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The Women of Troy
Sydney Theatre Company present THE WOMEN OF TROY by Euripides adapted by Barrie Kosky and Tom Wright, at Wharf 1.
On entering the theatre, one encounters the seats swathed in white dust covers. (You are also provided with a history of the Trojan war and the events leading up to the play, neatly printed out for your perusal on your seat.) The stage is lit with fluorescents. Stark, cool unattractive reality. (Lighting by Damian Cooper.) Along the entire back wall of the raised theatre stage there is a huge jigsaw of wooden and metal lockers which you might find in a very old gymnasium dressing room. They are either stacked horizontally or vertically, some with doors but most not. It is of a vast cinemascope width. All the pieces are second or third hand or reverse garbage finds. Down one seam in the structure there seeps a liquid like sump oil that puddles out onto part of the upstage acting area. Decrepit, ruined, functional, reclaimed. (Set and Costume design by Alice Babidge.) Julio Iglesias on a looped tape is recorded singing a glimpse of lyrics concerning "the most beautiful girl in the world." Round and round it repeats and repeats and repeats.. It has the aural pitch of satiric kitsch and has the affect of quietly driving one crazy.. (Sound design by David Gilfillan). The forestage is a cheap and nasty blue carpet bedraggled, in areas severely worn and stained. Stained with what? Our imaginations target the likelihoods: vomit, piss, excrement, blood and fear. This is a contemporary world in some war zone. A functionary, dressed in civilian clothes (mercenaries??) with a lower half faced protective plastic mask walks across the stage purposely. The auditorium lights dim and the live musician who has arrived at the piano in front of the stage prepares (Daryl Wallis).
On a hand pulled goods trolley a hooded figure dressed in the jewels and robes of a queen is precariously rolled centre stage. The figure is lifted onto a pedestal that is only an old brown cardboard box (No marble plinth for her.). The attendant removes the jewellery, the blue trained robe, the full length court dress, penultimately the sparkling tiara and finally the black hood. Beneath is the fragile grey haired Queen of Troy in her under garments. (Robyn Nevin). (This, the reversal of the famous Brechtian device of dressing the Pope in GALILEO.) Here we see an iconic figure, the queen, revealed as a frail old woman. Someone like ourselves: a human. Soon she is joined by a hooded chorus of three other women of Troy, all once more in underwear, besmirched with blood and/or bruising, some trailing electrical attachments to their ankles. This then is a prison or holding base that resonates with the images of Abu Ghraib.
Our contemporary world is present……. and yet, it feels dated. The force of the imagery has not the impact it once may have had. It feels like History. The images so often recycled in our life encounters, that they now merely register as true but are relatively unaffecting. As imagery that only remotely emotionally engages us. (What with Climate Change issues and the threatening Economic (stock market) collapse of the world this imagery is further down our needs of urgency. A tragic observation to make.)
The production proceeds. All the performers are miked. The sound is clear but the intervention of technology between the characters and the audience seems to distance and dehumanise their spoken story. There is a distancing in the experience. I observe and listen. I am engaged in an objective place: my head, not yet my heart (my soul) my emotions. I understand but I don't experience feelings. The speeches that Barrie Kosky and Tom Wright have fashioned from the original Euripides are powerful and image packed, yet it seems to be documentation – further distancing me. The lighting moves from the crude ugliness of the fluorescent reality to more theatrical states and colours. I become aware of the relative romantic surface gleam to sections of the performance and note the contrasts. The chorus sing but they sing anachronistically Opera, folk and cabaret/burlesque popular songs (Bizet, Mozart., Slovenian folk, "oh when your smiling" etc.) and they usually sing these pieces of popular music to counter balance ugly imagery. It is, I reflect, an often used theatrical device: To contrast the visual and the aural experience to make it easier for us to absorb. However, I am aware of the technique and I recognise it as a usual one in the theatrical armoury of Barrie Kosky's work. The Sound scape of kitsch music choices (on a baby grand piano) and the familiar but banal sound scape of ordinary, bored life (unanswered telephone ringing, muffled, muted conversations etc ) and the artaudian application of the surround of exploding live gunshots around the auditorium and even under the seating, so that not only noise but the reverberation of the shot air vibrates my seating, is a technique I recognise. Again, my alienation from the events of the play continue and my focus on the means of communication employed by the director becomes more paramount to my experience. The physical violence is token. It is choreographed. The offered theatrical gesture of "danced" violence: physical abuse and rape, again distance me into a state of pretend. This is a representation, it is not real. My response is objectively intellectual.
Maybe, after the 8 hours of THE LOST ECHO (which I saw three times) (and much else of his other work) I have become inured to the production hallmarks of this director. The blurring of theatre genres, the usual toilet/gross settings, the cast near nude or dressed in underwear sporting blood or excrement or vomit, the oppositional use of the misery of beauty or the beauty of misery imagery, his penchant for beautiful classic music accompaniments to scenes of horror, his kitschy embracing of some popular music as humour and satiric observations etc. So, what is most shocking to me and surprising to me is that this is the first time I have had no surprises from a Barrie Kosky production. I have not been challenged. I have seen all these gestures before and they appear "Old Hat". His theatre is usually full of confronting and clarifying demands at least in the technique he uses to tell his stories. But THE WOMEN OF TROY lacks that thrill. He seems to be repeating himself and it feels unsatisfactory. Particularly, since as Tom Wright his text collaborator tells us, that the approach to the writing has been "very much about reductionism." and this text of Euripides has been reduced, truncated to a very deliberate function and since my theatrical attention was objectively more and more engaged in the directorial style of aesthetic distancing, a richer verbal text may have balanced this. By richer I mean more density (For I truly admire the poetry of the adaptation) but it has been reduced too far for my need to attach to identify with the tragedy. By the end of the performance I and many others in the audience had been left in a place of "numbness", "cool objectivity", "anaesthesia". We applauded politely, patiently.
Of the cast, Robyn Nevin is marvellous in her handling of the great textual arias she has been provided with, especially with the opening and closing speeches. I felt the "sacking of Troy" speech was maybe a little to self consciously modulated, articulated. (Here, is a case in point of where I would argue that the vocal timbre and vulnerable emotional life of this actress would have had the double impact of sense AND emotion with her natural voice communicating to us rather than with the micro-phoned sound.) (To digress for a moment. A few years ago I attended a concert given by the great chanteuse Barbara Cooke. She sang most of her concert miked. But for her encores she "unplugged". The difference in experiencing this artist was that miked we sat back and listened. "Unplugged" we leant forward and worked with her. We had to engage instead of having the sound given to us. In a documentary on the Broadway Theatre several of the stars of The Golden Age of Broadway suggest the demise of the American Musical began when the artist was assisted with technology. The audience just did not have to give as much to the performance and the performer had less to risk.) Melita Jurisic playing Cassandra, Andromache and Helen is particularly mesmerizing as the possessed, zombie eyed madwoman, Cassandra (White contacts in her eyes!!!!). The chorus of women Natalie Gamsu, Queenie van de Zandt and Jennifer Vuletic are concentrated and great in their contribution, especially, (along with Ms Nevin who reveals herself as a surprisingly good singer, both solo and chorus), in the Slovenian folk song episode.
So this is an interesting night in the theatre. Most of all, because, to be becalmed in the Theatre of Mr Kosky to a relative state of boredom is fairly unique in my extensive experience of his work. There is much to take from this production. The acting and musical input is outstanding, however, much like my response to the Belvoir production of ANTIGONE earlier this year I feel that the Greek Theatre repertoire has not been given the powerful chance that is inherent in these formative expressions of Western Cultures struggle to understand itself. In the original these "powerless women Of Troy gain in moral stature what they cannot achieve in actual power". These Trojan Women of Mr Kosky and Mr Wright look more like pathetic victims of war.
The great dignity of these victims of war is greatly communicated in a film presently screening near you. WALTZ WITH BASHIR. Go and see it. I defy you not to be stunned and paralysed with the last ten minutes. And this is animated film!!!!
Playing now until 26 October. Book online or call 02 9250 1777.
Labels: Alice Babidge, Barrie Kosky, Damien Cooper, David Gilfillan, Euripides, Robyn Nevin, Sydney Theatre Company, The Women of Troy, Tom Wright
No shocking surprises, but was I dreading what they might have done with the child...
Is anyone else bored of hearing actors using microphones? The last Three productions I've seen have used them (The women of Troy most successfully).
A wasted night in the theatre. Kosky seems so preoccupied with his signature techniques ( which have become predictable and boring) that he forgets that he has to engage his audience. Much of the " horror" is laughable. Particular instances of unintended humour included the endless Exorcist-style moaning and gibbering of the white-eyed Cassandra, and her emergence from the box in which she is raped with her knickers around her ankles. Her efforts to climb onto a cardboard box thus encumbered were mesmerising for the wrong reasons. It was impossible to feel for the characters. Even the death of the child was diminished in impact by the Grand Guignol events that preceded it. Nevin was ok in her major speeches but overall her performance lacked light and shade, and warmth. Dignam looked like the King of the Daleks whirling about in a motorised wheelchair. The cast sang well but that was largely a distraction. Kosky"s choice of When Youre Smiling as an ironic closing tune was feeble...He should have used Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. Or perhaps he found that none of the cast could whistle??
Melita Jurisic as the beautiful Helen? Poor casting choice.
O you anonymopus bloggers shit me. who are you??
why does everyone have to do everything new every time? why is Barrie K in so much troubkle from everybody for repeating himself? there's no shame for a visual artist in having his/her style recognised. walking into the tate modern and knowing you are looking at a rothko from across the room is, if anything, considered a good thing in those circles. because the artist has a language, a vocabulary that they use. just because we know we are watching gillian jones doesn't reduce her work in any way (another who suffers a lot from this criticism).
melita jurisic is extraordinary in all three of her roles.
when i was a boy i used to play a coin operated game where after you put 20 cents into the machine you picked up a mallet and bashed any wombats who stuck their head oput of a few random holes in the table.
sometimes i feel like this is about as sophisticated as our arts dialogue gets. i have not heard or read one really intelligent discussion about her choices in this production, about what barrie might have been intending in this jurisic/nevin duet. just a lot of reactionary rubbish about how out there mj was and how dignified rn is and how much we - generally - loved the music.
what is this? a bloody church fete
WAKE UP YOU BUNCGH OF WHINGEING MOFO'S!!
tom healey
Pearly Productions said...
HAHAHAHAHA Oh Tom! I don't usually comment on comments here, but that was gold. Absolute gold. I'm laughing out loud here. Thank you for your honest comment.
Now Tom that you have had your outburst and thank you. Just what would you like to say about those points you have raised? Add to sensible informed discussion. Lets have your input to propel art discussion. Let's get your objective observations to consider. It might lead somewhere other than abuse.
So Kevin,
isn't blogging about passion? Why is it that you are content to have a statement like "Melita Jurisic as the beautiful Helen? Poor casting choice." pass without an exhortation to rational debate? (speaking of abuse...)
Or even an outrageous assumption like "Kosky seems so preoccupied with his signature techniques ( which have become predictable and boring) that he forgets that he has to engage his audience."!!! (and abuse again in my book)
Where to begin?? Why does/should an artist "have" to do anything?
My issue here is in the reactionary nature of these responses. And I'm fascinated that my - admittedly - equally reactionary response should evoke such a stern and admonitory tone from you.
Our history with our great and extreme artists feels depressing. The recent Bill Henson debacle is a good case in point.
We love the middle - in the (somewhat paraphrased) words of Dorothy Hewett in her suburban chorus in The Chapel Perilous: "it's little bit naughty, it's a little bit nice (? or something) but by golly it goes down well".
All those vicious caricatures of Patrick White - Miss Docker et al - seem to have taught us, collectively at least, nothing at all.
Our mainstream theatre is (largely though, crucially, NOT WHOLLY) such a wash of nonentity, mostly because we are all so hyper-aware of not losing money / audiences / and, therefore ultimately companies, that we feel frightened to make anything edgy or risky. I beat myself up regularly over this failing I perceive in myself and then read drivel like the above and realise that I am being nothing more than cold-bloodedly sensible.
Melba - probably apocryphal but I still love it - once advised another Australian soprano worried about programming for her homecoming tour to Australia to "GIVE 'EM MUCK".
I was so angry on our (Australians) behalf when I first heard this story as a teenager, so anti-europe and the perceived snobbery. Sadly, 25 years later, I know exactly what she meant and why she said it. I don't know that I would ever say it myself but I understand the impulse.
It's not that we're stupid, or behind or disadvantaged in any way. It's that, as a society we are so conservative, so frightened of making statements, of EXPLORING ideas that most of our art necessarily lives in the shadows. And our great cutting-edge artists have to leave, unless they fancy a career littered with the sort of scorn and derision characterised by these anonymous posters (as well as the mainstream press and, in Henson's case, the PM of the country).
It's our loss and it's a loss I feel most keenly in the abstract as well as the actual. It's not just about who or what we are losing but also what is yet unborn, what might never come to pass.
All this puts me in mind of the great Tony Kushner and what he gives Roy Kohn to say to Joe Pitt in Angels Pt 1 as he tries to talk him into taking the biggest risk of his life:
"Learn at least this. What you are capable of."
Alison Croggon said...
What Tom said. What is reasoned about an abusive comment about an actor's physical appearance?
Still waiting to see WOT, since the opening night has been cancelled here due to illness in the cast. But I'm looking forward to it with deep interest (and can't wait to see Jurisic on stage again). Kosky is one of our great theatrical minds, with the courage to explore extremity, and the intelligence and skill to do so. I do get sick of people telling me about what Kosky "does", to the point where younger audience members wonder when they will see a "typical" Kosky show, because all they've seen, according to what they hear, is "atypical" Kosky. Bizarre. As is the other constant slander that his work is all about "ego". (A critic said to me, after seeing The Tell-Tale Heart, that Kosky's invisible presence on stage as a pianist was simply a reflection of his "ego", a not uncommon and in fact artistically insupportable Melbourne comment... v depressing). These are just easy avoidances of engagement with the actual experience.
And no, it's not about whether one "likes" it or not. I haven't "liked" all Kosky's work. But it is always worthy of attention.
Tom, Thank you. My note was not meant to be "stern". It was meant to invite you to talk more about your passion for the Art. You have, and I think it is important and "grand" as Mr Shaw might have said. Alison has followed on and now let us see what else might ensue. With all three of our passionate expressions, and Mr Waites as well (and others), there might be more than "reactionary abuse" on these sites. However each one of us can only register our experience of the event. Each one of us responds from the sum total of our life experience's up to that point of viewing. All my world, oth its objective/subjective self, are being added to in the flight of the present second. The theatre is an emphemeral but personal experience. Everyone has chosen to surrender their Time, and to be crass but practical their money, so they too can speak.
I do agree that everyone has their right to speak out. But where are these anonymous "commentuers" now that the big guns are out?
In fact, having been lucky enough to work on the show (much owed in fact to tom..) I have been able to hear some of the comments about the show that punters spill as they are leaving the auditorium, and I have to say, that however horrible or uneducated the comment may be, I LOVE the fact that it has stirred something in them so passionately. It has caused a reaction without them realising.
My favourite comment was a man who yelled out quite loudly (once the cast had left the stage I might add..) "SELF INDULGENT RUBBISH"
Another comment left from one of the first previews was "And they call that entertainment?" Ha!
People are talking, people are disgussing.. and I'm so glad that it is stirring the pot.. but it seems as though the pot is only so deep. Come on people!! Look a little deeper.. what is this story about! Why are we still telling it? I can assure you, it is not to assist in the inflation of Kosky's head.
A lady the other evening (after finally opening In beautiful Melbourne) hit the nail on the head "isn't it horrendous.. After all these years, we are still behaving the same way"
I'm so glad that lady was more concerned with the story itself, than how hot Helen was going to be.
And I'm sure if they had cast Helen based on her looks, Mr/Ms Anonymous would be the first to comment on
that as well.
Hmmm!
i saw the performance last night and was disappointed on quite a few levels. On the pluses I found it strong as an anti-war political statement, and I thought the performances by the actors, particularly nevin, were strong. But this adaption neither gave us the original richness of the text, nor was it something that affected me in any emotional way. I felt that the director was trying to resort to shock 'gimmicks' (contrasting music, gun shots and choreographed violence) to make an impact on the audience, but that even that I reacted against - it seems too forced. I don't know whether it is a flaw of the original text (whether it fairly thin in characterisation and therefore building empathy with the audience and interest), or the adaption - but I know by the end I was glancing at my watch quite a few times waiting for it to end.
Finally saw WOT. I have to say that I'm pretty mystified that it left you unmoved KJ (tho wildly differing subjectivities are part of the experience of theatre). I could hardly bear what I was feeling, helpless grief that went deeper than tears. God those Greeks were stark. And this production revealed just how stark they were.
Family Stories: Belgrade
The Convict's Opera
Blowing Whistles
Sid's Waltzing Masquerade
Just Macbeth!
The Makropulos Secret


