text:
Personalità nota per la sua importante partecipazione al movimento per i diritti LGBT negli Stati Uniti, è ritenuta una delle presenze più rilevanti nei moti di Stonewall del 1969. Johnson fu tra i fondatori del Gay Liberation Front e fondò anche l'organizzazione per gay, trans e persone genderqueer, "STAR" (Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries) insieme all'amica Sylvia Rivera.

Biografia

Primi anni di vita
Johnson nacque come Malcolm Michaels Jr. il 24 agosto 1945 a Elizabeth, nel New Jersey. Aveva sei fratelli, un padre operaio, Malcolm Michaels Sr., e una madre governante, Alberta Claiborne. Durante l'infanzia Johnson frequentò una chiesa episcopale metodista africana e sviluppò una devozione cristiana che durò tutta la sua vita, spesso interessandosi al cattolicesimo e ad altre fedi. Johnson iniziò a indossare abiti femminili all'età di cinque anni ma per un periodo di tempo dovette evitare di vestirsi in questo modo, per non incorrere nelle molestie dei ragazzi che vivevano nel suo quartiere. In un'intervista del 1992 raccontò di aver subito, da giovane, violenza sessuale da parte di un adolescente. La madre disse a Johnson che essere omosessuali equivaleva a essere "peggio di un cane", ma Johnson dichiarò anche che sua madre non era a conoscenza dell'esistenza della comunità LGBT. Dopo aver ricevuto un diploma a Elizabeth nel 1963, presso l'ex Edison High School (ora Thomas A. Edison Career and Technical Academy), Johnson si trasferì a New York con solo 15 dollari in tasca e un sacco di vestiti. Nel 1966 si spostò nel Greenwich Village dove lavorava in un locale.

Identità e lavoro come performer
Inizialmente Johnson utilizzava il nome "Black Marsha" ma in seguito decise di farsi chiamare "Marsha P. Johnson", prendendo "Johnson" dal ristorante Howard Johnson sulla 42ª strada. "P." stava invece per "pay it no mind" (non pensarci/non farci caso) e usava la frase sarcasticamente quando venivano poste domande riguardo al suo genere, dicendo "[P.] stands for pay it no mind". In una occasione diede questa risposta anche a un giudice, che fu così divertito dalla cosa che decise di rilasciare Johnson.

Johnson si identificava variabilmente come gay, come travestito e come "queen" (riferendosi al termine drag queen). Secondo Susan Stryker, professoressa di studi sul genere e sulla sessualità all'Università dell'Arizona, l'identità di genere di Johnson potrebbe essere definita come genere non-binario in assenza dell'uso diretto del termine transgender da parte di Johnson, termine che all'epoca non era molto diffuso. Johnson diceva che il suo stile, come drag queen, non era serio perché non poteva permettersi di acquistare vestiti da negozi costosi. Johnson era di alta statura e di corporatura snella e spesso tendeva ad attirare l'attenzione con i suoi abiti appariscenti, parrucche, tacchi alti di plastica rossa, fiori e frutti finti usati come decori per i capelli.

Dal 1972 fino agli anni novanta Johnson fece parte della troupe Hot Peaches, una compagnia newyorkese di drag queen fondata da Jimmy Camicia. Quando The Cockettes, una compagnia di drag di San Francisco, formò una troupe simile nella costa orientale, chiamata The Angels of Light, Johnson ricevette l'invito a esibirsi anche con loro. Nel 1973 Johnson interpretò il ruolo di "The Gypsy Queen" in The Enchanted Miracle, una produzione degli Angels of Light sulla cometa Kohoutek. Nel 1975 l'artista Andy Warhol ne realizzò dei ritratti fotografici, come parte della serie di polaroid Ladies and Gentlemen. Nel 1990, Johnson si esibì con The Hot Peaches a Londra. Diventata un'attivista per la prevenzione dell'AIDS, Johnson apparve nello stesso anno anche nella produzione delle Hot Peaches The Heat, cantando la canzone Love mentre indossava una spilla dell'organizzazione ACT UP con la scritta "Silence = Death" (Silenzio = Morte).

I moti di Stonewall e attivismo

Johnson dichiarò di essere stata una delle prime drag queen a frequentare lo Stonewall Inn, dopo che venne aperto anche alle donne e alle drag queen, che in precedenza era un bar per soli uomini gay. In quel locale, nelle prime ore del mattino del 28 giugno 1969, ebbero inizio i moti di Stonewall. Le prime due notti di rivolta furono le più intense e gli scontri con la polizia si tradussero in una serie di manifestazioni e dimostrazioni spontanee, nel quartiere gay del Greenwhich Village, che durarono circa una settimana.

Johnson, Zazu Nova e Jackie Hormona,sono stati identificati da un certo numero di veterani di Stonewall (intervistati da David Carter nel suo libro, Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution), come tre individui noti per aver cominciato la rivolta contro la polizia. Johnson però negò di aver dato inizio personalmente ai moti, affermando di aver preso parte ai moti intorno alle "2:00 [quella mattina]", che "i disordini erano già iniziati" al suo arrivo e che l'edificio di Stonewall "era in fiamme" dopo che i poliziotti l'avevano incendiato. La rivolta, secondo le testimonianze, era infatti iniziata intorno all'1:20 di notte, dopo che Stormé DeLarverie aveva opposto resistenza all'ufficiale di polizia che aveva tentato di arrestarla quella notte.

Carter scrive che Robin Souza riferì che Morty Manford e Marty Robinson (veterani dello Stonewall, e attivisti gay) gli avevano detto che, la prima notte, Johnson "aveva lanciato un bicchiere contro uno specchio, nel locale in fiamme, e aveva urlato "I got my civil rights" ([anche] io ho i miei diritti civili)". Poco dopo, Souza disse alla Gay Activists Alliance che quello "era stato il bicchiere che aveva risuonato in tutto il mondo". Carter, tuttavia, scrive che Robinson aveva dato diversi resoconti della notte e in nessuno di questi veniva citato il nome di Johnson. Forse Robinson temeva che se avesse pubblicamente accreditato l'inizio dei moti a Johnson, la rivolta e indirettamente anche il movimento stesso di liberazione gay avrebbero potuto essere attaccati dagli oppositori, a causa del noto stato mentale instabile di Johnson e della sua identità di genere non-conforme. Anche il presunto incidente del "bicchiere" è stato pesantemente messo in discussione. Prima della pubblicazione del libro di Carter, era stato affermato che Johnson aveva "lanciato un mattone" a un agente di polizia, un fatto che non è mai stato verificato. Tuttavia, molti hanno confermato che la seconda notte, Johnson si arrampicò su un lampione e fece cadere una borsa contenente un mattone su una macchina della polizia, mandando in frantumi il parabrezza.

Dopo la rivolta di Stonewall, Johnson si unì al Gay Liberation Front (GLF) e nel giugno 1970 partecipò alla prima manifestazione, il Christopher Street Liberation Pride, organizzato nel primo anniversario dei moti. Una delle azioni più importanti di Johnson avvenne nell'agosto del 1970 quando assieme ad altri membri del GLF organizzò un sit-in di protesta alla Weinstein Hall della New York University dopo che gli amministratori avevano cancellato un ballo, quando avevano scoperto che era sponsorizzato da organizzazioni gay. Poco dopo Johnson, insieme all'amica Sylvia Rivera, fondò l'organizzazione Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries (STAR), inizialmente chiamata Street Transvestites Actual Revolutionaries. Le due diventarono una presenza nota alle marce di liberazione gay e ad altre azioni politiche radicali. Nel 1973, Johnson e Rivera furono bandite dalla partecipazione alla parata del gay pride dal comitato gay e lesbiche che stava organizzando l'evento. I membri del comitato affermavano che "non avrebbero ammesso le drag queen" alle loro marce perché "avrebbero dato alla manifestazione una brutta nomea". La risposta di Johnson e Rivera fu marciare con aria di sfida davanti a tutta la parata. Nei primi anni '70, durante una manifestazione per i diritti dei gay alla New York City Hall, una giornalista chiese a Johnson perché il gruppo stava protestando e Johnson rispose, gridando al microfono, "Darling, I want my gay rights now!" (Cara, voglio i miei diritti gay ora!).

In quel periodo finì in tribunale per uno scontro con la polizia con l'accusa di aver colpito degli agenti, che stavano arrestando Johnson per prostituzione, con la sua borsetta che conteneva due mattoni. Quando il giudice chiese a Johnson il perché si prostituisse, spiegò che stava cercando di guadagnare abbastanza soldi per comprare una lapide per suo marito. All'epoca il matrimonio tra persone dello stesso sesso era illegale negli Stati Uniti e il giudice le chiese che cosa fosse "successo a questo presunto marito", Johnson rispose "Pigs killed him" (I maiali [i poliziotti] l'hanno ucciso). Inizialmente Johnson subì una condanna a 90 giorni di prigione per lo scontro, l'avvocato di Johnson alla fine convinse il giudice a mandare l'attivista invece al Bellevue Hospital.

Nel 1972, Johnson e Sylvia Rivera fondarono la STAR House, un rifugio per ragazzini gay e transessuali, pagando l'affitto con il denaro che guadagnavano prostituendosi. Johnson lavorò per fornire cibo, vestiti, supporto emotivo e per dare un senso di famiglia alle giovani drag queen, le donne transgender, le persone genderqueer e agli altri ragazzi gay che vivevano a Christopher Street, o nella loro casa nel Lower East Side a New York.

