The Prime Minister has declined to commit to visiting the Irish border before Brexit.
Theresa May suggested it was more important that she understood the issues related to the border than to see it in person.
Mrs May and senior cabinet colleagues have faced criticism for not visiting the 310-mile frontier since the Brexit referendum, despite its fate being one of the crucial issues in the UK's exit negotiations with the EU.
On the third leg of her whistle-stop tour of the UK on Thursday, Mrs May visited a farm between Bangor and Belfast in the constituency of north Down.
The Jackson family farm sits more than 50 miles away from the nearest section of the border.
Mrs May was pressed on why she had not taken the opportunity to visit communities closer to the border with the Irish Republic, given the acute concern held by many in that area about Brexit.
"I absolutely understand how important this issue is for people generally in Northern Ireland but obviously particularly for those who are living close to, and in some cases, may have homes that are across the border," she said.
But the Prime Minister declined to give a commitment to visit the border before the UK leaves the EU.
"My diary over the next year hasn't yet been set, but all I am saying is I understand.
"I think it's not a question of just whether I actually go and stand on the border, it's a question of do I understand the impact that has for people?
"What I am doing here today is actually listening to farmers here in Northern Ireland.
"Listening to representatives of the agri-food industry, hearing what they want to see coming out of Brexit, what are the opportunities for Northern Ireland in the future.
"That's what I have been doing."
Earlier, Mrs May sat down for lunch in the Jackson family's farmhouse with representatives of the Ulster Farmers' Union.
She heard of concerns within the agriculture industry about Brexit's potential to impact on the free flow of goods across the Irish border.
Farmers' representatives also stressed that they did not want a new border created in the Irish sea, obstructing important trade links with Great Britain.
Mrs May told the farmers Brexit presented opportunities.
"I think one of the things that will come out of Brexit is the opportunity for agriculture here but across the UK to really - out of the CAP (EU's Common Agricultural Policy) - to set our own way of doing things," she said.
She told fellow guests at the lunch that on a recent visit to China she had learned of potential opportunities for milk exporters in the UK.
"There's lot of opportunities to find ways of doing these things," Mrs May said.
The Prime Minister added: "We are absolutely committed to ensuring there is no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland to ensure that free flow."


"You can see the computer age everywhere but in the productivity statistics."
A friend of mine (as an average end user) recently asked me if computers have ever contributed to productivity and increase in standard of living. My quick answer was not really yet… My curiosity got better of me and I started to look into why it is so. There are several excellent papers published about how it is almost impossible to measure productivity gains of computer age with financial or economical meters. However, I can easily see some other obvious reasons.
As a professional software developer I first looked into what is happening in my industry. Who can anymore learn to take advantage of all the features in the new Office applications? Nobody that I have met… Most new features only clutter the workspace for an average user. Most home users never configure their operating systems beyond the default settings, unless forced to – and usually end up spending endless hours doing that. Corporations standardize their software configurations and try their best to stop end users "tweaking" their own machines. It seems to me that a lot of new "productivity" features actually lower the productivity of an average user. Here industry has definitely gone past the diminishing returns to the territory of negative productivity growth with the excessive feature bloat.
All is not bad though, a few of the new features actually make software more reliable, easier to use, easier to configure and maintain. But it is difficult to sell new versions if improvements are only in the area of reliability (It should work now – We paid for it), speed and ease of use (Why couldn't those features be included in the version we have now!).
Most of the IT dollars are spent in office automation in one way or another. It is also easy to see that no real productivity gains can be achieved there. The office automation has not and will not lead to "paperless" offices where all business processes are automated and the remaining office staffers are only required to handle exceptions.
Today's offices produce enormous amounts of data and even some business intelligence (BI). Offices before computer age produced standard financial records and maintained business processes set in the stone – no real-time BI nor adhoc business queries nor quick reorganizations were possible. So the computer age has brought a new level of BI and agility to the corporation. But as by itself, this added BI produces no productivity gain as at least same proportion of the corporate staff is needed to produce it and the overhead is higher than before the advent of computers. However, no corporation can survive in today's world without real-time BI and the agility to instantaneously change direction brought by computerization of business processes. This new additional knowledge work has used up all the productivity gains that computers in manufacturing and the office automation has been able to bring to the table.
The corporate overhead is high in IT due to multiple factors. First and foremost is the constant need to upgrade systems and software. This creates negative productivity due to user retraining, integration needs, physical labour to affect the upgrade and due to the need to change business processes to fit the new technology. This happens at such a fast tempo today that ROI of these investments remains dismal. But this is again a part of the price for staying in business. Another significant factor is that IT investments are done with scant or occasionally non-existent business cases and plans when compared to other types of investments, such as building new manufacturing capability. I have known a CEO that argued in length with an architect about the number of electrical outlets (~$7 apiece) at the new office and then on the same day instructed his CIO to get one of those CRM systems (millions $$$) just because he read about them in a magazine and learned that the XYZ competitor has one of those systems… In short, following the current fads without a thorough understanding of the reasons behind them does not do much good for the productivity.
The productivity gains of the computer age will show up and I believe have now started to show up, but it is due to several not so obvious factors. First and foremost the system maintenance cost has gone down due to automated software updates. The hardware and software upgrade cycles have gone longer (Windows 98 will be supported years longer than Microsoft hoped for). There is even a concept of "good enough computing". The majority of the new updates today fix reliability and security issues, and do not provide new features. This trend will mean that we will start to see ease of use, reliability, maintainability and the hiding of the feature bloat as major new directions for software and hardware. This will increase the productivity. Also the dot-com boom is almost paid for and the corporations will be more vary of throwing billions of dollars into schemes that have no fathomable business case or achievable productivity gain.
Off-shoring will be a washout for the productivity as prices of these services will rise quickly and communication/control problems will kill the remaining gains. However, we will see demand for IT professionals and for other knowledge workers diminishing as their skills will be in less demand – this is real gain in productivity for the corporations.
I believe we will see more and more productivity gained by the use of computers in the near future. Does this really raise the standard of living here as millions of knowledge workers will be laid-off as a result, is a question that I will leave to economists.
PS. My pet peeve – Internet business without brick and walls component or unique intellectual (patented/copyrighted) property is so easy to duplicate that only one business with the lowest prices and lowest level of acceptable service will survive in any business place. The companies will be under constant attack from many well funded wannabe's. This automatically means very low profit margins compared to money invested or compared to turnover. Even the winners of this game will be very bad business investments as they will never be able to make a real profit. What do you think?


Ricardo Lemvo y Makina Loca - Dans la fort. No local acredite existem em torno de 9 dezenas de tmulos to lindos e imponentes que so patrimnio histrico nacional. Including a number of other inns such as the Glasgow Arms as well. Het stijgend aantal toeristen en winkelende bezoekers van buiten heeft ook een schaduwzijde. O ento chefe do Gabinete de Segurana Institucional e futuro presidente da repblica Ernesto Geisel acompanhou o processo pessoalmente. Den Baumeistern gelang ein Werk hohen Ranges . Ryada bir tatli su baligi yani alabalik grmek habere isarettir. His Military Conduct was described as Exemplary . Im schnsten Gebiet Mecklenburg-Vorpommerns dem Mritzkreis mit seinen ausgedehnten Rad- und Wanderwegen bietet sich das Hotel als familienfreundliches Urlaubsdomizil. The saya is a black kanshitsu ishime nuri lacquer and a superb crayfish form iron sayajiri scabbard bottom mount. Hoovers inborn musical wit never fails to bring a smile to the face they prove that they can have plenty of fun while remaining sirius in intent and execution with the high degree of musicianship youd expect from these three merry musos. A five piece Foot stomping top forty style dance band. Cemetery on Manchester Road after parents complained about its poor condition. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period. 1962 de Rothschild Frres establishes Imtal as an umbrella company for all their mineral mining interests. Then why did you have those other girls strip and stuff but not me She asks quietly. Little Muppet For a girl that is clumsy. Jordan resurfaces terrified saying he has to leave Beacon Hills. Virtudes y quien carece de humildad no puede vivir. Subsequently Gravel proposed a never-built Denali City development above the Tokositna River near the mountain to consist of a giant Teflon dome enclosing hotels golf courses condominiums and commercial buildings. Ho avuto rapporti protetti tranne un paio di volte ma si tratta di pochi minutida premettere ke il mio ciclo dura dai 39 ai 41 giornix il momento nn ho sintomi dellarrivo delle rossearriverannoho avuto nei giorni precedenti nel pulirmi con la carta delle perdite tipo sanguema molto sottiliRispondi. Bijelo Dugme Blues za moju bivsu dragu live 629. Sentenza di condanna scoppi lennesimo diverbio. In the 2D games checkpoints take the appearance of posts while in 3D games they are either small gates or pads on the ground. De slaapomgeving moet rustig zijn zegt Spruyt. Covers the creation of new media artwork and the use of creative coding. This glycogen is used as a fuel source for your body between meals or when your blood sugar drops. For more info click here for. A Nel periodo trascorso si verificata. Roti jenis ini mempunyai kandungan karbohidrat yang cukup untuk memberikan energi yang dibutuhkan dari pagi hari sampai siang. Lamigdala e linsula nel gruppo dei pazienti. The modules panic and emit a summary of the situation over to the single global workspace where it sits side by side with all the other summaries and the slow linear prefrontal cortex ponders all the situations weighs their importance perhaps issuing some requests to various memories sends out orders. Fhre kollidierte mit Anleger in Rnne.