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Morrisons recovery in sight
Wm Morrison today reported progress during the full year and announced details of a £450m investment programme.
Full-year profit before tax came in at £369m including property profits of £39m.The group said its new financial year has begun slowly, with like for like sales excluding fuel growing at 3.4 per cent , lagging behind the momentum seen last year. Following a much anticipated business review, the company said that it will invest around £450m on top of its normal annual capital requirements, estimated to be £400m including its new store programme.
It anticipates that the firm will deliver £200m of annual profit enhancement by 2010, more than the first phase of the Optimisation Plan announced last year.
"We remain at the early stages of our profit recovery, but I believe that good foundations have been laid as demonstrated by delivering the first stage of our Optimisation Plan," said chairman Ken Morrison.
Insight DIY is the only source of market information that I need and they always have the latest news before anyone else.
Neil Anderton - Sales Director, British Ceramic Tile

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Brut Grain: Breton Brut has a unique color that makes it a naturally beautiful salt. The grey hue comes from its high level of moisture, minerals and nutrients. These large, irregular grains are ideal for bath salts, blending with other salts or herbs, and salt scrubs.
Breton French Grey Sea Salt is rated 4.9 out of 5 by 9.


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Q: What does NOT char_pointer mean? I was looking through code written by others and bumped into "if" I don't understand:
if (!buffer || len == 0)

in function
void getText(const char* objName, char* buffer, uint16_t len)

buffer, passed to function, is char array declared: char buff[10]={0};
What "!buffer" means? If it is bool it would make sense to me, but I have never seen before such statement as Not Char_Pointer. Can you explain it please?

A: It means "not null". When you use any type with a logical operator, it is "contextually converted to bool", if possible, and for pointers the result of conversion is true iff the pointer is not null. See Boolean Conversions in http://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/language/implicit_conversion for details.
I am assuming you are using C or C++ from the syntax, but in general you should tag questions with the programming language.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The Textile and Apparel sectors account for nearly 20% of all manufacturing employment in Mexico. It accounts for approximately 1.2% of the GDP of the country.
The textile industry contributes to 1.4% of the country's GDP. Columbia has about 450 textile industries. Exports only 15% of its textiles.
The UK is the third-largest fashion employer in the EU.
From 2007 to 2012, over USD 10 billion invested in the Brazilian textile industry, which is the 5th largest in the world.
Textiles and garment manufacturers account for more than 30% of the non-traditional exports in Peru.
Morocco is the main supplier to Inditex (owner of Zara and Massimo Dutti).
Textile exports by Turkey have risen by 5 times in the past 20 years. They export 40% of their output.
Bangladesh is the world's second-largest apparel exporter of western brands accounting for 45% of Bangladesh's industrial employment (nearly 4 million people) and 5% of the total national income.
Korea is the seventh-largest textile and apparel exporter in the global market.
Italy is the second largest textile manufacturer and the third largest apparel exporter in the world.
Textile mills in Thailand employ more than 1 million workers, or 22.1 percent of the country's entire industrial labor force.
Textile production constitutes 3% of the total GDP and 30% of the total production output.
is the seventh-largest textile and apparel exporter in the global market.
USA is the fourth largest textile exporter in the world. In 2014 it directly employed 372,400 people.


