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Prince, Was That U in St. Charles This Past Weekend?
May 22, 2017 | Jaime
Princemobile
By Jaime Lees
Hey, Prince. We miss U, your Purpleness. U wouldn't believe what's been happening since U returned to your home planet. We've all been praying 4 U 2 return and 2 bring us all back un2 the joy fantastic.
But just between U and I, did U drop in 4 a visit recently? Because my friend saw your regal ride the other day. I'm not sure why U felt the need to make a pilgrimage to the Longhorn Steakhouse in St. Charles, but U work in mysterious ways. Did U drop in for some Midwestern chain restaurant realness on your way 2 cosmic bowling? (That's how I imagine that U usually spend your Saturday nights — rolling consecutive strikes under a blacklight in high heeled bowling shoes.)
Or maybe it wasn't U? Maybe it was one of your representatives. U know, like how the real Santa sends surrogate Santas out 2 malls during the holidays 2 report back 2 him in the North Pole?
If so, please provide us with an introduction 2 your deputy. We are determined 2 find out their identity and 2 ask them all about their Princemobile and their passion for purple.
Readers, have U spied this magic carpet? It appears 2 be a Polaris Slingshot. If U know the owner, drop a line 2 us at Prince4RFT@gmail.com.
link: Riverfront Times
Chuck Berry Gets a Loving Goodbye from the City He Always Called Home
April 10, 2017 July 24, 2017 | Jaime
Beautiful room / photo by Jaime Lees
It is impossible to overstate the significance of Chuck Edward Anderson Berry. He's been frequently credited with inventing the entire genre of rock & roll music, but his influence reached much further than the radio. His existence changed the world.
Berry was the ultimate cultural icon. No other figure in the history of modern music has had such a lasting, measurable impact. And as a native and proud St. Louisan, Berry has always held an extra-special place in the heart of locals. Chuck Berry, you see, belonged to us. He was the embodiment of all that is magical and special about St. Louis culture, and when he died last month, a huge part of our history died along with him.
It took a few weeks to put together, but Berry's family planned a wonderful series of events to celebrate his life. Chuck loved an audience, and this entire past weekend was set up so that fans could participate in saying goodbye. There was a toast held outside on Delmar Boulevard on Saturday night, followed by a viewing of Berry's body on Sunday morning at the Pageant that was open to the public.
The private service for the family was scheduled to commence immediately after the public viewing, and the Berry family gave out passes to the private service to three hundred members of the public who queued up excitedly in the hopes of witnessing this historic event. It was a generous offering to many of Chuck's biggest longtime fans.
Some of those fans had been waiting outside the Pageant since 5 a.m., when the line for the viewing started. There was a steady stream of mourners all morning, but most just popped in for a minute or two, paid their respects and then left. There was never a long, intolerable line to get into the viewing. In fact, for most of the day visitors could pretty much just walk right in.
Many fans who expected the process to take longer spent the rest of their day hanging around outside the venue, enjoying the breezy weather while trading their favorite Berry stories. The majority of these fans had managed to see Berry play live, something that all agreed was a special event.
In a live music setting, Chuck Berry could not be beat. He played a monthly show at Blueberry Hill's tiny basement venue, the Duck Room, well into his '80s. Though those shows got progressively looser over the years, Berry made up for his slipping technical abilities by piling on the charisma. He stood there and smiled and the entire crowd smiled back, overjoyed just to be in the same room as him.
And though he was always untouchable on stage, Berry's behavior off stage was more than troublesome. To put it simply: Chuck Berry was not always a hero. He had a long and documented history of assaulting women and this fact did not go unaddressed on the day of his service. A small group of protesters held up signs outside of the entrance to the Pageant to remind visitors of the darker side of his history.
But inside the venue, it was all love. Berry's body was laid out tastefully and the room was beautifully decorated and lit. A parade of speakers took the stage to sing Berry's praises. Many of them took the time to mention that Berry was a civil rights icon: What Berry did with music helped people to cross racial divides out in the streets. White audiences who might not have otherwise embraced a black musician were helpless to resist the power of Berry's guitar.
Gene Simmons of KISS was a surprise speaker at the service. He was hiding out in the back and looked properly devastated before being asked to say a few words. His impromptu speech was one of the best of the entire event; he told the audience about his own past as a young immigrant to the United States and about how Berry and his music helped to bring people together.
"It's a sad day, but I think it's a happy time. Look at the legacy," Simmons said. "He broke down the barriers and made all kinds of people's hearts and minds open up to the idea that we all belong to the same people."
Another crowd favorite was Marshall Chess, son of Leonard Chess of Chess Records. He's an engaging, delightful storyteller and his charm was on full display. But the speech of the day, appropriately, came from Charles Berry Jr. He was funny, sincere and remarkably composed, given the circumstances. He explained that his father was his hero and that he felt honored to be able to learn from the master. He said that many people taught him how to be a musician, but that his father taught him how to be a man.
Charles Berry Jr. thanked his many friends and family members in attendance and then, in a remarkable display of midwestern hospitality, he took a moment to address the public, who had been seated in the balcony area. He looked up and said, "You're my friends now, too, because you're here with me."
During this moment, and when Berry's clearly heartbroken grandchildren performed ("We are doing this in remembrance of our grandfather, and for the joy of our grandmother"), the crowd always acted respectfully, seeming to realize that though it looked like a state funeral and the deceased was a world-renowned celebrity, this was absolutely a personal family event.
The entire service was overwhelmingly and impressively touching. There were musical performances from Marlissa Hudson, Dwayne Buggs, Johnny Rivers and Billy Peek. Outside after the service, the Funky Butt Brass Band played a devastating rendition of "St. Louis Blues" as the coffin was loaded into the hearse. (Little Richard had also been scheduled to attend and sing a gospel song, but he had fallen ill and couldn't make it.) Near the end of the service, condolence letters from Bill Clinton, Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones and St. Louis mayor Francis Slay were read to the crowd. Slay's proclamation was read by new mayor-elect Lyda Krewson, and it praised Berry for always sticking close to home.
Legendary local bluesman Mat Wilson is a huge fan of Berry and attended every event this weekend that honored his hero, including the public toast and moment of silence held at Berry's Walk of Fame star outside Blueberry Hill on Saturday night. A scholar of American music with a special interest in regional history, Wilson praises Berry easily and enthusiastically.
"My band, the Loot Rock Gang, got to open for Chuck, and I also had a chance to open for Chuck playing guitar for my wife, Little Rachel," Wilson says. "It was quite the honor. Chuck is the grandfather of rock & roll and I think it was really special to have him here in our neighborhood. He's the originator. It's not to be taken lightly that the originator of rock & roll came from our own town."
Echoing this sentiment, St. Louis native and real life guitar hero Richard Fortus (Guns 'N' Roses, Love Spit Love, Thin Lizzy, Pale Divine) also stopped into Berry's viewing on Sunday afternoon to pay his respects.
Fortus said, "For me, this was a big part of my growing up, being from St. Louis. Not only his music, but his persona. The early videos for me were huge: seeing Chuck Berry on TV and what an enigmatic performer he was. I remember playing down on the Landing when I was a kid and him coming in and grabbing a guitar and yelling at people if they didn't know his songs. It was awesome.
"It was special, growing up in St. Louis and knowing that he was part of the lineage," he added. "He's one of the biggest parts in the history of rock & roll."
Joe Edwards addresses the Saturday night crowd while Johnny Rivers looks on / photo by Jaime Lees
The stage (that guitar-shaped floral arrangement on the left is from the Rolling Stones) / photo by Jaime Lees
Hail! Hail! / photo by Jaime Lees
Billy Peek and band / photo by Jaime Lees
Gotta have a Cadillac / photo by Jaime Lees
Charles Berry Jr. addresses the public in the balcony / photo by Jaime Lees
The line for the public to enter the private service / photo by Jaime Lees
Excellent shirt from Saturday night outside Blueberry Hill / photo by Jaime Lees
The family enters / photo by Jaime Lees
Delmar Blvd. was blocked east of Skinker for the limos / photo by Jaime Lees
Mat Wilson of Loot Rock Gang and his hat autographed by Berry / photo by Jaime Lees
Gene Simmons of KISS addresses the crowd / photo by Jaime Lees
Gene Simmons trying to hide out in the back / photo by Jaime Lees
Protesters outside the entrance / photo by Jaime Lees
The Funky Butt Brass band assebles by a fleet of Cadillac limousines / photo by Jaime Lees
Congressman Lacy Clay reads a letter from Bill Clinton / photo by Jaime Lees
The program handed out to visitors / photo by Jaime Lees
Richard Fortus stopped in to pay his respects / photo by Jaime Lees
photo of Berry with Gibson guitar, taken by a fan
The Funky Butt Brass Band plays Chuck out:
Negative Approach and Dinosaur Jr Members Played a Surprise St. Louis Show Last Night
J Mascis digs gear / photo by Jaime Lees
Wed, Mar 22, 2017
Negative Approach, Trauma Harness and members of Dinosaur Jr played a show at the Way Out Club last night. It wasn't technically a "secret" show, but it was unadvertised and promoted primarily via word of mouth. Dinosaur Jr slayed at a sold out concert at Delmar Hall just a few days ago, so as a professional courtesy this performance at the comparatively tiny Way Out Club was to stay fairly underground.
This smaller show was organized by Jeremy Kannapell, who in addition to being a seemingly inexhaustible show booker/promoter, is also the program coordinator for New Music Circle and performs his own music under the name Ghost Ice. Kannapell started putting the word out over the weekend and by the time doors opened at the Way Out Club on Tuesday night, it was clear from the size of the excited crowd waiting outside that word had gotten around.
Dinosaur Jr bassist Lou Barlow opened the night with a quiet, sincere, beautifully delicate solo set — just him sitting on a stool with a tiny guitar. The vibe of the room changed quickly when Dinosaur Jr guitarist J Mascis took the stage with a band made up of Dinosaur Jr's hugely talented tour crew, and they launched into a set of songs by the Stooges. (It ripped, yo.) This was followed by Negative Approach, who drenched the place with so much energy that it seemed like it might explode. The headliner for the night was local band Trauma Harness, and these future legends fit in seamlessly alongside the established greats. KDHX DJ Jeff Hess provided music between the sets.
Many attendees described this show as even better than they could've imagined — saying that they felt honored to witness these unique performances at such a small venue for a mere $10. It was a memorable, magical experience.
We captured this holy night for you in photographs and in video. Please enjoy below.
Dancers on stage during the Stooges set / Photo by Jaime Lees
Lou Barlow from the side of the stage / Photo by Jaime Lees
Local heroes Trauma Harness / Photo by Jaime Lees
Where the magic happens / Photo by Jaime Lees
The Way Out Club, before the show / Photo by Jaime Lees
Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr soundchecks / Photo by Jaime Lees
This crowd was rippling like a river / Photo by Jaime Lees
More Lou Barlow / Photo by Jaime Lees
