text:
// -*- mode:java; encoding:utf-8 -*-
// vim:set fileencoding=utf-8:
// @homepage@

package example;

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.HierarchyEvent;
import java.awt.event.HierarchyListener;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.event.MouseListener;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.awt.image.RescaleOp;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStream;
import java.util.Optional;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.*;

public final class MainPanel extends JPanel {
  private MainPanel() {
    super();
    String path = "example/test.png";
    ClassLoader cl = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader();
    Icon icon = Optional.ofNullable(cl.getResource(path)).map(url -> {
      try (InputStream s = url.openStream()) {
        return new ImageIcon(ImageIO.read(s));
      } catch (IOException ex) {
        return new MissingIcon();
      }
    }).orElseGet(MissingIcon::new);
    JLabel label = new LabelWithToolBox(icon);
    label.setBorder(BorderFactory.createCompoundBorder(
        BorderFactory.createLineBorder(new Color(0xDE_DE_DE)),
        BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.WHITE, 4)));
    add(label);
    setPreferredSize(new Dimension(320, 240));
  }

  public static void main(String[] args) {
    EventQueue.invokeLater(MainPanel::createAndShowGui);
  }

  private static void createAndShowGui() {
    try {
      UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
    } catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
      ex.printStackTrace();
      Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().beep();
    }
    JFrame frame = new JFrame("@title@");
    // frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
    frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
    frame.getContentPane().add(new MainPanel());
    frame.pack();
    frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
    frame.setVisible(true);
  }
}

class LabelWithToolBox extends JLabel {
  public static final int DELAY = 8;
  protected final Timer animator = new Timer(DELAY, null);
  private transient ToolBoxHandler handler;
  protected boolean isHidden;
  protected int counter;
  protected int yy;
  private final JToolBar toolBox = new JToolBar() {
    private transient MouseListener listener;
    @Override protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
      Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D) g.create();
      g2.setPaint(getBackground());
      g2.fillRect(0, 0, getWidth(), getHeight());
      g2.dispose();
      super.paintComponent(g);
    }

    @Override public void updateUI() {
      removeMouseListener(listener);
      super.updateUI();
      listener = new ParentDispatchMouseListener();
      addMouseListener(listener);
      setFloatable(false);
      setOpaque(false);
      setBackground(new Color(0x0, true));
      setForeground(Color.WHITE);
      setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(2, 4, 4, 4));
    }
  };

  protected LabelWithToolBox(Icon icon) {
    super(icon);

    animator.addActionListener(e -> {
      int height = toolBox.getPreferredSize().height;
      double h = (double) height;
      if (isHidden) {
        double a = AnimationUtil.easeInOut(++counter / h);
        yy = (int) (.5 + a * h);
        toolBox.setBackground(new Color(0f, 0f, 0f, (float) (.6 * a)));
        if (yy >= height) {
          yy = height;
          animator.stop();
        }
      } else {
        double a = AnimationUtil.easeInOut(--counter / h);
        yy = (int) (.5 + a * h);
        toolBox.setBackground(new Color(0f, 0f, 0f, (float) (.6 * a)));
        if (yy <= 0) {
          yy = 0;
          animator.stop();
        }
      }
      toolBox.revalidate();
    });
    // toolBox.setLayout(new BoxLayout(toolBox, BoxLayout.X_AXIS));
    toolBox.add(Box.createGlue());
    // http://chrfb.deviantart.com/art/quot-ecqlipse-2-quot-PNG-59941546
    toolBox.add(makeToolButton("ATTACHMENT_16x16-32.png"));
    toolBox.add(Box.createHorizontalStrut(2));
    toolBox.add(makeToolButton("RECYCLE BIN - EMPTY_16x16-32.png"));
    add(toolBox);
  }