A poster from the U.S. Department of Agriculture promoting the seven food groups for a healthy diet. Established in 1862, the Department of Agriculture provides leadership and information on agriculture, natural resources, and nutrition, like with this poster.
The recommended food chart has changed since 1943, excluding butter and fortified margarine, and combining group three and group one for a single vegetable group. The other four groups in today's (early 21st century) chart includes dairy, fruits, protein foods, and grains.


These earrings are SO light weight. They are apart of my new knot collection based on 2d knot diagrams.
Please indicate your preferred texture (matte/polished) and finish (full black patina/patina brushed back) for example.


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Esports League Bundling Gaming PCs into Membership
An esports league that caters to high schools has begun offering a bundle deal that includes three years of league membership and six gaming computers. The High School Esports League, which claims a membership of 1,500 high schools, is offering the "HSEL Esports Equipment Bundle" for $4,000 per year.
The program includes unlimited access to HSEL competitions for the three years for any number of teams and students, a fixed membership price and six player Maingear Vybe PCs with Razer peripherals. The computers run AMD Ryzen processors and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti graphics cards. The peripherals include Razer BlackWidow Ultimate keyboards, DeathAdder Essential mice and Electra V2 headsets.
The same membership without the computers is available for $2,144 per year, setting the cost of each of the six computer bundles at $917. Pricing of the Vybe alone with that processor and graphics card starts at $1,349.
"One of the biggest hurdles to running a fantastic high school esports program is making sure students have access to the hardware they need to compete at their best," said Mason Mullenioux, co-founder and CEO of the league, in a statement. "Thanks to the size of HSEL's network of partnered schools, we have a unique opportunity to bring high-end gaming equipment to thousands of schools — affordably."
More information was available on an HSEL landing page.


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Q: Clearing Contents of merged cells,specific columns, every other row and unknown last row using command button I'm looking to create a "Clear Page" command button for this log I'm working on.

That's an example image I used in a previous question here which may be useful to anyone able to help. This was adding more table rows to the end of the sheet. It also had a clear content function but was only for the new rows being inserted.
I need this button to be able to clear columns B:C , E:M , & P:X of the entire sheet from Row 3,4 down to the last used row. As you can see there are merged cells so the rows are always paired in twos. Rows 3&4 are the first table row and 105&106 are currently the last(52) but that can change(as more may get added) which is why I can't have a specific last row and the formula needs to find it.
The only thing is I cannot have it clear the "PAR" section of E:M & P:X as it has formulas in it. I only want the "STROKES" section underneath to be cleared. This will be the same for every table row.
Columns B & C are obviously merged so I don't know whether it needs to be the top row cleared or bottom or both in terms of the formula.
Hopefully that's all understandable. Thanks.

A: Try this ...
Public Sub ClearSheet()
    Dim lngFirstRow As Long, objSheet As Worksheet

    lngFirstRow = 3

    On Error Resume Next

    ' Change "Sheet1" to the name of your worksheet
    ' Set objSheet = ThisWorkbook.Worksheets("Sheet1")
    Set objSheet = ThisWorkbook.ActiveSheet

    With objSheet
        .Range("B" & lngFirstRow & ":C" & .Rows.Count).SpecialCells(xlCellTypeConstants).Cells.ClearContents
        .Range("E" & lngFirstRow & ":M" & .Rows.Count).SpecialCells(xlCellTypeConstants).Cells.ClearContents
        .Range("P" & lngFirstRow & ":X" & .Rows.Count).SpecialCells(xlCellTypeConstants).Cells.ClearContents
    End With
End Sub

... it selects the non formula cells within the columns and then clears the contents.


They insist on calling and harrassing you at work even though you have called and written them to stop.
They send false court documents, threaten to garnish wages, harassing phone calls non-stop. I have already reported them and they stopped for a couple months but they are up to it again. I am sending them a certified letter to stop or legal action will be taken against them. I really don't know how they enjoy living or are able to sleep at night.


The Scuba Shop uses Payfast for all card transactions. You can choose to pay with your credit, cheque card or EFT. Depending on what you buy and the availability we may send you an invoice. Payment is then EFT only. Communication is very important to us. We guarantee you that we will keep you updated on the status of your order at all times. There has been some issues between Standard Bank and Payfast lately (March 2018). If you are having trouble placing your order CONTACT us.
We do not have every single product available listed on our website. If there is something specific you are looking for like a certain valve, fin strap or service kit you are more than welcome to contact us and ask. We will more than likely be able to assist you or point you in the right direction.
Yes we do. Contact us for pricing and availability.
Yes. We sell Hollis Rebreathers. The Explorer SCCR and Prism CCR. These machines are on special order only and you obviously need training. Contact us if you want to buy a Rebreather.
Do you guys offer technical training?
Yes we do. We offer all PADI courses and some IANTD courses. If you are looking at becoming a technical diver you can contact us for more info on our courses and dates. We offer all courses included Sidemount, Cavern Diver, Cave Diver, Tec 40 – Tec 65, Gas Blender, and various SCCR and CCR Rebreather courses.
In Order for us to offer the speedy service that we do and the variety of goods that we sell we sometimes ship goods directly from our wholesalers.
In the case that you receive your order and the brand differs from what you see on our website we will then either swap the product for the correct brand, exchange it for a similar product or refund you. We are here for assistance, contact us if the product you ordered says Oceanpro instead of Oceanic.
In rare instances colors of products on our website may differ from actual products. Usually if the color differs from the image the actual product looks better! Most of the images of products on our website are 100% accurate. What you see is what you get. If you have received your order and you are not 100% satisfied with what it looks like, contact us. Products on our website are listed and priced according to the South African wholesaler. We are here for assistance, contact us if the product you ordered differs from the images found on our website.
Products listed on our site are in stock and available for purchase. We disable products that are out of stock so you just won't find it on our website until it's back in stock. Due to the Rand that loses value quite often the scuba wholesalers sometimes push up their prices on short notice (they sometimes bring down their prices on short notice as well!). We are on top of this most of the time BUT every so often a wholesaler will decide that a certain BCD or Flashight's price is not ok and they will send out the 'memo' AFTER changing the price. So…if you are shopping around for a certain product and you find that our price is much lower than other scuba shops there is a fault on our side. We apologize for this.
No scuba diving equipment is manufactured locally. If you see the Rand moving expect our prices to change as well.


