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Japanese service brings manga characters to life with 3D printing
Okuyuki
With its established culture of manga and animation, many people here in Japan are fans of collecting figures of their favorite characters. Recently a new crowd-funding platform was launched here, dedicated to creating character figures according to user votes. It's called Okuyuki, which roughly means 'depth'.
On the Okuyuki platform, all that a user needs to do is upload an image of their illustration. By promoting his or her Okuyuki project to fans, they enlist the support of others to help get their project created. Once there are enough supporters for a project, Okuyuki takes over. It creates the 3D data, makes the figure, and then ships the end product. If and when a project meets its funding goal, the original designer receives 10% of sales from Okuyuki.
Of the five projects currently running on the platform, only one has succeeded in gaining any supporters, specifically this character, which is available for 25,000 yen (or about $254).
Okuyuki is provided by Japanese company Emotional Brains. It's a clever idea, and we hope to see more projects on there soon!
Japanese company to launch data sharing platform for 3D printing
Japan's Toyro brings life insurance online, raises funds from CyberAgent Ventures
Japan brings brilliant colored designs to boring paper receipts
After billion dollar deal, Supercell's Hay Day becomes Japan's top game
gungho entertainment
The Japanese mobile game market is a lucrative one, capable of making game publishers the world over salivate. But it is rarely an easy space to break into. Finland's Supercell has managed to find a loophole of sorts though, collaborating with GungHo Entertainment to make Clash of Clans a hit. And now, just after news of $1.5 billion in investment from SoftBank and GungHo, the company's other prominent title Hay Day is finding success in Japan, becoming as the top free app last Friday (see chart below) after the Japanese version hit the App Store. Hay Day has also been spotlighted in the 'featured' section of the Japanese App Store, and it has been heavily promoted by the folks over at Japanese app review site AppBank as well. Readers may recall that Supercell also credited part of the success of Clash of Clans to AppBank's promotional efforts as well. The GungHo/Supercell partnership is intended to be a two-way street, so it will be interesting to see how Supercell can help promote GungHo's game titles in European and North American markets. Puzzle & Dragons just launched in the UK market on October 16, so lets wait and see what kind of…
The Japanese mobile game market is a lucrative one, capable of making game publishers the world over salivate. But it is rarely an easy space to break into.
Finland's Supercell has managed to find a loophole of sorts though, collaborating with GungHo Entertainment to make Clash of Clans a hit. And now, just after news of $1.5 billion in investment from SoftBank and GungHo, the company's other prominent title Hay Day is finding success in Japan, becoming as the top free app last Friday (see chart below) after the Japanese version hit the App Store.
Hay Day has also been spotlighted in the 'featured' section of the Japanese App Store, and it has been heavily promoted by the folks over at Japanese app review site AppBank as well. Readers may recall that Supercell also credited part of the success of Clash of Clans to AppBank's promotional efforts as well.
The GungHo/Supercell partnership is intended to be a two-way street, so it will be interesting to see how Supercell can help promote GungHo's game titles in European and North American markets. Puzzle & Dragons just launched in the UK market on October 16, so lets wait and see what kind of assistance Supercell can provide, and how it is received by gamers there.
Supercell credits two key partners in bringing Clash of Clans to Japanese audiences
Two mobile money makers team up: GungHo and Supercell announce in-game collaboration
Clash of Clans is now Japan's top free app, after Puzzle & Dragons collaboration goes live
Honda's popular video app RoadMovies surpasses 3M downloads
RoadMovies
Back in August we featured Honda's mobile video app RoadMovies, which at the time was the top-ranked photo app in Japan. Ever since then the app has continued to do well in its home market in Japan, but also in South Korea too, where it has been a top–5 mainstay in the iOS photo category. Just recently it was announced that RoadMovies has surpassed the 3 million downloads milestone, this according to Nikkei Business. Personally, I'm a big fan of the app, and I still use it regularly. Honda's original intention may have been for people to use their app to document road trips (especially using the interval camera feature), but my guess is that people are using it for all kinds of purposes. I'm using it to make short home movies of my baby, for example. To summarize what the application does, it allows you to record many short clips that can then be conjoined to make a 24-second video with filter effects and right-free background music applied. As you can see in the sample video below (posted to YouTube), the result is beautifully retro and fun. If you'd like to give RoadMovies a try, you can get it…
Back in August we featured Honda's mobile video app RoadMovies, which at the time was the top-ranked photo app in Japan. Ever since then the app has continued to do well in its home market in Japan, but also in South Korea too, where it has been a top–5 mainstay in the iOS photo category.
Just recently it was announced that RoadMovies has surpassed the 3 million downloads milestone, this according to Nikkei Business. Personally, I'm a big fan of the app, and I still use it regularly. Honda's original intention may have been for people to use their app to document road trips (especially using the interval camera feature), but my guess is that people are using it for all kinds of purposes. I'm using it to make short home movies of my baby, for example.
To summarize what the application does, it allows you to record many short clips that can then be conjoined to make a 24-second video with filter effects and right-free background music applied. As you can see in the sample video below (posted to YouTube), the result is beautifully retro and fun.
If you'd like to give RoadMovies a try, you can get it for free from the App Store.
RoadMovies creates cool retro videos, is now Japan's top iPhone app
With 4 million downloads for iPhone, popular Japanese collage app hits Android [Video]
Japan's SlideStory movie maker app off to a hot start
Japanese corporate communication platform Talknote raises $2 million
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Talknote, the startup behind the corporate communication platform of the same name, announced today it has raised 200 million yen (approximately $2 million) from Japanese investment company Lead Capital Management. Prior to this funding, it had raised an undisclosed sum of investment from CyberAgent Ventures back in March of 2012. The platform was initially launched as an instant messaging tool for restaurants back in February of 2010, but switched to become a corporate communication platform for businesses in general back in June of 2011. It had over 5,000 corporate users as of last March, but since then its growth has accelerated surpassing 10,000 accounts this month (see chart below). We asked the Talknote founder and CEO, Haruo Koike, about their possible exit options, and he explained: We obviously aim for an IPO exit. A merger or acquisition will be not included in our options. Google Apps has 5 million corporate users worldwide, and Kanjo Bugyo (Japan's dominant corporate accounting software) has 500,000 users. … This space is fiercely competitive and not many platforms can survive. But I think the ones that stand out can grow to such a level. The company has plans…
Tokyo-based Talknote, the startup behind the corporate communication platform of the same name, announced today it has raised 200 million yen (approximately $2 million) from Japanese investment company Lead Capital Management. Prior to this funding, it had raised an undisclosed sum of investment from CyberAgent Ventures back in March of 2012.
The platform was initially launched as an instant messaging tool for restaurants back in February of 2010, but switched to become a corporate communication platform for businesses in general back in June of 2011. It had over 5,000 corporate users as of last March, but since then its growth has accelerated surpassing 10,000 accounts this month (see chart below).
We asked the Talknote founder and CEO, Haruo Koike, about their possible exit options, and he explained:
We obviously aim for an IPO exit. A merger or acquisition will be not included in our options. Google Apps has 5 million corporate users worldwide, and Kanjo Bugyo (Japan's dominant corporate accounting software) has 500,000 users. … This space is fiercely competitive and not many platforms can survive. But I think the ones that stand out can grow to such a level.
The company has plans to enhance its messaging feature enabling users to communicate with their clients as well as their colleagues. He added:
We think a communication platform for colleagues is the only first step of our concept. We will introduce an API and encourage other developers to integrate it with their systems. For example, this may enable users to share their daily sales updates with their employees, which can be done automatically every day.
Talknote is expecting to acquire 100,000 corporate users in the next three years.
Japanese corporate communication platform Talknote has more than 5,000 clients
Co-work: A new corporate communication tool from Tokyo-based GaiaX
Japan's home recommendation platform Ietty raises $1.9 million
Asoview partners with Yahoo Japan, proposes more weekend leisure options
Asoview
See the original story in Japanese. In Japan, travel and leisure-related portals have been on the rise recently. Keeping with that trend, Tokyo-based Catarizm, the startup behind online leisure booking site Asoview, announced on Friday that it has partnered with Yahoo Travel, the travel-focused arm of Yahoo Japan. Since its launch back in April of 2013, Asoview has been providing booking services for skydiving, rafting, and other weekend leisure activities. Users are allowed to choose and book an activity out of the 1,500 programs available from the startup's 460 partners. One of the remarkable aspects of the company's launch was the involvement of Takao Ozawa. He is a serial entrepreneur who launched second-hand book and video marketplace EasySeek [1], established a professional baseball team at Rakuten, and invested in many emerging startups like Star Festival, Nanapi, and Tokyo Otaku Mode. He sold his social marketing agency Crocos to Yahoo Japan back in August of 2012, and joined YJ Capital (the investment arm of Yahoo Japan) to help cultivate its investment and e-commerce businesses. The company's CEO, Tomohisa Yamano, reflected on when he met Ozawa for the first time: I knew him through a friend of mine when I launched the website. He…
In Japan, travel and leisure-related portals have been on the rise recently. Keeping with that trend, Tokyo-based Catarizm, the startup behind online leisure booking site Asoview, announced on Friday that it has partnered with Yahoo Travel, the travel-focused arm of Yahoo Japan.
Since its launch back in April of 2013, Asoview has been providing booking services for skydiving, rafting, and other weekend leisure activities. Users are allowed to choose and book an activity out of the 1,500 programs available from the startup's 460 partners.
One of the remarkable aspects of the company's launch was the involvement of Takao Ozawa. He is a serial entrepreneur who launched second-hand book and video marketplace EasySeek [1], established a professional baseball team at Rakuten, and invested in many emerging startups like Star Festival, Nanapi, and Tokyo Otaku Mode. He sold his social marketing agency Crocos to Yahoo Japan back in August of 2012, and joined YJ Capital (the investment arm of Yahoo Japan) to help cultivate its investment and e-commerce businesses.
The company's CEO, Tomohisa Yamano, reflected on when he met Ozawa for the first time:
I knew him through a friend of mine when I launched the website. He seemed to like me, and I joined his community of entrepreneurs. Obviously, I've got lots of advice from him. In the worst case, he said he could help me get employed in the bottled water business if the company failed.
Yamano previously worked with Recruit, a Japanese human resource and web service company which operates various booking sites. There he proposed the concept of a leisure booking site similar to Asoview, but it was not adopted. Perhaps they thought the market was too small or might conflict with their existing businesses.
Helping consumers enjoy their weekends
We featured PlayLife a week ago, which is another service that helps Japanese people find their leisure plans. When asked how his service is different, Yamano explained:
I decided to launch a travel-focused service at first, but it was unlikely to really address a need in the space because of many travel booking sites/apps available. Then I conducted a survey of 100 persons, and I recognized there's a huge demand in helping them find what to do and where to visit at travel destinations.
However, several months ago, there were very few websites focused on niche leisure activities like rafting. Consumers were forced to rely on fragmented information resources such as blogs. Yamano recognized consumers need to find ways to enjoy their weekends, and started preparing for the website by partnering with 37 recreation planners and organizers. He says that their available options vary from outdoor activities to unusual experiences such as rides on a rickshaw, a limo, or a helicopter. He expected to acquire 1,000 orders a season at most, but it has already surpassed 5,000 orders to date.
What Asoview provides is similar to Japanese private lesson marketplace Cyta.jp. While there are many difficulties in a niche, commission-based business, Yamano told us their average sales price is 24,000 yen ($240), higher than that of major hotel booking sites.
Subsequently acquired back in 2002 by Rakuten for about $13 million.↩
Japan's leisure booking site Asoview secures $5 million from travel giant JTB Group, others
Providing booking services for weekend leisure activities, Japanese startup secures $2M
CNet Japan Startup Award nominees: Travel startups Asoview and Trippiece
Smartnews's media channel subscriptions off to a good start in Japan
See the original story in Japanese. SmartNews is one of the many popular news apps available to Japanese consumers these days. The startup (of the same name) announced yesterday that it has surpassed 2 million news subscriptions on its Channel Plus service, which it launched back in May to provide updates from partnering news media [1]. It has partnered with 54 media presences across 36 companies, including blogs, tech media (you can find The Bridge there), business magazines, newspapers, news agencies and more. Channels typically have 100,000 subscribers on average, with Gizmodo Japan boasting the most of all with 180,000 subscribers currently. The company has yet to make its business profitable, but will focus on intensifying partnerships with media companies for now, and then look to monetize later on. Many of our readers may recall that the startup raised $4.2 million from Globis Capital Partners back in August. They recently moved to a new location and rebranded from their previous name of Gocro. They explain that subscriptions are not unique subscribers, since one user could have multiple subscriptions to various media. ↩
SmartNews is one of the many popular news apps available to Japanese consumers these days. The startup (of the same name) announced yesterday that it has surpassed 2 million news subscriptions on its Channel Plus service, which it launched back in May to provide updates from partnering news media [1].
It has partnered with 54 media presences across 36 companies, including blogs, tech media (you can find The Bridge there), business magazines, newspapers, news agencies and more. Channels typically have 100,000 subscribers on average, with Gizmodo Japan boasting the most of all with 180,000 subscribers currently.
The company has yet to make its business profitable, but will focus on intensifying partnerships with media companies for now, and then look to monetize later on. Many of our readers may recall that the startup raised $4.2 million from Globis Capital Partners back in August. They recently moved to a new location and rebranded from their previous name of Gocro.
They explain that subscriptions are not unique subscribers, since one user could have multiple subscriptions to various media. ↩
Japan's news curation app SmartNews raises $35M from Gree, Atomico, and others
Japan's curated news reader app SmartNews launches in US
Japan's SmartNews invites former WSJ Online executive on board, poised for US expansion