text:
Rich Mountain & Carricks Ford
Battle Name : Rich Mountain & Carricks Ford
Date(s) : 11 July 1861 - 14 July 1861
Part of : American Civil War , Eastern Theatre, 1861 , West Virginia 1861 ,
Outcome : A victory for American Union Forces over American Confederate Forces
Type of battle : Land
Confederate Gen. Garnett posted two regiments in commanding positions in West Virginia and McClellan sent Gen. Rosecrans and four regimants to dislodge them. The Union troops managed to out-flank and appear in the rear on the Confederates. In the ensuing battle, half of the Confederate force surrendered with the rest retreating to Carricks Ford where Gen. Garnett himself was killed.
Randolph county, West Virginia, USA. (USA)
Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan assumed command of Union forces in western Virginia in June 1861. On June 27, he moved his divisions from Clarksburg south against Lt. Col. John Pegram's Confederates, reaching the vicinity of Rich Mountain on July 9. Meanwhile, Brig. Gen. T.A. Morris's Union brigade marched from Philippi to confront Brig. Gen. R.S. Garnett's command at Laurel Hill.
On July 11, Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans led a reinforced brigade by a mountain path to seize the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike in Pegram's rear. A sharp two-hour fight ensued in which the Confederates were split in two. Half escaped to Beverly, but Pegram and the others surrendered on July 13. Hearing of Pegram's defeat, Garnett abandoned Laurel Hill. The Federals pursued, and, during fighting at Carrick's Ford on July 13, Garnett was killed.
On July 22, McClellan was ordered to Washington, and Rosecrans assumed command of Union forces in western Virginia. Union victory at Rich Mountain was instrumental in propelling McClellan to command of the Army of the Potomac.
Casualty figures
American Confederate Forces
Number engaged :
Casualties :
American Union Forces
HMS Victory in drydock
German WW1 Equipment - MUR3_IR28_pack
Blackburn Buccaneer S2b
Roman marching camp - Contubernia tents
The Trincomalee, Main Gun Deck

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Yamaha will reveal its new R1, R6, R3 and an adventure-style MT-09 at the EICA motorcycle show in Milan on November 3.
The Japanese company has released a video that gives some hints that the new R1 will be a total revamp with the title "Nothing stays the same". Even the engine sounds different, possibly ditching the crossplane crank.
It features MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi and four-times AMA superbike champion Josh Hayes riding the bike around a track.
Few details are revealed, but you get a long look at the new colour instruments and a top speed of 262km/h in fifth gear with 12,000 revs. That indicates there could be the potential to break the 300km/h barrier like the supercharged Kawasaki H2 is expected to when it is also unveiled at EICMA.
The R1 instruments also hint at a number of hi-tech rider aids such as traction control, stability control, launch control, power modes, suspension adjustment, and "QS" and "LIF", whatever they are.
The exhaust has been moved from under the seat to a stubby unit under the engine and it feature headlight "eyebrows" which are probably daytime LED running lights.
Yamaha is expected to release a track-only version of the R1 just as Kawasaki has built the H2R track version.
While the R1 gets a total revamp, the new R6 only comes in a new colour scheme called Race Blu, inspired by the YZR-M1 MotoGP bike.
That colour will also feature in the new YZF-R3, which is powered by a 321cc parallel-twin with 31kW of power and 27Nm of torque. It's basically a bigger version of the YZF-R25 which was unveiled for Asian markets in May.
The R3 has a tubular steel frame, a wet weight of 169kg, ABS standard with a single 298mm floating front disc and 220mm rear.
Yamaha is also believed to be unveiling an adventure version of its MT-09 triple with handguards, Super Tenere styling, long-travel suspension and the suspected title of MT-09X.
It will be powered by the same 850cc triple as the MT-09 and should be strong competition for the BMW F 800 GS and Triumph Tiger 800 XC.
No word yet of when any of these models will be available in Australia. However, we will be at the media launch of the Tricity leaning three-wheeler scooter next week and hope to get a clearer picture then.
I hope they keep the yamaha TDM 900 .


I've been working on these flowers for a while now. I know I haven't shown temari for ages, sorry about that. Hope the next 12 posts makes up for it. The top image is from my sampler ball and the second image is from a set of six S10 temari I've been making. I have also been experimenting on these making diamond obi designs using different methods. I'll show the obi in the next post.
The sampler ball is of course much larger than the second temari. It is interesting to see how different the flowers look given the change in curvature of the surface area covered by the design.
The next post will be a different take on this Camellia design.
Until next time... happy stitching!
can't wait to see the next side!!!


text:
Home	Box Sets	The Glitter Band: The Albums, 4CD BoxsetGlitter Band	Return to previous page
View cart "Anthony Phillips: Field Day, 2CD/1DVD Digipak EditionAnthony Phillips" has been added to your cart.
The Glitter Band: The Albums, 4CD Boxset
Glitter Band
This 56 track box set contains the first four studio albums recorded by The Glitter Band during the heyday of Glam, 1974-76.
The Glitter Band: The Albums, 4CD Boxset quantity
SKU: GLAMBOX162
Categories: 7Ts, 7Ts Sale, Box Sets, Christmas Box & Vinyl Sale, Physical, Sitewide Sale
Tags: 7ts, cherry red records, glam, glitter band, rock
RE-PRESS: CD ORIGINALLY RELEASED IN 2016
• This 56 track box set contains the first four studio albums recorded by The Glitter Band during the heyday of Glam, 1974-76.
• Disc One is the Glam Rock masterpiece "Hey!" which spent three months in the UK National Charts, eventually peaking at No.13. It features the hit singles 'Angel Face' (UK No.8, Germany No.8, Australia No.2) and 'Just For You' (UK No.10, Germany No.35) plus a bonus non LP B-side.
• The second CD is the "Rock N Roll Dudes" LP which hit No.17 in the UK in May 1975. The hit singles 'Let's Get Together Again' (UK. No.8, Germany No.19) and 'Goodbye My Love' (UK.No.2, Germany No.32) are included alongside two non LP B-sides.
• "Listen To The Band" is Disc Three and it includes the hit singles 'The Tears I Cried' (UK. No.8, Germany No.35, Australia No.5), 'Love In The Sun' (UK No.15) and 'People Like You And People Like Me' (UK No.5, Germany No.14) as well as the USA Top 100 "Makes You Blind" and the non-charting 'Alone Again'.
• The final CD is 1976's "Paris Match" album which includes the singles 'Look What You've Been Missing', 'Lay Your Love On Me' and 'She Was Alright'. The album also now comes in its Glitter Band sleeve rather than The G Band one.
• The clam shell box also contains a 20 page booklet with detailed liner notes plus numerous pictures of singles from around the globe to get collectors updating their "Wants Lists"!
• Each album is in its original LP artwork
• Mastered by James Bragg
1. TELL HIM
2. ANGEL FACE
3. SHOUT IT OUT
4. SEA CRUISE
5. ALL I HAVE TO DO IS DREAM
6. ROCK ON
7. JUST FOR YOU
8. TWISTING THE NIGHT AWAY
9. BABY I DON'T CARE
10. SEALED WITH A KISS
11. I'M CELEBRATING
12. GIMME SOME LOVING
13. ANGEL FACE (REPRISE)
14. YOU WOULDN'T LEAVE ME WOULD YOU?
ROCK 'N' ROLL DUDES
1. FOR ALWAYS AND EVER
2. SWEET BABY BLUE
3. I CAN'T STOP
4. WRITE ME A LETTER
5. ALL MY LOVE
6. GOODBYE MY LOVE
7. GAME'S UP
8. BRING HER BACK
9. PICTURES OF YOU
10. DO YOU REMEMBER
11. YOU'RE TRYING TO HARD
12. LET'S GET TOGETHER AGAIN
13. JUKEBOX QUEEN
14. GOT TO GET READY FOR LOVE
2. PEOPLE LIKE YOU AND PEOPLE LIKE ME
3. MY FIRST MISTAKE
4. PAINTED LADY
6. DREAM BABY
7. OH WELL NEVER MIND
8. WATCH THE SHOW
9. ALONE AGAIN
10. MAKES YOU BLIND
11. THE TEARS I CRIED
12. UNTIL TOMORROW
13. LOVE IN THE SUN
14. I CAN HEAR MUSIC
15. DON'T MAKE PROMISES (YOU CAN'T KEEP)
16. TUNA BISCUIT
1. LOVE STREET
2. LAY YOUR LOVE ON ME
3. I REALLY DIDN'T LOVE HER AT ALL
4. SHE WAS ALRIGHT
5. HARD TO SETTLE DOWN
6. ALMOST AMERICAN
7. IT'S ALRIGHT
8. YOU NEVER WALK OUT ON YOUR BABY
9. LOOK WHAT YOU'VE BEEN MISSING
11. GOTTA GET A MESSAGE BACK TO YOU
12. MOVE ON UP
Alien Sex Fiend: Possessed
Alien Sex Fiend: Possessed, Limited Edition 2LP Gatefold Vinyl
David Cross & Andrew Brooker: Ends Meeting
Metalmorfosis


On 9 December, the Aachen-Maastricht Institute for Biobased Materials (AMIBM) is opening 1500 m² of new laboratories at the Brightlands Chemelot Campus. The institute will present new facilities and initiatives, such as the 'bi-component wet spinning line' for the development of medical fibres, which is the only one of its kind in the world. Within AMIBM, Maastricht University (UM), RWTH Aachen and Fraunhofer work together in a unique partnership.
The Brightlands Chemelot Campus is the place for triple helix cooperation in the field of new materials. More than 50 employees from the three cooperating partners are working on the development of innovative and sustainable materials, such as materials constructed with the waste from mechanically peeled shrimp, using the help of deep-sea bacteria. Director Richard Ramakers: "People from around the world are applying to work with us. Working towards a non-petrol based economy in this dynamic location really appeals to people." Both national as well as disciplinary boundaries are being crossed at AMIBM, where biologists, chemists, engineers and medical practitioners from 16 countries work together. AMIBM was realised with support from the Province of Limburg, as part of the 'Kennis-As Limburg' project.
The one-of-a-kind 'bi-component wet spinning line' for the development of medical fibres that is being presented today is a special facility that is almost 20 metres long, from which bio-based fibres are spun 'wet' (from a polymer solution) and at room temperature. This is already special in itself, but it can also be done using two different bio-based polymers at the same time (for the production of bi-component fibres). Thus, different properties can be combined in a single fibre, such as the combination of strong and anti-bacterial fibres for implants. It is anticipated that these fibres will eventually get a coating, which will add even more medical properties to the materials. AMIBM is currently developing specific fibres for implants; the focus is on cardiovascular applications such as bio-hybrid heart valves. 'From plant to implant' is the motto at AMIBM.
AMIBM is also announcing today that it is starting with the 'BioTex Fieldlab', a testing ground for developing production processes for fibres and threads from new and currently available biopolymers. This builds a bridge from bio-based polymers to market-ready applications in textiles, such as bed linens, clothing and carpets. The partners in the project are AMIBM, MODINT (the Dutch trade association of 600 businesses in apparel, fashion accessories, carpets and interior textiles) and CHILL (Chemelot Innovation and Learning Labs). There will also be close collaboration with biopolymer and textile producers. The project partners for the BioTex Fieldlab were awarded a subsidy of €760,000 from the Operational Programme South Netherlands (OP Zuid).
Svenja Schulze, minister of Science in the German federal state of North Rhine Westphalia, is excited about the project. View a video message from her that was shown during the opening of the facility.