Negli anni ottanta Johnson continuò il suo attivismo di strada organizzando e rappresentando ACT UP. Nel 1992, quando la scultura Gay Liberation di George Segal fu fatta arrivare dall'Ohio e installata a Christopher Park, per commemorare il movimento di liberazione gay, Johnson commentò:

Salute mentale e morte
Nel 1966, Johnson viveva per strada e si prostituiva per sopravvivere. A causa del suo lavoro, Johnson finì in carcere molte volte (oltre 100, secondo i suoi calcoli) e una volta, alla fine degli anni settanta, subì un'aggressione con un'arma da fuoco. Johnson raccontò di aver avuto una prima crisi mentale nel 1970. Secondo Bob Kohler, Johnson camminava senza vestiti per Christopher Street e avrebbe subito un trattamento a base di clorpromazina, un farmaco antipsicotico. Tra il 1980 e la sua morte nel 1992, visse con il suo amico Randy Wicker, il quale invitò Johnson a rimanere una notte in cui "faceva molto freddo, circa 10 gradi [Fahrenheit]" (-12 °C).

Sebbene, come Marsha, fosse considerata una persona "generosa e calorosa", il lato oscuro di Johnson talvolta emergeva attraverso la sua "identità maschile, Malcolm", spesso con il risultato che Johnson doveva subire ricoveri e sedanti. Durante quei momenti in cui la parte violenta di Johnson emergeva, secondo Robert Heide, un conoscente, il carattere di Johnson poteva diventare aggressivo e irascibile, e l'attivista parlare con voce più profonda e, come Malcolm, "diventava un uomo cattivo, violento, in cerca di risse". Questa doppia identità di Johnson è stata descritta come effetto di "una personalità schizofrenica" e questa sarebbe stata la ragione per cui gli attivisti gay, all'inizio, erano riluttanti ad accreditare Johnson per aver contribuito a scatenare il movimento di liberazione gay dei primi anni settanta. Un articolo del Village Voice del 1979 a firma Steven Watson, intitolato The Drag of Politics, riportava che la personalità virtuosa di Johnson era "volatile" e elencava una lista di bar gay dai quali era stata bandita. Al momento della sua morte, nel 1992, secondo Wicker, si diceva che Johnson fosse sempre più debole e in un fragile stato mentale.

Il 6 luglio del 1992, poco dopo il gay pride, il corpo di Marsha P. Johnson fu scoperto mentre galleggiava nel fiume Hudson. La polizia inizialmente catalogò la morte come suicidio ma gli amici di Johnson e altri membri della comunità locale insistettero sul fatto che Johnson non avesse tendenze suicide, facendo anche notare che la parte posteriore della testa di Johnson riportava "un'enorme ferita". Secondo Sylvia Rivera, il loro amico Bob Kohler credeva alla storia del suicidio, a causa del suo sempre più fragile stato mentale che la stessa Rivera contestava, sostenendo che lei e Johnson avevano "fatto un patto" per "attraversare il fiume Giordano" (alias Hudson River) insieme". Randy Wicker in seguito ipotizzò che Johnson potesse essere caduta nel fiume o che fosse stata spinta ma affermò che Marsha non aveva alcuna volontà suicida.

Diverse persone si fecero avanti per riferire di aver visto Johnson molestata da un gruppo di teppisti che avevano anche derubato delle persone. Secondo Wicker, un testimone vide un residente del quartiere lottare con Johnson il 4 luglio 1992. Durante la lite rivolse un insulto omofobo a Johnson e in seguito si vantò con qualcuno in un bar di aver ucciso una drag queen chiamata Marsha. Il testimone fu però ignorato dalla polizia quando cercò di riferire queste informazioni. Altri locali raccontarono in seguito che le forze dell'ordine non erano interessate a indagare sulla morte di Johnson, affermando che il caso riguardava un "omosessuale" con cui si desiderava avere poco a che fare in quel momento. Il corpo di Johnson fu cremato e le sue ceneri furono sparse nel fiume dai suoi amici, dopo un funerale nella chiesa locale. La polizia permise che la Seventh Avenue fosse chiusa mentre le sue ceneri venivano portate al fiume.

Nel novembre 2012, l'attivista Mariah Lopez riuscì a far riaprire il caso dal dipartimento di polizia di New York per classificarlo come possibile omicidio.

Tributi

Il documentario del 2012 Pay It No Mind - The Life and Times di Marsha P. Johnson presenta alcune parti di un'intervista del 1992 a Johnson, che è stata girata poco prima della sua morte. Molti dei suoi amici del Greenwich Village sono stati intervistati per il documentario. Il documentario del 2017 The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson segue la donna trans Victoria Cruz del Progetto Anti-Violenza mentre investiga sull'"omicidio" di Johnson, indagando in particolare l'ipotesi di omicidio mafioso. Come Pay It No Mind, si basa su filmati d'archivio e interviste. Johnson appare anche come personaggio in due film drammatici basati su eventi reali, entrambi interpretazioni creative ispirate alla rivolta di Stonewall: Stonewall (2015), in cui è interpretata da Otoja Abit, e Happy Birthday, Marsha! (2016), dove è interpretata da Mya Taylor; .

L'artista Anohni ha reso omaggio a Johnson, chiamando la sua band pop barocca Antony and the Johnsons e dedicando a lei l'opera The Ascension of Marsha P. Johnson (1995).

La drag queen americana e personalità televisiva RuPaul ha definito Johnson un'ispirazione, descrivendola come "la vera Drag Mother". Durante un episodio del suo show RuPaul's Drag Race nel 2012, RuPaul ha detto ai suoi concorrenti che Johnson "aveva aperto la strada a tutti [loro]".

Nel 2018 il New York Times pubblicò per Johnson un necrologio.

Note

Bibliografia

Voci correlate
 Christopher Street
 Drag queen
 Moti di Stonewall
 Sylvia Rivera

Altri progetti

Collegamenti esterni

Foto
 Randy Wicker's Marsha P. Johnson album su Flickr
 Fotografie di Marsha P. Johnson scattate da Diana Davies su New York Public Library Digital Collections (nota: la foto della persona più giovane, seduta su un tavolo, è stata catalogata in modo sbagliato, si tratta di Zazu Nova, un altro veterano di Stonewall, membro del gruppo giovanile del GLF)

Video
  (conversazioni con amici di Marsha P. Johnson)
  (intervista con un possibile testimone dell'assalto a Marsha P. Johnson)

Attivisti per i diritti delle persone LGBT negli Stati Uniti d'America

Storia LGBT
Drag queen

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Harold Bloom is an American literary critic and professor at Yale University. He has written twenty books on literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and a novel. He has also edited many anthologies not only on Shakespeare, but almost on every age of literature.
Shakespeare's Universalism
Shakespeare's Representation of Change
Shakespeare's Works Are the Secular Scripture
Harold Bloom on King Lear
The Influence of Modern Society on Core Values
In Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, Bloom gives the argument that Shakespeare "invented human attributes that we think are very much our own inventions" (Bloom, 1995) which is somewhat true. The reason for it being somewhat true is the fact that humans are very complex beings to begin with, and Shakespeare only managed to convey this complexity of the human psyche in his works with absolute perfection. The only reason this notion applies to literature after Shakespeare is because Shakespeare is the one that successfully managed to represent such complex characters first.
Shakespeare is a master when it comes to conveying a character in a way that it represents an archetype of human nature, which evolves for the better or worse, a division that doesn't matter since the character is not static but changing. "What Shakespeare invents are ways of representing human changes, alterations not only caused by flaws and by decay but effected by the will as well, and by the will's temporal vulnerabilities" (Bloom, 1995).
All of Shakespeare's major characters show progression in change, both physical and psychological, whether for the better or for worse. The way this development happens is done masterfully by Shakespeare. Everything that happens in the play happens for a reason and no matter how unimportant a detail might seem on the surface, it can have most tremendous consequence on the characters in the long run:
Macbeth changes from a proud hand of the king to a man who commits regicide;
Lear's character changes from a flatter seeking all-mighty king to a caring father and a wretch that endures the wrath of nature on his own flesh, which gives birth to his respect for things he thought he had power over, when in reality he had none.
Hamlet changes from being a passive moaner to an active doer.
As Bradley states, changes happen throughout all of Shakespeare's major characters under the influence of external elements (decay) and internal elements (the will and its temporal vulnerabilities). The fact that characters in the plays are constantly evolving is one of the major reasons that make Shakespeare so great to read and re-read.
The universalism of Shakespeare and his characters is a fact. "Shakespeare's works have been termed the secular Scripture, or more simply the fixed center of the Western cannon" (Bloom, 1995). The reason for the notion of Shakespeare being termed the secular Scripture is not the fact that he is one of the most translated authors of all times. It's the way Shakespeare conveyed his characters to represent every human characteristic, whether it being a flaw or a merit.
As Bloom states, "we are the heirs of Falstaff and of Hamlet, and of all other persons who throng Shakespeare's theater of what might be called the colors of the spirit." In every character of Shakespeare is included a timeless archetype of human characteristics. Therefore comes the notion of Shakespeare being timeless, and the reason why so many modern adaptations of Shakespeare both in cinema and in drama do work. Shakespeare presents universal problems in his plays which are not bound by the constraints of time.
In his criticism of King Lear, Bloom makes a parallel between the play and the Old Testament. The paradigm of suffering is of utmost importance here, since it is present in both King Lear and The Book of Job (first poetic book in the Old Testament).
Bloom argues that King Lear is very difficult to stage, as he says, "our directors and actors are defeated by this play". It is very likely for a player to depict Lear in a clichéd way, making him a pathetic character rather than the true tragic character. One can avoid being disappointed by failed performances of Lear by rereading King Lear, and not going to these 'staged travesties'.
There exists a huge problem when it comes to actually performing King Lear on the stage, a problem that Bloom attributes to the way society is becoming more and more dull under the influence of the modern lifestyle. "In the pure good of theory, the part of Lear should be playable; if we cannot accomplish it, the flaw is in us, and in the authentic decline of our cognitive and literature culture" (Bloom, 1995).
It is a fact that less and less people actually bother to read books when almost everything is chewed up and served by producers of film and theater alike just for us to swallow it. This leads to dulling of the human capability to interpret certain things, and while not noticeable in less complex works, it becomes very noticeable in complex works such as King Lear.
The character of Lear is one of, if not the most difficult character to portray. One can be misguided to portray him as something absolutely different than what is in the actual play. The border between conveying Lear as a pathetic rather than a tragic character is very thin, and most of the times, he is performed pathetically. A King Lear without a proper Lear is no King Lear at all.
From what is evident above, Bloom accurately depicts what he calls "main hindrances to proper understanding of Shakespeare" (Bloom, 1995), and also presents the reasons why Shakespeare's works are considered akin to the Bible by some people.
Furthermore, Bloom presents the idea of the Shakespearean universalism, and the way Shakespeare metamorphosizes to present universal problems that have concerned humanity from its beginning to present day.
When talking about King Lear, Bloom points out the difficulty of staging the play, and the way inexperienced players tend to perform Lear as a pathetic rather than tragic character.
To conclude, Bloom gives us an irreplaceable insight into the way Shakespeare's plays work, and gives us tips on how not to receive and interpret some aspects of the Bard's works and characters.