  @Override public void updateUI() {
    removeMouseListener(handler);
    addHierarchyListener(handler);
    super.updateUI();
    setLayout(new OverlayLayout(this) {
      @Override public void layoutContainer(Container parent) {
        // Insets insets = parent.getInsets();
        int ncomponents = parent.getComponentCount();
        if (ncomponents == 0) {
          return;
        }
        int width = parent.getWidth(); // - insets.left - insets.right;
        int height = parent.getHeight(); // - insets.left - insets.right;
        int x = 0; // insets.left; int y = insets.top;
        // for (int i = 0; i < ncomponents; i++) {
        Component c = parent.getComponent(0); // = toolBox;
        c.setBounds(x, height - yy, width, c.getPreferredSize().height);
        // }
      }
    });
    handler = new ToolBoxHandler();
    addMouseListener(handler);
    addHierarchyListener(handler);
  }

  private class ToolBoxHandler extends MouseAdapter implements HierarchyListener {
    @Override public void mouseEntered(MouseEvent e) {
      if (!animator.isRunning()) { // && yy != toolBox.getPreferredSize().height) {
        isHidden = true;
        animator.start();
      }
    }

    @Override public void mouseExited(MouseEvent e) {
      if (!contains(e.getPoint())) { // !animator.isRunning()) {
        isHidden = false;
        animator.start();
      }
    }

    @Override public void hierarchyChanged(HierarchyEvent e) {
      boolean b = (e.getChangeFlags() & HierarchyEvent.DISPLAYABILITY_CHANGED) != 0;
      if (b && !e.getComponent().isDisplayable()) {
        animator.stop();
      }
    }
  }

  private JButton makeToolButton(String name) {
    String path = "example/" + name;
    ClassLoader cl = Thread.currentThread().getContextClassLoader();
    Image image = Optional.ofNullable(cl.getResource(path)).map(url -> {
      try (InputStream s = url.openStream()) {
        return ImageIO.read(s);
      } catch (IOException ex) {
        return makeMissingImage();
      }
    }).orElseGet(LabelWithToolBox::makeMissingImage);

    ImageIcon icon = new ImageIcon(image);
    JButton b = new JButton();
    b.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(1, 1, 1, 1));
    // b.addChangeListener(new ChangeListener() {
    //   @Override public void stateChanged(ChangeEvent e) {
    //     JButton button = (JButton) e.getSource();
    //     ButtonModel model = button.getModel();
    //     if (button.isRolloverEnabled() && model.isRollover()) {
    //       button.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.WHITE));
    //     } else {
    //       button.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(1, 1, 1, 1));
    //     }
    //   }
    // });
    b.setIcon(makeRolloverIcon(icon));
    b.setRolloverIcon(icon);
    b.setContentAreaFilled(false);
    // b.setBorderPainted(false);
    b.setFocusPainted(false);
    b.setFocusable(false);
    b.setToolTipText(name);
    return b;
  }

  private static Image makeMissingImage() {
    Icon missingIcon = UIManager.getIcon("html.missingImage");
    int iw = missingIcon.getIconWidth();
    int ih = missingIcon.getIconHeight();
    BufferedImage bi = new BufferedImage(16, 16, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_ARGB);
    Graphics2D g2 = bi.createGraphics();
    missingIcon.paintIcon(null, g2, (16 - iw) / 2, (16 - ih) / 2);
    g2.dispose();
    return bi;
  }

  private static ImageIcon makeRolloverIcon(ImageIcon srcIcon) {
    int w = srcIcon.getIconWidth();
    int h = srcIcon.getIconHeight();
    BufferedImage img = new BufferedImage(w, h, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_ARGB);
    Graphics2D g2 = img.createGraphics();
    srcIcon.paintIcon(null, g2, 0, 0);
    float[] scaleFactors = {.5f, .5f, .5f, 1f};
    float[] offsets = {0f, 0f, 0f, 0f};
    RescaleOp op = new RescaleOp(scaleFactors, offsets, g2.getRenderingHints());
    g2.dispose();
    return new ImageIcon(op.filter(img, null));
  }
}

class ParentDispatchMouseListener extends MouseAdapter {
  @Override public void mouseEntered(MouseEvent e) {
    dispatchMouseEvent(e);
  }