text:
using Lucene.Net.Util;
using System;

namespace Lucene.Net.Analysis.Payloads
{

    /// <summary>
    /// Encode a character array <see cref="int"/> as a <see cref="BytesRef"/>.
    /// <para/>
    /// See <see cref="PayloadHelper.EncodeInt32(int, byte[], int)"/>.
    /// </summary>
    public class IntegerEncoder : AbstractEncoder, IPayloadEncoder
    {
        public override BytesRef Encode(char[] buffer, int offset, int length)
        {
            int payload = ArrayUtil.ParseInt32(buffer, offset, length); //TODO: improve this so that we don't have to new Strings
            byte[] bytes = PayloadHelper.EncodeInt32(payload);
            BytesRef result = new BytesRef(bytes);
            return result;
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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text:
Steven Peter Davis (born 26 July 1965) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is currently a trainer scout for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

As a defender, he played over 100 league games at each of three clubs: Crewe Alexandra, Burnley and Barnsley. After managing Cheshire-based non-league teams Northwich Victoria and Nantwich Town, he was appointed assistant manager at Crewe Alexandra in 2009. Two years later, in November 2011, he was appointed Crewe manager, winning a Wembley play-off final in 2012 and the EFL Trophy in 2013. He left Crewe in January 2017 (at which date he was the fourth longest serving manager in the top four divisions of English football) and then head coach at National League club Leyton Orient for just over four months to November 2017. He later joined Wolves as under-18s coach. In October 2022 he became interim manager of Wolves' first team ahead of Julen Lopetegui taking charge from 14 November 2022.

Club career
Born in Birmingham, Davis started his career with Stoke City as an apprentice in 1982 but never made a senior appearance. However, he played more than 140 matches for both Crewe Alexandra and Burnley, making his Crewe debut at the age of 18, and captaining the team aged 19. He was also a key figure in the time he was at Burnley. He then played over 100 matches for Barnsley in Division 1, including 24 appearances in the season in which they were promoted to the Premier League. He had loan spells at York City and Oxford United, eventually being signed by Division 1 outfit, Oxford United in 1998.

The final years of his playing career saw him in Cheshire with Macclesfield Town, and with Northwich Victoria and Nantwich Town – where he was player-manager of both clubs.

International career
Davis was capped by the England national youth team.

Management career

Northwich Victoria
He was appointed as player-manager of Northwich Victoria in June 2003. He resigned in September 2003, after the team were second bottom of the Conference National in the 2003–04 season.

Nantwich Town
However, his managerial career at Nantwich Town was the most successful time in the club's long history, converting a club that had never achieved anything above the North West Counties League to one that was challenging for a Conference spot. He led Nantwich to two promotions in successive seasons and a FA Vase victory, just missing out on promotion to the Conference North at the end of the 2008–09 season. His abilities attracted the attention of Crewe Alexandra, where he had spent four seasons as a player. On 17 May 2009, it was announced that he would become assistant manager to Gudjon Thordarson at Crewe.

Crewe Alexandra
Davis remained as Thordarson's assistant through the Icelandic's short lived tenure at Gresty Road before the former Stoke City manager was relieved of his role in October 2009. Taking up the vacant manager's role was Dario Gradi, now in his third stint as Crewe manager kept Davis as his assistant manager. Gradi remained in the managerial position at the club until the autumn of 2011 his position was starting to become questioned by the Crewe fans, this was only galvanised further by a 3–0 home defeat to Torquay United which left the club near the relegation zone. Although Gradi was still manager of the club, Davis took charge of the next match against Oldham Athletic in the Football League Trophy after the Crewe manager could not attend after feeling unwell. Although Crewe lost the match 3–1, Davis was appointed the new Crewe manager a couple of days later with Gradi moving to his former role as Technical Director - a role he took following the appointment of Steve Holland as first team coach back in the summer of 2007.

Promoting coach Neil Baker as his assistant manager, Davis' first match, officially, as Crewe manager was a home FA Cup tie to Colchester United. Although the railwaymen lost the tie 4–1, Davis' brief for the remainder season was specific: keep Crewe in the football league. Davis was successful in his target keeping Crewe in the football league and, in a run that saw the club go 16 matches unbeaten, the English manager helped Crewe qualify for the League Two play-offs. Following a 3–2 win over two legs with Southend United and a 2–0 win over Cheltenham Town at Wembley, Davis' team were promoted to League One.

Davis had lost two key figures in that season's promotion campaign in the summer with Nick Powell completing a three million pound transfer to Manchester United and captain Ashley Westwood for an undisclosed fee to Aston Villa but they were replaced by a number of summer signings such as forward Mathias Pogba, defender Mark Ellis and midfielder Abdul Osman. Davis successfully secured safety in League One in his first season and also guided his team to a second Wembley appearance this time in the final of the Football League Trophy against Southend. The Railwaymen won the tie 2–0 with goals from Luke Murphy and Max Clayton.

As with the previous summer, Davis lost a key member of his midfield this time in the form of Luke Murphy who left the club for Championship club Leeds United in 2013 for a million pounds. Despite a brief period linking him with the vacant Wolves managerial position, Davis remained at the Alex. The 2013–14 season was less successful than Davis' previous seasons, compacted even more after seven first team players were held by Devon and Cornwall Police for an alleged sexual assault during the team's pre-season training in Redruth. The players were cleared of all charges in November, a few months into the new campaign. Davis described the decision as a "noose being removed from our necks" citing the case as one of the reasons for the team's poor start to the campaign. Further to the sex assault allegations, Davis was also having attitude issues with summer signing Anthony Grant and former Newcastle youngster Brad Inman - listing the pair on loan and isolating them from the rest of the squad in training labelling the pair as a "disruption." The pair were later reinstated to the squad and first team duties following an improvement in their attitudes and helped Crewe avoid relegation on the last day of the season with a 2–1 victory over local rivals Preston North End.

The 2014–15 season was no better in terms of Crewe's performance. The team lost 10 of their first 12 matches, and eventually finished in 20th position - remaining in League One despite losing the final match of the season, against Bradford City, because of results in fixtures elsewhere.

The following season started in a similar pattern, with the team winning just two of their first 15 league matches, and crashing out of the FA Cup in the first round, defeated at Gresty Road by non-league Eastleigh, forcing Davis to defend his position as the 'right man' for the job. Crewe's relegation to League Two was confirmed following a 3–0 defeat at Port Vale on 9 April 2016, with five matches remaining.

Davis was sacked as Crewe Alexandra manager on 8 January 2017, at which date he was the fourth longest serving manager in the top four divisions of English football.

Leyton Orient
On 10 July 2017, Davis was appointed as head coach of newly relegated National League club Leyton Orient on a two-year contract. After the club won just five of their 19 league matches, he was sacked on 14 November 2017.

In September 2018, Davis was reported to be in the running to be appointed manager of Cheltenham Town.

Wolverhampton Wanderers
He subsequently joined Wolverhampton Wanderers as under-18s head coach. In October 2022, following the sacking of Bruno Lage, Davis was appointed interim manager of his boyhood club, with under-23s coach James Collins, also formerly at Crewe, as his assistant. His first game in charge was a 3–0 defeat at Chelsea. His first win was a 1–0 victory at Molineux against Nottingham Forest. After multiple failed attempts by the club to sign a permanent manager, it was initially announced Davis would remain in charge for the rest of 2022. However, Wolves re-approached Julen Lopetegui and, on 5 November 2022, announced he would become their new head coach, taking charge from 14 November 2022.

After the success for the under-18s squad, and brief caretaker stint for Wolves' first team, the club appointed Davis as Player Pathways Manager to help link the academy players with the first team players. This had proven successful during his time as caretaker manager, with Joe Hodge, Hugo Bueno and Dexter Lembikisa given more first team experience and regular game time. Davis's former assistant manager at under-18s level, James McPike took over as caretaker manager, until a permanent replacement was found.

Personal life
Davis's son Harry was at Crewe Alexandra but now plays for AFC Fylde, and is also a centre-back. He made his professional debut at the end of the 2009–10 season, playing for Crewe against Bradford City.

Another son, Joe, is a former defender, having made his professional debut at Port Vale during his first spell in April 2011. During Steve Davis's time as Crewe manager, for 33 minutes of a match at Port Vale on 22 February 2014, his sons played on opposite teams against each other. Joe later played at Nantwich Town before retiring.