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Sri Louise's personal practice is steeped in over 20 years of dedicated research into Yoga and the embodied self. Her teaching process is geared towards helping students understand how to functionally support their individual structure. Using simple movement patterns she has developed specifically for accessing Asana, students find they are able to inhabit the pantheon of Asanas with ease and self-confidence.
Sri Louise does not extrapulate Asana from the wider sphere of Yoga that it belongs to. It's precisely Yoga's roots in Hinduism that makes Asana meaningful. Her asana classes begin and end with Kirtana, a call and response form of prayer, to awaken the devotee, the one who is in appreciation of all that is here. As a student of Vedanta, Sri attends to Asana in the realm of Advaita, non-duality, exlporing how the individual parts relate to the collective whole.
Classes and workshops explore positionality and connectivity and the various degress of cognitive dissonance that many white, Euro-Americans maintain in their quest for personal freedom and spiritual well being. Sri Louise is part of an international movement to decolonize the colonial perspective and her classes situate themselves in this global awakening by deconstructing the imperial privileges of the global north on the body/mind.
Sri Louise is available for private, semi-private and group classes. She is happy to be part of your teacher-training program to help students glean a more profound insight into the practice and philosophy of Yoga. Sri is able to lecture on the Upanisads, Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutra. Sri Louise also conducts workshops in Sanskrit Alphabet for Pronunciation. These workshops can be tailored to proper pronunciation of Yogic terms and also towards relearning commonly chanted, but mis-appropriated Vedic mantras in the Yoga world.
Sri Louise helps students and teachers alike value the teachings and religious culture of Sanatana Dharma. Yoga is more than a life style, it's a world view. Traditionally, Yoga is considered a Moksa Sadhana, a means for liberation. In modern times, there is nothing more relevant.
This video clip is from a workshop I gave on Pinca Mayurasana, or Peacock Pose. After gaining two dimensional book knowledge of where the lateral rotatores of the humerus bones are, how these bones intersect with the scapula at the glenoid-fossa and how the scaupla moves in relation to the arm and the design of Asana, students are encouraged to put it all together in a three dimensional organziational process.
Facilitates a somatic approach to movement, where function proceeds form and efficiency inspires atistic grace. She credits Janet Panetta of NYC and Augusta Moore of San Francisco as her most influential ballet teachers. Sri has taught Yoga to members of the Ballet of Monte Carlo and also the Cullberg Ballet.
Dancers engage the plethora of Asana to explore the range of their own perfomative instrument. Somatic sequencing allows for simple, floor based inquires that enahnce neuromuscular coordination.
Sri Louise has been teaching Yoga specifically to Dancers since 1997. Since 2004, She has been a featured Yoga teacher at Impulstanz International Dance Festival in Vienna, Austria. As an active Dancer, Performer and Yoga practioner, Sri is able to easily translate the 'Esoterics of Asana' into the 'Aesthetics of Dance', both physically and philosophically. She brings a heightened sense of somatic inquiry, bio-mechanical consideration and instructional improvisation into the classroom container.
Such coordination is practiced first without weight-baring, then upright in the vertical plane and finally, a more advanced situation could see Passe/Vrksasana maintained in an inversion, like Urdva Vrksasana, Handstand, in preparation for partnering.


text:
Q: debug c++ python extension from visual studio I'm using Python Tools for Visual Studio (PTVS).
I can't do the c++ debugging of an extension. I've already enabled native code debugging.
My doubt is how to link the 2 projects (c++ and python)?
The c++ library is loaded in this way in python (3.4 - 64bit):
cpplib = ctypes.cdll.LoadLibrary(CPPLIB_PATH)

This is what I see from Visual Studio

A: If you're just using ctypes to load a generic native (non-Python-aware) DLL, then there's no need to do anything special here. The only thing you might want to do is add a project reference from the Python project to the C++ one, so that C++ builds as a dependency when you run the Python app.
The only thing to be aware of is making sure that ctypes can find the DLL at runtime. You might want to set up the C++ project final output path to be alongside your .py files, if you want to refer to the library simply by name.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Sergio Sighinolfi (Modena, 25 april 1925 – San Venanzio bij Maranello, 7 september 1956) was een Italiaans autocoureur. In 1952 was hij eenmaal te vinden op de inschrijvingslijst van een Formule 1-race, de Grand Prix van Frankrijk van dat jaar als reservecoureur voor Scuderia Ferrari. Alle Ferrari-coureurs startten die race echter en Sighinolfi startte niet. Hij schreef zich hierna nooit meer in voor een Formule 1-race. Sighinolfi reed tussen 1948 en 1955 ook in de sportwagens, waaronder in de Mille Miglia van 1949 tot 1953 en in 1955. Zijn beste resultaat behaalde hij hier in 1955 met een zesde plaats.

Sighinolfi kwam op 31-jarige leeftijd in de frazione San Venanzio bij Maranello om bij een ongeluk tijdens het op de openbare weg testen van een Ferrari 250.

Italiaans autocoureur
Formule 1-coureur


Our founder, Paul Detwiler, found pipes and wires underground beginning in 1974 as a journeyman plumber. They were detected by sensing the flux line alterations due to the voids and disturbances of the earth's flux lines. In 2017 he discovered to his amazement that machines, used by other utility locators, could not find the locations of plastic pipes without a tracer wire buried beside it. That discovery started our company. What's Below was born because we have a method of locating more items underground for you and faster.
What can we locate for you?
Because we sense the earth's flux line disturbances, we can locate voids and discrepancies. These underground voids can be all types of pipes, wires, water, old buried foundations, graves, and caves. We locate discrepancies of the earth like where someone dug for a foundation years ago. The earth was disturbed.
We have a test that all our locaters must have annually at a railroad tunnel. They must pass a test of accuracy at a depth of 232 feet through dirt and rock.
Is there a sinkhole in your future? Are you about to dig without knowing what dangers are below? Are you about to place a heavy object with unknown earth support? Are you about to dig into a gas or electric line?
What's Below can help you with these and other issues. Call us at 812-987-4119 or place an order by clicking the button below.


text:
Linton Kwesi Johnson: Time Come
In partnership with Lancaster Litfest, Lancaster Arts is thrilled to welcome the legendary Reggae poet Linton Kwesi Johnson in conversation with writer, Jacqueline Crooks for an unforgettable evening of poetry, prose and discussion about his life and work. In his latest book, Time Come, Kwesi Johnson collects some of his most powerful non-fiction writing, paying tribute to the activists and writers who inspired him.
Since 1975 when Kwesi Johnson burst onto the scene with Dread Beat an' Blood, he has revolutionised English poetry with his electrifying fusion of oral verse, Jamaican speech, radical politics and reggae rhythms.
We are delighted to have Jacqueline Crooks moderating this evening to uncover the sources and inspiration of his work. Crooks is a Jamaican-born writer who writes about Caribbean migration and sub-cultures; her first novel, Fire Rush, is due in March 2023.
"Linton Kwesi Johnson's body of work – the sheer length, breadth, depth, politics, performance, rhyme and reason of it – bears witness to a lifetime of lending lyrical form to a condition that Britain has proved unable or unwilling (or both) to name."
Gary Younge, from his introduction to Kwesi Johnson's Selected Poems
Duration: 90 mins, incluing interval
Thursday 20 April
The Nuffield Theatre
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Image credit: Glasgow Poetry Club