  @Override public void mouseExited(MouseEvent e) {
    dispatchMouseEvent(e);
  }

  private void dispatchMouseEvent(MouseEvent e) {
    Component src = e.getComponent();
    Optional.ofNullable(SwingUtilities.getUnwrappedParent(src)).ifPresent(tgt ->
        tgt.dispatchEvent(SwingUtilities.convertMouseEvent(src, e, tgt)));
  }
}

final class AnimationUtil {
  private static final int N = 3;

  private AnimationUtil() {
    /* Singleton */
  }

  // http://www.anima-entertainment.de/math-easein-easeout-easeinout-and-bezier-curves
  // Math: EaseIn EaseOut, EaseInOut and Bezier Curves | Anima Entertainment GmbH
  public static double easeIn(double t) {
    // range: 0.0 <= t <= 1.0
    return Math.pow(t, N);
  }

  public static double easeOut(double t) {
    return Math.pow(t - 1d, N) + 1d;
  }

  public static double easeInOut(double t) {
    double ret;
    boolean isFirstHalf = t < .5;
    if (isFirstHalf) {
      ret = .5 * intpow(t * 2d, N);
    } else {
      ret = .5 * (intpow(t * 2d - 2d, N) + 2d);
    }
    return ret;
  }

  // https://wiki.c2.com/?IntegerPowerAlgorithm
  public static double intpow(double da, int ib) {
    int b = ib;
    if (b < 0) {
      // return d / intpow(a, -b);
      throw new IllegalArgumentException("B must be a positive integer or zero");
    }
    double a = da;
    double d = 1d;
    for (; b > 0; a *= a, b >>>= 1) {
      if ((b & 1) != 0) {
        d *= a;
      }
    }
    return d;
  }

  // public static double delta(double t) {
  //   return 1d - Math.sin(Math.acos(t));
  // }
}

class MissingIcon implements Icon {
  @Override public void paintIcon(Component c, Graphics g, int x, int y) {
    Graphics2D g2 = (Graphics2D) g.create();

    int w = getIconWidth();
    int h = getIconHeight();
    int gap = w / 5;

    g2.setColor(Color.WHITE);
    g2.fillRect(x, y, w, h);

    g2.setColor(Color.RED);
    g2.setStroke(new BasicStroke(w / 8f));
    g2.drawLine(x + gap, y + gap, x + w - gap, y + h - gap);
    g2.drawLine(x + gap, y + h - gap, x + w - gap, y + gap);

    g2.dispose();
  }

  @Override public int getIconWidth() {
    return 240;
  }

  @Override public int getIconHeight() {
    return 160;
  }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


6 Days until we fly.
This time next week we will be somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, making our way to the Caribbean Sea heading towards the Grand Cayman Island. I have no idea how giddy with excitement Greg and I (but, probably more Greg than me) will be by this point next week. Gah! I can't believe I'll be on a cruise ship NEXT SUNDAY!
And, it still hasn't sunk in – my level of excitement is no where near where I feel it should be! Actually, I believe I am starting to feel a little bummed that the trip is here; I've been looking forward to this cruise since last February, and I won't have anything to look forward to (vacation wise) once the cruise is said and done. Well, we are thinking of a few things but we can't really focus on those things until March. But, still.
In other news, Greg and I will probably be attending 3-4 weddings for 2009; this past new years two co-workers (one at his office, and one at mine) got engaged and are planning for a wedding in the fall.
Michele moved up her wedding to March 28 (from October 10); Greg is a little freaked because he's their photographer and he doesn't feel he will be ready (at least equipment wise) by then. I assured him that he will do fine.
This past Saturday was my wedding shower, and belive it or not Greg and I forgot our cameras! So, my cousin took at the pictures and I'm waiting for her to email them, or post them on her MySpace page – then I will share with the world.
Today we spent a few hours with Greg's Mom. We also celebrated Amelia's 2nd birthday with her and Greg's brother, Ken. It's nice to feel comfortable around the in-laws; I didn't feel so comfortable around my ex's due to my ex's father – i just hated the guy and didn't want to within earshot of him… but, Greg's family is nothing like my ex's and it's so nice and refreshing. Even Greg's brother, Ken, has warmed up to me – giving hugs and chatting with me and Amelia! Greg's other brother, Pat, warmed up to me at the very beginning – we even text each other on the occasion … and it's fun to make fun of Greg (and some of his stupid decisions from his past – like leaving his favorite job to move to NY state for a girl) – in the loving manor that we do.
So, this is the final week of 'normal' life before I leave for 'vacation' life. Greg and I have sorta started to get our home ready – we took down the Christmas tree and other decorations! I expressed my desire to have the place clean before we leave so that when we return we won't have anything to do other than laundry and grocery shopping (as well as copious amounts of sleep – as I am sure we'll need it).
Oh look, it's 11:30pm and I have to work this week (4 out of 5 days). Guess I should get to bed, huh?