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Airport Health and Safety COVID-19 World Business Partners
Written by Dr. Simone Rozzi, Senior Human Factors and Safety Expert, Egis
As the world moves towards the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, airports must put in place effective virus diffusion control measures if they want to stay competitive and reassure both passengers and staff. COVID-19 has increased the perception of health-related risks associated with travelling.
Equally, airport staff may be hesitant to return to work and unable to perform their roles efficiently without confidence that adequate measures are in place – especially with the risk that colleagues may themselves fall ill or need to self-isolate.
The outbreak has increased awareness of how fast a virus can spread through transport networks, and of the role of airports as important gateways/guardians that can help prevent diffusion into the wider community. It seems inevitable that, just as airports prioritise safety and cybersecurity in their planning and delivery, they will now be prioritising biosafety too. And biosafety needs to move beyond plant/animal pests and disease, to address those carried by humans.
This article discusses a range of preventive measures that are available to airport decision makers to prepare for the "new normal" airport experience, a new normal that will have to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 contagion. The article will conclude by proposing an approach to identify the most cost-effective way forward.
1. Enhanced passenger flow management
In the absence of a vaccine or "health passports", airports have to invest in enhanced passenger flow management. Just as tower control ensures safe separations between aircraft, airports may want to promote "safe separations" between passengers to maintain social distancing (at least where feasible).
As a minimum, this demands:
Regulating access to various areas, based also on active monitoring of present and expected passenger density, to minimize the potential for congestion;
Have stations for people wanting to seek medical assistance related to the presence of the virus—to minimize the risk of having such passenger wandering in the airport in search of help;
Implementing queue management measures. Despite best efforts put into flow management and queue reduction technologies (e.g., mandatory digital check-in, biometric id), queues will still occur in areas naturally prone to congestion, such as check-in, security check, boarding and passport control. Hence attention needs to be paid to these areas. Such measures include for instance, modified layouts or specific floor signage indicating passenger position.
To ensure a smooth passenger experience, staff will have to provide adequate assistance, and be ready to resolve new communications incidents, arising for instance from passengers failing to comply with instructions, perhaps intolerant to the chosen measures, or unfamiliar with local COVID-19 related procedures.
For example, the destination airport may demand different restrictions compared to the home airport; overseas passengers may struggle with translation of notices; discussions between passengers arising due to some individuals not respecting the social distance (perhaps because they are in a hurry) and/or not taking adequate hygienic precautions (e.g. sneezing into the elbow).
2. Increased presence of automation and robots
Airports can rely on increased automation as a means of reducing contact between staff and passengers. Automated information kiosks are already a reality in many airports, and it is likely that these will be enhanced with more Artificial Intelligence and decision making software.
Today there are promising developments using robots for:
Providing information to transit passengers
Collecting baggage from passengers
Security surveillance
Cleaning and disinfecting operations
The crisis could accelerate the trend towards increased airport robotization, a trend that was already expected to peak by 2030 before the COVID-19 outbreak. Besides the intrinsic potential for cost-saving arising from increased automation, these solutions bring the added benefit of protecting both staff and passengers by reducing the need for close interaction between these social groups.
An important element influencing the pace of deployment will be the quality of passenger-robot interaction, as this will impact passenger satisfaction. Thus, the selection of these solutions needs to consider not only the quality of human interaction from an operational perspective, but also from a passenger experience point of view.
3. Improved hand-hygiene management
Hand hygiene has been heavily promoted in the media following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Relevant organisations such as the World Health Organisation as well as Centres for Disease Control and prevention (CDC) consider it as the most efficient and cost-efficient way to limit the spread of diseases. Also, hand hygiene looks intuitively easy and common sense to implement.
Probably what is less well known about handwashing is its contributory role in preventing more general disease transmission.
Dirty hands are a known travel hazard . A recent study shows that on average only 20% of passengers have clean hands at airports. At the same time, a 10% increase in the level of hand cleanliness at all airports worldwide can produce a 24% reduction in the spread of a disease, while a 40% increase would lead to a 69% reduction. This further underlines the role of airports as guardians against a pandemic, as well as the importance of promoting hand hygiene, and maintaining those measures after the current concerns over COVID-19 have abated.
How can airports promote proper handwashing / hand sanitising among passengers and staff? Measures could include:
Increasing capacity for handwashing, i.e., increased presence of (preferably touchless) handwashing stations, so that passengers will have an opportunity to wash their hands without visiting the toilet facilities.
Defining access points where handwashing and/or the use of hand sanitiser is mandatory, for instance before and after disembarking a flight, or before joining the security queue.
Providing reinforcing messages, to increase awareness and promote the right behaviour, for instance by periodically relaying public messages reminding passengers of the importance of washing their hands; having airport staff remind passengers; and by providing educational brochures and posters.
4. Implement contactless technologies
Limiting how many things people have to touch in the airport is an important means to reduce the diffusion of the virus. Both staff and passengers have touch interactions with a variety of physical objects, such as doors, door knobs, touch displays, elevator knobs, etc.
A staff member or a passenger can get infected simply by accidentally touching any of these surfaces, anywhere in the airport. Pathogens picked up by hands can enter the body through eyes, nose and mouths. The touch contamination route can be significantly reduced by introducing contactless solutions, such as:
making use of contactless hand sanitiser;
avoiding contact thermometers for health screening;
making online check-in mandatory;
replacing fingerprint biometric authentication—in use for instance to access business lounge areas, or for staff attendance tracking—with other means.
In the medium term, the need for touchless solutions may accelerate the introduction of biometric security, i.e., solutions aimed at streamlining the passenger experience through the airport by replacing manual verification (and handling) of ID documents with face recognition. With initial applications being trialed already at the start of 2020, i.e., prior to the pandemic, the crisis has highlighted the extra requirements of the face recognition technology to work reliably with masks partially occluding the passenger's face and in absence of fingerprint data.
5. Improved hygiene for frequently touched surfaces
Not everything can go touchless. Hand-to-surface interactions are likely to remain for door knobs, handrails, trays, tables, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to identify where these may occur and adopt adequate protection. For instance, a recent study investigating the accumulation of viruses on airport surfaces found that plastic security trays used at security check carry more pathogens than toilet surfaces.
While this may be the case because people are more careful to limit touch in the latter environment, the key concern is that trays are picked up by many passengers during the day and provide a perfect transmission route. It suffices for one person to contaminate one tray, which in turn is picked up by several passengers, eventually taking the virus with them.
Immediate manual measures to breaking this transmission route call for more frequent cleaning of trays, increased hand hygiene at security screening, as well as changes in security instruction procedures — i.e., passengers may be asked to store personal items such as keys, belts, coins inside their luggage rather than throwing them into the tray. Self-cleaning solutions for security trays include the use of nanotechnology, and of UV-light.
Other high-touch areas include for instance stairs, tables and chairs in restaurants and terminals, as well as children's play areas. Airport cleaning programmes are already catering for an increased frequency of precautionary cleaning and disinfecting operations of these areas. In bars and restaurants fridges, tables and chair surfaces may be disinfected prior to use by another costumer. For specific areas, like toilets, potential solutions include self-sanitising door handles and UV-light delivered by self-driving robots.
6. Airport Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)
Although often neglected, Indoor Air Quality is an important component of passenger experience (and employee performance). Air filled with unpleasant odours and unhealthy contaminants can provide immediate discomfort to most passengers, while making passengers with a weakened immune system like the elderly, or tired travellers, more susceptible to illness—and certainly becoming ill after visiting an airport does not translate into a positive passenger experience.
While, this was already the case in the pre-COVID world, it is expected that the demand for enhanced airport IAQ will increase following the pandemic outbreak and the associated concern for the spread of the virus in indoor environments. Based on local bio-risk analysis, airports might want to consider taking measures to decrease potential airborne contamination and diffusion levels, especially in high passenger concentration areas.
Potential measures include increasing air ventilation rate as well as making use of more advanced technologies such as UV filtration integrated into the airport HVAC system.
7. Airport bio safety assessment
Having discussed some of the potential anti-COVID-19 measures that may be part of the "new normal" airport passenger experience, the question becomes what mix of measures should be implemented at a specific airport? With prescriptive guidance being provided and regularly updated by relevant bodies, airports would benefit from conducting a bio risk assessment. While guidance material from relevant bodies suggests a variety of solutions—changes in procedures, equipment, for example — the choice of which specific (package of) solutions is a local airport decision, as there is no a one-fit-all measure or combination of measures.
Hence, before investing in new expensive equipment and new procedures, airports should conduct a bio risk assessment specific to their environment and operation, so as to identify infection risk for airport staff and passengers across the various airport areas (e.g. check in, security, baggage handling, etc.) and derive a preventive strategy accordingly. A bio risk assessment will permit the analysis of the local transmission routes based on the consideration of specific local conditions—e.g., environment distributions, walking paths, layout, equipment, furniture, etc.—and systematic mapping of critical interactions between passengers, between passengers and staff and equipment, and between these user groups and the environment.
The main benefits of this exercise are:
providing assurance to airport stakeholders that COVID-19 infection hazards in the airport have been systematically identified, prioritised and effectively mitigated, and
providing a rational basis for the cost-effective choice of the mix of control measures.
The effectiveness of the chosen measures should be validated not just from a contamination perspective, but also from a human performance and passenger experience point of view, given the importance of the interaction of the human and their surrounding environment either in favouring or mitigating likely contagion routes. This will avoid for instance focusing overly on the installation of expensive pieces of equipment yet failing to pay attention to develop adequate procedures and training for staff on its use.
Airport Operational Practice – Examples for Managing COVID-19
Recommendations to properly consider the human in the analysis include the following:
Conduct an analysis of contagion routes based on mapping and consideration of local and actual—i.e. not idealised—passenger and staff behaviours and interactions.
Verify/validate procedural measures aimed at staff against their impact on human performance, for instance in terms of feasibility, effectiveness, workload, and potential for human error. For instance you do not want your staff to fail to adequately handle a HVAC (potentially contaminated) filter, or ignore good hand hygiene because unfeasible to do so, or due to local cultural barriers. Indeed poor procedure design and human error compromise the best safeguards set into place and contribute to unnecessary bio risk exposure.
Consider the quality of the communication and signagemeasures. For instance, in relation to hand hygiene management, behavioural change requires some form of communication, and these communications need to be carefully designed to reach different target groups. Whenever new communications and new signage are introduced these should be verified first.
Consider the impact on passenger experience. Passengers may welcome and want to be aware of the protective measures implemented at a given airport but at the same time they expect minimal disruptions in their journey through the airport. So, for instance solutions such as robots must be checked regarding the quality of human-robot interaction (e.g., quality of dialogue, gesture, physical interaction) they can support.
Airports can lead the way
Airports have the opportunity to become a role model for others in the fight against COVID-19 and any future viral threats. They will need support from regulators and other aviation stakeholders to achieve this; and they will need to use many of the tools at their disposal, from new technologies to changes in procedures to achieve the right mix for the health of both the business and the passenger.
This article reviewed some of the measures that are available to airports, and suggested that a risk-based approach should be adopted. This will support a more systematic assessment of the specific bio risk exposure in the local environment and an efficient allocation of limited resources in the choice of the final mix of measures. Measures should be developed using a user-centred approach given the role of human behaviour in promoting or preventing contagion routes.
Dr Simone Rozzi is a Senior Human Factors and Safety Expert at Egis, in Toulouse, France, with more than 15 years of international experience in the ATM and Aviation. He works with ANSPs, aircraft manufacturers and institutions, and has been previously involved in crisis management related projects in the airport domain. Simone holds MSc degrees in Industrial Design and Ergonomics, both from Polytechnic University of Milan, and a PhD in "Human Automation Interaction and Organisational Safety" from Middlesex University. Since 2019 he is a member of the CANSO Human Performance Management Task Force.
The author wishes to acknowledge his colleagues who generously helped with the reviews of earlier versions of this article, in particular Nick Boud, Christine Maddalena, and Olivier Guillet.
The article was provided by a third party and, as such, the views expressed therein and/or presented are their own and may not represent or reflect the views of ACI, its management, Board, or members. Readers should not act on the basis of any information contained in the blog without referring to applicable laws and regulations and/or without appropriate professional advice.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Electronic waste in New Zealand is an environmental issue being addressed by community and government initiatives.