Happy Monday everyone! I hope you had a good weekend. Apart from one social gathering, we had a fairly relaxing weekend. I was thankful the weather was gorgeous as it has been dull, grey, and rainy most of the week. It finally cleared up on Friday leaving the weekend with lots of sunshine and clear blue skies.
The days are getting shorter and many of the maples trees in the neighborhood are showing signs that fall is upon us. It seems to me like the orange hues are normally the first ones to appear, followed by red, and finally yellow. We have a few mature trees in the yard and they all turn yellow. I wish the people who first lived here would have planted some trees with leaves that would turn orange or red.
Enough of the weather but before we move on today's recipe, I would like to let you in on some changes that will be coming up soon. Roti n Rice will be moving to WordPress in the next few days. She will have a new look and her own domain. Hopefully the move will go smoothly and my next post will be on the new platform.
And now let's get back to the Dhal Curry…..
Dhal curry is a very mild and nutritious curry made up mainly of lentils, tomatoes, and chilies. Sometimes potatoes and gourds are added. Very few spices are used and the heat level can be adjusted by using more or less dried chilies. This curry is very kid friendly as it can be made relatively mild.
In Malaysia and Singapore, Dhal Curry is often associated with the ever popular Roti Canai (roti pratha) and is usually eaten during breakfast. If you wish to make your own, please check out my recipe by clicking on the picture below.
Otherwise you can purchase frozen ones from the Asian and Indian grocery stores. It only takes 2 to 3 minutes to fry up one of these delicious flat breads.
There are many versions of Dhal Curry out there. This one is the one I am most familiar with. It has all the ingredients found in the version served in most Malaysian Indian restaurants. I have made it thicker but you can certainly thin it out by adding more water if preferred.
Sometimes, I like to add eggplants (brinjals) into the curry. To see what that looks like, please check out my Dhal and Eggplant Curry. There is a video in this post and you can see exactly how this dish is made (same steps) in the video.
The other vegetable that I have seen and may be used in Dhal Curry is moringa oleifera, commonly known as "drumsticks". Here is the US, I can buy frozen "drumsticks" at an Indian grocery store not far from where I live. I even managed to buy fresh "drumsticks" once at the same store and to make this Drumstick Shrimp Curry. Please do check out the post if you are curious to see what fresh and frozen "drumsticks" look like. There is a picture of the packaging of the frozen ones in that post.
Place dhal in a medium sized pot with ginger, garlic, dried chilies, curry leaves, ground turmeric, and 2 cups (480ml) water. Bring to a boil.
Season with salt, reduce heat and let it simmer for about 20 minutes until dhal is soft.
Remove from heat. Using an immersion blender, pulse several times to desired consistency.
In a fry pan, heat butter. Add mustard seeds. When it crackles, add cumin seeds and onion. Fry until onion is slightly brown, about 3 minutes.
Add jalapeno peppers and tomatoes. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Transfer fried ingredients to the pot with cooked dhal. Place pot back onto stove and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
Dhal Curry is delicious served with Roti Canai (roti pratha), as mentioned previously. It is equally delicious served with plain white rice. Dhal Curry is a great side dish for a vegetarian meal.
Here are two more dhal (lentil) recipes that may interest you. Simply click on the image to get to the recipe.
NOTE: This post was updated on September 2nd, 2013 with new pictures and writeup. No changes were made to the recipe.
Dal looks delicious and comforting, Biren!
delicious looking dal. love lentils with veggies.
This looks like a delicious dish, Biren! Weather is dull and gray here also with rain expected for the week. The tree is beautiful and good luck with your move to WP!
All of those vegetables cooking in your pan made me want a bowl of this right away! It looks too good! Thank you for sharing such a delightful recipe with us. I'm glad that the weather cleared up for you a bit…that is always such a blessing!
I love the colour of your Dhal curry Biren. Any curry that is kid friendly surely has my attention as these days I find myself cooking only dishes that my kiddies can enjoy too. This sounds delicious and very comforting. Parathas are my favorite thing to have with curry.
How exciting that you're moving to wordpress. I use it and really like it. Hope all goes smoothly!
Loved to see a perfect indian flavoured curry here….lovely Dhal dear….
Wonderful delicious flavors here! Good luck with moving to wordpress!
What a satisfying curry! Looks perfect served with the roti!
The dhal looks really delicious. I love your step by step presentations. Good luck with your transfer to WordPress.
Curry….mmmmmm. This looks amazing. Thank you for showing us in detail how it's supposed to be done. I can't wait to try.
The curry looks so good! And all the best with your new blog!
I LOVE dhal and can it eat for days on end and never get bored. Yours looks absolutely fantastic. Just reading the recipe is making me imagine the smell of the onions and cumin frying. YUM!!!
I made Indian Sambar recently – looks almost similar to the Dhal Curry you are making.
WOW Biren! You made this too! Looks so delicious and I love it.
Good luck with the move! How exciting! This sounds so delicious. Warm, hearty comfort food.
Hi Biren. Dhal curry! Something I must re-introduce to my children. I remembered they loved it when they were young toddlers, minus the chillies of course. Thanks for the post, it is timely as I am thinking of introducing some "spicier" foods to the kids. Good luck with the move.
Good luck with the move Biren! Let me know if you have any questions or issues; not that I can answer them of course. lol I love the look of your dhal! so yummy!
All the best on the move. Let me know how it goes! I am still on the blogger platform and tpp scared to learn wordpress. Let me know the benefits yeah.
Wow, Biren. This is so easy and quick. It looks like it is a delicious slow stew.
I ate a jalapeño on a sandwich I made today though. They confuse me. Sometimes I cut into one and it is spicy but still not so much that I can't taste the wonderful flavor of the pepper. Other times, my mouth is so on fire that I seriously consider dunking my whole head in the toilet (smile). For the record, I have not done that…yet;-)!
Woweeeeeeeeeee!! Oh, I LIKE it!!!! I really do – so bright and fresh, I can almost smell it! This was definitely a good idea 😀 Congrats Biren, on your beautiful new virtual home!!
Thanks Denise! I am glad the bulk of the work is done. You will likely see some small changes and additions in the coming days.
Congratulations Biren on your new home 🙂 Nice and spacious layout!
Love, love, love the new look!!! Enjoy your new site!
Thanks Julie! It's way cool but lots of stuff to learn. Now I've gotta figure out how to create a post.
Perfect with paratha on a gloomy day, sunny day or any day.
Do i have to pop the dhal into a blender? Or can I simply cook it for several hours in a thermal cooker? I don't have a food processor.
You can leave it as is as long as it is soft. It will just be chunkier than if you blend it. Even when blending, you do not want to puree it. Just pulse so that it does not become baby food.
This looks so delicious, but I can't get curry leaves in my tiny Canadian town. Can I just substitute curry powder to taste, or will that completely throw the whole thing off? Thanks!!
Curry leaves are totally different from curry powder. You can totally leave it out or use 2 bay leaves instead.
just cooked it and somehow its really hot but it is amazing!!!!
I am glad you enjoyed this dhal curry. Perhaps you can leave out the dried chili peppers or just use one instead of two to reduce the heat level.
I have been searching for recipes for yellow split peas and came across your blog post. My father is a farmer here in Canada and sells mass amounts of yellow split peas to be exported to India, Asia. Ironically, we ourselves don't eat them and I am trying to find recipes to use them. Green split peas are used most commonly but in one dish, French Ham and Split Pea Soup. I attempted to hull and split these dried peas and make into a dal. Are there other uses for the yellow split pea? I had a hard time even finding a name for them, perhaps matar ki dhal?
Yes, there are definitely other uses for split pea. Here in the US, split pea soup is one of them. Here is a link to my version – Split Pea and Sausage Soup. Green split peas are similar to Puy lentils except that Puy lentils hold their shape better. Do check out my Lentil, Kale, and Roasted Tomato Soup.
which lentils/dal have u used for this recipe?
I used chana dhal but you can also use toor dhal which will cook a little faster.
This is one of my favorite recipes ever! There is a simplicity of it, yet guests think you've slaved away all day! The warmth of the curry can warm you right up and is comforting as well. Even my small kids love this. Serve it with Naan from the bakery….yum! Thanks for sharing because I keep coming back for this receptive.
Wow…thank you! Very happy to hear that you and your family enjoy the curry and recipe. It is also my youngest son's favorite. 🙂 Happy New Year!
I found your recipe today…..promptly made it! Yummmm……….I had to sub pickled jalapeño as a ran out of fresh….and my husband thought it too spicey….prob changed the taste a bit but it was still really good! Next time I'll turn the heat down?
I mix in shredded coconut flesh at the end and stir in the fresh cilantro let it sit for 10 mins the cilantro infuses into the lentils.
Fantastic recipe! The best dhal that I have made so far. Also my husband who is actually from India enjoyed it a lot!
I can't get mustard seed. Can I replace it with something else? Or totally remove it from recipe? Thanks!
Yes, you can omit it.