Presto FAQs provides answers to commonly asked questions on Presto.
1. Do I need to provide access to Qubole while registering Airflow datastore in QDS?
2. What does this error - Data store was created successfully but it could not be activated mean?
3. How do I put the AUTH_TOKEN into the Qubole Default connection?
4. How are API token and custom default data store related on Airflow Clusters?
5. Is there any button to run a DAG on Airflow?
6. Can I create a configuration to externally trigger an Airflow DAG?
7. Why must I reenter the database password/AUTH-token at a cluster restart?
1. What version of Hive does Qubole provide?
2. How can I create a Hive table to access data in object storage?
3. What is the difference between an external table and a managed table?
4. How different is a Qubole Hive Session from the Open Source Hive Session?
5. How can I create a table in HDFS?
6. What file formats does Qubole's Hive support out of the box?
7. What is the default InputFormat used by Qubole's Hive?
8. Does Qubole remember my tables even when my cluster goes away?
9. I have my data in RDS. Can I use Hive to process the data?
10. Can I use Excel/Tableau/BI tools on top of Qubole's Hive tables?
11. Can I plug in my own UDFs and SerDes?
12. How do I handle the exception displayed with a Tez Query while querying a JDBC table?
13. What are the unsupported features in Qubole Hive?
1. What AWS regions are supported by Qubole?
2. Can I use AWS Spot instances with Qubole?
3. How can I use AWS Reserved Instances with Qubole?
4. What are the purchasing options for AWS cluster nodes?
5. What is the disadvantage of creating a Spot-only cluster or a cluster with 100% Spot nodes?
6. Can I enable SSE-KMS encryption on EBS Volumes?
1. How does Qubole Package Management pick a library version? Is it dependent on the Conda version or does it pick the latest version?
2. Does the Qubole Package Management install dependencies of a package?
3. Does the Qubole Package Management upgrade the underlying dependent libraries if they are already installed?
4. How do I install packages that are not available in a Package Management environment?


text:
De sterolen vormen een belangrijke klasse van organische moleculen. Ze komen van nature voor in planten, dieren, schimmels en sommige bacteriën (bijvoorbeeld Mycoplasma). Het meest bekende type sterol is cholesterol, een vitale stof in de dierlijke celmembraan als celverstevigend element en als precursor voor vetoplosbare vitamines en steroïdhormonen.

Typen sterolen
Plantensterolen noemt men fytosterolen en dierlijke sterolen worden zoösterolen genoemd. Belangrijke zoösterolen zijn cholesterol en enkele steroïdhormonen als testosteron en oestrogeen; enkele fytosterolen die van belang zijn, zijn campesterol, sitosterol en stigmasterol. Ergosterol is een sterol dat voorkomt in het celmembraan van fungi, waar het een rol vervult die gelijkaardig is aan cholesterol in dierlijke cellen. Vele antifungale middelen zijn gericht tegen deze ergosterolen, omdat de menselijke celmembraan dit niet bevat.

Rol in de biochemie
Sterolen en gerelateerde verbindingen spelen een essentiële rol in de fysiologie van eukaryote organismen. Zo vormt cholesterol een deel van het celmembraan bij dieren, waar het de vloeibaarheid bepaalt. Bovendien doet het dienst als signaalmolecule en precursor voor allerlei andere metabolieten. Bij mensen en andere dieren dienen corticosteroïden, zoals cortisol, als signaalmoleculen in de celcommunicatie en de algemene stofwisseling.