Career statistics
Source:

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player
Barnsley
First Division runner-up: 1996–97

Individual
PFA Team of the Year: 1990–91 Fourth Division

Manager
Nantwich Town
FA Vase: 2005–06

Crewe Alexandra
Football League Two play-offs: 2011–12
Football League Trophy: 2012–13

References
Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

1965 births
Living people
Footballers from Birmingham, West Midlands
English footballers
England youth international footballers
Association football defenders
Stoke City F.C. players
Crewe Alexandra F.C. players
Burnley F.C. players
Barnsley F.C. players
York City F.C. players
Oxford United F.C. players
Macclesfield Town F.C. players
Northwich Victoria F.C. players
Nantwich Town F.C. players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
English football managers
Northwich Victoria F.C. managers
Nantwich Town F.C. managers
Crewe Alexandra F.C. managers
Leyton Orient F.C. managers
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. managers
National League (English football) managers
Northern Premier League managers
English Football League managers
Premier League managers

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Ariel Cabrera Montejo, Concha Martinez Barreto, Javier Torras Casas
PRIVATE VIEW: Thursday 25 April 6.30-8.30pm
EXHIBITION DATES: Friday 26 April – Saturday 25 May 2019
CHARLIE SMITH LONDON is delighted to introduce Ariel Cabrera Montejo and Concha Martinez Barreto alongside Young Gods alumnus Javier Torras Casas.
Cuban artist Ariel Cabrera Montejo makes drawings, watercolours and oil paintings that serve as a segue to another time and another place, whilst operating very much within the contemporary arena. Stylistically, Cabrera Montejo's 'La Tregua Fecunda' series suggests French fin de siècle painting. Exuberant brushstrokes depict man and woman at leisure, cavorting and experimenting. The title La Tregua Fecunda – The Fertile Truce – substantiates this notion. However, the term refers to the interwar period in Cuba between 1878 and 1895, after which Cuba regained independence from their Spanish colonial rulers in the Cuban War of Independence (1895-1898). With this in mind, Cabrera Montejo's depictions of jouissance become redolent of a debauched, military interlude where the affirmation of life is expressed via pleasure. Again, we are minded of late 19th century French painting, where people at leisure, enabled by industrialisation (new wealth and improved transport) and Baron Haussmann's regeneration of Paris, became popular subjects for avant-garde artists.
The broader subjects of Cabrera Montejo's 'Secondary Papers' series provide a more panoramic view of his practice. Often opening out into larger scale pieces, we are presented with intricate compositions where protagonists operate within complex environments. Recalling Cabrera Montejo's earlier experience as a stage designer, figures and objects might appear to be cut out and collaged into view. His subjects interact within a stage, film set or fairground, again referencing the colonial and militaristic in combination with leisure and pastime.
In Spanish there is no distinction between the definitions of history and story. This fusion of meaning is encapsulated by Spanish artist Concha Martinez Barreto's work. Martinez Barreto emphasizes not the grand lineage of canonical history, but rather small, personal stories that might subvert official, linear narratives. Her finely painted scenes are derived from collected, anonymous photographs and so can be considered a version of history painting, but Martinez Barreto prefers to focus on the notion of memory and its capabilities as well as its fallibilities. As such, she embraces the plurality of events and interpretation, whilst illustrating that the universal is often discernible within the personal. She wants to enliven the past and to create something durable from the ephemeral; and elicit the known from the unknown.
Martinez Barreto's compositions often depict figures and animals where their scale is disrupted. Babies who are bigger than adults or sheep who tower above children are located mostly in landscapes. Symbolically, this is to assert that our memories of time, place and people do not necessarily coexist with clarity. Occasionally Martinez Barreto will employ the Medieval device of depicting the same person within the same painting, but at different ages, emphasizing that past and present are interconnected, but not coherently. These paintings are subtly uncanny, their dreamlike qualities reinforced by Martinez Barreto's monochrome palette.
London based Spanish artist Javier Torras Casas explores personal and objective histories in his mixed media installations. Combining hand worked organic materials such as clay with blown glass and collected industrial objects, Torras Casas makes work that proposes correlations between natural and manufactured; durable and fragile; historical and new. In 'Tintes y Mercerizados de especialidad', a sculptural assemblage that is titled after his grandfather's now defunct textile factory in Barcelona, Torras Casas utilises original parts of machinery found in the warehouse alongside other collected and manipulated objects. The piece is finely poised, where a delicate interplay between balance, weight and fragility conveys the impermanence of place, people and memory via the precariousness of objects and their interconnections.
The objects that Torras Casas uses become evocative of specific political conditions by association. 'Tapestry' is composed of archived parcels of thread that are accompanied with hand written labels, denoting the material they are made of; the machine that was used to process it; and year. Considering the factory was operating during General Franco's totalitarian regime, classified bundles of organic material take on a sinister tenor. Torras Casas' work, therefore, operates autobiographically both personally and generally. It seeks to memorialise and in doing so imparts considerable symbolic significance to the discarded, defunct and forgotten.


text:
Home Special Reports Decisions, Decisions
Video technology may be getting more complex, but when the purchasing time arrives, a focus remains on assisting bus drivers
Eric Woolson
School bus technology is more advanced than ever—and it doesn't stop marching ahead. But the process of choosing the right solution when upgrading equipment will remain largely unchanged for years to come, say early adopters and industry professionals.
"I don't believe the decision-making is all that tough. … A carpenter, a mechanic, anyone who uses tools in their job, knows that you can't go to bed and have a tool magically do your job for you. You have to know how to use them," explains Caleb Williams, assistant director of transportation at the College Station (Texas) Independent School District. "Technology is another tool in the tool box. When it comes to technology and the decision-making process, you're always going to need humans to sort out what's going to work, or not."
The important thing to remember about choosing technology solutions is to play the game on your home field, he said. Williams recounted an occasion when a vendor proposed a routing software package for the 12,534-student district.
"I told him, 'You can show me how it works in some town I don't know, but show me how it works in my town,'" Williams explained. "He did and I said, 'That's got to be the worst route I've ever seen.' Our city has a lot of crowned roads and drainage ditches for flood mitigation that really affect traffic flow and routing. That wasn't programmed into his routing software. I could see that right away, because I know my town."
Rob Scott, vice president of 247 Security, which specializes in school bus and pupil transportation solutions, agreed. "You want to get the answer in a way you understand it. There's no reason in the world you shouldn't say to a supplier, 'Prove it. Demonstrate it to me in a real way. Show it to me in a way that meets my requirements.'"
Williams recalled joining the district 15 years ago as a substitute driver, when features varied from bus to bus, due to low-bid purchasing. His vehicle, he remembered, "looked like something out of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, with all these knobs and buttons and stuff that looked like they were out of the 1950s." He decided there had to be a better way.
As his career has advanced, he's dedicated himself to closing the technology gap between cars and yellow buses, and finding cost-effective safety, management and comfort solutions. He said he feels fortunate to have a supervisor who listens to suggestions, and to be working for a district that is located near the Texas Transportation Institute, which is operated under the auspices of Texas A&M University.
"All of that means we're already of that mindset of looking to the future," said Williams. His district provides in-the-field feedback to video surveillance and fleet management solutions provider Seon.
Justin Malcolm, Seon's director of product management, acknowledged decision-making basics don't change much. But he suggests lightning-fast technology advances require fleet managers to keep up with increased demands for comprehensive coverage, higher definition, wireless downloading, streaming add-ons and accelerated replacement cycles. The increased complexity has also brought new players, such as districts' information technology departments, into the mix.
That brings the topic full circle. "It's a really good place to ask, 'What do I want? What's this system going to do for me?'" Scott questioned. "That answer varies from place to place. When you get those questions answered, you can start to match the technology to your requirement."
Fleet managers should also place a greater emphasis on networkability, explained Scott, by selecting equipment with ports to allow connectivity to devices and functions they might not even be considering today. "It's important to understand how your devices will interact with other technology," he continued.
Scott noted that today's buzzwords are different—1080p, 360-degree coverage and transfer capacity, to name a few—and they make the process of understanding a district's needs all the more challenging.
"People understand resolution as it relates to television: 1080p is going to give you a better image than 720 pixels. But, then you have to talk storage, transfer capacity and speed, if you're going wireless," he said. "A 1080p file is two-and-a-half times bigger than 720. Now you're going to chew up capacity much faster."
Malcolm noted that it's a delicate balancing act to set the best bit rates and optimize storage and playback quality. But, he noted, Seon has developed a multi-channel feature to "easily tilt the balance to favor playback quality or storage, while maintaining a usable file."
The bigger-capacity question is pushing solid state technology out the door, Scott and Malcolm agreed.
"(But) if you want to go to an industrial grade solid state drive (SSD), that solution gets fairly pricey as it gets bigger," Scott cautioned.
Malcolm added, "Many SSDs don't handle abrupt power loss or improper shutdowns elegantly, whereas (hard disk drives) have robust mechanisms for (mobile) conditions."
Scott touts 247's patent-pending dual-stage hybrid drive (DHD), which combines solid state and hard drive, which eliminates the inherent weaknesses in both mediums. "Vibration and file corruption issues are effectively removed from the equation," he said.
They also agree that 360-degree cameras are featuring wide fields of view, both horizontally and vertically, and frequently have the ability to replace two or more cameras.
Other issues to be aware of concern storage requirements for much larger files, bandwidth required to move these bigger files, and time-saving techniques that need to be available when preparing video to be used as evidence. But, 360 cameras are prone to distortion and lost details when certain dewarping technologies are used.
In fact, 360-degree cameras can deliver greater detail than even 12 months ago, he noted. "People are familiar with the fish bowl effect. When you have a very specific incident and you want to really see what is going on between the seats, you don't want distortion," Scott said. "We have that solution, where you can zoom in on a full frame on the camera and then pan across it to get a very high-resolution image of a small space."
He mentioned the compatibility of 247's 1080p and 360-degree solution with 720p and IP cameras as another example of the sort of networkability that buyers need to consider.
Don Carter, director of transportation with the Port St. Lucie (Florida) Public School District, has seen technology come a long way since his days as a 16-year-old student bus driver in North Carolina. While the questions are often the same, who has the final word does have a big impact on outcomes, he said.
Some states set specifications that districts must follow and may even have responsibility for equipment purchases. Florida has a specifications committee that sets minimum standards and gives local districts leeway to add options.
"When it comes to the actual purchase process, I'm fortunate I make the decision without any interference in what I believe is the best interests of student safety and driver comfort," Carter said. "Once I get a budget amount, I get however many buses I can get with the money I have."
While Florida provides an extra level of care by requiring bus drivers to give hand signals to children when it's safe to approach, that hasn't eliminated the dangers of cars blowing through stop arms. Port St. Lucie is a testing ground for a camera-equipped radar system that is attached to existing stop arms that will sound a warning—inside and outside the bus—if an approaching vehicle isn't likely to stop.
"We have it on 10 buses. Drivers like it. We're providing feedback to Seon and the system is also providing information to them," Carter said. "As they see something they want to tweak, they'll come down on the weekend and do it."
Rick Grisham, executive director of the Cobb County (Georgia) School District, is adamant that "no bus should operate without communication devices, digital video inside and outside the bus, and GPS."
In his district, turn-key stop-arm enforcement exterior cameras have cut violations in half, with shared revenues reinvested in safety-sensitive initiatives, and front windshield cameras now track outside activity.
"We must, and will, do everything within our means to keep students safe," he said.
Grisham's team is currently reviewing the pros and cons of student RFID tags, on-bus tablets, systems with capabilities to go wireless with live video, social media software that provides real-time updates, plus apps that can tell parents where a particular bus is within a few miles. "We're weighing convenience as well as safety," he said.
In the end, Grisham advised, "No technology or program is paramount or can replace a well-trained and professional driver. … A lot of common sense with fiscal sustainability is key."
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Abbott says cartels have 'open season' for drug and human trafficking at the border
Cartels are " preying on woman and children," the governor says as he urges the Biden administration to crack down on illegal immigration.
John C. Moritz
Escalating his attack on the Biden administration's immigration policies, Gov. Greg Abbott said his monthlong initiative to help secure the Texas border has resulted in almost 600 criminal arrests and 6,000 referrals to federal authorities about unauthorized border crossings.
Speaking Thursday in the South Texas town of Weslaco, about 10 miles north of the Rio Grande, and flanked by several law enforcement officials, Abbott said the recent unauthorized crossings at the border have resulted in an "open season" for human- and drug-trafficking cartels.
"These criminals are preying on woman and children, exposing them to abuse and to terror," Abbott said during a news conference at the Texas Department of Public Safety's regional station.
"Because the federal government is failing to act to respond to these dangers, Texas is stepping up to secure the border."
President Joe Biden, at his news conference last week, acknowledged illegal immigration is rising. But he said the pace increased during the time Donald Trump was president and pursuing hardline policies designed to curb the flow of migrants.
"It happens every single solitary year," Biden said. "There is a significant increase in the number of people coming to the border in the winter months of January, February, March."
He also said he makes no apology for allowing unaccompanied migrant minors to remain in the United States, at least temporarily.
In early March, Abbott launched what he called Operation Lone Star, which sent more DPS troopers, Texas Rangers and National Guard soldiers to South Texas to assist local police and federal border agents.
News:Border coalition pushes back against claims of crisis as Cruz, Cornyn prepare visit
Abbott at his news conference called on DPS Trooper Curtis Woodard who this week helped rescue a migrant mother and her infant. The law enforcement agency said they had been thrown from a raft into the river by smugglers.
"I climbed into a tree and see that this woman is hanging onto a tree branch with the baby in her arm," Woodard said. "I got above her, kind of fell in, grabbed the baby, held the baby like a football and helped the woman onto a tree branch."
The woman and infant were turned over to immigration authorities. A spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office in South Texas did not immediately respond to an email seeking information on their whereabouts.
Abbott, a second-term Republican, has echoed and amplified GOP criticism of the Democratic president's reversal of several of Trump's border policies, including putting the border wall on pause, pending review.
Last week, Texas U.S. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz led several of their Republican Senate colleagues on a tour of South Texas to highlight undocumented border crossings.
Cruz, in particular, has been a vocal critic of Biden's policy of not allowing media outlets to visit centers where unaccompanied migrant children are being housed.
Biden, who took office Jan. 20, is also under pressure from some of his fellow Democrats. On Tuesday, U.S. Rep Filemon Vela, D-Brownsville, and former Congressman Beto O'Rourke of El Paso joined a group called the No Border Wall Coalition to urge the president to keep his campaign pledge to discontinue Trump's signature project.
"I implore the Biden administration to make the temporary pause in construction permanent and to seek to repair the damage done to so many of these border communities, and when making policy that will impact the border listen to the people of the border first," said O'Rourke, Cruz's Democratic opponent in 2018 who is now considering a challenge to Abbott's re-election next year.
Vela deplored what he called "hatred toward immigrants who contribute so much to our country" and pushed back against the narrative that communities along the Rio Grande are under siege.
"The border is not a war zone," he said.
Fact check:Texas' 'Operation Lone Star' isn't finishing border wall construction
John C. Moritz covers Texas government and politics for the USA Today Network in Austin. Contact him at jmoritz@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @JohnnieMo.