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Home » The PublicsLab Blog » Posts » Introducing Iota School
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Introducing Iota School
by Patrick Smyth|Published 1 September 2021
This post was originally shared in newsletter form. To receive updates on Patrick's work on Iota School, along with some thoughts on humanities entrepreneurship and building infrastructure to better serve the public, subscribe to the Techne newsletter.
So, Who Are You?
I'm Patrick Smyth, the new postdoc in Humanities Entrepreneurship at the Publics Lab. 👋 I graduated with a PhD in English from the CUNY Graduate Center in June, and for the last few years I've been coordinating a program at Columbia University teaching technical skills to researchers. I like teaching people, especially but not exclusively humanists, to do things with computers. I'm motivated by the idea that, if we as scholars don't build for ourselves, then others (especially corporations) will interpose themselves between our work and the public.
While a postdoc at the Publics Lab, and hopefully beyond, I'll be creating a business, Iota School, to teach technical skills to humanists and the humanities-aligned. This post introduces my vision for Iota School, the postdoc, and the Techne newsletter. Feel free to check out the website or sign up for the newsletter, with the caveat that much on the site is currently still nonfunctional—I'm aiming to build it in public, with all the attendant embarrassments and 404 errors.
The Short Version
So, this year I've taken on a postdoctorate in Humanities Entrepreneurship with the Publics Lab at The Graduate Center, CUNY. While there, I get to work with great people like director Stacy Hartman and two cohorts of Public Fellows, all of whom are working in important areas related to academic engagement with the public.
Excitingly, and kind of remarkably, I'll be taking much of my time with the Publics Lab to work on a humanities-oriented business, Iota School. Iota School, which I will sometimes shorten to Iota, will offer accessible technical training based on a modular curriculum to researchers in the humanities and to GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums) professionals.
That's the short version. For the longer version, I'll start with what I've learned about how researchers, and especially humanists, learn technical skills, and why I think there's space out there for something like Iota.
Things I've Learned
For the past seven years or so, while working with Graduate Center Digital Initiatives, the Digital Humanities Summer Institute, and the Foundations for Research Computing program at Columbia, I've taught researchers, often but not always humanists, how to study, do, and build with computers, and in particular using skills such as the Python and R programming languages, the UNIX command line, and HTML/CSS. During that time, I've learned…
…that researchers, including humanists and humanistic social scientists, rely on a lot of infrastructure to do research and share their work.
…that leaving the creation of that infrastructure to others, like hired staff or giant corporations, leads to a lot of problems.
…that there are a limited number of places to turn to learn technical skills as a researcher.
…that there's a demand for technical training for researchers and practitioners in the humanities, humanistic social sciences, and GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, and Museums).
…that humanists, qualitative social scientists, and GLAM folks have preferred ways of learning technical skills.
In future posts, I'll unpack some of these observations, none of which are universally true and all of which can be qualified in various ways. There are also amazing people, many of them my friends and colleagues, working to bridge these gaps every day. And, of course, not everyone wants or needs these approaches or skills. But my thesis, and the motivation for Iota, is that there is space, and a need, for accessible technical curriculum and organized training for humanists and the GLAMorous.
Iota School will be a business, a curriculum, and a platform serving humanists in need of accessible technical training. Curriculum will be designed in small units, "iotas," that can be organized and reorganized into sequences. These could include a one-hour demonstration, a two-hour workshop, a day-long intensive, a week-long institute, a months-long course, or a years-long self-inquiry. Initial offerings for training will include technical fundamentals such as the command line and Python, but will also approach specific areas of interest to humanists and qualitative social scientists. These will be developed in cooperation with partners working in those domains.
Curriculum will be released under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License. That is, the materials can be freely used for any noncommercial purpose and even modified, built on, or remixed, but attribution will need to be provided. For reasons that I'll get into in future posts, I don't think releasing materials under Creative Commons is incompatible with Iota's status as a business, and this means Iota will create something of public use and benefit.
The platform (and I use that term with some hesitation) will be a web application designed to facilitate the creation of accessible curriculum, and will itself be malleable and modifiable in ways that, I hope, will model a vision for infrastructure that reflects humanistic values. The plan is to allow users of the platform an unusual level of introspection and control. Ideally, the platform will itself serve as a technical text, and accessing its functionality through an API examining its database schema could be part of the curriculum.
First Offerings
I have loose plans for initial training that will be offered by Iota. Likely first candidates would be an intensive on the Python programming language, tentatively conceptualized as Introspective Python and with an emphasis on conversing with the machine in ways that build specific kinds of understanding, and a more domain-specific offering that I'll discuss later. If you have ideas on something you'd really like to see, reach out to patrick@iotaschool.com.
The Techne Newsletter
Broadly, the idea is for Techne to be both part of and a little separate from Iota, and for it to be a place where I explore some of the larger themes and interests that made me want to start Iota in the first place. These include building and studying infrastructure, finding ways to live in a world that constrains and restrains, and broadening our idea of what technology is and does. I'm pretty weird, mostly blind, and not particularly self-serious, so you'll also see odd tangents, personal thoughts, and jokes and dry humor. (Just trying to give you a sense of what's coming so you can make an educated decision about subscribing.)
I'm excited to see what happens this year with Iota School, and to try many things to see what works and what doesn't. Either way, I'll be sharing what happens, and building the platform and the curriculum in public. Thank you, and much joy in creation to you all.
Tools of Imagination: History's Essential Role in Public-Facing Activism, Education, and Archival Work
Public Fellow Madeleine Barnes provides a recap and reflection on the panel session for the workshop series "Activism, Archives, and Education" held in March 2021.
Five Things I Learned from "Public Writing for Academics"
Ph.D. Candidate Tatiana Nunez reflects on "Public Writing for Academics," a workshop hosted by the Writing Center and supported by the PublicsLab.
Grappling with the Contentions of Conducting Boundary-pushing Community Work
Sociology PhD student Cristine Khan reflects on the nuances, pitfalls, and necessity of doing boundary-pushing, community-focused work.
Recap and Reflection: "How to Start Your Successful Mission-Driven Business or Nonprofit" Workshop Series with Dr. Siovahn A. Walker, PhD, MPA, CEO, Mayhunt Consulting
English PhD candidate Madeleine Barnes provides a recap and reflection on Dr. Siovahn Walker's three-part workshop "How to Start Your Successful Mission-Driven Business or Organization."
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Tag: Entangled Publishing
Afterlife #3: A Sucker For You – Marlene Perez
"I should have staked you when I had the chance"
Tansy, vampire queen of California, is going on a road trip. She's bringing an eclectic bunch with her: her best friend (the only human), her two assassin sisters, her boyfriend (a werewolf who's trained as a vampire slayer) and his pack (minus the one who stayed behind to study). They're headed to Vegas to stop a wedding.
Besides the obvious ickiness associated with the idea of their parents being married, Tansy's mother, Vanessa (AKA, the Executioner), has compelled Vaughn's father, so it's not exactly a free will decision as far as Adam Sheridan is concerned. Tansy and Vaughn are determined to prevent this happily ever after.
"Do you think it's a coincidence that I follow Vanessa to Vegas and all hell breaks loose?"
It's been six months since Tansy attended the worst part of her life and became a striga vie, a witch/vampire hybrid, and her witch is at war with her vampire. Granny's tonic isn't working as well as it used to so her allergy to the sun has been getting worse.
Tansy has the Blood of Life ruby with her but she doesn't know what it does yet or even who gave it to her. All she knows for sure is she needs to do whatever it takes to ensure Vanessa doesn't get her hands on it. Besides the priceless gemstone, Tansy has brought along her parasol and her trusty drumstick (all the better for slaying vampires).
It's family reunion time in Vegas. While Vanessa is doing her best to evade her daughter and get on with her dastardly deeds, Tansy finally gets to meet her absentee father. Mason Alicante, the head of the Paranormal Activities Committee, is also Rose and Thorn's father. He's one character who certainly lives up to his reputation. Rose and Thorn need their own series.
The Drainers, who reinvented themselves in the sequel as the Thirsty Thieves, are at it again. This time, they're the Bleeding Hearts and they're trying another new style of music, pop.
Hecate, the best hellcat ever, makes an appearance. She's such a good kitty.
Granny and her Old Crones Book Club stayed home for this adventure but Granny still has her part to play. She's my favourite character of the series, not that it was ever a close call.
My main question mark in this book related to Wanda, the healer. When we first meet her, she says she's not going to be around for the next few weeks because she's going to a deserted island. In the next chapter, the group have dinner at Wanda's World and chat to Wanda, who is clearly not on holiday.
This book has action scenes where vampires meet their doom via drumstick, parasol and other lethal means. There are werewolves with ginormous appetites. The characters stay in luxury accommodation and visit specialty hidden world stores. There are mushy lovey doves scenes and mysterious tattoos.
This is my favourite book of the series. It's unusual for me but I enjoyed each book more than the one that preceded it.
I'm not usually into books that feature vampires and I don't generally read romance novels but this series hooked me. They're light reads but they were fun and a great escape. I'm definitely keen to read more books by this author.
Content warnings: Readers with emetophobia may have trouble with some scenes.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, for the opportunity to read this book.
Vampire-witch hybrid Tansy Mariotti has exactly one goal: to stop her mother's Vegas wedding.
It's not because she hates weddings. It's not because the groom is her boyfriend's dad (although yuck). It's not even because Vegas weddings are cliché as hell. It's because her mum is an evil incarnate vamp known as the Executioner. Nothing good can come of someone marrying a person named the Executioner. Nothing.
With the help of her werewolf boyfriend, her bestie, her granny's no-crave-blood tonic, and her favourite stake – a drumstick – Tansy is Vegas-bound and ready to raise hell, all while hoping her witch side can keep her fangs at bay. Only suddenly, her witch side is fading … fast.
Tansy's running out of time to stop her mum and save herself – before what happens in Vegas stakes in Vegas.
23 October, 2022 by Schizanthus Nerd Categories: ReviewTags: 4.5 stars, Afterlife, Content Warnings, Entangled Publishing, Entangled Teen, NetGalley Leave a comment
Afterlife #2: I'm With the Banned – Marlene Perez
Tansy got way more than she bargained for when she and friend/crush Vaughan set out to save her best friend, Skylar, from Travis, lead singer of The Drainers, a band that sucks both literally and figuratively.
Tansy, a Mariotti witch, is now a striga vie, a witch/vampire hybrid. Not only that, shortly after acquiring her vamp abilities, she got a serious promotion: queen of the California vampires. The job comes with a surprising amount of admin.
Meanwhile, Skylar has returned to being human, which considering she's the one who got Tansy into this mess in the first place, doesn't seem especially fair. I'm not a fan of Skylar; she's not the best friend that Tansy deserves.
One really good thing happened during the road trip: Vaughan has graduated from crush to boyfriend. Only he's been MIA recently, learning to become a vampire hunter. Oh, and he's a werewolf now. So are all of his new friends.
The Drainers have reinvented themselves. They now call themselves Thirsty Thieves and are singing country and western. Badly.