Sterolen als voedingselement

Plantensterolen zijn in wetenschappelijk onderzoek aangegeven als moleculen die de opname van cholesterol blokkeren in de menselijke darm. Ze worden dus vaak als voedingssuplement gebruikt, bijvoorbeeld in margarine. Desondanks is er verontrusting dat ze niet alleen de opname van cholesterol zouden blokkeren, maar ook de opname van andere belangrijke voedingsstoffen.

Chemische classificatie en structuur
Sterolen zijn ook bekend als steroidalcoholen. Het is een subgroep van de Steroïden met een hydroxylgroep op de 3-positie van de A-ring. Sterolen zijn amfifiele lipiden gesynthetiseerd uit acetyl-CoA via de HMG-CoA reductase-pathway. De totale molecule is vrij vlak. De hydroxylgroep op de A ring is polair, de rest van de keten is apolair.

Zie ook
 Steroïde
 Cholesterol
 Plantensterolen
 Ergosterol

Externe links
 Sterols Cyberlipid.org

Noten

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


FCC ID XQCBHAPB001 Ring Panic Button by Ecolink Intelligent Technology, Inc.
An FCC ID is the product ID assigned by the FCC to identify wireless products in the market. The FCC chooses 3 or 5 character "Grantee" codes to identify the business that created the product. For example, the grantee code for FCC ID: XQCBHAPB001 is XQC. The remaining characters of the FCC ID, BHAPB001, are often associated with the product model, but they can be random. These letters are chosen by the applicant. In addition to the application, the FCC also publishes internal images, external images, user manuals, and test results for wireless devices. They can be under the "exhibits" tab below.
Applicant's complete, legal business name: Ecolink Intelligent Technology, Inc.
Firm Name: Compatible Electronics, Inc.
Name of Grantee: Ecolink Intelligent Technology, Inc.


text:
Nature's Work
February – what's out and about
During this month most buds remain tightly shut. Hazel Corylus avellana male catkins are beginning to open, if you look closely tiny red flowers can also be seen. It has often been planted for coppicing and has many uses due to its flexible nature which can be twisted and knotted.
This is also the case with Alder Alnus glutinosa. Its flower is pictured below. Alder is a tree of wet places, marshes and stream-sides. It is found throughout Europe as far as Siberia.
The Snowdrop Galanthus nivalis signals that winter is coming to an end. It is a very hardy plant and its drooping flowers can be seen into March if cold conditions continue. It is a perennial, herbaceous plant and grows from a bulb. It is considered a native to the British Isles although it is believed to have been introduced in the 16th Century.
European gorse Ulex europaenis is also flowering and adds a great splash of yellow to moorland, dune and grassland. The flowers are pollinated by the bumble bee and its scent has a familiar coconut smell. It is a member of the pea family and so produces its fruit as a pod, the seeds of which are poisonous.
Published Environmental Articles
Wild food and foraging
Privacy Policy | Environmental Policy | Language Policy | Booking form
© Nature's Work 2020 - site created by Plas Nant Ltd.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