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Hardcore Reviews
Vein – Errorzone (Hardcore, Metal)
22nd June 2018 -
Get used to hearing the name Vein they are about to become your new heavy music obsession. From the opening moments of Virus://Vibrance with its warped jungle beats and down-tuned guitars that smash you around the head like The Dillinger Escape covering debut album era Slipknot, this is an album that won't let you go for its entire duration. What Vein… Read More »
Bleeding Through – Love Will Kill All (Hardcore, Metal, Metalcore)
15th May 2018 -
Have you ever wondered what it would feel like being trapped in a tiny room with an angry bear and no escape? well, imagine that you haven't but you are curious to know what that feels like…Well, may I suggest listening to the new Bleeding Through album? It's been 6 long years since the bands then swansong The Great Fire… Read More »
Cancer Bats – The Spark That Moves (Hardcore, Punk)
20th April 2018 -
Nowadays it's common for albums to have an excessive amount of time dedicated to pre-release hype. The teaser of an announcement, the first single and the actual announcement are all steps in this excessively long process. This makes it so refreshing when a band completely scraps this process and just drops a surprise album. Which is exactly what Cancer Bats… Read More »
The Family – Welcome To The Family EP (Hardcore, Metal)
Dead Harts were always a promising band in the UK Hardcore scene but never quite got their break. Now members of the band are back with a new project that sees them heading in a new direction. The Family ditches hardcore for something a bit more melodic. Drawing heavily from grunge, Welcome To The Family is a great introduction to what this band are all… Read More »
Provoker – The Long Defeat (Hardcore, Metal)
13th March 2017 -
The Long Defeat is the debut EP from British newcomers Provoker. Featuring former members of Munroe Effect, Housefires, Attention Thieves and Elephantis the band have plenty of experience when it comes to delivering heavy music. With this EP Provoker look to deliver a blend of aggression and passion without watering either element down, and as debut EP's go, they could not have done a better job. Opening track Admission explodes… Read More »
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Pressure Cleaning Ashton is the highest rated, professional pressure cleaning & exterior home washing business in Ashton. We service all residential areas throughout Adelaide.
Roofs can end up being very unattractive due to organic growths like moss and lichen. Roofs are likewise regularly discoloured and stained by a widespread bacteria called gloecapsa magma. Roofing associations and manufacturers do not advise high pressure washing to clean roofs. It might eliminate moss from the roofing system, but the aggressive jets of water may also damage tiles, ridge capping and other roofing fittings as well as increase the threat of flooding. There is likewise a good chance that the moss will grow back. Cleaning with the manufacturers preferred detergent is advised. This is exactly what we do! Softwash roof washing is by far the most reliable method to clear moss or other bacterial developments from the roofing system, whenever they are at risk of ending up being a major problem.
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Did you expect this? Well I did not - but in the heart of my heart I had a doubt that made me suspicious of Djokovic winning the Roland Garros this year.
It seemed the world no.1 was a little over confident and a bit proud for sailing smoothly to the finals - specially after beating nine time Roland Garros winner and defending champion Rafael Nadal in the fourth round. And perhaps he never thought of a setback at the hand of world no.8 in the finals.
But he was to be surprised in the finals today when a rather docile Stanislas Wawrinka stunned and shocked world number one Novak Djokovic 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 to win the French Open - and his second Grand Slam title.


Our Honduran Binder Tobacco Leaf is medium to bold in taste. Since Honduras borders Nicaragua, you would think that the leaves would be similar, but as always, the slightest difference in climate and growing methods always offer a unique tobacco leaf experience!
This is a premium cigar binder leaf that can be used in many hand-rolled cigar blends. Use in junction with Honduran filler tobacco for a unique flavor experience, or with other fillers for a more complex flavor profile.
Our Honduran Binder Tobacco Leaf is one of four Honduran grown tobacco leaves we have in stock. This leaf is medium to bold in taste, and carries a milk chocolate to dark chocolate brown color. If compared to Nicaraguan tobacco, this leaf is slightly heavier in scent, and similar in size. This leaf comes tied in hands, and is consistent with other cigar binders in quality.


Do you know how much it costs your company to acquire a social media follower? In this post we'll share a simple formula to calculate cost.
Social media followers represent potential customers, but in our rush to build up our followings, few marketers take the time to understand their ROI. By measuring the customer acquisition cost from social media and comparing it to other channels, you'll be able to determine how best to allocate your resources.
If you participate in a tradeshow, sponsor a workshop, or run an advertisement, you probably track how many leads that activity netted, and you're likely to consider the acquisition cost of those new leads before participating in that channel again. Social media is no different, but we find many companies fail to track how much it costs to acquire new leads using this channel.
Yes, we know how easy it is to lose an entire morning retweeting, favoriting, liking and sharing. But, being active on social media is important in terms of staying up-to-date in your industry and in-touch with your contacts. In this post, we're going to assume you're already socially active, so we're not capturing the cost of your time "socializing" in our calculations.
We've identified 3 variables (content generation, scheduling and promoting) that represent additional actions that may be taken to grow a social media following. Increasing any one of these variables may have a positive impact on growing your followers, but will also take more resources. We suggest that you experiment with adjusting these 3 variables, until you find the right balance that results in the highest number of quality followers for the lowest acquisition cost for your company.
Content Generation: Track the amount of time spent creating a month's worth of branded and non-branded tweets.
Scheduling: Track the amount of time spent scheduling those tweets. We like Buffer and Hootsuite, to batch schedule posts, so tracking this time is pretty straightforward.
Promotion: Twitter Ad Campaigns offers options for growing your following by promoting your profile or your tweets. Alternately, you can do you own promotion by searching for Tweeps most likely to value your content. We use a method described by Neil Patel (@neilpatel) of Quicksprout and search for and follow 20-50 profiles each day (Followerwonk and TweetAdder are both great for searching profiles), and then at the end of the week we unfollow anyone that did not follow us back.
We recently completed this calculation for periscopeUP, and determined our cost of acquisition to range from $0.91-$1.00 per new Twitter follower. This compares favorably to other channels we use to acquire customers, but we wondered if we had the right balance of the 3 variables.
We were curious to see if our method of manually following and unfollowing people was more expensive than just running a Twitter Ad Campaign to attract new followers. We found that our cost of acquisition more than doubled when we paid Twitter for followers (see below).
Analysis of cost to acquire followers on Twitter.
The cost of acquisition by social channels is measurable, and there are some basic variables you can adjust to try to reduce that cost. For your own company, the balance of content generation, scheduling and promotion will likely vary quite a bit depending on how well-established your social media presence already is, your industry and how narrow of a user profile you're trying to attract.
By keeping track of your cost of acquisition, you can better allocate your marketing resources. So, before you spend another minute on social media, do a quick calculation to determine how much it's really costing you to acquire followers. From there, you can calculate if this cost is resulting in leads or sales, by looking at conversions and assisted conversions from social channels.
By the way, if you're wondering about the spike in our followers in early April, it coincided with our attendance at SearchLove, the connections we made there and great content we were able to share.
If you have some killer strategies, please share them – we're always looking for new ideas.
Want To Learn How To Generate Leads From Your Social Media Program?
If you found this post helpful, and would like more help with your social media channel, click to learn more about our social media services.