E-waste is the fastest-growing toxic waste stream in New Zealand. Every year, as of 2017, New Zealand generates approximately 99,000 tonnes (20.1 kg per capita) of electronic waste, of which 97,000 tonnes is disposed of in landfills. New Zealand produces among the highest volumes of e-waste in the world while having among the lowest documented recycling rates. It is estimated that by 2030, New Zealand will generate 28.7kg of e-waste per capita without recycling or 27.1kg with recycling initiatives.

In the past, there have been two Government-funded takeback initiatives: the e-Day collections, and the TV takeback campaign. E-waste recycling services provided by local government vary by council with some providing free recycling services, while other councils provide user pays services or rely on the private sector.

New Zealand is the only country in the OECD without a national e-waste scheme. While New Zealand has AS/NZS standards for e-waste recycling practices, these are not mandatory. Government led e-waste recycling initiatives have been historically hampered by a lack of data. In 2020, e-waste was designated as a priority waste stream requiring mandatory product stewardship.

Background
In 2017 the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) noted that New Zealand and Australia produced the highest volumes of e-waste per capita in the world while having amongst the lowest documented rates of recycling. While estimates vary according to methodology, a 2020 UN report estimates New Zealand to produce 19.2kg of e-waste per capita. This is above the OECD average of 17.1kg and more than 2.5 times higher than the world average of 7.3kg. 2% of the generated e-waste is estimated to be diverted from landfill. Approximately 23.9kg of new electronics per capita is put on the New Zealand market every year.

A report produced for the Ministry for the Environment, estimated that New Zealand will generate 28.7 kg of e-waste per capita by 2030 without recycling and 27.1kg with recycling. The largest predicted sources of waste in 2030 without recycling are large household appliances (10.1 kg), information technology and communications equipment (7.1 kg), electrical and electronic tools (3.8kg), consumer equipment (3.6kg) and small household appliances (3.1kg).

Public response
A 2006 survey showed that two-thirds of respondents were willing to pay for safe disposal of electronic waste such as televisions and computers. The remainder were unwilling to pay anything or were unsure. The survey also showed that 85% were willing to take items to a neighbourhood collection point. A survey conducted on eDay in 2008, found that 26% of respondents attended the recycling event because they needed the space taken up by their old devices.

A case study of 249 Whangarei households conducted in 2018, found that participants were split on who to blame for the electronic waste problem.  A slightly larger proportion of households surveyed believed that consumers are not to blame. 57 percent of respondents rated the current national approach to e-waste as poor or very bad.

A 2019 Consumer NZ survey found that 63% of New Zealanders surveyed claimed to be concerned about e-waste.

Takeback initiatives
In the past, there have been a number of temporary and targeted recycling initiatives supported by the New Zealand government including eDay and the TV takeback program. No such national government programs are currently running, however there are a number of initiatives by local governments, communities and the private sector.

eDay

eDay was a nationwide collection programme for electronic waste which ran from 2006 to 2010 in up to 53 different locations. An estimated total of 3200 tonnes of electronic waste were collected and recycled. The 1000 tonnes collected in 2008 equates to approximately 10% of electrical and electronic devices imported in a year and less than 5% of historic electronic waste. The event did not run in 2011 or any subsequent year, because the government ceased to provide funding.

CR E-Days
As of 2020 E-waste recycler Computer Recycling Ltd facilitates 'CR E-Days' hosted at different community locations in Auckland throughout each year. These are drive-thru electronic waste recycling events, allowing visitors to unload and recycling old, unwanted or broken tech or electronic equipment. Due to Community participation in CR E-Days, Computer Recycling has able to collect and divert over 300,000 kilos of discarded electronic waste otherwise destined for landfill.