What Does Angelina Jolie's Casting Reveal About 'The Eternals'?
The Oscar winner is taking on her first superhero movie, which suggests there must be more than meets the eye to the Marvel Studios project.
One of Marvel Studios' most mysterious projects is starting to take shape, and with it comes one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Wednesday it was revealed that Angelina Jolie is in talks to join Chloe Zhao's The Eternals.
While details on the film have been locked up tighter than Odin's vault, The Eternals, based on the epic saga by comic book legend Jack Kirby, focuses on immortal superpowered beings created by the Celestials, the cosmic giants seen in the Infinity Stones sequence in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). Zhao's film is said to be led by Sersi and Ikaris, two Eternals whose love story rests at the center of an eons-spanning conflict.
Marvel had no comment on who Jolie might play, but given that she's the first actor to be cast, it seems likely that she's up for the transmutation-powered Sersi. Jolie also looks a great deal like many artists' depiction of the character. But who is Sersi? And what does Jolie's casting tell us about the film?
Unlike the previous films that have made up the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Eternals is based around largely unknown entities, even for most comic book readers. This unknown quality plus the fact that Marvel Comics hasn't made much effort in reprinting Kirby's series or key appearances of the characters (yet), adds a level of excitement and novelty to Zhao's feature. As a property that's more situated in the realm of sci-fi and fantasy than superhero yarns, learning about the Eternals is akin to taking a deep-dive into J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth history or George R.R. Martin's Westeros and Essos. While the Guardians of the Galaxy were mostly unknown to most audiences before 2014, the Eternals are even more of a deep-dive into the Marvel Universe. When it comes to the Celestials, the Eternals and their evil counterparts the Deviants (Thanos' race), this is heavy Marvel mythology, the building blocks of the universe, and far more complex than anything we've seen Marvel Studios adapt thus far.
Casting Jolie in a film such as this is a way for Marvel to ground the audience in a complicated mythology with a familiar face. But it's also a signal that if an actress on this level of influence, one who has largely focused on directing and producing of late, is interested, then it must be something special.
Marvel Studios, with a few exceptions, has long played the game of star-making when it comes to leading roles, taking talented actors and actresses known from television and award-season breakouts and making them household names or reviving the public's perception of them. There's been a certain tier of actors who first broke box office records and sold magazine covers in the '90s — Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts and Jolie — who have somehow managed to avoid being in a superhero film. But it now seems as though everyone must do at least one. Despite being a favorite for numerous superhero roles since the '90s and being an early rumored choice to direct Captain Marvel, Jolie has stayed away from superhero movies. Sure, she played Lara Croft twice and starred in the comic adaptation of Wanted (2008), which stripped away the superhero element of Mark Millar's comic, and she went all-in on the costumed villainess in Maleficent (2014) and its upcoming sequel. But she's never played a true superhero before.
Yet Sersi, if speculation is indeed correct, seems like a fitting choice for Jolie. Not only does the role provide her with the opportunity to work with Zhao, whose film The Rider (2017) makes the filmmakers seem like kindred spirits, but Sersi reflects many of Jolie's own acting choices and interests.
Created by Jack Kirby, Sersi first appeared in Strange Tales No. 109 (1963), with the name spelled "Circe," then later as Sersi in The Eternals No. 3 (1976). The distinction in spelling highlights a very important aspect of The Eternals' comic book history. While Greek gods and goddesses exist in the Marvel Universe, they would often let the Olympia-based Eternals represent their physical forms for the humans on Earth, hence many of the Eternals sharing names similar to their Greek counterparts. This distinction sounds like something the MCU will merge and just make the Eternals the inspiration for the Greek Pantheon, like the Asgardians were the basis for the Norse Gods. The comics have already done some of this synthesizing. Sersi inspired the poet Homer, who included her under the name Circe in The Odyssey in which she turned men into swine. Because of her powers to manipulate matter and rearrange molecular structures, she was often seen as a witch rather than a result of alien experimentation, allowing her to move across comic book genres.
While most of the Eternals eventually returned to the cosmos in search of their larger destiny, Sersi remained on Earth, fascinated with its people and customs. She involved herself in key moments in history, lived in ancient Rome and Camelot, fought alongside Thor and the Vikings in the god's youth and later joined the Avengers.
Having lived for millennia, Sersi has taken on many roles on Earth and has changed her personality as she's seen fit, taking the most out of her immortal existence. This worldliness and interest in alleviating human conflict and suffering falls in line with Jolie's own humanitarian and conservation efforts. As the line between actors and the superheroes they play grows increasingly thin (see Chris Evans' political interests, and Gal Gadot and Brie Larson's movement for women in film), Sersi may be a way for Jolie to get her message out to a wider audience, and exhibit godlike powers while doing it.
It's impossible to capture the massive potential and mythology of The Eternals through one character and casting choice. But Jolie's involvement at least gives us a better idea of what's coming down the road post-Avengers: Endgame. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has promised a very different MCU after April 26, and if Jolie's casting and Sersi's eons-spanning history and mythology is any indication, Marvel's storytelling and casting is only growing in ambition.