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Q: Specifying an r.js output directory from the command line I am running r.js in a build step of my project to concatenate and minify javascript. I would like to specify the output for the built scripts from the command line instead of in the bulid script.
For the curious; my build script looks something like the following
({
   mainConfigFile: 'main.js',
   modules: [

        //Main
        {
           name: 'main',
           exclude: ['loadKoTemplate']
        },
        {
           name: 'AnotherScreen',
           exclude: ["knockout"]
        }
   ],
   dir: 'Built' //I would like to exclude this line
})

And during an MSBuild I call out to it like so
<Exec Command="$(ProjectDir)Dependencies\node\node $(ProjectDir)Dependencies\node\node_modules\requirejs\bin\r.js -o $(ProjectDir)scripts\app.build.js" />

I would like to put the built scripts in an intermediate build folder (an obj folder) before I copy them to their final location. This allows me to build differently depending on the project configuration.
Is there a way to do this?

A: Try:
<Exec Command="$(ProjectDir)Dependencies\node\node $(ProjectDir)Dependencies\node\node_modules\requirejs\bin\r.js -o $(ProjectDir)scripts\app.build.js dir=Built" />

I do the job like that on Linux with:
node lib/requirejs/r.js -o build.js dir=./vendor

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This research project focuses on the experiences of students and staff at international branch campuses in Dubai. The United Arab Emirates is one of the largest education hubs in the world, hosting over 30 international branch campuses in dedicated free zones, such as Dubai Knowledge Park and Dubai International Academic City. This project aims to broaden our understanding of the aspirations, experiences and migration trajectories of individuals engaged in transnational education.


Home Coffee Gifts 9 Piece Espresso Set – A Strong, Hot Gift!
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Home / Asia / Tokyo Events / Tokyo Rainbow Pride
Tokyo Rainbow Pride 2023
Tokyo Rainbow Week takes place every year in April, to celebrate LGBT pride with a host of events
From: Thursday, April 20, 2023
To: Sunday, April 23, 2023
The Festival in Yoyogi Park
A variety of booths
The gay district is in Shinjuku Ni-Chome
The first Tokyo Rainbow Pride (TRP) Parade was 26 years in 1994 and since then, the event has grown to become one of the largest in Asia. The event balances political messaging and partying to further LGBTQ rights across the country.
Visiting for the event, stay close to Ni-chōme in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo's gayborhood. The Mitsui Garden Hotel is rated" Fabulous" by guests with spacious rooms and a modern gym and pool.
Tokyo Rainbow Pride Week takes place every year in late april to early May and celebrates LGBT pride with a host of events, including an energetic parade that last year saw thousands of people gather and take to the streets in fancy dress alongside floats. This year the highlights of the Tokyo Rainbow Pride Festival include Tokyo Rainbow Pride Parade 25th(Sun) and the Pride Festival.
Tokyo Rainbow Pride Festival
Friday April 24th & Saturday April 25th – The Festival in Yoyogi Park takes place on both the Saturday and the Sunday, with a variety of booths opened in Yoyogi Park by LGBT-friendly companies and artists. This 2-day stage event features drag, shows and live music performances.
Stay close to the venue at the Trunk Hotel, located just 3 mins rideshare or 9 minutes walk from the park. Rated "Superb" by guests, the hotel has a zen-like design with high end amenities and superb guest services.
Tokyo Rainbow Pride Parade
Sunday, April 24th — The parade takes place on the last Sunday during a packed program of week long events Don't Miss! The 3km parade around the Harajuku/Shibuya area on the Sunday with participants marching and riding on floats. The parade starts at 2pm. The event has more than 52 different groups with over 7,000 marchers.
Tokyo Pride Parties
There are dozens of events taking place over Pride Week, and they are so varied everyone can have fun. There are workshops and lectures (in Japanese), as well as family events like the LGBTQ Family Picnic at in Gyoen Park.
Tokyo Rainbow Beats is one of the biggest circuit parties taking place during Tokyo Pride. The event is held in late April and early May and features rooftop events and stylish parties at Tokyo's hottest venues.
Where to Party during Tokyo Rainbow Pride
Just a convenient walk from Shinjuku lies Ni-chome, Tokyo's gayborhood overflowing with outdoor bars, karaoke pubs, and cozy clubs for anyone on the spectrum. There are countless options for food and drink. Ni-chome also features outdoor bars with large terraces.
The closest station is Shinjuku San-chome station, one stop from Shinjuku on the Fukutoshin, Marunouchi and Shinjuku metro lines. Take the C5 exit and then just cross the street into Ni-chome.
Here are the hotels we recommend that have good reviews and keep you close to the gay bars and clubs.
Keio Plaza Hotel, Hotel Gracery, Shinjuku Granbell Hotel, Super Hotel Shinjuku
The Hilton Tokyo Hotel is our editors
choice in the gay district. Just perfect!
Tokyo Rainbow Pride Website Page
Gay Map of Tokyo
Gay Tokyo conveniently packed into a handful of streets all located Shinjuku Ni-Chome (pronounced nee-chomay). Ni Chome the gay center of Tokyo has over 300 gay bars, clubs, saunas, cruise clubs and everything else small packed into a couple of small blocks in the center of Tokyo. The Shinjuku neighborhood is mixed with big business, shopping and entertainment and of course Tokyo's gay center.
Recommended Hotels in Tokyo By Booking
We have chosen hotels in Tokyo that keep you close to all the shops,restaurants & bars
Keio Plaza Hotel
The comfortable rooms at Tokyo Hotel Keio Plaza offer panoramic views of the Shinjuku skyline. There are a flat-screen TV with satellite channels, minibar and electric kettle. An en suite bathroom comes with a bath, free toiletries and hairdryer. Japanese-style yukata robes and slippers are provided for all guests, free WiFi and 21 dining options
Rooms in natural colours have built-in air cleaning, a flat-screen TV and an electric kettle with green tea bags. The toilet is separate from the bathroom, which offers a bathtub, shower, slippers and free toiletries. Hotel Gracery has a 24-hour reception, dry cleaning, laundry and ironing services. Concierge service is provided. free-use computers, and an ATM machine.
Shinjuku Granbell
Fitted with an air of urban sophistication, each room comes with modern facilities like an iPod dock speaker and a flat-screen TV. Video-on-demand programmes are available for an additional fee. A fridge, an electric kettle and a telephone are also included. All rooms are furnished with Simmons beds. The en suite bathroom includes a bath and free toiletries.
Super Hotel
Each compact room is fitted with a flat-screen TV with video-on-demand programmes, a fridge and an electric kettle. An air purifier/humidifier is also provided in the rooms. Guests staying at Shinjuku Kabukicho Super Hotel can use the coin launderette and drinks vending machines on site. Massage services can be arranged at a surcharge.
Highlights of Tokyo Pride
Recommended Hotels in Tokyo BY Expedia
Kimpton Shinjuku
This smoke-free hotel features 2 restaurants, a 24-hour fitness center, and a bar/lounge. Additionally, a coffee shop/café, self parking, and 24-hour room service are onsite. All 151 rooms offer thoughtful touches like minibars (stocked with some free items) and pillow menus, as well as premium bedding and down comforters. Free WiFi, 24-hour room service, and flat-screen TVs.
Park Hyatt Tokyo
This hotel features 3 restaurants, a full-service spa, and an indoor pool. Other amenities include 2 bars/lounges, a health club, and a snack bar/deli. All 177 individually decorated rooms provide free WiFi, free wired Internet, and 24-hour room service. Guests can enjoy deep soaking tubs, and other standard amenities include DVD players, refrigerators, and flat-screen TVs.
Hilton Tokyo
This smoke-free hotel features 4 restaurants, an indoor pool, and 2 bars/lounges. A 24-hour fitness center, a sauna, and a 24-hour business center are onsite. All 830 rooms provide conveniences like refrigerators and coffee makers, plus 24-hour room service and LCD TVs with digital channels. Other amenities available to guests include WiFi, wired Internet, and minibars.
Century Southern Tower
A restaurant, a bar/lounge, and self parking are available at this hotel. Other amenities include conference space, concierge services, and dry cleaning. All rooms are soundproofed and feature free WiFi, free wired Internet, and free newspapers. Guests can enjoy deep soaking tubs, and other standard amenities include refrigerators, coffee makers, and flat-screen TVs.
Other Events in April
Prague Easter Markets
From: Mar. 25.2023 - To: Apr. 16.2023
Thursday, Mar 2nd, 2017
Prague Easter markets: over a hundred stalls with handcrafted products, sweets, food and Czech beer. Daily at the Wenceslas Square and Old Town Square.
https://www.gaytravel4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Prague-Easter-Markets-4.jpg 370 800 Andrew Stevens https://www.gaytravel4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/logo-gt4u.png Andrew Stevens2017-03-02 18:54:572022-12-12 13:43:24Prague Easter Markets
Megacon Orlando
Thursday, Apr 15th, 2021
Megacon Orlando is held over four days with citywide events offering hundreds of thousands of fans the opportunity to meet world-renowned celebrities
https://www.gaytravel4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Megacon-Orlando-2.jpg 370 800 Andrew Stevens https://www.gaytravel4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/logo-gt4u.png Andrew Stevens2021-04-15 15:48:252023-01-24 16:13:48Megacon Orlando
Cherry Weekend Washington
CHERRY began when a group of local gay residents united to plan a charity fundraiser in the late 90s and has grown into a not to be missed weekend.
https://www.gaytravel4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Cherry-Weekend-Washington-3.jpg 370 800 Andrew Stevens https://www.gaytravel4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/logo-gt4u.png Andrew Stevens2017-03-02 15:48:412023-01-25 12:26:57Cherry Weekend Washington
Triton Budapest Circuit Party
From: Apr. 01.2023 - To: Apr. 01.2023
Wednesday, Jan 5th, 2022
Triton brings European Circuit Vibes to Budapest, featuring the hottest dancers, international DJs and world calls production values in a positive and friendly environment. This is gay Budapest's hottest gay party!
https://www.gaytravel4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Triton-Budapest-Circuit-Party-6.jpg 370 800 Andrew Stevens https://www.gaytravel4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/logo-gt4u.png Andrew Stevens2022-01-05 18:47:272023-01-23 16:45:56Triton Budapest Circuit Party
Seasons of Love Tea Dance Atlanta
Friday, Mar 11th, 2022
In April, Joining Hearts, one of Atlanta's leading HIV/Aids charity organisations, hosts a special edition Tea Dance, Change of Seasons.
https://www.gaytravel4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Seasons-of-Love-Tea-Dance-Atlanta-5.jpg 370 800 Andrew Stevens https://www.gaytravel4u.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/logo-gt4u.png Andrew Stevens2022-03-11 16:22:352023-01-27 14:31:07Seasons of Love Tea Dance Atlanta
Save on TOKYO Hotels Now - Up to 70% Off
Lyon Fete des Lumiers, Festival of Light.
Freedom Gay Summer Festival