Legislation
New Zealand does not have national policy, regulation or legislation for e-waste as defined by the UN due to the absence of extended producer responsibility principles in the regulation of e-waste. It is globally among the 60% of countries not covered by such policy, however, is the only country in the OECD. The New Zealand populace is part of the minority (29%) of the world's population not covered by extended producer responsibility policy. There are, however, a number of waste policies in force which impact the generation and disposal of e-waste.

International conventions
New Zealand signed the Basel Convention in 1989 and ratified it in 1994. The Basel Convention is an international treaty to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste (including e-waste) from developed to less developed countries.

It was not until 2006 that the first application was made for export of hazardous waste under the Basel Convention.

Waste Minimisation Act
The main legislation which regulates e-waste is the Waste Minimisation Act 2008 which enables the provision of voluntary and mandatory product stewardship programmes, introduced levies on waste sent to landfills and distributes the raised funds to waste minimisation projects via the Waste Minimisation Fund. Product stewardship programmes are developed jointly by industry and government and place the responsibility for managing the life cycle of a product with the manufacturer, importer, retailer and user of the product. These programmes aim to shift the environmental costs of waste arising from the products from the taxpayer and consumer primarily to the producer such that the end of life of a product is considered in the producer's design and business decisions.

A 2015 report commissioned by the Ministry for the Environment, found that there was insufficient data about the e-waste stream to satisfy the requirements of the Waste Minimisation Act for priority product designation. The act requires the Minister for the environment to be confident that waste stream causes "significant environmental harm" or that there are benefits from recycling the waste stream. The majority of stakeholders consulted on behalf of the Ministry for the Environment supported priority product designation for all e-waste in the European Union categories except automatic dispensers. Support was more marginal for toys, leisure, sports and medical equipment. Consultations with the general public in 2019 found that 96% of submitters that stated a position on priority product designation for e-waste supported the measure.

Despite no mandatory product stewardship, it is possible to be accredited for a voluntary stewardship programme. SHARP, RE:MOBILE and Fuji Xerox are among the organisations accredited for the voluntary programme.

In June 2020, Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage announced that electronic waste would be one of the six new products to be classified as a priority product.

Consumer Guarantees Act
As a result of the Consumer Guarantees Act, all goods sold in New Zealand have an implicit guarantee requiring them to be reasonably durable. If this guarantee is broken, manufacturers must either repair or replace the goods. Manufacturers must also take 'reasonable action' to ensure the availability of repair facilities and spare parts for a 'reasonable' period following the sale of the goods unless the consumer is notified at the time of purchase that repair or spare parts are not available. If the guarantee regarding spare parts and repair facilities is not met, the manufacturer must again repair or replace the goods.

A 2022 investigation by Consumer NZ, found that cheaper food mixers under The Warehouse and Kmart brands returned under warranty with a simple fault (a disconnected wire) were sent to landfill without attempts to perform a repair. A more expensive mixer by Breville was sent for repair and subsequently resold as a refurbished product at a fraction of the original price, while a Kenwood/De'Longhi mixer was recycled.

Government & Private Industry initiatives
In 2010, $400,000 was allocated towards setting up collection depots and recycling centres around New Zealand.

In 2021, Computer Recycling Ltd brought the first-of-its-kind BLUBOX e-waste technology to Aotearoa. The machine is one of eight in the world and was switched on for the first time at Computer Recycling in Penrose on April 21st with the help of the Hon. David Parker, Minister for the Environment. The technology shreds and sorts e-waste in an enclosed negative pressure system, recovering up to 90 percent of components. The BLUBOX project was supported by the Ministry for the Environment, who provided $1.5million towards the project in the form of a grant from The Waste Minimisation Fund - Te Pūtea Whakamauru Para.

Export
Only e-waste destined for scrapping is monitored under the Basil Convention, so it is not possible to determine the total amount of e-waste exported. In 2020, New Zealand companies under the Basil convention exported approximately 19,000 tons of e-waste primarily to South Korea (98%) with the remainder sent to Japan and Belgium. The countries are not likely to be the end destination for all the components and materials of the exported e-waste. As of December 2022, there are active permits permitting 35,000 tons of e-waste exports under the Basil convention.

See also
Electronic waste by country
Computer recycling
E-Cycling
Waste in New Zealand

Notes

References

External links

Electronic waste at the Ministry for the Environment

News

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Photo editing has never been so easy as it is these days. The web offers you tons of Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions to add some cool effects to your images by pressing just one button! Lightroom presets are a fantastic tool that can help to automate your workflow and to add creativity to your photo library, no matter if you're a newbie or experienced professional.
If you decide to play around with Lightroom presets, however, you don't feel like spending hundreds of dollars purchasing them or dozens of hours developing them. I'd like to offer you a quick and simple solution – check out our $9.99 Photodoto Lightroom presets that are worth every cent you spend on them!
With this awesome presets bundle you can add some dazzling, awesome haze to your pictures in no time! It has 10 completely different presets to give you freedom of choice over the effect you want to use for a particular image. Turn an ordinary and dull image into a masterpiece with just one click! Let me tell you about each effect in more detail.
Summertime Lightroom preset will add a warm summer haze to your photos. Make the image smashing and give it a wonderful summer feel.
Creamson will add a creamy, pink and purple tone to your images. It will work perfectly with landscape and seaside photos featuring blue skies or water.
High Key look is aimed at reducing the lighting ratio present in the scene. It suggests an upbeat mood and shows details on the picture by adding more light.
Dark Magenta will help you to give stunning, vintage-inspired effect to your photos. Yellow and brown tones give foggy and smokey images more vibrancy.
Bleached preset speaks for itself. It will help you to discolor any image you want and make the color scheme less bright and vivid.
This effect will help any image come to life and enhance the colors by adding subtle tones.
The Portrait Pop preset will give the image a more grainy and sharper feel. It will work amazingly well with old-people portraits, to enhance the details, or even with urban or landscape scenes where each detail is important.
Are you an HDR fan? Tread on air then, because this cool effect will complete your collection of HDR looks.
Old Navy presets will add spring-inspired, warm tones to the image. It will look great in any outdoor photo.
Sepia is a toning approach that is true to retro vintage photography taken with an old camera. This preset will give your modern, digital image a soft, sepia and monochromatic appearance of the past.
The photos you saw as an example of presets use are not included in the pack. All rights reserved by George Dolgikh.
UniaonActions offers plenty of Photoshop actions for any occasion. They have an amazing toolkit of actions for photo retouching of skin, teeth, lips, eyes and hair; this bundle of actions will add lens flare, light leaks, lomo or vintage looks to your photography and custom textures and various black and white actions. These actions are compatible with Photoshop CS2, CS3, CS4, CS5, CS6 and CC. Create a whole new look for your images by just one click of the button.
Photography Pla.net is a great resource to find everything a photographer may need. They sell smashing Photoshop actions, Lightroom presets, overlays, textures, frames and print products. Give a boost to your photography business with these awesome products! All of their goodies worth +$3500 can be bought for just $99.
Bellevue Avenue suggests awesome Lightroom presets for family, newborn and wedding photographers. All you need to do is just take photos because the photo editing will be done for you with just one button click. Just choose the package of presets you like most and buy it! You will never regret the purchase! Matte-look, black and white of any kind or cinema feel is available for purchase in all these packs!
Why would you spend hundreds of dollars on Lightroom presets packs in which you like just one preset? The solution is quite simple – buy all the presets separately on 2DollarPresets! They have presets for wedding, nature, urban and black and white snapshots! The collection of presets is still rather small, but as they promise, more presets are coming soon.
All of the Lightroom presets described above work with both Lightroom 4 and 5. They can be applied to JPG and RAW files.
All of the presets and actions are non-destructive, and they leave the original photo layer unharmed. It means that you can easily revert back to the original photo if you're not satisfied with the results. Also, all of the layers and adjustment layers can be edited if you'd like to customize an action or preset to get a slightly different result.
Hopefully, you like this huge collection of Lightroom presets and Photoshop actions to give a boost to your photography business. Presets are irreplaceable and a time-saving tool when you need to edit tons of photos everyday. So maybe it's time to reconsider your views: Work less and get more! All the presets can be purchased on our official Lightroom presets page!