The late crowd loved Trauma Harness / Photo by Jaime Lees
The impossible-to-photograph Negative Approach / Photo by Jaime Lees
The bar was busy / Photo by Jaime Lees
The crowd waiting outside, just after the doors opened / Photo by Jaime Lees
DJ Jeff Hess spins records between sets / Photo by Jaime Lees
J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr with this excellent band / Photo by Jaime Lees
Lou Barlow of Dinosaur Jr plays a solo set / Photo by Jaime Lees
Bob Putnam, owner of the Way Out Club / Photo by Jaime Lees
John Brannon of Negative Approach at soundcheck / Photo by Jaime Lees
J Mascis feelin 'it / Photo by Jaime Lees
Lou Barlow solo
J Mascis and Dinosaur Jr's tour crew cover the Stooges
Bonus footage – John Brannon of Negative Approach sings the Stooges' "TV Eye" with Dinosaur Jr at Delmar Hall on March 19, 2017
Alt-Rock Royalty Dinosaur Jr Refuses to Go Extinct
March 13, 2017 March 27, 2017 | Jaime
Dinosaur Jr will perform in St. Louis this Sunday, March 19 at Delmar Hall. – PHOTO BY LEVI WALTON
Though Dinosaur Jr is hailed by fans as one of the all-time greatest acts tied to the "alternative rock" movement, it never achieved proper mainstream success. Founded in Amherst, Massachusetts, in decidedly pre-grunge 1984, Dinosaur Jr toiled for years on the edges of the local punk scene: too out there for most people to comprehend and too weird to really fit in anywhere else.
Over time this independence has worked to the band's favor. By not being pigeonholed into any specific scene or claimed by any one genre, it had the freedom to grow organically. Because Dinosaur Jr was the band for nobody in particular, it was eventually able to become the band for everybody. In 1990, the group went from releasing records on tastemaker labels such as SST to signing a deal with major label Sire Records. But despite minor achievements and enormous accolades, by the mid-1990s, the band had fallen apart and scattered. Singer and guitarist J Mascis continued with the band name for a couple of years, while bassist Lou Barlow went to steer Sebadoh and the Folk Implosion, and drummer Emmett Murphy (who goes by the singular "Murph" in all credits and press) started drumming in the Lemonheads.
A reunion was deemed unlikely — the members of Dinosaur Jr seemed to actively dislike each other and were notoriously unable to communicate about even basic things with any success. But Murph tells RFT that he still supported a reunion long before it actually happened — and he even had a certain notable drummer-turned-guitarist in his corner.
"I was doing the Lemonheads and I remember we played at a festival that the Foo Fighters were on," Murph recalls. "We were hanging out with Dave Grohl and he came up to me, and he's like, 'Dude, you gotta get Dino back together! C'mon, dude, you gotta call those guys up!' And I would just be like, 'I don't know, man, I just don't think J is into it.' And I would ask J every few years. I'd see him on the street and I'd be like, 'C'mon, dude. Dino reunion.' And he'd be kind of like Lurch from The Addams Family — he'd just kind of go, 'Uhhh, I don't think so.'"
By the time the original three finally reunited to tour on the reissues of their old albums in 2005, interest in the band was at an all-time high. Then the group released Beyond in 2007, its first album as a reformed unit, and the new music was brilliant. The stellar songs were classic Dinosaur Jr, in the best way — a relief to long-time fans who feared that the band might have lost its magic over the years or might screw up its legacy with attempts at a new sound.
Murph himself acknowledges the hit-or-miss aspect of reunited bands with new music. "Most bands I've seen get back together, they have some new direction and you're like, 'Oh, man, this is painful. This is bad. Like, what are you guys doing?'' he says. "That happens all of the time."
Many fans thought some of the Pixies reunion shows, in particular, felt like taking a knee to the family jewels. Murph is candid on the subject. "They might've had Kim Shattuck [of the Muffs] on bass, because I saw them a couple of times with her and it was horrible. It was so bad," he says. "Then they got this LA woman [Paz Lenchantin] who's this slick, like, gun-for-hire, and then it sounded so much better. I was living in LA like four summers ago, and so much music goes through there. I got to see the Breeders one weekend and Pixies the next. And the Breeders were just, head and shoulders, so much better than the Pixies. Like, I couldn't believe how much better the Breeders were. It was such a good show. It was amazing."
Murph likes to take in many different bands, and fans of all different types of music love his band, too: Dinosaur Jr's brutally loud and heavy — yet frequently sweepingly melodic — music is beloved by fans of rock, psychedelic, alternative, punk, pop, prog, noise, classic rock and jam bands. But even though that's been the case for 30 years, the band's members are only just starting process the scope of their popularity. Murph says that he was delighted when he recently learned that Dinosaur Jr is frequently discussed online in chat rooms by fans of the band Phish.
"I was, like, totally blown away," Murph says. "Really? We were mentioned in a Phish chat room? Because we're kind of, like, from the punk, and that's like the opposite. Most of the hippie jammy band kids just are not into noise or punk at all — they're into bluegrass and folk and all that stuff. So I thought that was really funny." Still, Murph concedes that the band has done some jam band "noodling."
"I mean, I'm into that stuff, personally. I grew up listening to like Frank Zappa and Mahavishnu Orchestra, so I can relate," he says. "But as a band we've always come from — and J and Lou are definitely from — like, thrash and oi! roots, so it always surprises me when we get crossover fans. I'm always kind of shocked." Dinosaur Jr is currently on a tour of high-end mid-sized venues and will spend the summer playing at major festivals. Murph seems almost bashful about his group's success, even though he remains hopeful about the future.
The band's interpersonal relationships must be better, too. Murph explains that while touring life is often seen by outsiders as glamorous, it's really just eight to ten people crammed onto one bus, day in and day out. In that way, he says, it's similar to sailing, where everybody is stuck in one little area.
But what if they managed to get more buses? "If we were like Bon Jovi or something that would be great," Murph says with a laugh. "I don't think we're at that level yet."
8 p.m. Sunday, March 19. Delmar Hall, 6133 Delmar Boulevard. $25 to $28. 314-726-6161.
Britney Spears, Queen of Punk, Shaved Her Head 10 Years Ago Today
February 16, 2017 March 13, 2017 | Jaime
Here's a Photoshopped image of Britney Spears fronting Minor Threat, courtesy of the World Wide Web
Thu, Feb 16, 2017
Today marks ten years since Britney Spears shocked the world by shaving her own head. The reasons behind this bold event are still unclear, but one fact remains: On February 16, 2007, everything changed. Britney Spears became the ultimate punk.
Spears had been in the public eye for eight years at that point and had already experienced a number of transformations. She came on the scene in pigtails and a Catholic schoolgirl skirt, cooing "… Baby One More Time" and captured the attention of both the teen crowd and legions of Lolita-chasers. Her breakthrough album sold an insane amount, spawned numerous singles and featured Spears posing on the cover in an upskirt photo that was just inches away from being all kinds of illegal. Genius.
She worked that virginal but innocently sexy thing until it got played out and then began her first transformation. She offered the idea that she was not a girl, not yet a woman. This version of Spears was sexually curious and working for ownership of her body and her autonomy. This again put a tent in the pants of her creepier followers, but many of her loyal fans were at that same stage in their lives. Unlike her fans, though, she was actually banging Justin Timberlake, who was then a boy-bander with ramen noodle hair and who was nowhere near to bringing sexy back.
A grown woman version of Spears came next and so did her fans. (Rimshot!) She kissed Madonna on television and released an album of emotional ballads and next level club tunes including the brilliant "Toxic." This version of Spears was fully developed and man, she was horny for you, sir. By this time she reigned as the modern queen of pop and was an unmissable, incalculable superstar.
Spears had long been portrayed as some kind of feminine ideal. Blonde hair, tan, tight body, flat abs, sweet disposition, slight lisp, excellent at playing dumb — she was the perfect little MTV package. She played a coy nymphet all the way to the bank and became the sex symbol of her generation.
She was also under inconceivable amounts of pressure to maintain this status, her body, her power and keep bringing in all that money. Her image started to crack. It showed, but things were still under control. She married Kevin Federline and birthed a couple of his puppies. She also left her house while looking a hot mess and did other things that a superstar just wasn't supposed to do. (Or wasn't supposed to be seen doing, at least.)
She spent the end of 2006 clubbing with Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, offering up all kinds of gold for the paparazzi. (Not gonna link it but you know what happened every time she exited a car.) The impression she gave was that she was a bit out of control, but in a "party girl" kind of way. This seemed to just be a phase that lots of LA-based stars go through before they settle down and find yoga. This time in her life was fully documented and she seemed to be acting erratic at best. She was slipping right in front of our eyes and there was literally nowhere to go but down. And most interestingly: she did not seem to give one fuck.
When most people think of punk, they think of sneering 1970s icons like Johnny Rotten from the Sex Pistols. Or they think of bored black-clad delinquents like the Ramones. Or they think of the undiluted Midwest psychosis of Iggy and the Stooges. Most people do not think of teen pop idols like Britney Spears.
But those exalted punk heroes had nothing to lose. They could go out and blow snot and talk shit and complain about society and capitalism and everything else and it was expected that they would behave like that. That was their job. The "classic" punks never had any measurable success to begin with, so it didn't really matter if they threw it all away. Johnny Rotten was born poor and ugly, but Britney Spears was born to be a pretty pop princess.
Spears had much, much farther to fall. And fall she did. Why? Nobody really knows for sure. But the shaving of her head was a watershed, no-turning-back kind of event. It could've been the result of a postpartum issue. She'd had two babies in one year and her youngest was only about five months old at the time. Many speculate that she was concerned that she'd lose custody of her children because of her rumored drug use, so she shaved her head in a misguided attempt to thwart any tests that could've been done on her hair. Other insiders suggested that she'd received a devastating medical diagnosis and was acting out. Maybe her hair extensions were just pulling painfully at her scalp? Or maybe she'd just had enough of it all.
No matter the reason, the result was still the same. The most omnipresent superstar of her generation very publicly attacked herself. For a female pop star, literally the most confrontational thing she could do was to attack her beauty. It was the ultimate anti-establishment move.
And it's not like she went to some chi-chi Beverly Hills salon to get a well-designed close crop. She wasn't Sinead O'Connor and being bald was absolutely not part of her known look. She basically buzzed her melon with dog clippers in full view of the cameras while smiling manically. This is the pop culture equivalent of when those monks protest by sitting in the middle of a street and lighting themselves on fire.
The general reaction at that point wasn't "check out this crazy bitch." It was "Why won't anyone help this poor girl?" The head shaving was followed by an attack on a car with an umbrella where Spears appeared to be wild-eyed and totally out of her mind. (Much later, in a blog post on her website, Spears apologized for the umbrella incident and said that it was a result of going overboard in preparation for a role that she did not get. Hmm.) She also spent months wearing wigs and sobbing in the streets and driving from gas station to gas station on the hunt not just for the perfect bag of Cheetos, but something else unknowable. She was eventually pulled out of her own home and strapped to a gurney and taken into the hospital against her will. All of this, absolutely all of it, was photographed and documented ad nauseum.