Atlanta United are one win away from lifting the MLS Cup in just their second-ever season after cruising past the New York Red Bulls 3-1 on aggregate in the Eastern Conference final to reach next month's championship match.
Despite falling to New York 1-0 in Red Bull Arena on Thursday, Tata Martino's men booked their ticket to the MLS Cup final as a result of their dominating 3-0 win in the first leg.
The visitors nearly struck first just seconds into the contest when Josef Martinez's strike was deflected away by Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles. Atlanta then employed a disciplined approach on a night that New York dominated possession and enjoyed more chances on goal.
The Red Bulls appeared as though they had cut the deficit to two in the 80th minute before Aaron Long's strike was called back over a foul committed against Atlanta netminder Brad Guzan.
It was too little, too late by the time the Red Bulls found the back of the net with an injury-time goal, as Atlanta held on before celebrating their Eastern Conference championship.
Atlanta will host the MLS Cup final against the Portland Timbers at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 8.


text:
Posted on February 7, 2018 by Frances Donovan
Dispatches from an MFA: Semester One, Second Packet
Below is the cover letter for the second packet of my first semester at the Lesley MFA program. I was fortunate enough to work with Sharon Bryan that term.
Dear Sharon:
Receiving your feedback on the first packet was inspiring. It managed to set just the right balance between encouragement and challenge. I agree with you that I should focus on free verse line for the rest of the semester. I did want to try my hand at some forms I'd seen in Plath's and Bishop's writing – especially the aba / bcb tercets with long-short-long alternations in addition to the rhymes. They were forms I hadn't worked with before, especially with the use of off-rhymes. It's so easy to want to emulate the style and voice of the poet one is reading rather than applying some of their craft to one's own voice.
I had difficulty settling into the second packet. Fortunately, my IS course (Creativity and the Unconscious Mind) involves a lot of free-writes, which keeps me loose and fluent with my writing, even if it's not terribly good to start with. And I followed the lead of one of my professors from Vassar – Susan Zlotnick, I looked her up and she's still there – who said she always gave herself permission to write a terrible first draft. My first draft of the first craft annotation was mostly a rant about gender and the difficulty I have with separating the gender of the poet from the poet's work. I'd cleared the pipes I was able to write a paper that focused on craft instead of politics. In writing the paper on William Carlos Williams and his use of poetic line, I finally learned the term for that stepped-down tercet
that looks like this
and which I used to
use quite a lot in my teens and 20s
It took some hunting to find the term: triadic line, or stepped line.
I enjoyed reading Levertov and CK Williams as well. During my first read-through of Flesh and Blood, I fell asleep about three-quarters of the way through and had a strange dream about his poetry and my fingers being asleep.
Choosing the topic for the second paper was difficult. I considered emailing you for a suggestion but decided that I should look at the list of craft elements I'd collected during the residency instead. That notion of argument and rhetoric as an element of poetic craft kept rising to the surface. I wasn't sure how to apply it to either Levertov's or CK Williams's poetry, though. CKW's work – the music of his long lines, the range with which he uses that eight-line poetic form, those urban vignettes he does so well – really spoke to me. But I couldn't quite figure out how to speak back. I decided to concentrate on Levertov because the starkness of her lines stood out for me, and because she's been someone I've wanted to read more closely since the 1990s. As I mentioned in the craft annotation, it was a real challenge to figure out exactly how to examine argument and rhetoric in her poems, because they're both so submerged in the language.
My work on a collection of childhood poems continues. The workshop suggestion that I write a series of poems about the "character" of the Old White Ford has stuck with me. I've written down some early drafts on that theme, doing my best to let it percolate without forcing it. During my revisions last month of "Aaron Was a Black Boy," I was definitely forcing it. I set that draft aside, but have been noticing that memories of that era (the early to mid 1980s) keep bubbling to the surface. I spent some time on YouTube with the early hip-hop songs we used to listen to on the school bus. Two in particular remain memorable. These were the street versions of Marlowe's and Raleigh's poems: Slick Rick's "La Di Da Di," (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zM0KAh5w7Rs – the song really starts at 1:16), and "Roxanne's Revenge," (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9IFs13w_JQ) a brilliant four-minute impromptu response track a tossed off by a young rapper named Roxanne Shante.
In terms of the original work included in this packet, I went back and forth about whether to list each of the void poems separately or as a whole. I decided to put them all together as a whole, in part because they're so new and could do with quite a bit of pruning, and in part because I had other work both new and revised I wanted to include in the packet. It's unusual for me to write so many small poems on a single theme at once, so I'm not sure it will come up again, but I'd like to hear your feedback on the matter.
The void poems themselves emerged from a bit of free-writing I did during one of my (blessedly infrequent) bouts of wee-hours insomnia. Void is an interesting concept: it's both the terrible thing we must look into (and which looks back) and the very necessary vacuum (the God-shaped hole) through which inspiration and wisdom arrive. In keeping with the void/spirit theme I included two other poems about spiritual seeking. Hopefully that theme holds up. "Wild Turkeys in Late March" extends that theme a bit but in a more concrete way. Finally, I included three revisions of poems from workshop and the first packet.
I appreciate any feedback you give me on my work. In particular though I'd like to know what you think of the endings of the last four poems ("Wild Turkeys in Late March," "Sunnyvale 1973-1978," The Marigolds, the River, the Oaks," and "Two Trees"). I often think about something Rita Dove said in an interview during her stint as poet laureate in the 1990s – that she was working on letting a poem end with a bit of breathing room instead of tying it up with a bow. That doing the former allows the reader to enter the poem more easily.
The latest issue of Poets & Writers focuses on MFA programs. In it there's an interview with Ellen Bryan Voigt about the origins of the low-residency model, how it was made for people who had jobs and families and other obligations they couldn't leave behind for a full-time program, but who still wanted to put writing at the center of their lives. I was especially moved by her description of people who came to the programs with a certain urgency, a sense that their time was running out. It made me realize my own sense of urgency, which I mentioned in one of my emails to you, isn't unique to me. Sort of, "take a number and sit down," and also "you're not alone" at the same time.
In terms of the next packet, I'm at a bit of a loss about where to go next. I've finished reading Hayes's Wind in a Box and would be interested to see what sorts of craft lessons I could learn from him. In terms of other poets still on the reading list, I'm thinking that Heaney, McHugh, or Szymborska might be good companions. I rely on your opinion on the matter, though[1]. In Mayes's book I believe the only two chapters I haven't explored are "Meter: The Measured Flow," and "Subject and Style." Perhaps I could concentrate on meter in Heaney's poems? I recently received two other craft books as well: The Triggering Town and Poetic Meter and Poetic Form. Are there particular elements covered in those that I should study?
[1] Here's a full list of the other poets from the reading list on whom I haven't yet written: Rilke, Heaney, Clifton, Hayes, Harjo, CK Williams, Lowell, Szymborska, McHugh.
Categoriesdispatches from an MFA, poetry, writer's life Tagsdispatches from an MFA, Elizabeth Bishop, poetry, rhyme
Previous PostPrevious Poetry Reading: Heather Derr-Smith, Erica Charis, Frances Donovan, and Sonja Johanson
Next PostNext Craft Annotation: Poetic Line in the Work of William Carlos Williams