I found Rose and Thorn, who work for the Paranormal Activities Committee, intriguing during the first book but they didn't seem to do much. In this book their potential becomes more evident and I want to spend much more time with them. They're training Tansy to become a badass and they're big on motivational speeches.
"There are other things to worry about besides vampires," Thorn said.
I stopped moving. "Like what?"
"Werewolves, banshees, Medusas, Narcisi, and stupid people," she said, "Just to name a few. All of whom can run faster than you. Your granny can run faster."
Vanessa, Tansy's mother, comes back onto the scene for the first time since she abandoned her as a baby. Vanessa is doing her best impression of a loving mother but she's the vampire known as the Executioner so may not be as trustworthy and caring as she'd like Tansy to believe.
"You know she's about as stable as a toddler on a sugar binge, right?"
I'm absolutely obsessed with Granny. She's amazing! Her tonic helps Tansy manage her newfound sun allergy, she's a librarian and her coven is called the Old Crones Book Club. She also knows when to be a sweetheart and when Tansy need a loving push.
"Now, are you going to sit there like a lump or are you going to get off your tush and handle business?"
Unlike most series, I enjoyed the sequel more than the first book. I'm looking forward to meeting Tansy's father and can't wait to see where Vanessa's storyline takes us.
I never wanted to be a vampire queen.
But on the bright (if not sunny) side of the debacle, I've got a super-hot new boyfriend. And he just might be the perfect guy.
Well, if the perfect guy ghosts you for a month and then comes back to school with a new look, a pack of friends, and a secret. But we have bigger problems.
The Drainers are back. They're singing a different song, but have they really changed?
Even worse, werewolves' hearts are being ripped from their bodies – which is putting the people I love in danger. I need to figure out who is behind the murders before there's an all-out vampire-werewolf war.
No one is going to mess with my friends, even the ones who like to get wild and howl at the moon.
Sometimes, all a girl can do is grab her tiara and start kicking some supernatural ass…
23 October, 2022 by Schizanthus Nerd Categories: ReviewTags: 4 stars, Afterlife, Entangled Publishing, Entangled Teen, NetGalley Leave a comment
Afterlife #1: The Afterlife of the Party – Marlene Perez
Spoilers Ahead!
Join Tansy as she embarks on a road trip with her friend/crush Vaughan. They're following a band that's on tour, but not because they're groupies. They're trying to save Tansy's best friend, Skylar, from the clutches of Travis, the band's lead singer. Travis is a vampire that's been feasting on Skylar.
The first in a planned trilogy, The Afterlife of the Party sucked me in straight away. (See what I did there? 🧛🏼♂) I felt like I already knew Tansy, Skylar and Vaughan, and enjoyed hanging out with them. I loved the name of the vampire's band, 'The Drainers', and I was keen to learn all about Tansy's witch heritage.
I appreciated that consent was addressed in a vampire story, although after the vampires were introduced there were a number of scenes that had me scratching my head. I do need to acknowledge that I read an uncorrected proof so it's entirely possible that the things I struggled with may not be included in the final version. Having said that …
Rose and Thorn mostly wandered in and out of scenes and didn't contribute a great deal to the story. I anticipate they will have a larger role in the sequels, and I hope they do because their characters have the potential to become very interesting. However, by the end of this book both they and the Paranormal Activities Committee they work for seem pretty irrelevant.
I didn't always feel the urgency of Tansy and Vaughn's attempts to find Skylar. Especially when Tansey found Skylar close to death, did a quick healing spell on her and then left her again.
Sometimes terms that had already been defined, like Bleeders, would be reexplained in later chapters.
Tansey says she told Granny the "entire story" but less than ten paragraphs later she mentions a key part of the story that she has kept from her.
I knew I'd have to tell her eventually, but I wasn't quite ready for the look of disappointment I'd see.
The showdown that I knew was inevitable as soon as a certain character was introduced disappointed me. It was over and done with much too quickly for my liking. If someone is going to try to take out a Big Bad I want there to be more of a fight, and maybe a cliché Big Bad monologue to go with it. While there are still plenty of baddies left for our heroes to deal with in the sequels, if it was that easy to get rid of the Big Bad then won't their underling's deaths be even easier?
I hope the sequels reveal the identity of Tansy's father and explain what the deal is with Connor. I want more time with Granny, who could become my favourite character if I got to know her better. I'd also love to see Tansy and her friends cross paths with other hidden world creatures.
Content warnings include the violent death of an animal and mention of sexual assault. Readers with emetophobia may have trouble with some scenes.
When my best friend Skyler told me about this party in the Hollywood Hills, I was less than enthused. As it turned out, my feelings were more than justified. That party ruined my life.
Tansy didn't even want to go to the party. It's hard enough living in one of your best friend's shadows and secretly in love with your other best friend.
And now she's leaving it a vampire.
Now her best friend Skyler is stuck on the road trip from hell, on tour as a groupie with a literal band of vamps. Tansy sets out with Vaughn, her other BFF turned maybe more, to save Skylar's life and take down the band. But when they find themselves in the middle of a vampire war, will Tansy be able to make the ultimate sacrifice to save her friends?
16 August, 2020 by Schizanthus Nerd Categories: ReviewTags: 3.5 stars, Afterlife, Content Warnings, Entangled Publishing, Entangled Teen, NetGalley, Sexual Assault, Spoilers 1 Comment
Crossroads Chronicles #1: Demon Bound – Chris Cannon
As a long term romantiphobe it makes zero sense that I eagerly await the next book by an author who writes romance novels, but that's the voodoo Chris Cannon has somehow managed to place upon me. After laughing at myself because of my accidental enjoyment of my first few Chris Cannon reads, I now get smiley when I realise there's a new book on the horizon. See? Voodoo!
I don't have to work to get into Chris' books. I'm sucked in right about the time the main character is described as a bookworm. So, about page 1.
Meena lives in Crossroads, a small town in Southern Illinois with farmhouses and cornfields, a place she describes as "boring with a huge helping of judgmental". Entertainment in Crossroads consists of the diner, library, pageants and bonfires. Meena isn't a pageant kind of girl, unlike her older sister, so she spends a good portion of her time hiding out in the library. She lives in books and can't wait to go away to college.
All of the trouble that follows Meena applying for a summer cleaning job with Wacky Winslow Old Lady Winslow Carol can be traced back to her need to feed her addiction to books, but as a fellow hopeless book addict I understand the pain of the money to book ratio only too well.
One of the reasons I liked to live in books is that real life mostly let me down.
Meena's new job also requires she collects Carol's orders from Madame Zelda, a fortune teller, whose nephew (sort of) is staying with her for the summer. I say 'sort of' because Zelda is actually Jake's mother's second husband's aunt. Naturally Meena and Jake cross paths and then they're practically insta-kissing, followed soon after by some insecurity and jealousy, then more kissing.
I was kind of afraid he'd forget about me as soon as another girl came along.
Previous Chris Cannon books I've read have been fun, bantery smooch-fests. This book also features some lip locking but a tad less banter than I've come to expect from Chris' books. However, this one also includes some entertaining supernatural elements.
Witches, demons, spirits and vampires also make Crossroads their home, which makes for some interesting dynamics. Along with the good ol' faithfuls like spells, wards and salt lines,
there are also imaginative additions like Super Soakers fuelled with holy water! I chuckled whenever a vampire said something "sucked".
"Is it just me, or do you have a sense of impending doom?"
My favourite characters were Sybil, the vampire, and the familiars, Goblin and Sage. Bane, the crossroads demon, was an early contender but he creeped me out with his desire to keep touching Meena's hair. He's not the only supernatural being who seems fuzzy on the whole consent thing.
"You're reading about demons? I'm flattered."
Carol and Zelda, who seemed quite powerful in the lead up to the events in this book, disappointed me by seeming to accept the hands they were dealt without the fight that I expected from them. If there's a sequel I'd love to see what they're truly capable of.
It's not a Chris Cannon book if I don't get to drool over the food. I craved apple pie, pizza, hamburgers, chocolate shakes, cake, donuts,
cinnamon rolls, bacon, and ice cream during this book.
"Remember our family motto," my dad said. "With ice cream, everything is possible."
A few niggles and question marks (spoilers are included here!!):
I personally found some of the terms used, including "batshit crazy" and "nuts", cringey. I also feel the language used when discussing suicide is important, so much prefer seeing 'died by' rather than 'committed' suicide.
When Meena says early on, "No, but it might explain the drinking", she's talking about Jake's father. I've checked a few times and definitely acknowledge I could have missed something but as far as I can tell the only parent whose drinking had been mentioned up to that point was Meena's father.
There's a door that's too small for Meena and Jake to use but when it's opened from the other side they have no problem entering the room. I didn't see any indication that the door changed size in the meantime.
Sage, Meena's familiar, uses a credit card when he's in human form. I wondered where he stores this when he transforms into a cat again. Also, what happens to the human clothing of familiars when they transform?
I may have misread this but there was a section which seemed to imply that dementia is a mental illness. My understanding is that dementia is a condition of the brain and sure, comorbidities with mental illnesses can and do exist, but isn't one itself.
If Meena leaves her body for a week while she's astral projecting, how did she not die of dehydration? Did the people around her physical body somehow get her to drink during that time? (Not to mention her bodily functions.)
When Jake says, "Did you call me to start a fight?", it was he who called Meena, not the other way around.
I wanted to know more about the physical, emotional and behavioural impacts of being on a demon's payment plan. One character mentions being more quick to anger since they've lost part of their soul but I'm greedy; if a concept like having your soul gradually removed is introduced, I want to know exactly how it works.
While this story is self contained there's definitely room for a sequel. I'll be hitching a ride to Crossroads if the story continues. I need to see a pageant in this town!
Content warnings include mention of mental health and attempted suicide.
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.
When a summoning goes awry, suddenly booknerd Meena's summer job becomes something drastically different. Instead of cleaning eccentric Carol's house, she's bound to a demon as his soul-collector. Soon Meena discovers that the boring, pageant-obsessed, bonfire-loving town that she's never fit in to is a hotbed for soul-sucking demons, demon-hunting witches, and vampires who just wanna have fun … And then she comes into her own powers.
Could things get any stranger? Good thing she meets new guy Jake – who gets her and still hangs around.
When Jake's mum sends him off to his Aunt Zelda's for the summer, he thought he'd be bored. But nothing is what it seems in this town. His aunt isn't just odd, she's a witch who fights demons and tries to maintain the magical balance of the town. Jake should get the hell out of there and, he would leave, except for bad-ass newbie witch Meena, who looks at him like he matters.
He never counted on sticking around, but Meena's bound to a demon who wants to destroy her soul – and Jake's finally found someone worth fighting for.
1 January, 2020 20 April, 2020 by Schizanthus Nerd Categories: ReviewTags: 4 stars, Content Warnings, Crossroads Chronicles, Entangled Publishing, Entangled Teen, Mental Health, NetGalley, Spoilers Leave a comment
Breakout – A.M. Rose
I'll admit it. I requested to read this book solely because of the awesome spider on the front cover. Yes, I quickly glanced at the blurb so was intrigued by how the prison escape would unfold but really, the spider had already clinched the deal.
This is a place they send people to die when they've done something wrong. Really wrong.
Lezah is number twenty-two. She's in prison but has no memory of committing a crime, and the clock on her metal bracelet is counting down to her expiration date.
Escaping this prison will be harder than Lezah can imagine. She doesn't know who she can trust and every step of the way is fraught with danger. With plenty of action and countless spiders, Lezah learns that there's a lot more at stake than she realised.