The apology issued on Spears' website
Michael Jackson aside, no one in recent pop culture history has had a more public downfall. Spears was put under a conservatorship that is seemingly never-ending, and celebrity gossip blogs opine that she's under close surveillance and is possibly medicated against her will. (Suck it, Sid Vicious! You wish, Courtney Love!)
Her current show in Las Vegas is rumored to present a zombie version of her former glory, with Spears performing tight, robotic movements without emotion, like the animatronic puppet band at a Chuck-E-Cheese crossed with a tired stripper who can barely contain her contempt for her audience. The majority of the show is known to be lip synched, too. Still, thousands of people go to see it and hand over tons of money for the privilege. Suckers. It's the Great Pop Swindle. Ever get the feeling that you've been cheated? Get that dollar, girl.
And Britney's no victim. The gossip blogs have it wrong.
Props to those who live and work outside the system, but a smart punk messes things up from the inside. A successful punk finds a way to bend the world to their will. Britney Spears played you. She presented a mirage and you fell for it. Then you gave her your money and she took that money and possibly spent it on drugs. That's punk as fuck.
And even though you should know better by now, you've accepted this mirage for a second time. She sprays on her tan and glues in her hair extensions and you swallow the whole thing all over again. You ignore that 5150 that you see in her eyes so that you can continue your own fantasies. She spends her nights taking all of your money in Vegas and she spends her days painting and relaxing and hosting the most lovable celebrity social media account this side of Chrissy Teigen. You follow that account. And you love it. A movie about her life premieres this weekend on Lifetime. You'll watch it and you'll love that, too.
Basically, she flipped the entire structure of pop stardom and got away with it. You work for Britney Spears now, bitch. Up the punx. God save the Queen.
Pazz & Jop 2016 – 44th Annual Village Voice Critics' Poll
January 25, 2017 February 22, 2017 | Jaime
Pazz & Jop 2016
44th Annual Village Voice Critics' Poll
– the critics
– my ballot
"Pazz & Jop is an annual poll of musical releases compiled by American newspaper The Village Voice. The poll is tabulated from the submitted year-end top ten lists of hundreds of music critics. Pazz & Jop was introduced by The Village Voice in 1974 as an album-only poll, but was expanded to include votes for singles in 1979."
You Don't Actually Like the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Still from the very mature "Give It Away" video
Friends, you are being fooled by your own brains. You don't actually like the music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. You think you do, because you know the songs. Your mind has tricked you into thinking that you like these terrible songs because they were around during a formative time in your life. But just because something is familiar doesn't make it good.
This is the result of a psychological phenomenon called the "mere exposure effect." It proposes that when you are familiar with something, you will receive it more favorably. It's a loophole in your cognitive process that is exploited hundreds of times per day. (It's a huge factor in how you view your connections on social media and it's also at least part of how a television personality recently won a presidential election.) This is entry-level thought tinkering and it's used by every advertiser that you've ever come in contact with and, yes, the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
The Peppers have an advantage here because they likely got into your head during your years as a budding music fan (your early-to-mid teens) and they've just lived in there like a nasty-ass tapeworm ever since. Their inescapable '90s trilogy of caca (Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magik; One Hot Minute; Californication) weaseled its way into your consciousness when you were still young and vulnerable. As an adolescent, you were impressed by the band's hedonist bro-funk — imagining that one day you, too, could score an ultra-romantic drug problem or grab your painted taint in the desert. You weren't even turned off by album covers that looked like shit tribal tattoos or a band logo that gives some the urge to call for medical help. You looked to Dave Navarro and saw a compact hero, not just a preening, gothic prawn. You laid eyes on Chad Smith and didn't even think about Will Ferrell. Yes, those were the days.
But there is no way that you (mid-to-late 30s Midwestern dude, am I right?) should still like this crap music. But maybe it reminds you of a time when your shorts were cargo and your obligations were nonexistent. Maybe you were listening to "Under the Bridge" the first time you fingerbanged a comely young lass. Whatever, that's cool. You were a kid. But if you have to book a babysitter to go to the RHCP show, you should be too grown for cocks in socks. If you gotta ask off work for the next day because you're going to have a hangover after three $14 beers, you're too old for words like "scar tissue that I wish you saw." If you have a 401k and you're still down to sing along to "Lick my knob, I gotta put it in your grand-ma" (or whatever the hell those lyrics are) then you are living a sham version of adulthood.
If, as an adult, you heard this music for the first time, you'd be like "Get outta here with this obnoxious kiddie bullshit." You, as a grown person, would be irritated immediately and you would think it was a shame that uber-talented Flea is stuck in this gig and forced to act like a cartoonish performing circus ape. With the advantage of some years, you would listen to the music of the Red Hot Chili Peppers for the first time and think that it was made exclusively for pot smokers with Adderall prescriptions. Which, to be fair, might explain the band's enduring popularity — it's an accurate description of your entire confused generation.
Plenty of music that you listened to as a kid still holds up, but not the Red Hot Chili Peppers. You're not from California. You're not wild. You're not energetic to the point of pogoing. You're not even a young, aspiring douche anymore. You're a grown human and you should know better.
So if you're going to the Chili Peppers' show tonight, think of your shame during this moment, when every chump in the place does a subconscious body dip. And then hurry home and transfer double the money that you spent on the concert tickets into your kid's college fund. You owe them that much at least, you foolishly nostalgic baby-man.
link: Detroit Metro Times
President Obama's Greatest Musical Moments
January 10, 2017 July 17, 2017 | Jaime
A still from a joke video that was used on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, one of the first places that the President danced for a national audience.
When Barack Hussein Obama was elected President of the United States, it seemed like anything was possible. The fabled American Dream was alive and thriving. We voted for hope and change and we got them both balanced on the shoulders of a man who seemed capable of expertly executing the job.
Now, with only days left on the clock until our country comes under the power of a known psychopath, we mourn what we're losing and look to the future with appropriate horror. It seems entirely possible that President Obama might go down in history as not just the first African-American president but also the last great American president. Ever. He wasn't perfect, of course. Like all politicians, he could be hugely disappointing and his public silence and inaction on some matters felt brutal. But it seems safe to say that very (very) soon we will look back on President Obama's time in office as a golden era.
Not only was he an accomplished, charismatic and dignified leader, he was personable in a style that we've never before experienced. And one of the most effective and consistent ways that he connected with the American people was through music.
President Obama used music to showcase his personality and his compassion. He was never shy about expressing how deeply a song or a musician moved him. We knew his opinions on popular artists and it made him more relatable. We also knew that our president sometimes felt compelled to sing or to do a little shimmy. We even knew what he listened to on Spotify. And we loved it all.
Below is a collection of President Obama's greatest musical moments. Thanks for the great work and the excellent music, Mr. President. We'd love another spin.
This should've been our first indication that President Obama was going to be bumping. Here he is as a candidate, dancing his way onto The Ellen DeGeneres Show, as is the tradition:
Here's Chi-town's own Barry O joining Mick Jagger, Buddy Guy and BB King at the White House for a few lines of "Sweet Home Chicago":
Check out President Panty Dropper singing Al Green. That little bite of the lip! He really puts the "O" in Oval Office. It was kind of nice to have a President that was attractive and virile. (There's no chance of that with the next guy.):
The White House hosted a tribute to Ray Charles, giving our main man another opportunity to showcase his pipes:
Many were charmed when Obama spontaneously sang "Purple Rain" to a kid dressed as Prince last Halloween:
He and Michelle also did an endearing little dance to Michael Jackson's "Thriller":
President Obama invited Kendrick Lamar to perform at the White House on the 4th of July. Yeah, let that one sink in for a minute:
He awarded Bruce Springsteen the Presidential Medal of Freedom saying, in part, "I am the President; he is the Boss":
He also awarded Bob Dylan the Presidential Medal of Freedom and then later gave us a peek into how the whole experience went down with Mr. Freewheelin':
Let's take a minute to appreciate that we had a black President who frequently celebrated music made by black artists while he was living in the Whitest of Houses. About damn time, right? Over the years President Obama has served as host for a wide range of African-American artists including Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin, Beyoncé, Common, Janelle Monáe, Jay-Z, Jill Scott, John Legend, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Usher and the Roots. Here's Obama singing "Jingle Bells" with Chance the Rapper at the most recent Christmas tree lighting ceremony. (Chance's dad was Obama's state director back in his Illinois days.):
In this clip the Obamas dance as a pre-Lemonade Beyonce sings the timeless 1941 classic "At Last," made famous by Etta James in 1960:
Barack and Michelle danced a lot, actually. Dancing is where their passions meet, as it combines Barack's passion for music with Michelle's passion for getting active. In this video they're trying the tango, but President Obama was known for dancing all across the world, from Alaska to Kenya:
And here they are having an impromptu boogie to "Uptown Funk" with R2D2 and a stormtrooper. They always seemed to have fun:
President Obama somehow even managed to make Jimmy Fallon's moronic show tolerable for a few short minutes when he showed up to slow-jam the news:
Here's a recent video from Usher of the President dancing to "Hotline Bling." #Lit:
The President was also down with the kids, happily hosting his own festival called South By South Lawn on the grounds of the White House:
And here's our boyfriend trying not to sing along with Aretha Franklin during Carole King's Kennedy Center Honors ceremony. Was that a tear? And yes, even the President must stand when Aretha takes off her fur:
We saved the best for last. In this video, President Obama paused to sing "Amazing Grace" while presenting the eulogy for Reverend Clementa Pinckney after Pinckney and his fellow church members were executed in a racially motivated mass shooting in North Carolina. The universally moving song was adopted by southern gospel culture decades ago and it was the perfect expression of President Obama's humanity and a grieving nation:
Until next time, Obama.
My Top Shows of 2016 (via IWentToAShow.com)
January 2, 2017 January 11, 2017 | Jaime
link here: IWentToAShow.com