: The Griffon Fauve de Bretagne is one of the oldest of the French scenthound breeds. There was a pack in existence in the 14th Century. They were used to hunt wolves until those disappeared, then on hare, roe deer, fox and wild boar. The Griffon Fauve de Bretagne was recognized by the United Kennel Club January 1, 1996.
: Bony, muscular and active, the Griffon Fauve de Bretagne is a good endurance dog, resistant to weather conditions and suitable to difficult terrain.
: Enterprising and efficient hunters, but also sociable, equable and affectionate with people.
: The skull is rather long and slightly arched. It is widest between the ears, tapering towards the eyes. The occiput is prominent. The stop is only slightly marked.
: Black or dark brown, with well opened nostrils.
: The muzzle tapers slightly from eyes to nose. The lips well cover the lower jaw but are not pendulous.
: The Griffon Fauve de Bretagne has a complete set of evenly spaced, white teeth meeting in a scissors bite. The absence of the first premolars is not a fault.
: Dark brown in color, with tight rims and a lively expression.
: Set on a line with the eye, the ears are finely attached, end in a point, are slightly turned, and reach just to the end of the nose.
: Muscular, and rather short.
: The chest is deep and broad, and the ribs are rather rounded. The back is short, broad and firm. The loin is broad and muscular, and there is only a slight tuck up.
: Medium length and thick at the base, the tail is carried slightly sickle fashioned. It has bristly hair and swings from side to side when the dog is in action.
: The shoulders are sloping.
: The elbows are in line with the body. The legs are straight, with good bone. The pasterns are slightly sloping.
: Compact, with tight, well arched toes and hard pads.
: The legs are long and muscular. The hocks are well let down and moderately bent. The rear pasterns are vertical.
: Supple and even, with no bounce.
: Very rough, harsh, and rather short. The face should not be too bushy.
: Any shade of fawn, from golden to red. A few black hairs are tolerated, as is a white star on the chest.
: Height at the withers for both males, and females is from 19 to 22 inches.
Coat: Woolly or curly coat. Sparse, smooth, fine coat.
Unilateral or bilateral cryptorchid. Viciousness or extreme shyness. Albinism. Overshot or undershot. The presence of dewclaws.
Feet: The presence of dewclaws.


Dress up your boots in the winter with boot socks and leg warmers! At Southern Fried Chics, we have a wide variety of different boot socks and leg warmers to choose from. Pick some cuffs to avoid bulky socks, or monogram leg warmers! These take boring, bulky winter outfits and turn them into something cute and flirty!


On Saturday, Feb. 16, Sidewalk and Steelqueen will release its debut record, "Sweet Trudelane," a wonderfully lush collection of acoustically driven songs featuring Tom Richter on banjo and guitar and Carol Coronis on citterns. Guest appearances also pop up from EJ Ouellette (fiddle, bass, and producer/engineer), Shane Pender (double bass), and an assortment of drummers including Gary Feldman, Chuck Coronis and Peter Whitehead. The record features original compositions as well as an assortment of cover tunes. It's fun, organic, and perfect for a Sunday afternoon cruising the back dusty roads of the good ol' Granite State, or propping up on the porch (or wherever you happen to be in the world).
EDGE caught up with Carol Coronis to chat about the record, the band, the tunes, and the upcoming show at the Book and Bar.
EDGE: Let's talk about Sidewalk and Steelqueen's debut record, "Sweet Trudelane." What were your goals behind this effort?
Coronis: Originally, we wanted to make a small demo for promotional use until we were ready to record a longer album. We realized if we weren't ready now, we better give away our toys and stay home. And we'd both been wanting to record on our own, but now here we were, playing music together. We each had a lot of material individually, but it wasn't necessarily all suited to us as a duo. So we thought, let's get some songs we like and go have some fun in the studio and see what happens. It was originally going to be just the two of us, but then we decided we wanted a much bigger sound and we knew we'd probably perform live with additional musicians on a lot of gigs.
EDGE: What excites you about having this thing out for the world to hear?
Coronis: My first album was ramped up traditional music from Greece, Arabia and Turkey. I got kind of busy and it took a while for me to get back to performing rock and roots, which I love. And Tom had been recording his own Homer Scroot series based on his alter ego; he has six CDs of some really good stories with these. So this is a bit of a sample to showcase what else we do.
There's this unique sound with the Celtic-Greek of the cittern and the clawhammer banjo. When you first think about the two instruments together, it just sounds like too many strings ... or something. But then someone described our sound as a sort of weaving in and out, but always coming together. We heard a playback of a recording of us playing that someone made, and after that I thought, we can definitely do something with this.
It's kind of cool to be able to develop our brand of New England regional roots, spread some local songwriter's songs around, and have some fun.
EDGE: How and when did Sidewalk and Steelqueen come together? Why did Sidewalk and Steelqueen come together?
Coronis: One afternoon a few years ago when I was hosting an Irish session, a mutual friend encouraged Tom to join us. He was hoping to learn Irish accompaniment prior to a visit to Ireland in 2015. I was looking for a strong player who could jump in and play the energy-driven music I love. I knew Tom, but I'd never heard him play banjo. He's crazy all-over-the-place when he plays and his intricate finger-picking style gives the music a delicious kind of wildness. The common denominator was that we're both passionate Jefferson Airplane fans. And we loved to harmonize. So I guess it was around 2015 to 2016 when we started playing, and it was just plain fun.
EDGE: What's the songwriting process like for the two of you? Do you write the tunes on your own and come together to flesh them out, or are you co-writing?
Coronis: We each have a different method. Tom builds his lyrics and melodies from the chordal structure whereas I approach the music from a melodic and rhythmic place.
Tom is a terrific songwriter – he's written literally hundreds, and they're good songs that tell amazing stories. He also writes his own music.
Although I'm not much of a wordsmith, I write a lot of music. Steve Codd from Dover wrote the words to "The Tavern Girl," a song about a pirate queen, and I put it to music. The tune for the song came to me quickly with a couple of changes to lock it into place. And it's fun to create a new arrangement of a song, or maybe tweak it just enough to make a difference. One of my favorites on the CD is "Forty Bucks" written by Jerry Tillett, songwriter and musician from Kittery who's been instrumental (no, really) in the Seacoast music scene for decades. We did it faster and laid down a rock groove that changes it just enough to drive it the way I was hearing it in my head. We had some fun with the harmonies, too.
EDGE: You've also got an assortment of covers on the record. How'd you all decide which tunes you wanted to include on this record?
Coronis: We chose songs we like, and we love to harmonize, so we chose the covers that had the best energy and unique harmonies for our eclectic style. We also wanted to mix up our own tunes with those of local songwriters and to have a sampling of the different styles we play.
EDGE: One tune in particular, "In the Pines," has shown up on three recordings I've received in the last three months. Why do you think that is? What is so special about the tune? I myself am way into it. In many ways, it was the exact gateway to the discovery of blues music for me when I first heard Nirvana cover it as an impressionable teen.
Coronis: Nirvana! Yes! There are well over 160 recordings of the song; it's been passed on through generations by word-of-mouth and dates back to at least the 1870s, although authorship is credited to Huddie Ledbetter. As Tom says, we're happy to include Huddle Ledbetter in the line-up.
The song is emotional – it's got betrayal, heartbreak, murder and a great sound. It drives, it's got the opportunity for harmonies, it's fun to play. And the story is captivating. You have all these little pieces of information so your mind can put them together and kind of create your own story. Most of the versions I've heard are done as a waltz, but I kept hearing this one with a strong 4-count, and fast, and it felt natural for me to play it that way. Tom's frailing banjo and harmony lines seemed to fall into it effortlessly.
EDGE: What did EJ Ouellette's production talents add to the overall feel of the record and music?
Coronis: EJ's got an incredible ear and boundless energy. He got us to bring out the momentum we wanted to convey. He had definitive vision as to what he wanted from the drums, especially, and that gave us the rock sound we were after. Three drummers appear on the CD: Gary Feldman, Peter Whitehead and my brother Chuck Coronis. Also, an up-and-coming terrific bass player Shane Pender, who served as assistant engineer to EJ, played stand-up on "Ride That Train."
For Tom, even though he'd been in recording studios most of his life, EJ recognized that he needed some coaching in breathing and singing. EJ directed the sessions like they were all that mattered. After 20 takes, he would say, "Perfect! Do it again." He's also a master of many instruments. Besides fiddle, he played bass on most of the songs on the CD. He's a killer guitar player and he plays just about anything with strings.
For me, it was that EJ's own idea of music was so in sync with the sound I wanted for us. We acted on the technical suggestions he made and he added fiddle where we knew it would enhance our arrangements.
EDGE: Tell us the story of the actual "steel queen." I understand your instrument was your father's which fell into the depths of storage for quite some time, only to resurface, be renovated, and see a beautiful resurgence.
Coronis: Yes, my dad was an incredible jazz guitarist and Greek bouzouki player and when he was about age 11, his parents bought him his first guitar. They ordered a wooden guitar from Sears, but when they went to pick it up, it hadn't arrived. Sears' policy then and for years after was that if what you ordered didn't come in on time, they'd offer you the next best item at no extra charge. There was this National steel guitar sitting there ... and it's been in our family ever since.
I played it a bunch in college, but then played mostly electric guitar after that.
Over the years, the neck was damaged and the intonation was pretty much shot. The poor thing just sat in its case.
In the early 2000s, I started playing the cittern, a 10-string mandolin-on-steroids, and I'm lucky to have two beautiful maple and spruce Trillium citterns crafted by Bob Abrams of Nottingham. They are a joy to play and they both sound a little different.
Then I got the idea that this really cool metal guitar needed to be brought back to life and I knew it would rock with a new cittern neck. My friend Steve Rowley, retired subsea robotics engineer from York, Maine, offered to restore the instrument. He did so beautifully. He crafted a luscious mahogany neck and a very cool ebony tailpiece complete with a little mother-of-pearl palm tree inlay, the palm tree being National's signature motif. He eliminated some yucky-looking welding at the bridge – and with a new biscuit and a new cone inside, he even electrified it. Steve gave new life and light to this luscious instrument – it looks so beautiful and ethereal.
The sound is rich and deep, and it rocks like crazy. The best thing, of course, is that I have a little bit of my dad every time I play it.
EDGE: You're doing a release party at the Book and Bar on Feb. 16. What are you looking forward to? What can folks expect?
Coronis: A hell of a good time. A hell of a good time with some good music. We are psyched to be returning to such a warm venue and we're looking forward to having a ton of musical fun. There will be four of us as my brother Chuck will be playing percussion and EJ will be guesting on fiddle. It's going to be hot.