text:
Light L16 Camera: A first look at the would-be DSLR killer
James Laird, March 21, 2018 5:18 pm GMT
The Light L16 camera has officially made its way to the UK, offering a happy middle ground between smartphone snappers and more advanced cameras. Here's everything you need to know about the Light L16, including its UK price, release date, specs and more.
As its name suggests, the L16 packs a whopping 16 sensors, rather than the one or two you'll find on your typical 2018 smartphone. These are configured at 45-degree angles across a flat plane, resulting in a camera that captures a combination of 28mm, 70mm and 150mm shots, before its on-board software fuses them all into a single high-res 52-megapixel image.
Sound complicated? Some of the finer technical details certainly had the decidedly amateur photographer in me lost when I previewed the L16 recently, but, fortunately, everything else about it is straightforward.
Its pocket-friendly form factor of 165 x 84.5 x 24.05mm is in line with most CSCs, while its Android-based UI will be familiar to anyone who's used a phone camera. A 5-inch Full HD touchscreen offers a number of user-friendly features, including pinch-to-zoom (the L16 offers 5x continuous optical zoom) and the option of taking a photo with either a digital or physical key.
Related: Best cameras
I particularly liked the latter snapping option, as it felt more like using a 'real' camera, while the L16's texturised rubber grip made the camera feel sturdy in the hand and allayed my fears that I would send the newly arrived kit to the Great Camera Repair Shop in the Sky well before its time. 4K video is close to arriving, too, the company told me, and the whole show is powered by a Snapdragon 820 SoC that works in tandem with Light's own dedicated ASIC image-processing chipset.
Related: Snapdragon 845
Custom software is what really helps the L16 stand out, though – in particular the way its 3D 'depth maps' allow you to easily shift the focus of your image and adjust the depth of field and focal plane, even after you've taken the shot. There are loads more editing options, too, via Light's proprietary desktop software, which looked accessible enough to non-pros during my demo session.
Taken all together, the Light L16 proposes an enticing combination of DSLR-esque image quality, CSC-like portability, and the ease of use reminiscent of smartphone cameras. GPS, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity are all on board, and battery life for non-continuous use is tipped at well over a day.
The only potential drawback is its price. The Light L16 will cost £1850 here in the UK, which places it well above a number of quality entry-level DSLRs, albeit before taking into the extra cost of lenses. That said, though until March 31, you can have one for the early order price of £1295. It's available to purchase now direct through Light's website, with retailer partners set to be announced at a later date.
We'll be reviewing the Light L16 in full as soon as samples become available, so stay tuned to see if this impressive-on-paper snapper holds up to our testing process. It was first put up for pre-order in 2015 and was released in the US just last year.
Just as excitingly, Light also showed off a concept phone featuring the L16's distinctive lens array and complementary software technology. While I wasn't allowed to capture this on camera, it's safe to say this will be an Android device and the smart money is on it being officially unveiled later in the year. IFA 2018 obviously springs to mind, as does Photokina.
Related: Best DSLR
Would you plump for the Light L16 instead of a traditional DSLR? Tweet your thoughts to us @TrustedReviews.
Sign up for the Trusted Reviews Newsletter
Please keep me up to date with special offers and news from Goodtoknow and other brands operated by TI Media Limited via email. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Unlike other sites, we thoroughly review everything we recommend, using industry standard tests to evaluate products. We'll always tell you what we find. We may get a commission if you buy via our price links. Tell us what you think.


text:
> Creates a shallow clone of any JavaScript value.

Please consider following this project's author, [Jon Schlinkert](https://github.com/jonschlinkert), and consider starring the project to show your :heart: and support.

## Install

Install with [npm](https://www.npmjs.com/):

```sh
$ npm install --save shallow-clone
```

## Usage

```js
const clone = require('shallow-clone');
```

**Supports**

* arrays
* objects
* dates
* maps
* sets
* buffers
* symbols
* array buffers
* float32 arrays
* float64 arrays
* int16 arrays
* int32 arrays
* int8 arrays
* uint16 arrays
* uint32 arrays
* uint8clamped arrays
* uint8 arrays
* regular expressions
* errors
* primitives

## Arrays

By default, only the array itself is cloned, use [clone-deep](https://github.com/jonschlinkert/clone-deep) if you also need the elements in the array to be cloned.

```js
const arr = [{ a: 0 }, { b: 1 }];
const foo = clone(arr);
// foo =>  [{ 'a': 0 }, { 'b': 1 }]

// array is cloned
assert(actual === expected); // false

// array elements are not
assert.deepEqual(actual[0], expected[0]); // true
```

## Objects

Only the object is shallow cloned, use [clone-deep](https://github.com/jonschlinkert/clone-deep) if you also need the values in the object to be cloned.

```js
clone({a: 1, b: 2, c: 3 });
//=> {a: 1, b: 2, c: 3 }
```

## RegExp

Clones regular expressions and flags, and preserves the `.lastIndex`.

```js
const re = clone(/foo/g); //=> /foo/g
// you can manually reset lastIndex if necessary
re.lastIndex = 0;
```

## Primitives

Simply returns primitives unchanged.

```js
clone(0); //=> 0
clone('foo'); //=> 'foo'
```

## About

Contributing

Pull requests and stars are always welcome. For bugs and feature requests, [please create an issue](../../issues/new).

Running Tests

Running and reviewing unit tests is a great way to get familiarized with a library and its API. You can install dependencies and run tests with the following command:

```sh
$ npm install && npm test
```

Building docs

_(This project's readme.md is generated by [verb](https://github.com/verbose/verb-generate-readme), please don't edit the readme directly. Any changes to the readme must be made in the [.verb.md](.verb.md) readme template.)_

To generate the readme, run the following command:

```sh
$ npm install -g verbose/verb#dev verb-generate-readme && verb
```

### Related projects

You might also be interested in these projects:

* [assign-deep](https://www.npmjs.com/package/assign-deep): Deeply assign the enumerable properties and/or es6 Symbol properies of source objects to the target… [more](https://github.com/jonschlinkert/assign-deep) | [homepage](https://github.com/jonschlinkert/assign-deep "Deeply assign the enumerable properties and/or es6 Symbol properies of source objects to the target (first) object.")
* [clone-deep](https://www.npmjs.com/package/clone-deep): Recursively (deep) clone JavaScript native types, like Object, Array, RegExp, Date as well as primitives. | [homepage](https://github.com/jonschlinkert/clone-deep "Recursively (deep) clone JavaScript native types, like Object, Array, RegExp, Date as well as primitives.")
* [is-plain-object](https://www.npmjs.com/package/is-plain-object): Returns true if an object was created by the `Object` constructor. | [homepage](https://github.com/jonschlinkert/is-plain-object "Returns true if an object was created by the `Object` constructor.")
* [kind-of](https://www.npmjs.com/package/kind-of): Get the native type of a value. | [homepage](https://github.com/jonschlinkert/kind-of "Get the native type of a value.")

### Contributors

| **Commits** | **Contributor** |
| --- | --- |
| 15 | [jonschlinkert](https://github.com/jonschlinkert) |
| 2 | [doowb](https://github.com/doowb) |

### Author

**Jon Schlinkert**

* [LinkedIn Profile](https://linkedin.com/in/jonschlinkert)
* [GitHub Profile](https://github.com/jonschlinkert)
* [Twitter Profile](https://twitter.com/jonschlinkert)

### License

Copyright © 2018, [Jon Schlinkert](https://github.com/jonschlinkert).
Released under the [MIT License](LICENSE).

***

_This file was generated by [verb-generate-readme](https://github.com/verbose/verb-generate-readme), v0.6.0, on April 10, 2018._

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Book a mediation
About Mediation
What is mediation
FAQs for Civil/Commercial Mediation
What we mediate
Family Mediation at Garden Court Chambers offers parties who have agreed to mediate an alternative to adversarial, costly and stressful family law court proceedings where there is a need to resolve any kind of family dispute. The disputes which are mediated cover a wide range of topics including:
How to end a relationship
Relationships between family members.
Vulnerable adults
Mediation can take place whether or not there are already court proceedings and whether or not the parties have instructed lawyers, provided the parties agree to mediate.
Family and other personal relationships are at the heart of most people's lives and when they go wrong can lead to extraordinarily difficult and painful situations. It is increasingly recognised that litigating family disputes in court is not the best or most cost effective way to deal with them and courts are increasingly referring parties to mediation.
Fees for Family Mediation are quoted as a total which is usually split between the parties. We generally charge £350 + VAT for the first hour and £250 + VAT for all subsequent hours, either at the same meeting or at subsequent meetings. Mediation is a flexible process covering a wide range of issues and we are happy to discuss which issues will be included in the mediation. Our mediators generally contact the parties to make the necessary arrangements, which can include meetings at short notice and at flexible times.
We are able to offer MIAMs where appropriate. MIAMs are often conducted remotely by phone or Skype, although they can take place in person and are charged at £60 + vat per person ahead of the MIAM. Please contact the mediation clerks either directly or through your lawyer.
Frequently asked questions > Make an enquiry > How to find us >
Mediation and Housing – what you need to know July 21, 2021
Court of Protection: Recent Developments in Health and Welfare June 29, 2021
Garden Court Chambers, 57-60 Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3LJ, UK
(t) 020 7993 7600 | (f) 020 7993 7700 | mediationclerks@gclaw.co.uk
© Garden Court Chambers 2022. All rights reserved.
Websites for lawyers by Square Eye Ltd.
Garden Court Mediation