I am trying to display a simple slider in the LCD using the below code snippet in iMXRT1050 EVK running amazon FreeRTOS.
* @brief Application entry point.
The task is created succesfully . But I expected slider in the GUI is not appearing. Initially I was getting the hard fault error while running the program. After increasing the stack size of the task , the error was solved.
Whether the current issue is also due to stack related or something else.?


text:
XXL - Altrimenti ci allarghiamo! è stato un programma radiofonico estivo andato in onda su Rai Radio 2 dal 15 giugno al 4 settembre 2009, dal lunedì al venerdì, fra le 13.40 e le 16, condotto da Ciccio Valenti e Mauro Casciari, con la partecipazione di Lola Ponce.

Generalmente, ogni puntata era divisa in due o più parti, in ognuna delle quali veniva affrontato in chiave comica un diverso argomento e gli ascoltatori interagivano attivamente con i conduttori. Spesso i conduttori proponevano agli ascoltatori situazioni surreali invitandoli, per esempio, a salire su un immaginario elicottero o su una macchina del tempo e a descrivere ciò che immaginavano di vedere.

La rubrica più popolare della trasmissione era "Ora Pro Loco", in cui gli ascoltatori erano invitati a tradurre o a indovinare il significato di modi di dire o proverbi dialettali proposti da altri ascoltatori.

Altri appuntamenti caratteristici della trasmissione erano i "sondaggi", durante i quali ognuno dei due conduttori dichiarava di preferire una certa situazione opposta a quella preferita dall'altro (esempio: mare o montagna, partecipare all'animazione sulle spiagge o restare tranquilli a rilassarsi), chiedendo agli ascoltatori di esprimere la propria preferenza tra quelle due situazioni con un voto e, infine, conteggiando il numero dei voti per stabilire chi dei due conduttori avesse vinto.

Numerosi sono stati anche gli ospiti intervenuti in trasmissione.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


What was the first commercial use of genetic engineering?
Commercial recombinant DNA technology was first used to produce human insulin in bacteria. In 1982, genetically engineered insulin was approved by the FDA for use by diabetics. Insulin is normally produced by the pancreas, and for more than fifty years the pancreas of slaughtered animals such as swine or sheep was used as an insulin source. To provide a reliable source of human insulin, researchers harvested the insulin gene from cellular DNA; they made a copy of DNA carrying this insulin gene and spliced it into a bacterium. When the bacterium was cultured, the microbe split from one cell into two cells, and both cells got a copy of the insulin gene. Those two microbes grew, then divided into four, those four into eight, the eight into sixteen, and so forth. With each cell division, the two new cells each had a copy of the gene for human insulin. Because the cells had a copy of the genetic "recipe card" for insulin, they could make the insulin protein. In fact, in this case, using genetic engineering to produce insulin was both cheaper and safer for patients, as some patients were allergic to insulin from other animals.


text:
Vale James Philip Hogan
Jim Hogan spent most of his working life with CSIRO, retiring as a Chief Research Scientist in 1993. Following secondary education in Goulburn, NSW, Jim graduated in Agricultural Chemistry at the University of Sydney in 1951. After 2 years as a teaching fellow at that university, Jim joined CSIRO as a research officer under Dr. R. L. Reid at the McMaster laboratory in Sydney, and in 1955 was awarded a CSIRO scholarship to study under Dr. A. T. Phillipson at the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, Scotland. He was awarded a PhD from the University of Aberdeen for his studies of ammonia transport from the digestive tract of sheep.
On his return to Australia in 1957, Jim joined the CSIRO Division of Animal Physiology at its Ian Clunies Ross Animal Research Laboratory (Prospect, Sydney) where he broadened his Rowett studies on the transport of ammonia from, and digesta flow through, the digestive tract. This was achieved by developing digesta marker techniques with Dr. R.H Weston. The resultant series of publications on digestion and nitrogen transactions and metabolite production in the rumen are considered a major contribution to the knowledge of digestive function in the ruminant. The research was consolidated into several major reviews by the authors and remain seminal publications in the field of ruminant nutrition. Jim's research focussed primarily on the nutrition of herbage-fed ruminants, and the role of supplemental grain and legumes in providing a balance of nutrients, but also extended to assessment of grains in high-concentrate diets.
Jim was appointed in 1983 to serve as Assistant Chief of the CSIRO Division of Tropical Animal Production at the Davies laboratory (Townsville) and later became the laboratory's officer-in-charge. While in Townsville, Jim oversaw research funded by ACIAR (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research) and Meat and Livestock Australia, on nutrition of ruminants in tropical environments. His leadership was characterised by active collaboration with James Cook University and the Queensland Department of Primary Industry, and the mentoring of both Australian and overseas students, as evidenced by the range of co-authors in Jim's publications. In recognition of his exceptional and sustained scientific contributions, and his service to the Australian Society of Animal Production, the Society elected Jim as a Fellow of the Society in 1990. Jim returned to Brisbane in 1992 and after retirement published several papers on camel nutrition and in the emerging field of animal welfare research.
Throughout his career, Jim was a strong exponent of the scientific method and was looked towards as a special sounding board for junior and senior scientists alike as a source of friendly advice. Somewhat irreverent and always constructive, Jim's mentorship was exemplary; he was always available for a friendly chat, or to provide advice and gentle criticism, with an ability to simplify difficult matters in a logical order. In getting his message across, Jim was a great raconteur, drawing upon experiences from his undergraduate days, through to his professional and personal interactions over the years with virtually all the leading animal scientists in Australia and abroad. Jim will be remembered as a gentleman, outstanding scientist, generous colleague, clever raconteur and mentor. His impact on the field of ruminant nutrition via his own accomplishments, as well as the inspiration he gave to others, cannot be overstated. We will miss Jim, but his friendship, wit, wisdom, and vision will live on with all those who were fortunate enough to know him.
Jim is survived by wife, Rachel, and children.
Recap: 'Defining Sustainable' Webinar Recap: Let's talk about sex-semen webinar