text:
Kristin Lavransdatter Reader's Guide
By Sigrid Undset
Category: Historical Fiction | Fiction Classics
Questions and Topics for Discussion
In Kristin Lavransdatter (1920-1922), Sigrid Undset interweaves political, social, and religious history with the daily aspects of family life to create a colorful, richly detailed tapestry of Norway during the fourteenth-century. The trilogy, however, is more than a journey into the past. Undset's own life—her familiarity with Norse sagas and folklore and with a wide range of medieval literature, her experiences as a daughter, wife, and mother, and her deep religious faith—profoundly influenced her writing. Her grasp of the connections between past and present and of human nature itself, combined with the extraordinary quality of her writing, sets her works far above the genre of "historical novels." This new translation by Tiina Nunnally—the first English version since Charles Archer's translation in the 1920s—captures Undset's strengths as a stylist. Nunnally, an award-winning translator, retains the natural dialog and lyrical flow of the original Norwegian, with its echoes of Old Norse legends, while deftly avoiding the stilted language and false archaisms of Archer's translation. In addition, she restores key passages left out of that edition, including a sexually explicit love scene and several conversations among the characters that offer crucial insights into their feelings and motivation.
In depicting her country's vanished culture, Undset, like others in the Modernist era, rejected the romantic view of the past prevalent in mid-nineteenth century literature, music, and art—from Tennyson's fanciful retelling of the Arthurian legends,Idylls of the King to Wagner's musical interpretations of Germanic myths to the dreamy paintings of the Pre-Raphaelite artists. Her realistic, unvarnished approach, as A.H. Winsnes notes in his biography, Sigrid Undset: A Study in Christian Realism, has led many scholars to call her "The Zola of Middle Ages." Undset's ability to present a meticulously accurate historical portrait without sacrificing the poetry and narrative drive of masterful storytelling was particularly significant in her homeland. Granted independence in 1905 after five hundred years of foreign domination, Norway was eager to reclaim its national history and culture. Kristin Lavransdatter became a touchstone for Undset's contemporaries, and continues to be widely read by Norwegians today. In the more than 75 years since it was first published, it has also become a favorite throughout the world.
When The Wreath first appeared in English, the New York Times hailed it as "strong and dramatic, founded upon those emotions and impulses which belong not to any especial time or country, but to all humanity." Against the background of a society ruled by centuries-old Norse traditions and the strictures of the Catholic Church (first established in Norway in tenth century), Undset tells the story of a headstrong young woman who defies the expectations of her much-beloved father, the lessons of her priest, and conventions of society when she is captivated by a charming and dangerously impetuous man. The courtship of Kristin Lavransdatter and Erlend Nikulaussøn is a far cry from the idealistic romances found in the historical novels of writers like Sir Walter Scott. Although she is betrothed to another man and is living in a convent, Kristin and Erlend manage to escape watchful eyes and give free rein to their love and their sexual impulses. When they are finally allowed to wed, they discover that the repercussions of their rebellious behavior are not easily put to rest.
In The Wife, Undset paints a vivid portrait of a marriage buffeted not only by private passions and recriminations, but by the forces of history. Kristin is determined to create a household and a family life that will mitigate the shame she brought upon herself and her parents. As Undset chronicles Kristin's days as the mistress of Erlend's ancestral estate and the mother of seven sons, she renders the details of everyday life with astounding precision—the eating and sleeping arrangements in both manor houses and humble peasant homes; the risks of childbirth and of raising children; and the social and religious activities that punctuate each week. Erlend's involvement in a plot against an unpopular king brings to life the political intrigues percolating in Scandinavia during the period and captures the strong sense of justice and personal freedom that set Norway apart from most other medieval cultures. The inner lives of the characters are illuminated with the same care—from the painful secrets Kristin's parents harbor to the destructive consequences of Kristin's pride and resentment and of Erlend's petulant refusal to accept his responsibilities.