Mantra's are foundation principles of Vedas. All the Veda's is nothing but mantras. The mantras are group of phonemes. A Phoneme is a single unit of sound. It consists of a consonant (or single merged consonant) and vowel. Each individual phoneme may not have a literal meanings. They need to be experienced. For example try to repeat the word "Shreem", "Kleem" or "Kreem" (Whichever you prefer) for about 10 to 50 minutes in the morning just before sunrise. And try to experience your mental and physical feelings. This cannot be usually be described in words and hence is imparted only by experiencing.
Spiritual Science depends on Experiencing and Concluding for verifications.
For beginners in Mantra Shastra, Pt. Sanjay Rath in his Vedic Remedies in Astrology has given meanings of all the phonemes. Which is given below for your learning.
Guttural Long आ ā Supreme power, brilliance, creator of Vagdevi Beeja (enhances speech).
Palatal Short इ i Bestows Nectar; imparts knowledge; Sthambhak (arresting evils); infatuating, Armed for eradicating black magic etc.
Labial Short उ u The seed of Uccahatan (infatuation) bestows supreme power to attain any desire. Symbolizes Omnipresent Vishnu and the middle of the Pranava.
Retroflex Short ऋ ṛ Bestows Mantra Siddhi as it refers to the Seer or Rishi, Success in all good and righteous works.
Dental Short ऌ ḷ Preaches truth, inventor of speech, cause for the origin of Lakshmi Beeja; responsible for salvation.
Labial Short ओ o Sublime, Worships Vishnu & Lakshmi; youthful; Used for other Beeja with specific objective attainment.
Anuswara अं aṁ Bestows faith-the natural Guru Mantra; creates peace, knowledge and represents Godhead.
Unvoiced क ka Brahma Akshara; grants fame & unparalleled knowledge; Fulfiller of all desires as Kama or Krishna Beeja (Kleem).
Unvoiced aspirate ख kha Aakasha Beeja; Gives success & mastery of Tantra; considered akin to Kalp Vriksha i.e. the wish fulfilling tree.
Voiced ग ga Works towards Pranava and Maya Beeja and is the Ganesha Beeja.
Voiced aspirate घ gha Sthamban Beeja; remover of impediments, creator of Mohan Beeja.
Nasal ङ ṅa Destroyer of enemies. Creator of Vidveshan (Causing differences) Beeja. Used for worshipping Narada.
Unvoiced aspirate छ cha Creator of Aap Beeja, cause of death, Chhaya the shadowy wife of the Sun God.
Voiced ज ja Invokes inner protection; destroyer of mental and physical sufferings, Mritunjaya Beeja (Jum).
Voiced aspirate झ jha Instantly removes black magic and evils.
Unvoiced ट ṭa Bahri Beeja, Beeja for fire sacrifice. Used in Ucchatan Tantra for Hanuman.
Voiced aspirate ढ ḍha Maran Beeja, creates disturbances.
Nasal ण ṇa Bestows peace & all Siddhi's.
Unvoiced त ta Attractive, innovator of power, accomplisher of things capable of achieving Sarva Siddhi in combination with Saraswatha Beeja.
Unvoiced aspirate थ tha Accomplisher of good task, friend of Lakshmi Beeja capable of infatuation in combination with other Beeja.
Voiced द da Destroys Karma Yoga and self control The three important lessons of Brahma for the three types of Nakshatra based on which the planets get their Gana (i.e. Deva, Nara and Rakshas Gana) are with DA Akshara as Damaya (Self Control as the Deva Gana are always enjoying in gay abandon) Daana (Donate/ Give as Manusya or Nara Gana are Greedy) and Daya (Be Merciful as the Rakshas Gana are cruel by nature)., Sukra (Desire) Beeja.
Voiced aspirate ध dha Helper of Shreem and Kleem Beeja; a friend indeed; producer of Maaya Beeja.
Nasal न na Indicator of will – power, mind purifier, creator of five elements (Tathwas).
Unvoiced प pa A friend coming for the help of the mind to reach salvation.
Unvoiced aspirate फ pha Kartaveeryarjuna Beeja; Agni Astra (Weapon of Fire); used in Ucchatan as FHAT.
Voiced ब ba Helping to play according to the circumstances.
Voiced aspirate भ bha Used for Maran and Ucchatan.
Nasal म ma Natural Mother (Ma) used in the Mantras for begetting children.
Retroflex र ra Vahni/Agni (fire) Beeja; Carries the mantra to the Gods and is used in most Beejakshara e.g. Hraam, Hreem, , Kreem etc. contain RA.
Dental ल la Prithvi (Earth) Beeja; Lakshmi: Used for wealth & prosperity. Causes Agni sthambana (extinguishes the fire of RA Beeja and replaces it with the happy LA Beeja) and carries the prayers to the Gods e.g. Hleem, Kleem etc.
Labial व va Jala (Water) Beeja.
Palatal श śa Shanti (Peace) Beeja.
Retroflex ष ṣa Agni Stambhana (Fire extinguisher). Used in black magic etc.
Dental स sa Satya Karma Yoga. When used in Mantra, all works are accomplished.
ह ha Gagana (Sky) or Akasha Beeja. It represents Çiva/Hanuman and can remove all evils.
do you know any one who will teach pronunciation.


text:
The flag of Macha is the name given to a pair of flags of Argentina found at a chapel in the hamlet of Titiri, near the village of Macha, north of Potosí, Bolivia. They are considered to be the first physical flags created by Manuel Belgrano, who in November 1813 hid the standards to prevent them from falling into enemy hands after the United Provinces' army defeat of Ayohuma. They were discovered in 1885. Bolivia kept one of those flags at Sucre; the other was given to Argentina in 1896 and is currently kept at the National Historical Museum. Tucumán Province has used it as provincial flag since 2010. The flag preserved in Argentina is a triband of blue, white and blue bands, like the modern flag of Argentina, but the one kept in Bolivia is a triband of white, blue and white.

History

The Flag of Argentina was created by Manuel Belgrano during the Argentine War of Independence. After concluding the Paraguay campaign, he moved to Rosario to build artilleries. While being in the village he noticed that both the royalist and patriotic forces were using the same colors, Spain's yellow and red. He requested to the First Triumvirate a new cockade, which was approved by a decree on February 18, 1812. The colours of this cockade were white and light blue. Encouraged by this success, he created a flag of the same colours nine days later. The flag was first flown, for the soldiers to swear allegiance to it, on 27 February 1812, on the Batería Libertad (Liberty Battery), by the Paraná River. Although it is known that this first flag had white and light blue colours, the design is unknown by historians, and could be either a blue-white-blue triband, or white-blue-white. Belgrano wrote a letter to the Triumvirate to inform it of the new flag, saying that "...being in need to raise a flag, and not having one, I made it to be done white and light blue according to the colours of the national cockade..."; which did not detail the actual design. Still uninformed of this, the Triumvirate dispatched Belgrano to Salta, to reinforce the Army of the North. This gave room to another unclear detail: whenever Belgrano left the physical flag in Rosario, or took it with him to the North.

Belgrano dispatched a letter addressed to the First Triumvirate, informing them of the newly created flag. However, unlike with the cockade, the Triumvirate did not accept the use of the flag: the international policy at the time was to state that the government was ruling on behalf of Ferdinand VII king of Spain captive of Napoleon, whereas the creation of a flag was a clear independentist act. Thus, the triumvirate sent a warning to Belgrano not to fight under the flag, but by the time the reply had arrived, Belgrano had moved to the north, following the previous orders that requested him to strengthen the patriotic position in the Upper Peru after the defeat of Juan José Castelli at the Battle of Huaqui. Still unaware about the Triumvirate's refusal, Belgrano raised the flag at San Salvador de Jujuy and had it blessed by the local church on the second anniversary of the May Revolution. Belgrano accepted the orders from the Triumvirate by time they arrived to Salta and ended using the flag. As soldiers had already made oaths to the new flag, Belgrano said that he was saving it for the circumstance of a great victory.

The First Triumvirate was later replaced by the Second Triumvirate, with a more liberal ideology, who called the Asamblea del Año XIII. This assembly authorized to use the flag as a War flag, but not as a national one. The first oath to the newly approved flag was on February 13, 1813, next to the Salado River, which is also known since then as "Río Juramento" ("Oath River"). The first battle fought with the approved flag was the Battle of Salta, a decisive patriotic victory that achieved the complete defeat of royalist Pío Tristán. The army moved to the north, but was defeated at the battles of Vilcapugio and Ayohuma. After those defeats, the army retreated to the south. Fearing that the enemy armies got the flags, he left them to the care of the parish priest of Macha, which hid them behind a Saint Teresa of Avila's portrait in a chapel near the small hamlet of Titiri (). Belgrano was summoned back to Buenos Aires, and sent to Europe in diplomatic mission, and the flags were considered to be lost.

The flags were discovered many decades later, in 1885. The new priest was cleaning and restoring the chapel, and found them. The flags were moved to the "Museum of the Independence" in Sucre, which kept one of the flags. The other was delivered to Argentina in 1896, after a request from Argentine ambassador to Bolivia Adolfo Carranza. This last one is kept at the National Historical Museum, which works in restoring it.

Preservation
The National Historical Museum started to restore the Flag in 2007, making a study of it. María Pía Tamborini and Patricia Lissa were in charge of the restoration.

The flag is made of silk, and only 70% of it remains. It was kept under bad conditions over the years, and the silk used was not of high quality. For this reason, the original colours could not be restored, which were indigo blue and ivory white.

The flag is kept inside a closed cabinet, at a room with low lights.  It was made available to the view of the public in 2010, year of the Argentina Bicentennial.

See also
 Flag of Argentina
 Manuel Belgrano

Bibliography

Goman, Adolfo Mario (2007). Enigmas sobre las primeras banderas argentinas. Cuatro Vientos.

References

Macha
Special events flags
Archaeology of Argentina
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This February 14, as we prepare for our fall 2019 Love Issue, Ecotone will be open to submissions by post and via Submittable. We'll be reading poetry in several forms—the sonnet, the rondel prime, and the bref double—as well as fiction by debut authors. Find our complete guidelines at ecotonemagazine.org/submissions.