In a world that could easily become ours in the not too distant future if we're not careful, climate change has altered the landscape and technology is potentially awesome or scary as hell, depending on who's controlling it.
The pace was maintained throughout the story and the characters were faced with almost constant danger. The world was interesting and the sequences in the prison were well thought out. I really liked Vaughn and wanted to get to know her more.
The romance didn't work for me at all; it felt insta and unnecessary. This is probably just me but I tend to find it amusing rather than sweet when a girl has time to appreciate a boy's eyes or the way he smells when an entire group of people are in potentially mortal danger. I keep thinking they're wasting time focusing on that when they could be making a better plan to escape; they could ogle to their heart's content once they're safe.
I made the mistake of rereading the blurb around the halfway point and realised it spoiled a couple of things characters hadn't figured out or revealed yet. It wasn't until I was past 60% before the characters caught up.
I'd encourage you to read some five star reviews of this book. I got dazzled by the cover spider and enjoyed the story overall but I found some aspects of it very predictable. While there were several lengthy info dumps I was left with so many unanswered questions.
Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.
Six days.
That's the amount of time until Lezah's execution.
She'll die never knowing what got her locked up in this godforsaken prison in the first place. Her only chance of survival is to escape. Except the monitoring bracelet that digs into her wrist, the roaming AI, and the implant in her neck make freedom close to impossible.
Her best chance is to team up with the four other inmates who are determined to break out, even if one of them is beyond (gorgeous) annoying – oh, and in for murder. But he has a secret of his own. One that could break Lezah if she finds out, but could also set him free.
Figuring out how to work with him and the rest of this mismatched group of criminals is the only way Lezah will survive to see the outside world again.
But nothing in this prison is as it seems. And no one.
27 May, 2019 30 April, 2020 by Schizanthus Nerd Categories: ReviewTags: 3 stars, Cover Lovin', Entangled Publishing, Entangled Teen, NetGalley Leave a comment
Prom-Wrecked – T.H. Hernandez & Jennifer DiGiovanni
"C'mon, Riley. It's not like we'll end up in jail over prom."
Famous last words. That's exactly what happens! Prom-Wrecked begins with a bunch of the kids who attended prom (affectionately called 'morp' in this book) in a jail cell. What follows is an account of the two disastrous months leading up to morp, told by two of the main characters, Evil Skater Girl and Morp Queen. This book is essentially Murphy's Law: Prom Edition.
Morp Queen and House of Lock have been the 'it' couple at school for the past three and a half years. Morp Queen used to be best friends with Evil Skater Girl but they don't speak anymore. Evil Skater Girl has had a secret crush on House of Lock for about a decade but because he's dating her ex-best friend, they mostly only talk online while they're slaying aliens together.
When their school cancels this year's senior prom it's up to the students to organise one themselves. Evil Skater Girl is happy to help out but wants to palm off the leadership role to someone else. Unfortunately there are no takers so Evil Skater Girl finds herself in charge of the committee. She's overwhelmed by the task ahead of her but it helps that she'll be spending plenty of time with House of Lock.
Then things start to go wrong. They lose their deposits. They lose their venue. Evil Skater Girl doesn't have a date. It's one thing after another. Their prom may not go to plan but it will certainly be a night they'll never forget, even if they want to.
My expectations were probably too high going into this book. I thought the blurb would only mention a small percentage of the calamities that befall our senior class so I was looking forward to finding out what amusing and increasingly bizarre hurdles weren't already mentioned. Learning the reasons why so many people wound up in a jail cell was fun, but I would have preferred if the blurb didn't give so many clues to the preceding disasters away.
I had trouble getting into the story. I'd hoped for a lot of humour because of the Murphy's Law prom concept but I found the initial planning phase quite tedious at times. However, it is difficult to transform committee meetings into something fascinating to read about.
I thought the perfect location for Morp would be where they have all of their parties. They would have had all the space and privacy they could have wanted, plus it already had good memories attached to it. All they would have had to do is decorate, cater and organise some music, and they'd be set. While I didn't expect this to be the final location, I did think it would be tossed around as an option.
I didn't find either of the girls' voices that distinctive; at times I only knew who was narrating if I picked the book up mid-chapter by what they were talking about, not how they spoke. The resolution between Evil Skater Girl and Morp Queen felt too easy and although I tried to fall in love with him, House of Lock fell flat for me. I kept trying to tell all of the main characters to just communicate instead of lying, avoiding or running away from their problems and feelings, but my way would have taken a lot of the drama out of the book.
I really liked Desmond and would have liked to spend more time with him. I also enjoyed hanging out with both Hunter and Jordon (and even Jordon's car, Sarah). I did wonder if this class' prom curse would've been solved if someone uninvited Carrie. I can't see 'Carrie' and 'prom' in the same sentence without thinking the worst. 😜
P.S. For those who want to know the characters' actual names, Morp Queen is Catherine, Evil Skater Girl is Riley and House of Lock is Owen.
Their prom night ended in a jail cell with forty of their closest friends. But that's hardly the worst thing that happened to them …
When the principal announces prom is cancelled this year, senior Riley Hart is determined to save it. Armed with little more than her own enthusiasm, she ends up working closely with Owen Locklear, who is more than completely off-limits. Because he's the boyfriend of her ex-BFF, Catherine Reed. Still, Owen knows Riley better than almost anyone, and his charming ideas for turning the prom upside-down and backward win Riley over.
Then they lose their deposit. Twice. And book a band full of octogenarians. And don't even get her started on the act of God that takes down their venue …
Riley will have an unforgettable teenage experience, damn it, if it's the last thing she does …
5 May, 2019 19 March, 2020 by Schizanthus Nerd Categories: ReviewTags: 3 stars, Entangled Publishing, Entangled Teen, NetGalley Leave a comment
8 Souls – Rachel Rust
Seventeen year old Chessie dreams about the old farmhouse every night. She learned to keep her mouth shut about her dream house when she was young; it turns out that telling people you have a recurring dream about a house where eight people were murdered can land you in a psychiatrist's office.
Chessie is spending the summer with her grandparents in Villisca, Iowa. They live directly across from the Axe Murder House, the farmhouse in Chessie's dreams.
Villisca is known for murder. But other than that, it's a cute town.
The 1912 murders remain unsolved and haunt this small community. The townspeople are also on edge because some young girls have recently been reported missing. Soon after Chessie arrives in town she hears someone calling her name and asking for help, which wouldn't be as scary if she wasn't alone in her bedroom at the time.
During the summer Chessie gets to know David, who's cute but has a secret, and Mateo, a wannabe Ghostbuster. Chessie hopes they will be able to help her discover out what her connection is to the farmhouse and whether there's any connection between the 1912 murders and the girls that are currently missing.
"People are afraid of the devil when they really should be afraid of each other."
I got into this book straight away and enjoyed trying to figure out what Chessie's connection to the Axe Murder House was and the secret David was hiding. If I were Chessie I would have gone straight to the library to check out what the historical records could tell me about the 1912 murders but that could have taken some of the fun out of this read.
After the first round of reveals I was able to figure out where the book was heading, so wasn't surprised by any of the subsequent reveals. While I can find predictable elements annoying in some books I didn't have a problem with them here as it meant what I'd hoped would happen did.
I would have liked to have gotten to know Chessie's grandparents more but was satisfied with learning the backstories of other characters. There wasn't as much banter as I'm used to in books that have a romantic component but, given the characters are dealing with unsolved murders from the past and missing children, it wouldn't have been overly appropriate.
Since it happens so infrequently in books, I'm always thrilled when book characters actually use the bathroom, so this book won realism points from me each time Chessie took a bathroom break.
I wasn't that keen on how the final showdown was set up. Surely if there's a guy standing in the middle of the road and their car is parked on the shoulder, you could drive around them or through them. They had a gun so to make the characters stop the car so the subsequent confrontation could happen didn't work for me. How was David able to drive anyway since he'd just woken up from being drugged?
Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC, for the opportunity to read this book. I'm interested in reading more books by this author.
All her life, seventeen-year-old Chessie has had recurring dreams about a little white farmhouse. Quaint? Not quite. The house is the site of the unsolved murders of Villisca, Iowa, where eight people were slaughtered in 1912. With her parents on the verge of divorce, Chessie is stuck spending the summer with her grandparents in Villisca – right across the street from the axe murder house.
She's soon hearing voices calling out for help and begins unraveling a link between herself and the town's bloody history. And when she falls for a cute boy harboring a big secret, the pieces fall into place as she at last discovers the truth of Villisca's gruesome past …
2 May, 2019 19 March, 2020 by Schizanthus Nerd Categories: ReviewTags: 4 stars, Entangled Publishing, Entangled Teen, NetGalley, Spoilers Leave a comment
Smoke and Key – Kelsey Sutton
"You're dead, darlin'. This isn't hell, but it's the next best thing."
She hears a voice imploring her to wake up. She falls and finds herself surrounded by dirt. In Under she meets a group of strangers whose bodies are in different stages of decomposition. While they can all remember general knowledge they do not remember anything personal from their lives. Each awoke with an item that was buried with them, an item that helps their owner decide their Under name.
The girl who wakes at the beginning of the book becomes Key. She meets Ribbon, Smoke, Journal, Handkerchief, Doll, and many others. Shortly after Key arrives in Under the first murder occurs and there's no waking up from this death.
We are ghosts, but we are the ones being haunted.
Key's flashbacks provide frequent snippets of information about her life before death, building towards revelations that may hold more danger than she could imagine. I found the flashbacks interesting but expect readers who aren't a fan of multiple flashbacks could find their frequency and slow drip of information irritating.
Given the exponential growth of my TBR pile I was definitely attracted to a life after death that included books and no need for sleep. I loved guessing who the characters may have been before their deaths, the mysterious writings on the wall, the magic and Journal's tower with all of his books.
I liked getting to know the main characters but found many of the minor characters interchangeable. I didn't always know which minor character was being referenced as I didn't know much more about them other than the item they were buried with. I was disappointed by the lack of resolution surrounding Doll; I did learn who she was in life but I have so many unanswered questions about her.
While I enjoyed some aspects of the love triangle I did find the kissing scenes when the characters were dead a tad squirmy, although I acknowledge I probably overthought it. Maybe if I hadn't already read about the putrid death breath of other characters (who don't need to breathe because they're dead, but anyway) it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but the idea of death breath kisses didn't exactly make me want to go, "Awww!" I can only hope that Tintype found some toothbrushes and toothpaste for these kissing corpses to use that I wasn't aware of.
I adored the concept of this book and loved the initial world building but would have liked to learn more about Under and its residents. Had this book covered all of the details I craved it would have been close to twice the length though. The magic was interesting but could have been fleshed out (sorry!) more. I also found the mystery fairly predictable. The final few chapters wrapped up the story too quickly for my liking. Despite my need for more, most of my questions were answered and a sneaky tear did escape quite unexpectedly.