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Since you have a business to run and often are crammed for time juggling your daily tasks, you probably don't have the time to follow up on each and every debtor personally. Hence, using a collection agency is your best bet at recovering past due balances. And FIRMS is one of the best in the business.
We send letters and follow up with the debtors over the phone, diligently, efficiently and with a prime focus on collecting the outstanding amount. Do the letters sent to the debtor return marked as Bad Address or the phone number provided turn out to be bad? Rest easy, our top notch support team has the latest skip tracing tools and keeps searching for new and updated information on the debtor. Are your customers not just local but spread across the U.S? Don't worry as FIRMS is licensed to operate in multiple states.
We not only use the snail mail but are accessible for the debtors on-line as well. This results in quicker resolution of disputes or transfer of required information. It has been noted that the younger generation prefer using this medium and also helps those who are not keen discussing their debt with collection agencies over the phone.
If you are looking for a collection agency, look no further than us. Let our customer service team get in touch with you and give you a broader picture.
At FIRMS we take great pride in our customer satisfaction. We originally got started in the debt collection industry because we knew that FIRMS would make an impact on the debt collection industry in a very crucial way. We knew we would work harder and smarter than any one of our competitors.
Let me ask you a question. How is your current debt collection company working for you? Are they available for you when you need them? Do you they have a high-quality customer website for you to get up to date and real time account information? Do they notify you when you an account has been paid? Do they customize their services to fit your company's needs and wants? I would imagine most of your answers were no. That's because FIRMS has created something unique; a debt collection company that cares.
We hear two simple words time and time again from our customers. Those two words are "Thank You." Our clients constantly contact us to say thank you for all the hard work we do for them. We hear about how impressed they are at our customer service, our technology that makes their lives easier, and our rate of return. We have always believed that it is better to attract bee's with honey and we consider our impeccable customer service and business savvy to be that honey.
So stop worrying about the issues you're having with your current debt collection company. Don't worry about if the accounts will get paid, if your business will be able to afford to stay open, or whether or not your current provider is practicing poor business and collection techniques in your name. Give FIRMS a call today and let us show you how a debt collection company can really work for your business.
At FIRMS we realize that some of our potential clients have never worked with a debt collection company before. We have found a very insightful and helpful article written by Credit.com that will help guide you through the process and some tips to consider when making your choice.
New customers do not respond to your first attempt to collect the debt. When you do not have a history of transactions with the customer, there's a greater chance they will refuse to pay or never intended to.
You've agreed to a payment plan, but the customer does not follow through. Customers who still won't pay after you've agreed to meet them halfway with a payment plan are unlikely to change their minds.
A customer completely denies responsibility for the debt. Without a collection agency, these debts are rarely recovered.
The customer makes unfounded complaints about your business, product or service as an excuse not to pay. Most of the time, these complaints are just an excuse to get out of paying the debt.
The customer is going through a serious personal situation such as a divorce. Often, one spouse blames the other for the debt. A collection agency will be able to get to the bottom of who's responsible.
The customer has a long history of being financially irresponsible.
Deciding when to hire a collection agency is a personal choice, of course. But once it becomes clear you've exhausted all your options and aren't getting anywhere, the debt is better left in the hands of a professional agency. It is better to recover some portion of the debt than none of it.
There are more than 5,000 collection agencies in the United States alone, and not all are alike — far from it, in fact. Some handle consumer accounts, while others specialize in business-to-business (B2B) collections. The biggest firms often handle both. Some collection agencies specialize in certain industries such as medical, insurance, utilities, credit cards, mortgages or auto loans, while others work for a number of industries. There are agencies that cater specifically to small businesses and those that cater to large corporations. Some agencies are local or statewide in focus, while others are national firms.
Generally, it is important to hire a collection agency that has an established track record of successful collections in your industry. The agency needs to be familiar with the terminology in your industry, and the rules or regulations set forth by state or federal agencies governing your industry, if applicable. If you're in the medical field, for example, the agency needs to be well versed in insurance requirements and medical terms. If you have consumer debt, find an agency that specializes in consumer debt.
It is always important to focus and choose a debt collection company that will work best with your company. And guess what? FIRMS is that debt collection company that will work best with you!
As one of the top leading debt collection agencies in the industry, FIRMS makes it a practice to contact a portion of our clients from time to time in order to find out some of the problems they had faced in the past with other debt collection agencies and how FIRMS can perform at a higher level to meet our customers needs and wants.
Recently we contacted a relatively new client to the FIRMS family of clients and called Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.
FIRMS: What would you say was the best advancement for you moving to FIRMS?
Rood and Riddle: The automated service is very important to us. I get an update every time someone makes a payment on their account. The transparency is amazing with FIRMS. Moving to FIRMS has made our accounting department so much simpler because of the system FIRMS has put in place to help us. And I feel that as our business continues to grow I can be confident that FIRMS will be able to handle the increased workload and grow with us.
FIRMS: Is there anything you wish FIRMS would do differently?
Rood and Riddle: Not at all. When we first started with FIRMS they needed to make some adjustments to the account settings to work better for our business and they made those adjustments. Working with FIRMS has been amazing!
At FIRMS we pride ourselves in hearing about the success that our clients have had in working with our company and we hope FIRMS can add your business to our list of satisfied customers. Contact us and let us know how we can help you grow!
Recently BuzzFeed ran an article with one of its editors in which she set out to save money over the course of two weeks by only using cash to pay for her necessities and to put her credit card away. During the first week she set a budget of under $60. This included buying food, going out for entertainment, and fun activities like going to get drinks with friends.
The first few days of her first week were a success. She walked down 35 blocks to attend the grand opening of a new Mexican restaurant where she was able to buy lunch and dinner for $2. The next day she went to a local grocery store and bought dinner and coffee for $5. She opted to stay home and cook dinner rather than going out to eat. On her third day she found a new bar and went to get drinks with a friend because of a $2 special they were having. By Saturday night though she had given into her old spending habits and the pleasures she had grown accustomed to and exceeded her budget of $60 by spending $75.
The second week she set a budget of $40 to cover all food expenses and entertainment. This time she buckled down and made it happen. Monday she went to McDonald's to get her morning coffee and take advantage of their special of $1 coffee instead of going to Starbucks and spending $4. For lunch she went online and found great new restaurants that were offering amazing specials for their lunch and dinner menu's. Tuesday she was able to spend $5 on lunch and dinner for the entire day.
Why did FIRMS just tell you about this one woman's experience on setting a budget? Because FIRMS is dedicated to helping you get out of debt and save more money.
This woman lives in New York City and was able to live for two weeks on only $115 for her food and entertainment. Everyone has a budget and lifestyle they have become accustomed to and not everyone can live on $40 a week for food and entertainment, especially if you have a family. However, everyone can cut expenses if they had to.
So how much debt do you have? How much do you want to get out from the burden of debt and to remove those recurring monthly bills from your budget?
We suggest tracking your spending over the last two months. Look and see how much money you have actually spent on food and entertainment. Do you have the number written down? Now take 25% off that and live on that remaining amount for the next month. Why? Because now you can take that 25% and apply it towards your debt payments for that month. This might sound like a lot for you today but it's not that challenging so long as you set a plan on how to live off the remaining balance and if you PUT YOUR CREDIT CARD AWAY! USE CASH! As we have mentioned in previous blogs, paying with credit cards always cause you to spend more money than you planned.
So set your budget, pay with cash, hide your credit card, and PAY OFF YOUR DEBT!
FIRMS is here if you have any questions or need any advice on how to properly set your budget and stick to it!
In 2015 there were a number of complaints against various debt collection agencies all around the United States. Below is a list of some of the top complaints registered.
Taking or threatening to take an illegal action: 2,207 complaints in 2015.
Improper contact or sharing of information. 2,333 complaints in 2015.
False statements or representation. 2,906 complaints in 2015.
Disclosure verification of debt. There were 5,452 improper disclosures reported in 2015. Of these, 1,346 related to credit card collections and 1,057 had to do with healthcare collections.
FIRMS is a premier debt collection company that specializes in caring for our customers and making sure we always stand above the rest of the companies in the industry.
A basic Google search for the reviews of the top debt collection companies will reveal that of the top 72 national debt collection agencies not one company holds a customer review above 1.5 out of 5 stars. There are literally thousands of complaints listed against the practices of these companies. So the question stands, who do you want to handle your company's business and debt collection? When you turn your collections over to a debt collection agency you want to be assured that they will continue to represent your business in the best way possible. You do not want to worry about the collections company practicing illegal or aggressive business to try and collect from your customers.
This is why people choose FIRMS time and time again. Our customers know that they will be treated properly, that they will have complete access to our client portal 24/7 and with real time updates with every account. It means that can trust FIRMS to continue their better and proper practices when it comes to customer service.
If you're having trouble with your current debt collection agency or if you would like to experience how a premier debt collection company can work for you, give FIRMS a call today!
Today we are going to tell you a little story about John who recently had an interesting and frustrating experience with a debt collection agency. John's story may be unique and not every reader will be able to relate, however the principles are true and worthy of giving your attention to.
John Smith got a call one day from a debt collection company stating that John had a past due amount he owed to a local cable provider. John was confused as to how he could have such a bill. John had recently moved into his childhood home and had never had any sort of account with the cable company in question. The debt collection agency didn't want to hear any excuses from John and called him a liar and stated that he owed them $175.
John hung up the phone with the company and after a couple of days he forgot about the situation.
Two months later John went online to check his credit report and found that there was a negative claim on his account that shouldn't be there. After some investigating John realized it was that mysterious cable company bill. John called the debt collection company and tried to find out more information. It turned out that John's grandfather had opened the account and the final bill was never paid after his grandfather had passed away years ago. The issue was that John shared the same name of his grandfather and now john was living in his grandfather's old house, so there was virtually no way to distinguish between John and his grandfather.
John talked to every manager at the debt collection agency he could find but no one was willing to help him. He finally called the cable company and went through their channels to try and find someone that could help. The cable company wanted John to submit a death certificate for his grandfather proving John was telling the truth! After more and more digging and talking to more and more managers, John finally asked the manager to check when the account was opened. They found it had been opened in 1995 when John would have only been 7 years old. The manager apologized for the mistake and immediately removed everything from their system. John's credit still took a minor hit but that will soon recover.
The point of this story is that you should never allow a debt collection agency to push you around or harass you. If there has been a mistake on your credit report you need to spend some time and dig to find out what the mistake is so you can correct the issue and fix the situation. Most debt collection agencies will not assist you and most companies will not immediately correct the issue unless they have proof. You have to work to prove that their reporting is inaccurate. So don't get upset if something is wrong on your credit report. Just work a little bit harder and find the mistake and then contact the company with the correct information!
Remember, with FIRMS we are here to help you with any financial or debt related questions you might have! Don't hesitate to contact and let us know how FIRMS can help you!