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AVMS: Revise it or Renew it?
The European Broadcasting Union´s Eurovision website has published a short review of the main presentations from Connected TV: Beyond the AVMS Directive, a conference held in Cyprus at the end of October. You can read their review at this link. According to the report, ¨ultimately delegates concluded that regulations should meet consumer habits and expectations: portable and seamless content on all devices.¨ But there is a long way to go on that front, and no clear road map emerged. Many at the event also privately commented that nothing would move forward with regard to a review of AVMS prior to 2014, when the Commission will be re-elected. The Green Paper on Connected TV, now expected at the beginning of 2013, according to the video speech given by Neelie Kroes, is at least expected to advance the debate in the meantime.
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Homepage » China Geopolitical Watch – From October 29 to November 4, 2022
China Geopolitical Watch – From October 29 to November 4, 2022
11/01/2022 : Hong Kong is struggling to convince global CEOs to invest in the region. -Thomas Taochy-
«Hong Kong is back». Those were the words of Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chou at an economic summit held between 1 and 3 of November. The latter wanted to mark the region's return to business after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, thus encouraging CEOs to invest in the Hong Kong market.
The general reaction was however disappointing for Hong Kong and John Lee Ka-chou lamented the absence of 3 major bankers despite the presence of 200 people: Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, Blackstone Chairman John Gray and Barclays CEO C. S. Venkatakrishnan. Many investors are indeed hesitant due to the difficult economic situation in Hong Kong. According to the media SCMP, the region has suffered a recession with the economy shrinking by 4.5% in the third quarter compared to the previous year. This has prompted major players such as HSBC Bank to raise their base rate by 25 percentage points.
Nevertheless, John Lee Ka-chou insisted that Hong Kong is a space «full of vigour and energy». Thus, the governor of the People's Bank of China Yi Gang and other CEOs of Chinese banks attended the summit, confirming President Xi Jinping's promise of «full support for Hong Kong to develop its economy». In addition, Hong Kong said it was ready for regional economic cooperation with ASEAN, which John Lee Ka-chou called «the world's largest free trade pact».
11/01/2022: Despite the political turbulence, will Pakistan be able to call on Sino-Pakistani friendship to overcome its economic crisis? -Ines Eugene-
«China and Pakistan are good friends, good partners and good brothers» stated Xi Jinping during the visit of the Pakistani Prime Minister to Beijing, according to the ministry of foreign affairs of the People's Republic of China. Indeed, on November 1, Shehbaz Sharif began a two-day trip to Beijing. He seeked more financial support for his country, which is facing an inflation rate of more than 20% and a depreciation of its currency resulting from the floods that ravaged the country and affected more than 33 million Pakistanis.
Since taking office, Sharif has prioritized the revival of the US$62 billion China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC). This time, Pakistan is hoping for significant Chinese financial assistance, particularly for public transport and electricity production projects.
However, the political instability in Pakistan has put this assistance in question. Firstly, China reported numerous attacks on its employees in Pakistan, whose security Pakistan cannot guarantee. Secondly, since the Pakistani elections in April that brought S. Sharif to power, former Prime Minister Imran Khan has launched a protest march to Islamabad to force early elections. China fears that it could degenerate into destabilizing violence – which is what happened with the attempted murder of Imran Khan on November 3. Thus, despite the affection of the Chinese government for Shehbaz Sharif, its medium-term power is questioned and the political instabilities in Pakistan since 2017 have made China less willing to invest in the country in the long term.
11/02/2022: Beijing reassured by Hanoi in the face of the Western «threat» – Vadim Leduc Argenta –
While relations between China and the West are becoming increasingly tense, on November 2 Beijing confirmed its bilateral and peaceful relations with Hanoi. At the end of a four-day visit to China, Nguyen Phu Trong, the head of the Vietnamese Communist Party, assured Beijing of his desire to strengthen Sino-Vietnamese relations by reassuring Xi Jinping about the presence of foreign military bases in Vietnam. The latter declared that his government sought to work with Beijing to maintain peace and stability, while avoiding maritime conflicts «affecting the overall development of relations between the two countries». Indeed, the two sides are disputing certain maritime territories such as the Spratly Islands located in the South China Sea.
According to the report of the meeting provided by China, Nguyen Phu Trong declared that Vietnam would not host any foreign military bases. However, Vietnam also assured that it would not «ally itself with one country against another». This stance maintains Hanoi's neutrality in the face of Beijing's and Washington's influence. Thus, according to former instructor and analyst of the People's Liberation Army (of China) Song Zhongping, «Hanoi avoids the kind of lateral selection that occurred during the Cold War». Specifically, the Global Times points out that this meeting sets the tone for Sino-Vietnamese relations at a time when the world is facing unprecedented great power competition.
11/02/2022 : The United States and China are continuing their efforts to organise a meeting between the two leaders. -Thomas Taochy-
The US and Chinese governments have been actively working since November 2 to set up an in-person summit between the two presidents. As National Security Council spokesman John Kirby explained: «Our two teams are still working on the details of a possible meeting between [Joe Biden and Xi Jinping]».
These efforts come in the context of the upcoming mid-term elections when more and more Americans have a negative view of China and senators and congressmen have called for a tougher policy towards Beijing.
The Sino-American relationship is also deteriorating. As recently as November 3, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on nations to «jointly resist the abuse of arbitration» by Washington on maritime disputes. Also, Chinese Ambassador to the US Qin Gang, who wrote a note last month calling far-right Senator Josh Hawley «arrogant and despicable, part of a pernicious political agenda leading the US down a bad and dangerous path», is among the candidates for China's next foreign minister, according to the media SCMP.
11/03/2022 : Sino-U.S. tensions cause Taiwan to rethink its production strategy -Anna Balawender-
Tensions between Beijing and Washington have reached new heights in recent months, and Taiwan fears it will take its toll. Since October, the Biden administration has imposed a series of sanctions on Chinese technology companies, also affecting Taiwanese factories operating in China.
Taipei has allowed its companies to invest nearly 933 million US dollars (USD) in the United States in 2022, and TSMC, the world's highest precision chipmaker, already has assembly plants on its soil. By comparison, the government's investment in China is $70 million for 2022, but the actual investment was only $29.5 million in October.
Nevertheless, production costs in the United States are much higher than in China, so Taiwanese authorities and entrepreneurs are thinking about a «plan B», in the words of John Eastwood quoted by the South China Morning Post. And the most plausible alternative for the moment is a historical rival of China: India.
On October 9, Taiwan's representative in New Delhi, Baushuan Ger, announced that the Indo-Taiwanese free trade agreement was close to being finalized, and said that Taiwan was willing to share its technological expertise with its Indian partner. In addition to attractive production costs and a large domestic market, Estela Chen, a Taiwanese official also based in New Delhi, explains the Taiwanese enthusiasm by the qualitative improvement of Indian production lines.
The economic rapprochement was confirmed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding on November 4 between the Indian Chamber of Commerce and a Taiwanese delegation. The Hindu reports that the agreement focuses on high technology aimed at improving energy productivity, energy conservation, and waste management of India-based industries.
11/04/2022 : China and Tanzania sign 15-point agreement during presidential visit. -Thomas Taochy-
Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan visited China on November 4 to ratify a new agreement with her counterpart Xi Jinping. This is the first visit by an African leader since the last Party Congress (which saw Xi Jinping re-elected for a third term as Chinese president).
Samia Suluhu Hassan signed a multi-million dollar agreement with China during her first official visit since taking office. The 15-point agreement includes, among other things, a project to upgrade the Tazara railway line linking Tanzania and Zambia. Already financed by China 50 years ago, the railway is still its largest foreign aid project, according to the SCMP media.
The agreement also allows a cancellation of the debt contracted by Tanzania amounting to a little more than 13 million dollars and gives privileged access of Tanzanian products to the Chinese market with a lowering of customs duties up to 98% according to the official website of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Tanzania also expressed its support for China on the Taiwan issue. Finally, with a view to furthering the relationship between the two countries, Xi Jinping was quoted as saying : «China firmly supports Tanzania in safeguarding its sovereignty, security and development interests, and firmly supports Tanzania in exploring a development path that suits its national conditions».
11/04/2022 : German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Beijing -Anna Balawender-
On November 4, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Xi Jinping in Beijing. The newspaper Le Monde recalls that Mr. Scholz is the first European Union leader to visit the Chinese leader since the beginning of the pandemic, but also since the renewal of his third term as head of the Chinese Communist Party and president of the PRC. The chancellor's visit to Beijing has sparked controversy among Berlin's European partners, who accuse him of wanting to go it alone, at a time when European solidarity is being tested by the war in Ukraine.
«It is in [China's] interest to divide us, it should be in our interest to stay united», said Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. During the working meeting on the relationship of the European Union with China, the European representatives had also reaffirmed their qualification of the Chinese power as «partner, competitor, and systemic rival», recalls the South China Morning Post.
Chancellor Scholz, recalls journalist Pierre Haski on France Inter, is facing a dilemma: on the one hand, he is the heir to the conciliatory policy of his predecessor, Angela Merkel, who met Xi Jinping on several occasions. On the other hand, he has to deal with his partners in the European Union, who no longer seem to want to make concessions to authoritarian powers. Trying to find a middle ground, Mr. Scholz insisted that he would not shy away from evoking «all the sensitive issues», from the Uyghur file to climate issues, national debts and fair competition between Chinese and European companies.
Beijing, for its part, seemed to be delighted with the choice of the chancellor, celebrating his arrival with the announcement of a $17 billion contract with Airbus. The aircraft company said in the wake that the announcement of purchase of 132 A320 and 8 A350 by the Chinese firm CASC was actually several weeks (July 2022) or even several years (2019), Reuters writes. One contract whose novelty cannot be denied, however, is the one signed by Germany with Cosco, a company owned by the Chinese government. The deal gives Cosco a 24.9% stake in one of the terminals at the port of Hamburg, explains the China Digital Times. This is a smaller share than the 35% initially envisaged by Berlin, which reduced its forecasts following pressure from its European and American partners.
South Caucasus Geopolitical Watch – from October 29 to November 4, 2022
Iran Geopolitical Watch – from October 29 to November 4, 2022