Content warnings include physical abuse and abandonment. Characters also discuss a death by suicide that occurred before the events in this book.
Overall this was an enjoyable read (one I can see myself rereading) and I am interested in reading more of this author's books. I don't usually wander into historical fiction territory but this book made me wonder what I'm missing out on. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.
A sound awakens her. There's darkness all around. And then she's falling …
She has no idea who or where she is. Or why she's dead. The only clue to her identity hangs around her neck: a single rusted key. This is how she and the others receive their names – from whatever belongings they had when they fell out of their graves. Under is a place of dirt and secrets, and Key is determined to discover the truth of her past in order to escape it.
She needs help, but who can she trust? Ribbon seems content in Under, uninterested in finding answers. Doll's silence hints at deep sorrow, which could be why she doesn't utter a word. There's Smoke, the boy with a fierceness that rivals even the living. And Journal, who stays apart from everyone else. Key's instincts tell her there is something remarkable about each of them, even if she can't remember why.
Then the murders start. Bodies that are burned to a crisp. And after being burned, the dead stay dead. Key is running out of time to discover who she was – and what secret someone is willing to kill to keep hidden – before she loses her life for good …
26 March, 2019 17 March, 2020 by Schizanthus Nerd Categories: ReviewTags: 4 stars, Content Warnings, Entangled Publishing, Entangled Teen, NetGalley Leave a comment
Dating Dilemmas #2: 99% Faking It – Chris Cannon
Miss Overachiever: Let me get this straight. You want to fake date me.
Man Candy Matt: Uh huh.
Miss Overachiever: But you know that I have a crush on you. [Damn it! He won't notice that Freudian slip, will he?]
Man Candy Matt: Have?
Miss Overachiever: [Damn it!] Had! I had a crush on you.
Man Candy Matt: So, fake date me? Then the girl I have a crush on who's perfectly happy with her perfect boyfriend will get jealous and decide she wants me instead.
Miss Overachiever: What's in it for me?
Man Candy Matt: Well, you like Mr Cool Hair. Maybe he'll pay attention to you if you're with me, the boy with hair that's not as cool.
Miss Overachiever: Hmm … You make an interesting argument. I've already tried to get him to notice me by wearing more makeup, even though when he originally noticed me I was hardly wearing any at all, but —
Man Candy Matt: See? So is it a deal? I mean, what could possibly go wrong?!
Book Buddy Nina (who already did her own whole boy drama thing in The Dating Debate): So … Books?
Miss Overachiever: Books!
Book Buddy Nina and Miss Overachiever wander off to go find some new book boyfriends.
Man Candy Matt: Um, hello?
We first tagged along with Miss Overachiever and Book Buddy Nina to Friday night Nerd-Girl Festivities in The Dating Debate. That was my 💔 Achy Breaky Heart 💔 read last year and here I am again, likely torturing poor Chris Cannon (sorry, Chris!) by choosing another one of her books for this year's foray into the smoochie side of life. Oops, it appears that I'm accidentally following a romance novel series! 😯
Before I go any further, let me just say … CANNON CONSPIRACY CONFIRMED!!!
Whatever am I talking about? Allow me to take you on a journey to a time when I first became suspicious that Chris was plotting a sinister scheme to convert me, a 100% committed romantiphobe, to … wait for it … a romance novel reader! I submit to you:
I had so many food cravings while reading 99% Faking It but the ones that specifically support my conspiracy theory are:
🍕 Sausage and pepperoni thick crust with extra cheese
🍕 Meatball
🍕 More pepperoni
🍕 More meatball
🍕 Sausage and mushroom
🍕 More sausage and mushroom
🍕 Bacon and pepperoni
🍕 Cheese
🤤 Vegetarian
🍫 Brownie sundae with whipped cream and chocolate sauce
🍫 Chocolate frogs (mentioned but not eaten)
🍫 More brownies
🍫 Hot cocoa with marshmallows (yes, that counts!)
🍫 Do Oreos count? What am I saying?! Of course they do. Countless Oreos graced the pages!
And let's not forget this brilliance:
"Our family motto is, Chocolate might not fix everything but it's a good start."
My verdict? Conspiracy confirmed! Case closed! Well played, Chris, well played. 🏆
I really enjoyed this book. I smiled my way through the banter and fandom talk and the only thing I craved as much as the yummy delectables was an invitation to Friday night Nerd-Girl Festivities. I wanted to be friends with Book Buddy Nina and Miss Overachiever. I loved that Miss Overachiever is a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl who doesn't waste time in front of a mirror when she could be reading instead. She's smart and fluent in sarcasm and while she loves Harry Potter (who doesn't?!), she's a multi-fandom girl. There were times I wanted to tell her to wake up to herself when she got snappy at Man Candy Matt but she endeared herself to me so much that I could overlook most of them.
While I liked Man Candy Matt I didn't feel I got to know him as well as I did Miss Overachiever. The standout minor character for me was Matt's father and naturally I adored the dogs. I consider it borderline cheating for any author to include dogs in their book since I'm such a sucker for fur babies.
I can't believe how invested I became in this couple. I got frustrated whenever Man Candy Matt and Miss Overachiever's romantic stars didn't align. Either I'm getting used to the way these things called 'romance novels' work or there was less that irritated me this time. Unlike previous romantic reads, I'm pretty sure the feeling of hitting my head against a brick wall each time I told the characters to "COM! MU! NI! CATE!" has only resulted in a mild concussion this time around.
Once Upon a Nitpick: This pet peeve isn't specific to this book but it did show up a few times; boys/men declaring they will punch a boy/man who is upsetting a girl/woman. I used to think this was charming when I was a teenager but now a neon sign lights up in my brain screaming, "Toxic masculinity!" at me whenever I come across it.
Favourite sentence:
"I love the smell of freshly baked carbs and coffee."
Mmm, me too!
Favourite sentence (it's a tie; I couldn't choose):
"Best friends don't let best friends date anti-Potter people."
So, am I a romance novel enthusiast now? Hell, no! After three novels I'm definitely a converted Chris Cannon reader though, and if she just so happens to write romance novels then I guess I'm going to have to keep reading them. Sorry, Chris, but you're stuck with me. 😊
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Teen Crush, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.
P.S. If you can't wait until the release date to start this book you can read the first chapter here.
Lisa is a card-carrying, book-loving Gryffindor. Solid. And that's why everyone knows she's awesome. Well, except for her crush, Matt. He only ever sees her as a friend. Plus, he's got his eye on another girl. Oh well, plenty of fish and all that.
Good thing Lisa just read a book on the "wedding ring phenomenon" – you get more attention when you're already taken. What if Lisa pretends to be Matt's plus one? Maybe it'll help Matt get his girl and Lisa can hook her own fish.
After the plan works, Matt suddenly claims he doesn't like the view from the friend-zone and wants her instead … But she isn't interested in being anyone's second choice. If this guy wants to earn her attention, he'll need more than some silly "phenomenon."
He'll need to go all out …
12 February, 2019 21 April, 2020 by Schizanthus Nerd Categories: ReviewTags: 5 stars, Dating Dilemmas, Entangled Publishing, NetGalley, Teen Crush Leave a comment
Black Bird of the Gallows #2: Keeper of the Bees – Meg Kassel
I need all of the stars for this one but it feels more appropriate to say it like this: 💛🐝🖤🐝💛
I was initially denied early access to this book and I completely understood why. This is the type of book I'm supposed to want to avoid. The love between this girl and (sort of) boy is insta and as sweet as honey (sorry, I had to go there) so it makes perfect sense that a romantiphobe should steer clear. So why did I beg for it? Because I should have wanted to stay far, far away from its companion, Black Bird of the Gallows and I really enjoyed that, so I just knew this would be the book for me, despite everything that screamed otherwise.
What attracted me to Black Bird of the Gallows was intense insta cover love and I was quite shocked when I also loved the story. This time around, while another gorgeous cover drew me to it, my memory of being drawn into Angie and Reece's story (and love) gave me the confidence that Keeper of the Bees was for me. However, I didn't expect to love this one more!
Our main characters, Essie and Dresden, are both damaged, victims of cursed lives. People either don't even notice them at all or steer clear of them. They're desperately lonely outcasts. Essie experiences a reality that 'normal' people don't and her hallucinations cause people to fear her. Dresden is a beekeeper, feeding off peoples' fear and condemned to wear the features of the victims of his curse. Their instalove appears doomed from the get go and although this goes against my very being to say this, I was hoping their love would find a way from their introduction.
There's something about the agony of the person they once were fighting against what their curses have transformed them into that I really connected to. Essie's struggle to distinguish the boundaries between the reality she sees and the reality others see was heart-wrenching. The struggle of a beekeeper, being bound to an existence where over the course of centuries you're witnessing the worst humanity has to offer with no hope in sight, no known end to your pain or isolation, broke me.
While the curses of the harbingers, beekeepers and their mythology are explored in both books, the focus is different in each book. In Black Bird of the Gallows one of the main characters is a harbinger of death, whereas in this book it's a beekeeper. I always love learning the mythology in characters' worlds and adore the mythology of this series. Once again Meg Kassel's writing is gorgeous and intoxicating. While the world of Black Bird mesmerised me, Keeper of the Bees made me a believer and I need more!
I was delighted by Dresden's unorthodox friendship with Michael, one of the harbingers, and I loved Stitches. Now I definitely need a companion book where a Strawman is the focus as I have to know more about these mysterious beings.
Essie's aunt was my favourite entirely human character; her ability to see beneath the curse to the girl Essie truly was made me love her and want her in my life. I know what it's like for people to see a label or what's on the surface and to fear or resist getting to know what lies beneath so the insights into the complexities of people, the light and the dark, captivated me.
While this book could be characterised as a romance it's so much more and it's the so much more that had me hooked. There's the exploration of mental illness, the murder mystery, the growing unease of an impending catastrophe, the impact of our past on our present and the underlying hope of overcoming that which seems impossible.
As this is a companion, not a sequel, you could read this book first but I'd highly recommend you read both because they're just so good! Also, if you read Black Bird of the Gallows first you'll be rewarded with a 'where are they now?' segment, a fleshing out of the mythology and an appreciation of just how remarkable Essie and Dresden's love is, along with Dresden and Michael's friendship, in this book.
I am going to provide content warnings for child abuse and neglect, paedophilia, attempted sexual assault, alcoholism, suicide, family violence and inappropriate treatment of people affected by suspected mental illness. I personally felt these issues were all dealt with well and in context with the overall storyline but don't want to presume that because I wasn't affected by any potential triggers that others won't be.
Keeper of the Bees is a tale of two teens who are both beautiful and beastly, and whose pasts are entangled in surprising and heartbreaking ways.
Dresden is cursed. His chest houses a hive of bees that he can't stop from stinging people with psychosis-inducing venom. His face is a shifting montage of all the people who have died because of those stings. And he has been this way for centuries – since he was eighteen and magic flowed through his homeland, corrupting its people.
He follows harbingers of death, so at least his curse only affects those about to die anyway. But when he arrives in a Midwest town marked for death, he encounters Essie, a seventeen-year-old girl who suffers from debilitating delusions and hallucinations. His bees want to sting her on sight. But Essie doesn't see a monster when she looks at Dresden.
Essie is fascinated and delighted by his changing features. Risking his own life, he holds back his bees and spares her. What starts out as a simple act of mercy ends up unraveling Dresden's solitary life and Essie's tormented one. Their impossible romance might even be powerful enough to unravel a centuries-old curse.
2 September, 2018 30 April, 2020 by Schizanthus Nerd Categories: ReviewTags: 5 stars, Black Bird of the Gallows, Content Warnings, Cover Lovin', Entangled Publishing, Entangled Teen, Mental Health, NetGalley, Sexual Assault Leave a comment