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Balance in the modern workplace lacking as thousands of Australians avoid mental health discussions
Workplace mental health (psychological) injury claims are increasing1, as 69 per cent of the Australian employees surveyed by Allianz reveal they have not had a conversation with their employer about their mental health since the start of the pandemic.
New Allianz research reveals there is a growing disconnect between employee and employer views when it comes to mental health.
Finding balance in the modern workplace has become a priority for individuals and organisations in the evolving pandemic, as Allianz encourages employees and employers to take action to foster mentally healthy workplaces.
Managing mental health and subsequent psychological injuries continues to be a pressure point for Australian workplaces as the global pandemic evolves and presents different challenges. Leading Workers Compensation insurer, Allianz, has released data revealing workplace mental health injuries are on the rise – with active psychological claims increasing by five per cent, for the last financial year.1
In addition to this increase in psychological claims, new research from Allianz has found 69 per cent of Australian employees surveyed have not had a conversation with their employer about their mental health since the start of the pandemic. This trend remains unchanged compared to 2020 (69 per cent).2 The urgency for open dialogue around mental health couldn't be more pressing in the workplace with the Allianz claims data showing that the average cost per active psychological claim is around 3.5 times that of active claims for physical injuries.3
COVID-19 has not only raised concerns about employee mental health, but also the lack of strategies that organisations have in place to support employees, with 43 per cent of those surveyed saying their workplace has not introduced new mental health initiatives since the start of the pandemic.
The Allianz research of Australian employees and senior managers across industries shows that while both employees and employers agree there are challenges in the workplace, they also see a disparity between their challenges. Experiencing worries or concerns with balancing work and personal life since the pandemic (67 per cent), increased pressure and workload (31 per cent) and ineffective or unfair management (27 per cent) are the main pressure points for employees. Employers, on the other hand, say that employees working remotely (68 per cent), maintaining a positive culture (28 per cent) and completing targets/deadlines (28 per cent) are the biggest negative impact from a management perspective.
Mitch Wallis, Founder of Heart On My Sleeve, said, "Since the pandemic, it has become harder to learn how to balance work and personal life – it is an ongoing issue that employees and employers are trying to get right. We no longer have those physical cues when we finish work for the day, the leaving of a building, closing of a laptop or a social interaction with colleagues. As humans, we crave this certainty, we crave knowing what to do, how to do it and when to do it. However, the pandemic has presented challenges in the workplace that have increasingly blurred the lines between professional and personal, across all industries.
"Employees want to feel supported, and to know that they can switch off and transition to their personal life at the end of a day. It's more important than ever to foster an open, empathetic and educated culture that respects work-life balance by providing a space that nourishes and supports mental health and wellbeing."
Not only has the research highlighted the evolving challenges that come with operating in a pandemic world, but it has also established that the line between work and personal life is blurred (45 per cent). More than two in five (46 per cent) Australian employees surveyed across all industries who find it difficult to separate their work and personal life say this is because they don't have a transitional space and 40 per cent feel there is an expectation to work longer hours due to COVID-19. Additionally, more than three quarters (77 per cent) of Australian employees say they work some form of overtime to complete set tasks.
According to Dr Adam Fraser, author of The Third SpaceTM, "Finding balance in the modern workplace has been increasingly difficult with the loss of the 'Third Space'. The 'First Space' is what you're doing now. The 'Second Space' is what you're about to do and the 'Third Space' is the gap in the middle. Organisations need to look to create a workplace that fosters and rewards people for making time for themselves and their Third Space.
"Despite this needing to be a priority, individuals and organisations are struggling to find a healthy balance as industries respond to the changing demands of the pandemic. More so than ever, employers feel obliged to not only support employees during the working hours of the day, but also feel responsible for making sure their team finds time to switch off and transition from work to personal life."
Eighteen months into the pandemic, employees feel their professional and personal lives are becoming blurred, as an alarming 70 per cent feel they don't have the opportunity to utilise their Third Space4. The breakdown in the Third Space can be seen in over 45 per cent of employees feeling there are fewer boundaries with their employer. In addition, employees are feeling the weight of expectation to work beyond set hours to ensure the business survives COVID-19 (40 per cent). Beyond this, employees are not able to utilise their Third Space as they feel if work calls, they answer (36 per cent), it's hard to turn off work-related technology (35 per cent), it's hard to make time for themselves (34 per cent), they don't take regular lunch breaks (28 per cent) and for those working from home it means there is no separation between work and personal life (28 per cent).
Julie Mitchell, Chief General Manager, Personal Injury at Allianz Australia said, "Not all injuries in the workplace are physical, they can be mental too. We're observing growth in the number of people accessing benefits for a psychological claim related to their workplace. What's more, while the pandemic is impacting injured workers' return to work – with treatments and appointments delayed – due to lockdowns, the loss of routine also has a direct correlation with an individual's recovery and holistic wellbeing.
"We're encouraging preventative measures and resources as key to supporting employees' mental health while living in a pandemic world and beyond. The workplace needs to create a space that facilitates safe and secure conversations to ensure employees feel mentally supported throughout the pandemic and beyond. For this to happen, organisations need to constantly be updating and evolving their approach and making sure their team is aware of the support systems in place."
Beyond the challenges in the workplace resulting from the pandemic, employers and employees are looking to the future of the workplace with hope and positivity. Nearly three quarters (74 per cent) of the nation's employers have a plan to implement mental health strategies and express more empathy and emotional intelligence (39 per cent), empower employee workplace flexibility (37 per cent) and create a space that fosters safe and collaborative environments (35 per cent).
Allianz is committed to supporting and providing tangible solutions on how to create and support employees in establishing and then utilising their Third Space. Allianz believes in creating workplaces that are safe and rewarding, and by championing transparent and empathetic conversations on mental health, so employees can focus, feel supported and thrive.
Through our Personal Injury Division, Allianz is a leading provider of Workers Compensation and offers a range of support and services for the evolving needs of Australian employers and employees. Visit the Allianz Workplace Mental Health Hub to read our latest research report – Finding Balance in the Modern Workplace – and to learn how you can find or facilitate balance in the workplace and open up the dialogue between employees and employers.
Allianz tips for finding balance in the modern workplace:
FOR EMPLOYEES. WHERE POSSIBLE:
Champion proactive discussions with your manager about your mental health by regular check-ins that foster a natural discussion
Suggest establishing clear parameters that suit your work–life balance. For example:
Set clear expectations about your working hours, or out-of-work commitments.
Make time to transition from work to personal life by listening to music, podcasts, reading or reconnecting with friends and family.
Avoid using work-related communications platforms outside of work hours.
Make time and schedule necessary breaks throughout the day and walk away from your devices, i.e. lunch or exercise.
Turning off notifications across your devices, i.e. emails and messaging applications, outside of the set working hours.
Encourage sharing feedback with your employer on the mental initiatives you'd like implemented in the workplace.
FOR EMPLOYERS, WHERE POSSIBLE:
Encourage flexible working hours, for example through hybrid working models, or for shift-workers preferred days off.
Encourage the utilisation of the Third Space to allow employees to transition from work to personal life. For example:
Encourage employees to switch off from work at the end of the day by turning off their notifications and devices.
Schedule regular check-ins with employees to see how they are managing and utilising their Third Space.
Encourage open dialogue on how your team has positively taken time for themselves and prioritised their Third Space.
Practice empathy, encourage boundary setting and, as leaders, appreciate employees' personal time outside of set work hours. For example:
While there will always be instances of emergencies or shift-work changes, where possible avoid contacting employees outside of set work hours through various communications channels.
Set guidelines and parameters that there is no expectation to respond to work-related communications outside of the working day and week.
Support employees by encouraging them to finish work at a reasonable hour, and lead by example.
Set tasks in the working day that are realistically achievable within their capacity/shift to avoid the loss of the Third Space.
Matea Rojas
0435 084 880 // matea.rojas@allianz.com.au
The research was commissioned by Allianz and conducted by YouGov Plc. The survey was conducted online with a nationally representative sample of 1,049 Australian employees (middle managers and below designations) and a nationally representative sample of 524 Australian senior managers (senior managers and above designations) and was carried out between 26 July and 6 August 2021. All data was post-weighted by age, gender and region to reflect the latest population estimates.
About the Allianz Workers Compensation claims data
Allianz Australia's own data on incidence and cost of mental health in the workplace, relating to workers compensation. The data has been taken from one data set – the Allianz Workers Compensation Underwritten insurance portfolio – which covers workers compensation claims across the privately underwritten states and territories of Australia.
1 Allianz Workers Compensation claims data comparing the 2019/20 (July-2019 to June-2020) and 2020/21 (July-2020 to June-2021) years as at the end of each year from the Allianz Australia Underwritten Workers Compensation insurance portfolio.
2 Allianz Finding Balance in the Modern Workplace Report 2020 data comparison.
3 Allianz Workers Compensation claims data in the period July-2016 to June-2021 for active claims from the Allianz Australia Underwritten Workers Compensation insurance portfolio.
4 Fraser, A (2021) The Third Space. Penguin Life (Original work published 2012).


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Document Control provides the tracking and management of revision history of Test request records and its procedures & related documentation. This can include the history of developing new test hardware or software platform as well as all required traceable documents through the test cycle. Depending on the test status various roles in the application will be authorized to perform revisions to the test request. Changes to each attribute of the test request are captured across revisions for traceability. Typical sequence to perform revisions will include locking, revising and checking in of the test request.
For medical device companies, this module satisfies the document history file demands of the FDA. For military and aerospace calibration or FDA Quality ISO standards, the module provides the necessary tracking and reporting for ISO 17025 or 13485.