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


It's been few weeks since my last post about 250 class quadcopter based on carbon fiber ZMR250 frame. Machine is mostly finished by now. At least in LOS configuration. FPV gear has only arrived last week and I still had no time to put it in.
Turnigy Multistar V2 2206 2150KV "Baby Beast" with Gemfan 5030 propellers does not provide enough thrust. Do not get me wrong, it is fast, but I was kind of hoping for higher level craziness.
Quadcopter (built on Raptile 500 frame and Flip32+ FC) survived without a scratch. Camera (RunCam HD) survived as well. It "only" detached for quadcopter and traveled few meters by itself until landed in grass.
Crashes when flying any RC gear happens. And lower the entry level, more crashes we can see. Like, for example, those two "hard landings" I had few weeks ago.
First one is 100% pilot's fault. I've got lost with FPV gear, lost sense of altitude and just hit that small tree trying to recover. Quad survived almost without a scratch.
Second one is a hardware fault and a proof that electronic components are sensitive to water. BEC got wet during rain and stopped to provide constant voltage. As a result, flight controller, OpenPilot CC3D in this case, was reseting itself on random basis. Result? Uncontrolled and rapid descend. This time quadcopter had taken some damage: broken landing gear. Good thing those things are pretty cheap, but still, it takes time to ship from China. In a meantime, steel wire 1.8mm has to work as landing gear replacement.
Good FPV video is always nice to watch. All kinds: multirotor, plane, flying wing. And some RC fanatics groups are just expected to create awesome videos. Like Happy Flyers for example. Flying in a gravel pit for example.
Although this video is not stricktly about quadcopters, it's nice to see, that Flight Controllers designed for quads can be used also to use with tandem setup. Like a Chinook itself. I like it a lot.
This is one of the better FPV quadcopter videos I've seen for some time. Maybe there is no super evolutions, dangerous turns and so on, but still, beautiful place and excellent flying. Good job!


There are a couple of instant ticket players who won big money this week. A factory worker won $2 million and a great grandma won a million dollars within two weeks of winning a thousand dollars from the same game.
In the UK, a jackpot roll down was all it took for three players to win £8.1 million each, while in the US a couple decide to retire after winning $4 million.
Patrick Emmerich believed that winning the lottery was just a matter of time. But when he bought an Illinois Lottery $2 million Extravaganza ticket while buying chicken for dinner, he did not know the time had come.
Three lucky lotto players managed to share a £24.5 million jackpot without having to match all six numbers drawn – and no, they are not playing as a syndicate.
What is the first thing you would buy if you won millions? For Stephen Jones and his wife Rosie, that would be time.
The "$300,000,000 Golden Ticket" Scratchers game has been kind to Doris Danielson. The past week she won $1,000 and this week she won an even million dollars.


text:
Thomas Jefferson Kaye: First Grade [ABC/Dunhill, 1974]
Like the Triumvirate album he produced for John Hammond, Mike Bloomfield, and Dr. John, Kaye's debut was sensually laid-back, with a sly intelligence he hoped to pass off as an active relationship with his environment. But this one stands beside Eric Clapton's 461 Ocean Boulevard as a critique of the laid-back mode. The secret is the covers, which I bet producer Gary Katz (also of Steely Dan) had something to do with--especially since the whole album centers around Fagen & Becker's bitter, poignant farewell to the counterculture, "American Lovers." Together with Loudon Wainwright's painful "Say That You Love Me" and natural boogies from Link Wray and Dr. John, it puts such Kaye titles as "Northern California" and "Easy Kind of Feeling" into the ironic perspective the artist intends. Maybe this is Katz rather than Kaye--but when you hear Kaye describe a "new religion/Called everything's gonna be all right," you won't think so. A


It only makes sense to do such things in such a way because it gives you another medium to display what you already have.
It doesn't have to be that way, though. With the right steps, you can tie all your social media platforms together. Not only does that offer better ease of use for you, but it can ensure that your audience is fully engaged helping you build connections across all of your networks.
Let me know what you have questions about…comment and make sure you like the post, share it, and ask…I'm just a click away!


Katrina Faris – Club Echelon PresidentFirst Triathlon: September 2010 Scott Tinley Sprint Distance at Lake Lopez in Arroyo Grande, CA. Great weather, beautiful location and fantasic company as I completed the triathlon with my mom, dad and high school friend. Highly recommended!
Goals for 2014: Complete my first century, improve my Barb's Race time to be around 6 hours, and survive the Gran Fondo King's Ridge.
Day Job: Accountant at Moss Adams in Santa Rosa. Everyone else in my family is a tax accountant, but I am blazing a new trail as an auditor.
Mariko Fischer – Club Echelon TreasurerDream "destination" triathlon: Ironman 70.3 Auckland, New Zealand! Great excuse to travel over there, and an oceanfront run!
Motivation (What gets you training? Keeps you training?): Muscle memory is forever, whether you like it or not your body will remember every crash, but it will also squirrel away every workout, so it all counts!


Every now and then Estate Agents like to indulge their geeky side, whether it's for the office or at home. Staff members at Resource Techniques, including the web design team, have compiled a list of recent must-have geeky gadgets for Estate Agents.
Ever dreamed of becoming a 007 Estate Agent? Well now you can with the world's first commercial jet pack by the Martin Aircraft Company Limited. The jetpack does not require a pilot's licence, can reach up to an altitude of 2,400 metres and has a top speed of 60 miles an hour.
Imagine the faces of buyers when their Estate Agent descends from the sky, lands and says, 'Shall we have a look inside?' The cost of the world's first commercial jetpack is not cheap at $75,000. Is this a little out of your price range? Estate Agents can buy a Martin Jetpack baseball cap for just $28 from the Martin website.
Any Estate Agent that loves retro games will instantly fall in love with the 8-bit tie. The 8-bit tie is not a regular tie, but a clip on.
Available from around £14.99 the 8-bit tie will either give you massive "street cred" or reinforce you as a geeky parent.
CTO of Resource Techniques, Troy Stanley comments on the Jet Pack, 'I can see the headline now - 'Estate Agent viewings skyrocket'.
Ever wanted to own your own Tardis? Well you can't. Fortunately for Estate Agents the Doctor Who Tardis Zipperobe by Argos is the next best thing.
This self-assembly canvas single rail wardrobe will make any Dalek weak at the knees, if they have knees. This geeky wardrobe will also turn your wallet into a mini Tardis for £49.99.
Estate Agents that are fans of the iPhone (or iPad to be released in April) will love this geeky gadget, iPhone coasters by meninos. The 16 coaster set includes all the standard icons that reside on the homepage of the iPhone. The geekiest of Estate Agents will notice that the SMS coaster includes the letters SMS, whereas the iPhone doesn't. The cost of Apple icons protecting your wood from watermarks? £40!
Estate Agents, are you always filling up your 4GB, 8GB or 16GB USB/memory sticks? With the Kingston DataTraveler 310, this could be almost impossible to achieve. The DataTraveler 310 has a whopping 256GB, which is much more than many older computers. Again this product is not cheap. The DataTraveler 310 will set Estate Agents back from just over £600.


