with Stevie Nicks and Maren Morris) and "Everything is Broken" (performed with Jason Isbell).
7. J.S. Ondara Tales of America
Born in Kenya, J.S. Ondara won a Green Card lottery and relocated to America, which is the place where all the music he listened to growing up comes from. He taught himself guitar; obsessed with folk music, he says he "Dove deep and fell hard." Ondara sings poignant songs about the American experience, the promise and betrayal of the American Dream, with a hefty dose of Dylan influence. Songs of America is full of pretty melodies accompanied by his plaint vocal, sounding completely like American folk music but with a Kenyan accent. Highlights include the beautiful "Torch Song", "Give Me a Moment" and "Days of Insanity".
6. Trisha Yearwood Every Girl
Hearing Ms. Yearwood's voice again after such a long hiatus was to rediscover an old friend. When I first heard her music (I can picture the scene) it was in the form of a single track on a sampler CD that came with a Country Music magazine. This was in the 90s, and I was pottering around tidying up in the first house I shared with my girlfriend (now wife). The clarity and power of her voice was immediate, and with the right material, she's unbeatable. Highlights here include Lucie Silvas' "Find a Way", the title track "Every Girl in This Town", and "What Gave Me Away" (performed with her husband Garth Brooks.
5. Maren Morris GIRL
While Maren Morris had a huge impact with her first album (notwithstanding her inability to get airplay on so-called Country radio), it was nothing like the high profile she maintained throughout 2019. It all starts with this, her second album, which swaggered onto the stage daring radio programmers not to play its super-catchy and soulful title track and then sailed to #1 on the Country album chart (and #4 on the mainstream album chart) and finished the year by winning the CMA Album of the Year Award. Whatever you think "country" sounds like, this isn't it. This is dance, electronic, rock, soul, pop, all the genres, and behind it an artist of confidence and integrity who is in complete control. Highlights include the title track, (capital letters "GIRL"), "All My Favourite People" (performed with the Brothers Osborne), "A Song for Everything", "Common" (with Brandi Carlile) and "The Bones". But really, you only get the full sense of her broad talent by listening to the whole album.
4. Miranda Lambert Wildcard
Another artist in control of her own narrative is Miranda Lambert, who has come a long way since winning third place in the Nashville Star reality show back in 2003. Her first major label release, Kerosene, hit #1 on the Country album chart and sold over a million copies, and her every album since then has also hit the top spot. She also tends to hit #1 in her "off" years with her group The Pistol Annies. While sales in the streaming era are not what they used to be for anyone, Ms Lambert continues to achieve her status "backwards, in heels", largely without the support of country radio. Highlights of this strong set include "Mess with my Head", "It All Comes out in the Wash", "Pretty Bitchin'", and "Way too Pretty for Prison" (with Maren Morris). True stories told with a punch to the solar plexus.
3. Midland Let it Roll
I recently mentioned this August release, but here is its place on the list. It's a great sounding record, with smooth production and that 70s country rock vibe. Highlights include the title track, "Cheatin' Songs", "Fast Hearts and Slow Towns", "Mr Lonely", and "Roll Away"
2. Hiss Golden Messenger Terms of Surrender
This intense set from the prolific MC Taylor and Hiss Golden Messenger is warm, good-hearted and uplifting. Hard to place on the genre spectrum, this is Americana, folk-rock, singer-songwriter. Highlights include "I Need a Teacher", "Katy (You Don't Have to be Good Yet", "My Wing", and "Cat's Eye Blue." As a bonus, check out the non-album single, "Watching the Wires".
1. The Highwomen The Highwomen
While Let it Roll may be a better all-round album, and both Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris have a claim to this spot, the larger project represented by The Highwomen places it highest for me. While their singles didn't penetrate the cloth ears of country radio programmers, the album deservedly hit #1, and the group of collaborators gathered here represents the best in country songwriting and performing at the moment. While the challenge to country radio was rejected, I do think a number of the songs here have staying power, and we'll be listening for years to come. Highlights include the title track, "Redesigning Women", "If She Ever Leaves Me", and "My Only Child". As a bonus, check out their cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" on the soundtrack to the movie The Kitchen.