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Top Cover Songs of the 80s
By: OldSchool80s
Wanted to share this list of my favorite cover songs from the 80s. These are songs released in the 80s that, whether you realized it or not, were originally performed by another artist. Some cover songs are great versions of a particular song, but some are just great songs no matter who sings them. In general, cover songs are often looked down upon, but history has proven to include some great ones. The list of great ones is much longer than you would expect. Some of the most popular include "Respect" by Aretha Franklin, "Twist and Shout" by The Beatles, "All Along the Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix, "With a Little Help From My Friends" by Joe Cocker, "Hurt" by Johnny Cash, "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston and "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley to name just a few. The 80s had its fair share of good ones with a few great ones sprinkled in as well. So without further ado, here is OLD SCHOOL'S TOP 10 COVER SONGS OF THE 80s (+ Bonus 29)
39. "Can't Get Used To Losing You" (1980) by The Beat. Original artist: Andy Williams (1963)
38. "La Bamba" (1987) by Los Lobos. Original artist: Mexican folk song most famously by Ritchie Valens (1958)
37. "Venus" (1986) by Bananarama. Original artist: Shocking Blue (1969)
36. "You Keep Me Hangin' On" (1986) by Kim Wilde. Original artist: The Supremes (1966)
35. "Sweet Jane" (1988) by Cowboy Junkies. Original artist: The Velvet Underground (1970)
34. "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" (1985) by David Lee Roth. Original artist: Louis Prima (1957). Honorable mention goes to "California Girls" (1985) also by David Lee Roth originally by The Beach Boys in 1965.
33. "Gloria" (1982) by Laura Branigan. Original artist: Italian song by Umberto Tozzi (1979)
32. "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love" (1980) by The Blues Brothers. Original artist: Solomon Burke (1964)
31. "The Tide Is High" (1980) by Blondie. Original artist: The Paragons (1967)
30. "We've Got Tonight" (1983) by Kenny Rogers & Sheena Easton. Original artist: Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band (1978)
29. "Got My Mind Set On You" (1987) by George Harrison. Original artist: James Ray (1962)
28. "Get It On (Bang a Gong)" (1984) by Power Station. Original artist: T-Rex (1971)
27. "Cum On Feel the Noize" (1983) by Quiet Riot. Original artist: Slade (1973)
26. "Sea of Love" (1985) by The Honeydrippers. Original artist: Phil Phillips (1959)
25. "Red Red Wine" (1983) by UB40. Original artist: Neil Diamond (1968)
24. "Puttin' on the Ritz" (1983) by Taco. Original artist: Irving Berlin. Be sure to check out my interview with Taco.
23. "I've Done Everything For You" (1981) by Rick Springfield. Original artist: Sammy Hagar (1978)
22. "Superstar/Until You Come Back To Me" (1983) by Luther Vandross. Original artist: Delaney & Bonnie ("Superstar" 1969) and Stevie Wonder ("Until You Come Back To Me" 1967). Honorable mention goes to "If This World Were Mine" (1982), a Luther Vandross duet with Cheryl Lynn originally by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell in 1967.
21. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" (1980) by Hall & Oates. Original artist: The Righteous Brothers (1964)
20. "Always On My Mind" (1987) by Pet Shop Boys. Original artist: Brenda Lee (1972), but most notably Elvis Presley also in 1972.
19. "Kiss" (1988) by Art of Noise with Tom Jones. Original artist: Prince (1986)
18. "China Girl" (1983) by David Bowie. Original artist: Iggy Pop (1977)
17. "Heart and Soul" (1983) by Huey Lewis & the News. Original artist: Exile (1981)
16. "Jacob's Ladder" (1988) by Bruce Hornsby & the Range. Original artist: Huey Lewis & the News (1986), though the song was actually originally written by Bruce Hornsby.
15. "I Feel For You" (1984) by Chaka Khan. Original artist: Prince (1979). Discussed in my interview with David Frank who played on this song.
14. "I Didn't Mean to Turn You On" (1985) by Robert Palmer. Original artist: Cherrelle (1984). Honorable mention to "You Are In My System" (1983) also by Robert Palmer originally by The System in 1982.
13. "Some Guys Have All The Luck" (1984) by Rod Stewart. Original artist: The Persuaders (1973)
12. "All Through the Night" (1984) by Cyndi Lauper. Original artist: Jules Shear (1983)
11. "Der Kommissar" (1982) by After the Fire. Original artist: Falco (1981)
10. "Alone" (1987) by Heart. Original artist: I-Ten (1983). You may be interested to know that it was also recorded by John Stamos in his role as Gino Minelli, on the original soundtrack of the CBS sitcom Dreams in 1984. Be sure to check out my interview with Billy Steinberg who co-wrote "Alone" and performed it in I-Ten.
9. "You Can't Hurry Love" (1982) by Phil Collins. Original artist: The Supremes (1966)
8. "I Love Rock n' Roll" (1981) by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts. Original artist: Arrows (1975). Honorable mention to "Crimson and Clover" also by Joan Jett originally by Tommy James & the Shondells in 1968.
7. "If You Don't Know Me By Now" (1989) by Simply Red. Original artist: Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes (1972)
6. "Greatest Love of All" (1986) by Whitney Houston. Original artist: George Benson (1977)
5. "Walk This Way" (1986) by Run-DMC. Original artist: Aerosmith (1975). Aerosmith had many hits in the 70s including "Walk This Way", which had reached #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1977, but had fallen way out of the spotlight during the early 80s. The Run-DMC cover served to confirm rap's mainstream appeal and resurrected Aerosmith's career by introducing them to a new generation. The new version charted higher on the Billboard Hot 100 than the original version, peaking at #4 in the summer of 1986 becoming the first rap song to crack the top 5. The landmark collaboration catapulted Run-DMC into mainstream stardom and would influence rap music for years to come as well as paving the way for future rap/hip-hop singles to have pop success. The song's crossover success helped the Raising Hell album go triple platinum and reach #3 on the Billboard album chart. It is a monumental song in music, not to mention pop culture, history.
4. "Hazy Shade of Winter" (1987) by The Bangles. Original artist: Simon & Garfunkel (1966). Written by the great Paul Simon, the original reached #13 on the Billboard Hot 100 back in 1966. The Bangles had been performing the song at live shows for quite a while before they chose to record and release it on the Less Than Zero soundtrack in 1987. This version was very different from the original as you might expect being produced by Rick Rubin with a harder edge rock sound and removing most of the bridge section. When released as a single in November 1987, it became a huge hit, surpassing the popularity of the original version, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100. You can find out more in my interview with Vicki Peterson of the Bangles.
3. "Always Something There To Remind Me" (1983) by Naked Eyes. Original artist: Lou Johnson (1964). The song, written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, was first recorded by Dionne Warwick as a demo in 1963, but not originally released until Lou Johnson in 1964 whose version reached #49 on the Billboard Hot 100 that summer. Also, Michael McDonald actually made his recording debut singing lead vocal on a 1968 single version by the Del-Rays. Then almost 20 years after Johnson's original, Pete Byrne and Rob Fisher covered it and released it as their first single in January of 1983. It would peak at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in June and is one of my favorites from the entire 80s decade.
2. "Everytime You Go Away" (1985) by Paul Young. Original artist: Hall & Oates (1980). Be sure to check out my interview with Paul Young where he discusses his biggest hit. The song was written by Daryl Hall and originally recorded for his 1980 Hall & Oates album Voices. It was not released as a single by Hall & Oates and most were not aware of the song until Paul Young released his version in February of 1985 and on his The Secret of Association album. The song reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on July 27, 1985 and is another one of my favorites of the decade.
1. "Tainted Love" (1981) by Soft Cell. Original artist: Gloria Jones (1965) – Many do not even realize that this iconic song which is so connected with the 80s decade was actually a cover song. Soft Cell's version is drastically different from the original and was released in July of 1981. It quickly climbed the UK charts and reached #1 by September as well as reaching #1 in 16 other countries. It took a little longer to catch on in the U.S. entering the Billboard Hot 100 in January of 1982 and taking 19 weeks to even reach the top 40. It would only peak at #8, but would spend a then record-breaking 43 weeks on the chart. It would be the only pop hit for Soft Cell and ranks highly on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders list. It is immediately recognizable by the opening "bink bink" beat and has to be considered one of the most memorable and representative songs of the decade.
There's my list. I included the videos for the top 5, but you can surely find all of the others on YouTube as well as many of the original versions. Are there any cover songs from the 80s that you feel I have overlooked? If so or if you'd rank any differently, please leave them in the comments section below. A couple songs would've made the list, but were actually released in the late 70s like "Take Me To The River" (1978) by Talking Heads, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1977) by Devo, "You Really Got Me" (1978) by Van Halen, and "Got To Get You Into My Life" (1978) by Earth Wind & Fire. There were a couple that just missed on the other side being in the early 90s like "Nothing Compares 2 U" (1990) by Sinead O'Connor, "Hard To Handle" (1990) by The Black Crowes, "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" (1991) by Guns n' Roses, "Once Bitten Twice Shy" (1990) by Great White, "Everybody Knows" (1990) by Concrete Blonde and "Signs" (1990) by Tesla. Maybe a future list could be of my favorite cover versions of original 80s songs. They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so in many cases these covers (even though most are not imitations by definition) are a testament to the originals. As I said at the beginning, some cover songs are great versions of a particular song, but some are just great songs no matter who sings them.
Thanks, as always, for reading! My regular blog site for Kickin' it Old School has been down for a while now. But you can still please like / follow us on our Facebook page (http://www.Facebook.com/KickinItOldSchool80s/), on Twitter @OldSchool80s (http://www.Twitter.com/OldSchool80s/) and Instagram as @oldschool_80s too (https://www.instagram.com/oldschool_80s/). We also are in the process of re-publishing our awesome interviews over at Rediscover the 80s and you can read them here (http://www.rediscoverthe80s.com/search/label/interview/)
Looking for more from OldSchool80s?
OldSchool80s Posted on May 12, 2019 at 03:14 PM
@Lazlo Thank you very much! I agree 100% on your sentiment for 80s music. The soundtrack of my life.
Lazlo Posted on May 11, 2019 at 01:35 AM
Hey, great list OldSchool80s! Wonderful music memories. I'm not sure how I could have gotten through my teen years without '80s music.
twcfan92 Posted on Apr 20, 2019 at 03:28 AM
Actually, "Always On My Mind" was first recorded by B.J. Thomas.
pikachulover Posted on Apr 12, 2019 at 09:34 AM
I like Madness' cover of "It Must be Love".
I also enjoy Depeche Mode's cover of "Route 66." It's one of the few uptempo songs Martin Gore sings lead on. Although it was a B-side to "Behind the Wheel".
Caps 2.0 Posted on Apr 10, 2019 at 07:53 PM
There were many great covers in the 80s, but one of my favorite covers would have to be another Jules Shear cover, in this case, The Bangles' version of "If She Knew What She Wants", which I found to have more energy and passion than Shear's original: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu_pNeqAQ-U
Vaporman87 Posted on Apr 10, 2019 at 05:15 PM
What a great list! Some of these hits I didn't realize (or had just forgotten) were covers.
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This Oswego, New York Lighthouse is a beautiful and functional piece of artwork. A collectable piece that is also a decorative alarm clock. Imagine this wonderful lighthouse piece in your guest home or guest bedroom! It's sure to please!
4" W. x 5" H.