Project type/s: Expedition for research and documentation of medieval Balkan churches affiliated with a field school.
BHF contribution: Documentation and research of 12 Late Medieval churches, including …………. Involvement of 20 team members and visiting specialists and more than 80 volunteers – students; The churches have been ……….
Description: "Fresco-Hunting" Photo Research Expedition to Medieval Balkan Churches is among the oldest Balkan Heritage Foundation's projects and is fully funded by BHF. It aims at creating record of abandoned medieval churches/chapels and their frescoes in the Balkans. During the last years Bulgarian, Macedonian, US, Canadian and Japanese specialists and students from all over the world participating in the "Fresco-Hunting" Photo Expedition upgraded the existing database of drawn and photographic records (using various techniques: technical drawing, HD digital photography, photogrammetry, Reflectance Transformation Imaging, etc.) of twelve neglected and endangered churches and chapels in Western Bulgaria.
Our long-term goal is the publication of "Corpus of Medieval Frescoes from Western Bulgaria" and development of further projects to support the sites in danger through conservation, restoration, development/improvement of the site's management and fund-raising as well as inclusion of other Balkan territories in the project's exploration focus. Our work raised the public awareness and some ecclesiastical edifices were partly conserved. Article about one of them – Zimevitsa is already published and articles about several others are on a row. Unfortunately the number of these monuments has sadly been permanently decreasing due to the lack of effort to preserve and protect them from weather damage and vandalism.


Orders are placed through our online shop. You can see all available items by clicking on the "Shop" link at the top of the page. We accept all major credit cards and Paypal.
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All orders are shipped according to the method that the customer selects at checkout. For additional information about time in transit please see the website of the carrier of your choice. Shipping charges are based on the actual cost of shipping as charged by the method and carrier selected. In the case that shipping costs less than the amount estimated at checkout the customer will be refunded the difference.
If you suspect your package is lost or have questions about the status of your order please contact us at info@greenbeepatterns.com.
We do not accept returns. If there is an error or mistake with your order please contact us and we will correct it.
To set up a wholesale account please fill out this form. We will get back to you asap.
Only paper patterns are available for wholesale order. Wholesale rate is 50% the item retail price.
All orders should be placed through the online Wholesale shop and must be pre-paid at checkout. There is no minimum order.
Free shipping within the USA. For international orders we recommend USPS.
Have more questions? Send us an email at info@greenbeepatterns.com.


Oil paintings that are available for sale are shown as available in the gallery. You can commission an oil painting of anything you wish. Call 1.754.1278 for information and pricing.
All prints are created from Feldmesser's original oil paintings. Click on any image to view it larger. Prints can be purchased either on Hahnemuhle German Etching Paper or on Fine Art Canvas. Prints are available in different sizes. All are signed and numbered limited editions of 250 except for the smallest-sized matted prints. These are all signed open editions and are shipped matted and ready to be placed in a standard-sized frame. The canvas gicleé prints are Gallery Wrapped, where the canvas is wrapped around the sides of the stretcher frame and are printed in a coordinating color to the print. Contact Alan if you are interested in purchasing one of his available oil paintings, if you want to commission a painting, or if you have any questions about his work, at this toll-free number: 1.754.200.1art (1.754.200.1278). Thank you.
During this past show season, the artist, Alan Feldmesser, was approached by many customers to create shirts with his images. Here is his first collection of shirts. Click on each image to see the details. Look for more designs coming soon!
Now offering Smart Phonecases, Home Décor and greeting cards, amongst many other items, all embellished with Alan Feldmesser's oil paintings.


"The Inn on the Beach"
Golden sand, rock pools, sailing, surfing. The stars at night, hidden valleys, Cornish pasties, the setting sun & Cornwall's coastline. Fresh fish, local real ale & cider, Cornish cream. Coves & creeks, the sound of silence & the smell of the sea.
Cornwall is unique & we think that the Rashleigh Inn & the beautiful haven of Polkerris is about as Cornish as you can get - so next time you're down this way - give us a visit. You won't regret it.
The Rashleigh Inn set between the village of Par & the historic port of Fowey is only 3 miles from the Eden Project & the Luxulyan Valley.
BAR OPEN 11.00 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Listed in the Guardian One of the Best 200 pubs in England 2009.


Cards With A Value of 10 or Less - If your card has a value of 10 or less, SVM will refund the value of your card upon request.
Already a card member?Downloads more resources energy is at the heart of everything.Gift Card Returns Refunds, view Card Balance Online, a Gift For Everyone.The Chevron and/or Texaco Techron Advantage Cards are issued by Synchrony Bank and are not an obligation of Chevron.S.A.Convenience and Ease of Use, cards can be used to pay at the pump.There is no need to mail in your card(s).Use the card inside for all authorized convenience store items and automotive products and services.Chevron and Texaco Business Cards, caltex StarCard for Fleets gift cards.Chevron and Texaco gift cards, la car show discount coupons caltex StarCash, chevron, the Chevron hallmark, texaco, the Star T logo, caltex and techron are registered trademarks of Chevron Intellectual Property LLC.The Universal Business MasterCard is issued by Regions Bank, pursuant to a license by MasterCard International Incorporated.Take me there, the Chevron and/or Texaco Techron Advantage Credit Card is issued by Synchrony Bank.
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The Visa card is issued by Synchrony Bank pursuant to a license from Visa.S.A.


text:
Q: Time complexity of the function multiset_permutations from sympy.utilities.iterables I´d like to know the time complexity of the function multiset_permutations from scipy.
We could use this function as:
from sympy.utilities.iterables import multiset_permutations
from sympy import factorial
[''.join(i) for i in multiset_permutations('aab')]

I´d like to know the time complexity of using this function in comparison to the time complexity of the function permutations from intertools.
I have researched about it in the documentation, but I could not find it.

A: Checking the source code of the sympy 1.11 multiset_permutations.
We can see that if you have all unique elements it yelds from permutations imported from itertools.
So for that case the complexity is the same, but multiset_permutations it will add an overhead.
If we take instance the permutations of abcdegfhij, it takes ~300ms with itertools.permutations, ~700ms with multiset_permutations.
However permutations does a lot more work. Taking the reference implementation from the docs.
def ref_permutations(iterable, r=None):
    # permutations('ABCD', 2) --> AB AC AD BA BC BD CA CB CD DA DB DC
    # permutations(range(3)) --> 012 021 102 120 201 210
    pool = tuple(iterable)
    n = len(pool)
    r = n if r is None else r
    if r > n:
        return
    indices = list(range(n))
    cycles = list(range(n, n-r, -1))
    yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices[:r])
    while n:
        for i in reversed(range(r)):
            cycles[i] -= 1
            if cycles[i] == 0:
                indices[i:] = indices[i+1:] + indices[i:i+1]
                cycles[i] = n - i
            else:
                j = cycles[i]
                indices[i], indices[-j] = indices[-j], indices[i]
                yield tuple(pool[i] for i in indices[:r])
                break
        else:
            return

It is already 40 times slower than the actual itertools.permutations.
If you have a list of the frequency of each element, i.e. n = list(collections.Counter(x).values()) the complexity for multiset_permutations is O(factorial(sum(n)) / prod(factorial(ni) for ni in n)), while the permutation is O(factorial(sum(n)), if sum(1 for _ in itertools.product(x)) / sum(1 for _ in multiset_permutations(x)) > 100 then multiset_permutations should be faster.
But be aware that it the complexity is at least the factorial of the number of distinct elements. If that gets to 15 you are in serious trouble.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Chicago's first black, gay, female mayor who will take office in May says that she would welcome shipments of illegals if the Trump administration were to send them to the Windy City.
Lightfoot's exclamation was in response to a tweet by President Donald Trump, who said he agreed with the idea of sending busloads of illegals to so-called sanctuary cities.
"We have people who are routinely coming to this city. We have a whole infrastructure that's built up to make sure that their rights are protected while the city of Chicago has, under the current administration, provided funding for various groups to help support asylum seekers and other people that are going through the immigration court system. I expect it will continue, if not expand upon, those kinds of resources," the first-time elected official told CNN.
Lightfoot added that people need to take President Trump for what he is and not jump in outrage every time he makes a provocative tweet.
"What I'm saying is I don't think we should take the bait every time the president puts out a provocative tweet. What I think we need to do is make sure that we are being very clear and speaking our values," Lightfoot said.
She continued: "We are a city that is a sanctuary city. We have immigrants from all over the world who call Chicago their home. They'll continue to do that, and we're going to continue to make sure that this is truly a welcoming community for those immigrants, and we want them to come to the city of Chicago," the newly elected mayor concluded.
But the Windy City could ill afford any large number of illegals. The city already has a nearly $250 million budget shortfall, and the city already leads the nation in the number of productive citizens moving out to other states. A flood of illegals who would need public assistance would further burden an already overstretched city.