Fine tunes from Midland and Brandi Carlile
25 November, 2019 25 November, 2019 ~ RFM
It is somewhat sheepishly that I provide a brief review of Brandi Carlile's By the Way, I Forgive You. While Grammy nominations don't necessarily mean a lot, the six she received in 2018 as a result of this record do speak volumes. I'm sheepish because I did (of course) give her song "The Joke" a quick listen on the YouTube, but for whatever reason it didn't grab me. Given how great this album is, I want to nag at that a little more. Carlile has a powerful, distinctive voice, and I'm wondering if trying to listen on crappy laptop speakers gave it an unpleasant timbre. Furthermore, I found the cover design offputting; turn a light on, I want to say.
Still, thank goodness for The Highwomen, which album has given me cause to go back and listen more properly to By the Way…, and I'm here to confirm what everybody from the Grammy nominations committee to Barack Obama already knew. It's a tremendous album, full of confidence and swagger, a shout to the rafters of the kind of popular music that defies categories. The great pleasure for me now will be in going back and listening to her earlier records.
Meanwhile, Texas-based Midland have recently released their second album, and it too is a cracking listen. Perhaps because lead singer Mark Wystrach was also a soap opera star and model, people found it hard to take Midland too seriously at first. Early singles were good, but was this for real? Was this pastiche? The Nudie-style suits certainly nodded towards Gram Parsons, while the smooth harmonies recall Eagles and the 70s West Coast scene. Ultimately, the vibe is Alan Jackson mixed with all of the above, and (pastiche or not) these guys are seriously good.
Their first album, from 2017, was On the Rocks, and I'm still playing it regularly on my 4-star-plus playlist. Their second album, Let it Roll, released in August, proves that the first was no fluke. It's packed with hits, is a pleasant listen, and doesn't seem to contain a single duff track.


With that in mind, even if you are a new player, and you haven't had time to master the rules and strategies, adhere to the following tips and tricks for now. As you play more, the reasons behind these rules will become evident to you.
Never stick to the 'dealer rules.' Dealers must hit on 16 and stand on 17. You don't have to follow this rule. Don't think the dealer and the player have equal rights. If both the player and the dealer bust, the dealer wins. That's why this rule doesn't work for the player, but for the dealer only.
Beyond skill, there is a factor affecting everything in your life, including your Blackjack game: your mental attitude - how you respond to events over which you have no control. Control your mental attitude, and you will surely alter your odds of walking away a winner at Blackjack or any other game requiring skill.


What preventative maintenance should I do on my hardwood floor?
Use rugs both inside and outside doors to prevent grit being tracked onto floor.
Do NOT use a wet mop on a wood floor. This can dull the finish and damage the floor.
Put felt tabs under the legs of furniture to prevent scratching.
Do not slide heavy furniture across the floor. Instead pick it up entirely.
We recommend the BonaKemi line of cleaning products. No matter what brand you choose though you should make sure that it does not contain any waxes or oils as this can affect the adhesion of future coats of finish should you choose to get a screen and coat down the line.
What is the difference between a refinish and a screen and coat?
A refinish is where we sand all of the finish off to the bare wood. We then buff the floor and apply a minimum of one sealer coat and two top coats of finish. A refinish is the same process that was done when a new unfinished hardwood floor was originally sanded and finished. A refinish will get rid of scratches, dents and a majority of stains.
A screen and coat is where we lightly buff the surface of the hardwood floor and apply a fresh coat of finish. A screen and coat will eliminate surface scratches, but not deep scratches, dents or stains. A screen and coat is recommended before you see that you have worn completely through the finish to the raw wood. The screen and coat will add new life to your floor and prevent you from having to do a complete refinish on your hardwood flooring for years to come.
We primarily use BoneKemi Traffic. This is a commercially rated environmentally friendly water base finish. It is GreenGuard Certified for indoor air quality by the independent non profit GreenGuard Environmental Institute. Traffic is 75% cured after 24 hours and 90% cured after 72 hours. In comparison many of the oil base finishes popular in the NW take up to 60 days to fully cure. Traffic is the same finish that we use in commercial applications such as offices and restaurants. So it is more than strong enough to withstand the wear and tear that the average family will put on a wood floor.
How soon can I put my rugs back down?
One week after the final coat of finish was applied.
How soon after the last coat of finished is applied until I can clean my hardwood floors?