Viewers of "Le village préferé des français" (France's favourite village), on France 2 TV on Tuesday night chose the tiny Alsatian town of Eguisheim for the 2013 award.
After around 150,000 online votes were counted, the commune in the Haut-Rhin department in eastern France, had fought off competition from 21 postcard-perfect towns to take home the coveted title.
Eguisheim mayor Claude Centlivre shared his joy in the aftermath of the victory on Wednesday.
"We're very happy about this, obviously," he told The Local. "The village is already quite well known, but we're looking forward to welcoming even more visitors this summer," he added.
Eguisheim, which has a population of just 1,600 and an area of only 14 sq. km, is known to tourists and oenophiles as a good source of Alsace wine.
The prize of "France's favourite village" is more than just honorary, however.
Last year's winner, Saint-Cirq Lapopie in the south-western department of the Lot, enjoyed an 87 percent increase in tourist visits in July, and 40 percent in August, compared to figures for 2011, according to the local tourism office.


^^What is really a shame is that some of the cases were in kids under a year of age, who were not old enough to be vaccinated.
Yep. Those parents who refused to vaccinate their own children put other people's babies at risk.
Back to the OP's question of "should parents of unvaccinated children have to pay higher premiums then those who fully vaccinate due to the perceived increase in health care costs?"
To me this seems like a very slippery slope. If insurance companies can charge more for unvaccinated (or partially vaccinated) children then what else can they charge more for? Does anyone remember the babies who were denied coverage for being "too fat" and "too thin"?
There are other decisions that parents make that lead to increased health care costs for all. Should parents who feed their kids a steady diet of junk food be forced to pay more? How about parents who choose to formula feed? Both of those things have been shown to increase health care costs for all.
Do we really want to give insurance companies even more power and money then they already have just because parents of unvaccinated children *might* contribute to increased public health costs? Personally I think it's a horrible idea.
There have been several epidemics in the United States since 1963: from 1970 to 1972, 1976 to 1978, and 1989 to 1991. The epidemic of 1989-1991 claimed 120 deaths out of a total of 55,000 cases reported. Over half of the deaths occurred in young children.
I think there is no question that unimminzed kids contribute to higher health care costs. However, I do agree with the slippery slope argument, and I'd rather see some sort of incentives for parents to immunize. Off the top of my head, I don't have any suggestions, though. Anyone?
The only idea I have is everyone starts class action lawsuits against the index patient's parents and the parents of all of the other unimmunized children who caught and spread a disease if they were all old enough to be vaccinated. Sadly, financial risk of losing everything would be more likely to motivate these parents to immunize since the morality factor clearly isn't influencing them.
All it would take is a couple of substantial lawsuits won in court and seeing families that chose to not immunize lose everything they owned. These court cases could be easily won because most parents who chose to not immunize don't truly hold religious beliefs about it. The majority of them only claim religious belief when they are really just concerned about the risks of vaccinating. A jury would be easily swayed by the parents who lost very young children through no fault of their own because their children were too young to vaccinate. I believe a jury would want to see strong evidence that a family truly holds religious beliefs via being extremely strong religious people who worship in a religion that is known for this belief. A jury wouldn't have much sympathy for parents who aren't very religious, have flimsy 'spiritual' beliefs, and don't practice a religion that forbids immunization.
While it is law that all children should be immunized before attending school in all 50 states barring medical exemptions, 48 of those states allow for religious exemption and 20 allow for philosophical exemptions. It would be very difficult if not impossible to sue parents for not vaccinating their children since 99% of those parents are not breaking any laws by not vaccinating.
Religion can be a very personal thing and one does not have to subscribe to any particular organized religion nor do they have to attend church or synagogue in order to have said religious beliefs. According to the First Amendment of the US Constitution, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Religious belief can be defined as: "Religious belief refers to a mental state in which faith is placed in a creed related to the supernatural, sacred, or divine. ..." (source: wikipedia). I think one would be hard pressed to prove someones religious beliefs or lack thereof in a court of law.
I also find it frightening that people would want to live in a society that forces medical treatments on people against their will. People should have the right to say what is and what is not injected into their bodies and the bodies of their children. There is no such thing as "the right to be free of vaccine preventable illness". If people feel it's OK to sue the parents of unvaccinated or under vaccinated children then they should have no problem suing the vaccine makers for not coming up with a more effective product.
The First Amendment means that the *government* cannot establish an official religion for the country, and that citizens are allowed to practice any religion (or none) that they like. HOWEVER...there are exceptions: The Rastafarian is NOT allowed to smoke marijuana in most states, even though it is part of his ritualistic religious practices. A Voudou priest is NOT allowed to bloodlet a chicken on his front lawn. Wiccans are NOT allowed to hold their circles naked in public.
And - if your religion forbids immunization, you'd best be prepared to back that up with documentation, if your kid carries a communicable disease and infects infants too young to be immunized.
I find it frightening that parents will allow and encourage minor carriers of communicable diseases to be out in public, imposing their illnesses on the masses, and pretend that they're doing so because they have a right. Your child does NOT have the right to infect MY body. Don't vaccinate. And leave your child home until he has gotten sick and created his own immunities. Or make him wear a sanitary mask on his face so that he isn't exhaling toxins into my air.
The laws in the 48 states that allow religious exemptions would have to be changed/amended. I know in Colorado, you can get an exemption based on "philosophical objection"; you do not have to belong to any organized religious group that is opposed to immunization. If there is an epidemic of a vaccine-preventable disease, and your child is not immunized, s/he can be booted out of school until the end of the epidemic. However, as I said previously, often it is an unimmunized kid who is the index case.
I was thinking of some more positive incentives. We once had a dental insurance plan that had an "incentive" program, whereby if you actually went to the dentist every 6 months for preventive care, your deductible went down after so many visits. Something like that could be applied to immunizations, or perhaps some kind of a rebate deal could be set up.
The First Amendment means that the *government* cannot establish an official religion for the country, and that citizens are allowed to practice any religion (or none) that they like. It also does not allow the governement to HOWEVER...there are exceptions: The Rastafarian is NOT allowed to smoke marijuana in most states, even though it is part of his ritualistic religious practices. A Voudou priest is NOT allowed to bloodlet a chicken on his front lawn. Wiccans are NOT allowed to hold their circles naked in public.
And as of this day the first amendment does protect people's right in 48 out of 50 states to opt out of vaccinations based on their religious beliefs which means the idea of class action lawsuits wouldn't hold up in court.
The definition of "religious beliefs" is very broad. I don't think that it would be very difficult for a parent to defend their decision based on their religious beliefs.
Most children who are unvaccinated are not walking around spreading VPD to the masses. There is no such thing as the "right to be free from communicable disease", vaccine preventable or not.


The body of Ed Stocks was removed from the cemetery here and shipped to Atlanta for burial in " Oakland" last week. He was buried here about five years ago.
Mr. T. N. Stanford received a telegram announcing the death of his brother, Mr. J. F. Stanford, at his home near Dalton yesterday morning. He went up on the afternoon train to attend the funeral.