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text:
19 April 2019 / speaking
Fortune 500, innovation, and empowering a new workforce
Last week, I had the opportunity to attend and speak briefly at the 2019 Corporate Innovation Summit at 1871. This was a meeting of forward-thinking minds from Fortune 500 companies including eTrade, Mars Wrigley, Exelon, and more. The goal was to share ideas on how to extend innovation beyond experimentation — into empowering everyone in large organizations to build new products, collaborate better with startups, and drive results company-wide.
Previously as GM of OkCupidLabs (part of Match.com), my role was similar to most of the attendees at this summit. Our goal at OkCupidLabs was to build new businesses from the ground up. This included discovering and investigate trends, tools, and processes that would help make innovation more accessible to the greater organization.
In general, my advice to most innovation teams generally follows the same patterns I advise to most startups:
1. Start Small
We've all heard this advice when applied to startups building their products: start with an MVP. But for anyone who's worked in a larger organization, it won't come as a surprise that starting small is actually much harder than it should be. Most other endeavors in large organizations are, well, large — more team, more capital, more stakeholders, and bigger targets. It can feel hard to find a project, product, or business that will move the needle for the greater enterprise.
But organizations that focus on smaller endeavors generally see more success, and they see success faster. Take Walmart, for example, which is now building targetted mobile apps for small functions inside of their supply chain.
Driving repeat success there has been about focusing on a small team/function within the org, and making their jobs more efficient. There are now dedicated apps for price checks, supply monitoring, availability, etc. By keeping the use cases confined to specific functions, they can build and iterate far more rapidly.
The secret is that any one of these apps likely doesn't move much of the needle by itself for the greater organization. But the portfolio of all of these apps, when viewed together, has an enormous impact. Instead of trying to find the grand endeavor to re-invent the corporation, try to find the problem that can be solved this week—then do that every week, and before you know it you'll have made a big impact.
2. Solicit Feedback Regularly
Another challenge inside larger organizations is that innovation groups and products can be siloed into "labs" organizations where the team builds interesting and innovative new products and businesses, that unfortunately sometimes never see the light of day. During the summit, a number of organizations discussed how, instead of creating siloed skunkworks, they are now actively and regularly involving business leaders from around the organization from the very beginning — and pairing internal feedback from stakeholders with external feedback from users and customers along the way.
This is absolutely critical for innovation groups that need to transition projects to other departments or divisions when they reach a growth phase. Without buy-in and assistance from the start, these orgs may find that their internal startups have no "acquirers" in the rest of the business, right when they are generating some success. That's probably the worst type of internal failure, when you have something with potential, but it falls by the wayside because it doesnt have a planned transition partner elsewhere in the organization.
My advice is to do this in the same way that startups solicit, collect, and measure feedback from their users and investors. Treat these stakeholders in the rest of the business as investors and advisors to the newco, and you'll go far. Use both qualitative and quantitative methods of feedback gathering, and report back results. Be rigorous about getting to the "Why" behind feedback given, then record that feedback and report back to those involved in moving the ball forward.
3. Empower Everyone To Be A Creator
Another trend I want to highlight at the summit is the ongoing shift in technology adoption and comfort levels for most of the younger generations of new employees. There is a wave of people, now in their 20s and 30s, who have grown up using software, the internet, mobile applications, and data in their everyday lives. They're used to complicated queries, linking data together, and building something visually. They've done it for side projects, for community endeavors, and for fun.
As Elad Gil eloquently states in his post about 2019 trends (emphasis mine):
... the average knowledge worker has gotten more savvy and hands on. A lot more people have grown up with a computer in the home, have taken a CS class in college (now the most popular major at a number of universities), or gone to a coding bootcamp or school like Lambda School. Not all people exposed to CS end will as full-fledged developers. But on average, people are more savvy about elements of software and simple code. People are more willing to build things if they have simple tools available.
The good news is that startups (including us at Draftbit) are building these tools to make it possible for everyone to create. Tools that make it possible to design, prototype, launch, and grow things like websites, apps, stores, and internal tools can now be built visually and in the cloud, without engineers. These same projects would traditionally have required teams of engineers and hundreds of thousands of dollars to create, now take a few people and hundreds of dollars to launch.
I want to highlight some of my favorite tools in this space that organizations can start using today to build and iterate without engineers.
Webflow - Build advanced websites and ecommerce visually. Start with a template or build from scratch.
Carrd - Build simple one-page sites and landing pages in minutes. Very simple and powerful.
Airtable - A tool to build and display data visually. Imagine if Excel and Relational Databases had a child – that's what Airtable is! Very powerful.
Retool – Build internal web apps with your existing data. Simple and powerful.
Zapier – Connect cloud services together with logic and routing to build basic applications.
Draftbit – Build mobile apps visually. We're in beta right now, and we'd love to have you try it.
A Faster Future
By embracing the trends and adopting some new tools, innovation groups and innovative people can build new products and businesses, regardless of their organization size. Take note, because if your organization isnt working in this fashion, other orgs are and they're already building.
Photo by Victoria Messina/1871
Draftbit talk at Corporate Innovation Summit Chicago 2019 from Draftbit
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Brian Luerssen
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Draftbit 101
Draftbit 101: How to build your first Screen
To kick off our new Draftbit 101 series, let's walk through how to create your first Screen. We'll cover specific steps and a few layout tips for various app common app components.
David Chartier
Introducing Draftbit
Our dream is to enable anyone to build high quality mobile apps in a matter of minutes. And do it without writing code, unless you want to. As we roll out Draftbit, we're focused on providing these tools to enable the next wave of mobile apps.
Draftbit
Draftbit © 2019


Many people believe that August signals an annual decline in the housing activity, with the idea that school starts in September and everyone has made their move. Keep in mind not all buyers and sellers have children. Historically as as temps decline so does the real estate market. This year with incredibly low inventory the competition for the few homes that come on the market is expected to continue to lead to multiple offer scenarios for the available listings. Smart sellers know that their houses can be sold at any time. Buyers are learning that they have to be ready to pounce whenever a property of interest hits the market. The market could stay active right through the holidays because of the disequilibrium between pent up demand from buyers and lack of inventory.
The good news...Prices continue to rise and the Median Sales Price increased 2.8 percent to $205,000, highest it's been since 2008. Days on Market was down 33.9 percent to 37 days. Not a record but very close. Sellers should be encouraged the Months Supply of Inventory is down 44.8% from last August with a 3.2 month supply of homes available.
The not so good news... New Listings were down by 8.2 % to 954 at the same time that Pending Sales were up 6.6 percent to 792.
There have been no major changes in the economy that affect housing. Factors that normally move the housing market such as wage growth, unemployment and mortgage rates have been stable through the summer.


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Stay safe with this classic bicycle bell.Not intended for children under the age of 14.
Just a 2"x3" sticker, sporting the logo of your favorite hardware store!
Slap this MH on your bumper to represent your local love for the hardware store!
16 ounce pint glass featuring the logo of Boulder's Favorite Everything Store, McGuckin Hardware. Clear glass, green logo, dishwasher safe.
The perfect 2019 Boulder wall calendar for fans near and far of our fair city!
Celebrating 75 years of the Boulder Historical Society, now operating as the Museum of Boulder. Founded in October of 1944, the Museum provides engaging experiences that celebrate the spirit of the Boulder region. Enjoy a slice of Boulder history from the carefully curated collections all year long with this 20-month calendar!
This calendar is the product of a collaboration between the Museum of Boulder and McGuckin Hardware of Boulder, Colorado. All proceeds from the sale of this calendar will benefit the Museum of Boulder.


Featuring intricate beaded and mesh embellishment at the neckline and cut out detailing on the sleeves, this chocolate brown Luisa Viola dress is an elegant choice. Team with heeled tan sandals for a polished look.
Chocolate brown jersey dress with embellished neckline. 95% Viscose, 5% Elastane. Cool Hand Wash.