Use a dry micro fiber mop or cloth for cleaning during the first week. After first week resume cleaning with your products of choice.
What species of wood flooring is most durable?
One of the best ways to evaluate a species durability is to use the Janka hardness scale. This should only be used as a general guide when comparing species. Other factors will also affect a species durability including the manufacturing and construction of the planks and the finish applied.
What are the pros and cons of a prefinish hardwood floor versus a sand and finish hardwood floor?
It really depends on the level of customization you wish to achieve. With a sand and finish floor you get to choose the type and sheen of finish such as high gloss, satin, satin matte or no sheen,. You will also get to pick a stain color if any. There are also more species options and options as to the length and width of your floor when you choose a sand and finish wood floor. A sand and finish floor offers unlimited possibilities for customizing and putting your personal spin on your floor. Because the floor will be sanded and finished in your home the job will take longer and there will be more of a disruption.
With a prefinish floor the floor is finished at the factory. So the major benefit is that one less step takes place in your home. One of the biggest draw backs to prefinish that our customers find is the bevel on all four sides of each board. This can create a very busy look and a great spot for dust to collect.
What am I primarily paying for when it comes to a sand and finish?
You are primarily paying for the craftsmanship and expertise of the person sanding the floor. Not all sand jobs were created equal. Sanding requires a lot of finesse and skill so as to get an even sand with all of the scratches out. You want to be able to look at your floor from the side and for it to appear flat with no rolls or dig outs. You are also paying for the skill of the person applying the finish to get an even coat with no puddles or streaks. Sanding and finishing a floor is becoming a lost art and is considered a true craftsman floor. Therefore, you want to make sure you meet the person that is actually performing the work and not just the person selling you the service.
Do you use dust containment?
Yes we do use a dust containment system. Our dust containment system effectively eliminates at least 90% of the dust usually generated with a sand and finish; thus helping to maintain a healthier, cleaner home. No matter how minimal the dust we create is, we still recommend that you cover any items that you want to keep dust free.
Do I have to move out of my home while work is taking place?
This really depends on you and the layout of your home. There will be noise from saws and hammers while the wood flooring installation is taking place. During the sanding process there will be noise from the sanders and buffers, as well as some fumes from the staining if any and the application of the finish. You will also not be able to walk on the newly applied finished for at least 24 hours. This being said most of our clients do decide to stay in their homes throughout the whole process. If you do choose to stay in your home you will need to make sure you have access to an outside door that does not require you to walk on the newly site finished flooring.
What should I do with my pets during the wood flooring process?
We ask that all pets be contained to a separate part of the home during the duration of the work being performed. This is for the safety of your pet as well as your new wood floor.
Unfortunately we do not. Our insurance does not cover damages caused by moving furniture, appliances, etc. We recommend that you have professional movers remove any furniture from the area and replace it when the job is finished. We can, however, assist you in acquiring a professional moving service. A very popular option with many of our customers is a POD.
Do you acclimate the wood? If so, for how long?
Yes we do acclimate all of our hardwood flooring. Acclimation is a crucial step to having a successful outcome for your hardwood flooring project. Generally speaking the time required for acclimation in the Portland Metro area varies from three days to two weeks. Normal living conditions need to be present during the acclimation. This means that the heating and cooling system are turned on to the temperature that the home will be kept year round. Wood flooring is adversely affected by too little or too much moisture. Wood is a natural breathing product that will shrink and grow according to the moisture in its environment. This means that it is important that you keep the humidity levels in your home consistent.
Why does my floor expand in the summer and get gaps in the winter?
Wood flooring is a natural breathing product. Some minor contraction and expansion may occur with the changing seasons. If you are experiencing more than minor contraction and expansion, it means that your floor is being exposed to either too little or too much moisture. This can be a problem in homes where the central heating and cooling system is turned on and off throughout the year creating large fluctuations in humidity inside the home. The best answer for homeowners that live under those conditions is to install a humidifying system onto your central HVAC unit. This will help to keep the humidity in your home at a constant.


These picture of Connect the Dots Easy 1-10 is really good connect the dot pages for your child.
You have permission to download for nothing by clicking the DOWNLOAD button under the photo. It will communicate with a new window. Do right click on the picture, then pick save picture as… After that you have permission to adapt the file name and the folder where you want to store the file. Then click the save button.
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