text:
Q: list errors shows in console but only one error shows in div I am using express-validator for form validation and using axios to send the data to to the server. Once the validation is done I send a response back. I can loop over the errors and display them all in console, one under another but in my error div where I want to show the errors to the user, it only shows one, instead of all of them like in console.
Controller:
  if (!errors.isEmpty()) {
    return res.status(422).json({error: errors.array()});
  }

Display errors to user:
  const errorLoop = error.response.data.error;
  for (const errMsg of errorLoop) {
    console.log(errMsg.msg);
    const showError = document.querySelector('.error');
    showError.classList.add("notification");
    showError.innerHTML = errMsg.msg;
  }

A: You are setting the innerHTML for each error. Thus you are replacing it and will only ever see the last error.
Try this:
let errorMessages = ""
for(const errMsg of errorLoop){
    errorMessages += errMsg.msg + "
"
}
const showError = document.querySelector('.error')
showError.classList.add("notification")
showError.innerHTML = errorMessages

(The
 will insert a new line for visual purposes)


Home > Blog > If The Earth Moves Under Your Feet…Are You Covered?
It was less than two weeks ago that we experienced an unusual phenomenon in Scotts Michigan. Scotts was the epicenter of an earthquake centered about 8 kilometers south of Galesburg that measured 4.2 on the Richter scale. The quake was easily felt in Kalamazoo Portage and Battle Creek. The Marvin Okun Agency received quite a few inquiries from our policy holders about whether their home insurance policy would cover any losses from the quake.
The good news is we have several companies that will allow you to add coverage for earthquakes to your policy by endorsement. In Michigan, it is not very expensive to add this coverage to your policy, and may help you sleep better at night. After all, a Michigan earthquake can happen.


Once upon a time, nearly a year ago, Pete Tong quietly slipped in a track called 'The Gettup' into his weekend hot mix. The track was the second collaboration between Dirtybird favorites Justin Martin and Eats Everything in just two months time, after releasing their 'Feather Fight' EP on Hypercolour. Now, once again two of the funkiest producers have teamed up to produce another two track EP worth of a signing to Claude Von Stroke's Dirtybird label. Dirtybird has been busy lately, as this is the second EP to be released after the huge drop of new music on the Dirtybird BBQ compilation (which also included Justin Martin's track 'Buggin'). Meanwhile, Eats Everything has been busy with his three month residency at XOYO, and a funky rework of Disclosure's 'F For You.' The first track from the EP 'Steven Jello' quickly engages you with a distinct bassline, prominent pulsating synths, and mesmerizing percussion. Dirtybird themselves describe it perfectly when they say "Heads down, feet to the floor, get busy…." and we couldn't agree more. 'Kong' is much more along the lines of what we've come to expect from these two, and is our personal favorite. It's retro, organ like melody shines through with along with gritty synthwork and metronome-like pitched percussion.
Dext Recordings is a new label, so new that they've barely posted on twitter, and their first release is already making waves thanks to Dubspeeka. Dubspeeka is no stranger to us, as we wrote about his 'Ten Tigers' EP on Ideal Audio this past fall. The five track 'Leaving Home' EP starts things off with 'Leaving Home' which is the one for us. 'Leaving Home' strays from Dubspeeka's typical sound and highlights great usage of a recurring vocal and synth piano notes. Next up is 'Creature Funk,' another Dubspeeka original, which centers around a grainy melody and stuttering percussion. Komon and Appleblim (of Aus fame) try their hand at reworking 'Creature Funk,' delivering an intricate production with off-beat hi-hats, claps, and a surprisingly light and airy bassline. Komon alone remixes 'Leaving Home,' and transforms the original by stripping the vocal and deepening the production. Finally, Dubspeeka closes out the EP with 'Special Occasion,' a surefire dancefloor favorite at warehouse parties and techno events. We are really excited for this incredibly varied release, and are curious to see in what direction Dext heads while learning more about them.
Out now on newly launched Dext Recordings.
After releasing their "prelude to the summer" BBQ compilation, it was inevitable that more music would soon follow on Von Stroke's Dirtybird label. The next release is a quick followup to one of our favorites off the EP ('Drop It') from Polish duo Catz 'n Dogz. 'Booty Comes First / Bone Shakin' is their next bass-heavy offering. 'Booty Comes First' is our clear favorite, with a bouncin' vocal that makes the track. Its dark synth compliments the vocal nicely, topped off by excellently places snares. 'Bone Shakin' fits perfectly with the other original, as it once again features a signature vocal layered on top of a synth driven bassline in typical Catz 'n Dogz fashion.
We all know the summer festival season is fast approaching, but it doesn't really hit you until Claude VonStroke releases his personally curated annual Dirtybird BBQ compilation. The San Francisco based label continues to push the boundaries of what genre is best described solely as Dirtybird. The compilation features all the usual suspects like Justin Martin himself, Catz 'n Dogz, and Justin Jay. In addition to our earlier post about Ardalan's track "No Excuses" off the compilation, we also enjoyed Catz 'n Dogz offering "Drop It." The polish duo of Grzegorz and Wojciech (Greg and Voitek) are no strangers to Dirtybird, releasing their first Dirtybird EP "Catz n Dogz" back in 2007. This duo has seen recent amazing success with their remix of Thomas Schumacher's "Hush." "Drop It" showcases the talent these guys have to create innovative sounds with unique bass elements and modulated vocals. Unfortunately the Soundcloud snippet is only a tease, and it makes us want much more. Keep your eyes peeled for our other favorites off the BBQ compilation.
Out now on Dirtybird. Get it here!


Fans of Durarara!! will either rejoice or recoil in fear (if the English dub isn't up to par) over the news that the series will air on Adult Swim (Cartoon Network) in June.
Aniplex says the 26 episode long anime will air during their Saturday night block of programming. If that ain't good enough for you, Adult Swim's website will stream episodes on their site after the television run.
Durarara is about a boy, Mikado, who wants an exciting life but gets into various situations during his journey as he moves to a school in Ikebukuro. After getting warnings from his friend Masaomi about who to avoid, Mikado witnesses "urban legends" in action changing his life forever.
Fans over at the AnimeNewsNetwork forums appear to be excited about it. ohstalon06 wrote, "Thank GOD! Now I don't have to pay those ridiculous Aniplex DVD prices to watch this…" . LOL!
Apollo-kun's and walw6pK4Alo's comments were also directed at Adult Swim. Apollo-kun wrote, "ADULT SWIM IS DOING SOMETHING RIGHT AGAIN!" And walw6pK4Alo's comment speaks to the cynic in all of us: "And then they'll cancel it after episode 4, or continually change its timeslot so no one can remember when it's on." Ouch.
Here's to hoping it has a good run on AS so they can start to show more anime and less… whatever the *bleep* they've been showing instead.


text:
Magdalena kan syfta på:

 Magdalena – ett kvinnonamn

Argentina

 Partido de Magdalena, kommun, Buenos Aires,

Bolivia

 Magdalena (flygplats),

Colombia

 Magdalena, Colombia, departement,
 Magdalenafloden

Filippinerna
 Magdalena (Laguna) – en kommun

Guatemala

 Magdalena Milpas Altas, kommunhuvudort, Departamento de Sacatepéquez,

Honduras

 Magdalena (kommun i Honduras, Departamento de Intibucá, lat 13,95, long -88,37),
 Magdalena (ort i Honduras, Departamento de Intibucá, lat 13,87, long -88,30),

Mexiko

 Santa María Magdalena (ort i Mexiko), Hidalgo, Actopan,
 Magdalena, Veracruz, ort,
 Magdalena Guelavence, ort, Oaxaca, Santa María Jalapa del Marqués,
 Magdalena de Kino, ort, Sonora,
 Las Magdalenas, Guanajuato, ort,
 Magdalena (kommun i Mexiko, Jalisco, lat 20,92, long -104,01),
 Magdalena (kommun i Mexiko, Sonora, lat 30,68, long -111,02),
 Magdalena (kommun i Mexiko, Veracruz, lat 18,76, long -97,04),

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


James William Somerville (born 22 June 1961) is a Scottish pop singer and songwriter. He sang in the 1980s with the pop groups Bronski Beat and The Communards, and has also had a solo career. He is known in particular for his powerful and soulful countertenor/falsetto singing voice. He is openly gay; many of his songs, such as "Smalltown Boy", contain political commentary on gay-related issues.