Today's post is one I have been wanting to share for, well, about a year now! I'm anxious to publish it for some reason, but I'm doing it to pay it forward to all the women out there who are carefully listening to countless birth stories, waiting for their own to come. I watched so many birth stories while pregnant and I'm so grateful to everyone who shared their story before me.
Not included in the video are my biggest takeaways from the experience of pregnancy and delivery. I plan to read these back to myself if/when I'm preparing for my next labor and delivery experience.
Dealing with doctors, nurses, and hospitals can leave you feeling like you're not in the drivers seat and more like you're strapped onto the roof of the car barreling down the highway.
The truth of the matter is they work for you. Of course you're paying for their expertise and guidance, but decisions are ultimately yours - even when they aren't presented that way. Do your research, know what you're talking about, and let them know that you're not just along for the ride.
In their defense most patients aren't informed and are happy to let them be in control, but that doesn't mean you have to do that! Our Bradley Method instructor made a great point - if you're in the hospital and something needs to be done (like in an emergency situation), they're just going to do it. If they're telling you about it first, that means there is time for you to ask questions and work together to arrive at the best next step for you.
This is your time to step up to the plate as a mama bear! It sounds so obvious but something that struck me during one of my many doctor visits during pregnancy was that the doctor only knows as much as you tell them. And even if you told them something before, the chances they actually remember are slim - think how many people they see between your visits!
So if you feel like something is not right - speak the heck up. Don't take no for an answer, be that slightly annoying person (all the doctors reading this are cringing), but you know there's truth to "the squeaky wheel gets the grease".
Your maternal instincts begin when your baby is still in the womb, it can be a weird feeling at first to go with your gut, but hone those skills as you will need them when your little one arrives and has no way to communicate with you while you're trying to keep him/her alive!
And not just so you can get your knees up by your ears ;) Though physical flexibility does come in handy for giving birth, mental and emotional flexibility are a must.
Let's face it - your plans fly out the window the second that bundle of joy enters the world, if not sooner. Being flexible applies in so many ways but in this case I'm saying it in reference to your birth plan.
I'm a huge advocate for a birth plan. To me it's the first sign to your medical team that you've done your research and know what you'd prefer to happen. But I'm also a huge advocate for knowing that things may not go according to plan. Nothing makes a L&D nurse happier then when you hand them a birth plan while also telling them you know it'll be more of a guide than actual rules (name that movie ;)).
Just remember all that matters at the end of the day is that you and your baby are healthy, and you should be prepared to do whatever you have to in order for that to happen, birth plan or not.
I'd love to know if you have any big lessons learned from your own experience! Please share them with me in the comments. And without further ado, see the video below for Avery's birth story!
If you'd prefer to read over watching the video, scroll down for my loose transcript that I wrote in preparation for filming today's video post.
Oh gosh I don't even know where to begin! My sweet baby girl is a year old! I always wanted to share my birth story because as a first-time pregnant lady I was obsessed with reading every one I could so I could try to figure out what it would be like. Well, let me tell you, nothing will prepare you for giving birth!
Don't think for a second that because this happened a year ago this post won't be accurate because I wrote everything down right after she was born. I just never got around to sharing it formally, but her first birthday seemed like a good time to do so.
Avery was born on a Monday but the story begins on the Saturday before. My entire pregnancy I was so worried about the end of pregnancy - being huge and miserable and just waiting on baby. My mom had to be induced at over 41 weeks with me so that's where I got the idea from. So I had saved some tasks for January - I'd already be in the post holiday slump plus all the pregnancy stuff so I knew I'd need something to keep me occupied!
That Saturday I made a list and told Brian we probably needed to get moving on everything as we were exactly a month out from my due date. So he got going on installing the car seat while I did all her laundry. We finished up organizing her room and went shopping for hospital bag and postpartum necessities. I was so exhausted by the end of the day that I couldn't deal with actually packing the hospital bag, "I'll do it tomorrow" I thought.
When we finally laid down in bed it was almost 11 o'clock. When I was preggo I was always so tired so whenever I laid my head down I fell into a deep sleep instantly - it was honestly so weird! Every day I'd wake up like "what year is it?!" haha! So when I woke up an hour later I wasn't sure if I'd slept all night or what was going on - but I quickly realized I was wet and woke Brian up immediately. My water had broken!
I called the doctor who said we should make our way in and that if my water in fact had broken (there was no denying it HAD) we would be having a baby. To say the least I was freaked out. Remember I thought I was going to go to 42 weeks - I was currently 35. I was mostly worried about having a premature baby and really scared that she would be okay coming so soon.
We both kicked into gear running around the house to pack that dang hospital bag! It was technically "tomorrow" (Sunday) but I never thought I'd be packing it at 1AM! If I had to do it all again knowing what I know now I would have leisurely packed the bag and gone back to sleep. You'll see by the end of the story that there was no hurry to get to the hospital. But as a first time mom who never expected her water to break at all - you just do what you gotta do in the moment.
Fast forward to arriving at the hospital, going through triage, and finally getting into a L&D room around 6AM (told you, no rush). I was 1cm dilated and 50% effaced which if you know anything about pregnancy/birth you know that is nothing! There's women walking around at 3cm dilated and 100% effaced for weeks at the end of their pregnancies.
I had made the decision about halfway through my pregnancy that I wanted to try natural birth. Brian and I had attended Bradley Method classes for 10 weeks, read all the books, and done all the preparations you can think of. I always planned to be flexible with my birth plan, but my goal was for natural. So when we got to L&D and they said they were starting pitocin we said "hold up".
With my water breaking, my doctor said the baby had to be out within 24hrs (this is pretty standard) so we were working against the clock, but they had me on fluids and antibiotics so I wanted to give progressing on my own a go. So we started walking the halls, I wasn't feeling anything still, and after 3 hours I still hadn't progressed.
We had to fight them again on the pitocin, which is something the Bradley Method empowered us to do. YOU have the right to YOUR body and YOUR birth plan. Obviously I trusted my doctor but she was never super supportive of my natural birth plan, so I knew I would have to work to achieve it.
They agreed to do a cervix softener instead, which was so painful being put in! But it worked quickly and the contractions started shortly after. When it fell out around 4PM, I was at 5cm! I was sooo happy that I was progressing! We were able to have another few hours to see what happened, by this point I was in a LOT of pain. The contractions were really hard and we were using every trick in the book to get through them - standing, squatting, birthing ball, getting in the shower, etc. Brian was such an amazing coach! I wouldn't have gotten through it without him!
When it was time to check me again I was still at 5cm. My body just wasn't ready to be in labor despite my water breaking. At that point it had been 22 hours since my water broke and (not counting the 1 hour of sleep we got on Saturday night) almost 48 hours since either of us had slept. With that, there was no getting out of the pitocin. I was devastated, but that's the thing - no matter how much you prepare - you can't control what is going to happen.
Being so exhausted, I ultimately went ahead with an epidural. Things kind of shifted from achieving a natural birth to avoiding a c-section, and getting pitocin meant it wasn't a "drug-free" natural birth anyways. I needed some relief from the pain so I could rest before it was time to push.
After surviving the epidural (I was terrified!) and getting it to start working on both sides of my body (contractions in half your body are so fun! Not!) I was finally able to rest for a couple hours. When the nurse came back to check on me, I was at 10cm! She was shocked which made us feel shocked too. They called the doctor to come in (poor thing, it was 2AM!) and had me start pushing.
When the doctor arrived the whole room changed! There were so many people (they had a neo-natal team on stand-by since she was so early), spotlights on my spread apart legs (again, so fun!) and it was just a whirlwind. I pushed for about 30 minutes and she was here! 3:31AM - after 27 hours of labor and being awake for 51 hours, my baby girl was here and perfectly healthy!
Honestly the rest of that day is a bit of a blur for me. It was crazy town of people coming into our room, trying to figure out breastfeeding, and dealing with my own recovery and lack of sleep. My biggest regret is not having a video of it all to remember every little detail, but then again maybe it's best not to clearly remember every detail if you know what I mean!
To this day we still are just so thankful that despite being so early she was completely healthy and the only thing we had to deal with was a little jaundice, something full term babies can have. I don't know why my water broke - my doctor doesn't either, she said it can just happen sometimes. If you're thinking my due date could have been off, it definitely was not. I'll give it a week of wiggle room but we were actively trying to get pregnant which meant tracking my cycle to a tee. I knew what the due date would be before I ever went to the doctor when I first found out I was pregnant.
I guess some things are just meant to be a mystery! Whatever the reason, I got four extra weeks with my baby instead of having to wait for her while getting larger and more uncomfortable on the daily. A trade I was happy to make!


text:
Vincent Jean Albert (* 1. Januar 1904; † 31. Oktober 1976 in Caracas) war ein französischer Karambolagespieler, Welt- und Europameister im Cadre und anderen Disziplinen.

Karriere
Albert gehörte zu den Allround-Talenten im Karambolage. Während andere Spieler sich auf eine oder maximal zwei Disziplinen festlegten, so spielte er nicht nur Freien Partie und Cadre, sondern war auch Weltmeister im Kunststoß von 1933–1935 und Einband. Im Dreiband gewann er 1934 eine Bronzemedaille bei der WM in Barcelona. Seine erste Medaille (Bronze) bei Weltmeisterschaften gewann er bereits 1933 in der Freien Partie, nachdem er im Jahr zuvor schon bei der Europameisterschaft die Goldmedaille im Cadre 45/1 gewonnen hatte. 15 Jahre später, 1947, gewann er in dieser Disziplin sein letztes internationales Turnier im heimischen Montpellier mit einer Silbermedaille.

Zu seinen stärksten Konkurrenten im Kampf um Gold zählten der Ägypter Edmond Soussa und der Belgier Théo Moons.

Sonstiges

Wie zu der Zeit üblich, hatten Spieler oft noch einen Posten bei Verbänden inne. Albert war Anfang der 1930er-Jahre Schatzmeister des Amateur-Weltverbandes "Union Internationale des Fédération d'Amateurs de Billard" (UIFAB).

Erfolge
 Freie-Partie-Weltmeisterschaft:  1934, 1935, 1938 •  1933
 Cadre-45/1-Weltmeisterschaft:  1934, 1937
 Cadre-45/2-Weltmeisterschaft:  1934, 1935 •
 Cadre-71/2-Weltmeisterschaft:  1937
 Einband-Weltmeisterschaft:  1934 •  1935
 Dreiband-Weltmeisterschaft:  1934
 Fünfkampf-Weltmeisterschaft:  1938 •  1934, 1935
 Billard-Artistique-Weltmeisterschaft:  1933, 1934, 1935
 Cadre-45/1-Europameisterschaft:  1932 •  1947
 Cadre-45/1-Europameisterschaft:  1935
 Französische Dreiband-Meisterschaft:  1934
Quellen:

Einzelnachweise

Weltmeister (Karambolage)
Europameister (Karambolage)
Karambolagespieler (Frankreich)
Billardfunktionär (Frankreich)
Franzose
Geboren 1904
Gestorben 1976
Mann
Französischer Meister (Karambolage)