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normal and teacher's college - page 106 (7)
black-and-white photograph of clara louise guild while she was a teacher at sanford high school. (4)
high school teachers -- florida -- sanford -- photographs. (5)
sanford high school (sanford, fla.) -- photographs. (5)
high school students -- florida -- sanford -- photographs. (4)
outdoor phot (4)
slavia (fla.) -- history (2)
189-? (5)
Teacher Ferdinand Cicmanec (1901-1950)
Teacher Ferdinand Cicmanec, in a photo from the Centennial booklet produced by Holy Trinity Slovak Lutheran Church, OH. Mr. Cicmanec was portrayed as one of the "spiritual sons" of the congregation, having served as a teacher in their school for...
Florida second grade teacher's certificate.
Teachers -- Certification -- Florida -- Orange County.; Illustrations -- Prints.
Teacher's Certificate given to C.A. Hamilton to teach second grade in Orange County, Florida for two years signed by J.L. Beeks, and dated May 21, 1894. Certificate also lists C.A. Hamilton's scores on teacher's examination. The certificate was...
Steven R. Sidlik (b.1933- d.1994) First called teacher at St. Luke's School
Steven Sidlik was the first male teacher to receive a "sacred call" to teach at St. Luke's School. He arrived in 1954 and served the school as teacher and coach and the church as youth director and Bible class leader for the next 38 years. During...
Sandspur, Vol. 10 No. 01, 1904
Rollins College (Winter Park, Fla.) -- Newspapers.; Student newspapers and periodicals -- Florida -- Winter Park -- Newspapers.
Rollins College student newspaper, written by the students and published at Rollins College. The Sandspur started as a literary journal.
Teacher, Mary Ann Weisenbarger at desk in classroom at St. Luke's school, c. early 1960s.
Teacher, Mary Ann Weisenbarger at her desk in the classroom for combined grades 1 and 2 in early 1960s. Interestingly, Mrs. Weisenbarger (nee' Mary Ann Tesinsky) was, herself, one of the students in the very first classes taught at St. Luke's, as...
Black-and-white photograph of Clara Louise Guild while she was a teacher at Sanford High School.
High school students -- Florida -- Sanford -- Photographs.; High school teachers -- Florida -- Sanford -- Photographs.; Sanford High School (Sanford, Fla.) -- Photographs.; Black-and-white photography -- Florida -- Sanford -- Photographs.; Outdoor...
Black-and-white photograph of Clara Louise Guild along with students and faculty when she was a teacher at Sanford High School.
High school students -- Florida -- Sanford -- Photographs.; High school teachers -- Florida -- Sanford -- Photographs.; Sanford High School (Sanford, Fla.) -- Photographs.; Black-and-white photography -- Florida -- Sanford -- Photographs.; ...
Black-and-white photograph of Clara Louise Guild with students and faculty while she was a teacher at Sanford High School.
Essay written as a letter to a teacher.
Guild, Clara Louise -- American essays -- Massachussetts -- Boston.
Grade school essays of Clara Guild while in Boston from the late 1870s to the early 1880s. School essay in letter form to teacher.
St. Luke's School, c. 1948. Teacher Dorothy Daniel with entire student body in 2nd year of school
St. Luke's Lutheran School in its second year (c. 1947), operated in the original wood church, which had been moved from its first site at the cemetery to a new location, east of 1939 brick church. Ms. Dorothy Daniel, first full-time teacher...
Principal Bellhorn and Teacher Sidlik lighten up for a school party
Two snapshots showing the Principal and first male teacher at St. Luke's Christian Day School joining in the fun of a school dress-up party. The small teaching staff of St. Luke's school often participated in theatrical productions and other events...
The installation of Steven R. Sidlik as St. Luke's first "called teacher," September 5, 1954.
Mr. Steven Sidlik (far left)poses with St. Luke's pastor, Stephen Tuhy, Rev. Stephen Mazak (pastor of Mr. Sidlik's home congregation in Cudahy, WI) and Principal Elmer Bellhorn on the day of his Installation as a called teacher for St. Luke's...
Solemn call issued to Teacher, Steven R. Sidlik, 1954
The letter and other documents sent to Steven R. Sidlik by Pastor Stephen M. Tuhy in March of 1954, inviting Mr. Sidlik to accept a "Solemn Call" to teach at St. Luke's Christian Day School, offer many insights as to the status of the church and...
Black-and-white photograph of Clara Louise Guild while a teacher at Sanford High School.
High school students -- Florida -- Sanford -- Photographs.; High school teachers -- Florida -- Sanford -- Photographs.; Sanford High School (Sanford, Fla.) -- Photographs.; Black-and-white photography -- Florida -- Sanford -- Photographs.;...
Dorothy Hogan, Teacher
Black and white photography -- Florida -- Daytona Beach -- Photographs; Teachers -- Florida -- Daytona Beach -- Photographs; Women -- Florida -- Daytona Beach -- Photographs; Desks -- Photographs; Books -- Photographs; Telephones -- Photographs;...
A black and white photograph of Mrs. Dorothy Hogan, a teacher at Bethune-Cookman University, looking down at a book entitled, "The World Who's Who of Women." She is sitting at a desk chair and the book is resting on the desk. She is wearing a...


Q : What kinds of assistance will the embassy provide to US citizens during a crisis such as a hurricane or other event that may require evacuation to the United States?
The actions we take depend on the nature of the crisis. In some instances we may only need to provide information on conditions in the country, such as warning about areas of unrest, how and where to seek help, and other useful advice. In more serious situations we may recommend that US citizens leave the island and, if commercial transportation is not available, provide departure assistance as our resources permit.
Q: What departure assistance do you provide? Why do you tell US citizens they should leave, and then don't offer transportation?
Q: What happens during an evacuation?
Each evacuation depends on the nature of the crisis. In extreme situations, where local infrastructure is damaged or severely compromised, we work with the host government, other countries, and other US government agencies to arrange chartered or non-commercial transportation for US itizens seeking to depart. This could include transportation by air, land, or sea. While we partner closely with the Department of Defence, military options are only used as a last resort. You should not expect the US military to assist you when we issue a travel warning advising you to leave a country.
Q: Why don't you use the US military in every evacuation?
We use the resources that are most expedient and appropriate to the situation. Expectations of rescue by helicopters, the US military, and US government-provided transportation with armed escorts reflect a Hollywood script more than reality. While some evacuations involve US military or other US government assets, most rely on commercial transportation and local infrastructure. Any level of departure assistance constitutes an enormous logistical effort.
Q: Will the US g overnment come and pick me up if I need assistance getting to the airport or other evacuation point?
Crises place an enormous strain on our resources as embassy personnel focus on assisting citizens affected by the crisis. Security conditions can also limit our ability to move freely around Jamaica. It is almost impossible for the US government to provide in-country transportation service to individuals or specific groups during a foreign crisis. You should, therefore, pay close heed to our travel and safety information for the country they are travelling to or residing in, monitor local conditions, and have a plan of action in case of emergency.
Q: Will the US g overnment pay for my travel? How much will it cost?
Departure assistance is expensive. US law 22 USC 2671(b) (2) (A) requires that any departure assistance be provided "on a reimbursable basis to the maximum extent practicable". This means that evacuation costs are ultimately your responsibility; you will be asked to sign a form promising to repay the US government. We charge you the equivalent of a full coach commercial fare on a comparable mode of transportation at the time that commercial travel ceases to be a viable option. You will be taken to a nearby safe location where you will need to make your own onward travel arrangements. Typically you will not have an opportunity to select the destination to which we will take you; it will be to the nearest safe location (only in rare circumstances will that be to the United States). If you are destitute, and private resources are not available to cover the cost of onward travel, you may be eligible for emergency financial assistance.
Q: If I don't hear from the embassy can I call them?
Often our embassies and consulates abroad cannot handle the huge volume of calls that follow a major crisis. We encourage you to contact us using Task Force Alert (see below for more details), special e-mail addresses established for public inquiries during a crisis, or our US-based telephone number at 1-888-407-4747 (from overseas +1-202-501-4444).
Q: What if I don't have access to email orphone?
We know that Internet and cellphone service is sometimes interrupted during a crisis. Landline phones might also be affected. In such cases, we will use local television and radio to broadcast emergency information and may also use a system of pre-designated US citizen "wardens" to pass on information to other US citizens in your area. We also encourage citizens to reach out to family and friends outside the affected area to obtain information and relay messages to and from the task force handling the crisis at the Department of State. Don't underestimate the power of social media. Regularly updating your status through social media sites is an effective way to let your loved ones know how you are doing.
For more information about American Citizen Services, please visit our website at jm.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services. For safety and security reasons, the U.S. Embassy asks that all individuals arrive at the embassy no more than 15 minutes before their designated appointment time.


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A powerful, if quiet, night with London Grammar
London Grammar played live in Auckland for the first time on Saturday. Madeleine Chapman was at Spark Arena to see it unfold.
There were technical issues at the London Grammar concert. I know this because the wait between the opener James Vincent McMorrow and the main act was 45 minutes. I also know this because the members of London Grammar apologised no less than four times for being late. It was a surprisingly polite thing to do which captured the tone of the whole night.
Starting at 8pm, it was more of a double bill than an opener and headliner, with James Vincent McMorrow performing a 50 minute set. I was surprised at how full Spark Arena was by 8:05pm, with it being almost full capacity, but McMorrow has actually been around longer than London Grammar so it would be fair to assume some fans attended primarily to see him. McMorrow was incredible live, with a larger back up band than I would have predicted. If Damien Rice, Ray Lamontagne, and Sam Beam were to allow one more member into their sombre-bearded-singer-songwriter club, it would be James Vincent McMorrow.
A good beard, a good hat (Photo by Randy Holmes/ABC via Getty Images)
After a patient wait, London Grammar opened with the vocally isolated "Rooting For You". With it, lead singer Hannah Reid let everyone know immediately that the impressive pipes heard on their records could deliver in real life too. What followed was just over an hour of what can only be described as the politest concert I've ever been to. The fans, who all seemed to have a lot of hair, actually listened when security told them to clear a path, and no one seemed to mind the extra wait. After the first apology and a valiant but unsuccessful attempt from Dot Major at saying "kia ora", London Grammar settled in. The stage set up was minimal, with a widescreen behind them showing colours and images you might find as a default Windows screensaver. It worked though, because the whole show was decidedly relaxed, that to have them look as if they were trying too much would've seemed out of place. My friend insisted that I mention how great Reid's ponytail was so here I am mentioning it. It was incredible and I want to know her trick.
I actually had reservations about how full the show would be. London Grammar have such a distinct sound that it's hard to tell just how popular they are. Turns out, very much so. Reid showed hints of Florence Welch and occasionally a touch of Annie Lennox. Sometimes it seemed as if she was running out of steam and then suddenly the music would fade and she'd hit some ridiculous note, hold it, then return to the song like nothing happened. Meanwhile, Dan and Dot, her two bandmates, were somehow doing everything else. At one point I saw Dot play piano, switch to the sampler, move to the drums for the chorus, then loop back around all in one song. Reid might be the voice but watching Dot Major at work was equally thrilling.
London Grammar in action (Photo by Dave Simpson/WireImage)
One thing that threw me, and has got me thinking ever since, was how loud the crowd was. Not loud in their cheering, but loud when Reid was singing. London Grammar's sound falls somewhere in between acoustic and full-on pop. Which means while Reid's voice is powerful enough to draw attention, there are still plenty of quiet moments in each so where crowd chatter can cut through. Perhaps it was more technical difficulties making them sound quiet, but I spent a lot of the show trying to spot who all was talking through the performance. When their pre-encore set ended with "Strong", Reid encouraged the crowd to "sing along if you know the words". Thankfully, those same chatty fans did indeed know the words and New Zealanders didn't embarrass themselves by being quiet when asked to sing on their own.
"If a lion roars, would you not listen?" we all screamed at the stage, struggling to reach the high notes. Reid proved she had the voice of a lion and I for one was glad to listen.
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