The Cross finds Kristin returning with her husband and sons to her childhood home after Erlend's narrow escape from the law. Kristin quickly discovers that the community where she was once loved and respected as her father's daughter is not so willing to accept her and her family. The solicitous attention of her brother-in-law brings Kristin much-needed comfort, but even this relationship is fraught with unspoken tensions. Erlend and their sons, scorned as outsiders who arrogantly refuse to adapt to the customs of the region or its people, are bound to one another with an affection so strong that Kristin herself feels excluded. With the willfulness that is both her strength and her weakness, Kristin devotes herself to maintaining the farm and to instilling in her sons a sense of morality and purpose. The Cross unveils the complexities of maternal love, portraying with power and sensitivity the conflicts that arise as Kristin's children forge their own identities. It explores, too, the impact of Christianity on a world still emerging from paganism and, as the Black Plague devastates Europe, the significance of the Church's teachings to people seeking answers to mysteries of life and death, sin and redemption
ABOUT SIGRID UNDSET
Sigrid Undset (1882-1949) was born in Denmark, the eldest daughter of a Norwegian father and a Danish mother. Two years after her birth, the family moved to Oslo, where her father, a distinguished archaeologist, taught at the university. Her father's interest in the past had a tremendous influence on Undset. She was particularly entranced by the dramatic Old Norse sagas she read as a child, later declaring that her exposure to them marked "the most important turning point in my life."
Undset's first published works—the novel Mrs. Marta Oulie (1907) and a short-story collection The Happy Age (1908)—were set in contemporary times and achieved both critical and popular success. With her reputation as a writer well-established, Undset had the freedom to explore the world that had first fired her imagination, and in Gunnar's Daughter (1909) she drew upon her knowledge of Norway's history and legends, including the Icelandic Sagas, to recreate medieval life with compelling immediacy. In 1912 Undset married the painter Anders Castus Svarstad and over the next ten years faced the formidable challenge of raising three stepchildren and her own three off-spring with little financial or emotional support from her husband. Eventually, she and her children moved from Oslo to Lillehammer, and her marriage was annulled in 1924, when Undset converted to Catholicism.
Although Undset wrote more modern novels, a collection of essays on feminism, as well as numerous book reviews and newspaper articles, her fascination with the Middle Ages never ebbed, and in 1920 she published The Wreath, the first volume of her most famous work, Kristin Lavransdatter. The next two volumes quickly followed—The Wife in 1921, and The Cross in 1922. The trilogy earned Undset worldwide acclaim, and her second great medieval epic—the four-volume The Master of Hestviken (1925-1927) —confirmed her place as one of the twentieth century's greatest writers. In 1928, at the age of 46, she received the Nobel Prize for Literature, only the third woman to be so honored.
Undset went on to publish more novels—including the autobiographical The Longest Years—and several collections of essays during the 1930s. As the Germans advanced through Norway in 1940, Undset, an outspoken critic of Nazism, fled the country and eventually settled in Brooklyn, New York. She returned to her homeland in 1945, and two years later she was awarded Norway's highest honor for her "distinguished literary work and for service to her country." The years of exile, however, had taken a great toll on her, and she died of a stroke on June 10, 1949.
The Wreath
The Wreath is set at a time of transition in Norway: Christianity, which had been introduced in the late tenth century, was spreading, but the older pagan forms of worship and belief lingered. How does Undset's description of Kristin's encounter with the elf maiden [p. 19]—and Lavrans' reaction to it—epitomize the collision of the old and new belief systems? What other examples are there of the family's inability to abandon age-old traditions and superstitions despite their devout Christianity? For instance, what is the significance of Fru Aashild's attempt to cure Ulvhild when the prayers of the parish priest fail to work the miracle Rangfrid longs for?
Does Kristin acquiesce too readily to her father's selection of Simon as her future husband? Does she agree to the betrothal because she feels genuine affection for Simon or is she primarily motivated by her love and respect for her father? How does Kristin's relationship with Arne deepen your understanding of the social attitudes and assumptions she lives by? Why does Simon's sympathetic and compassionate reaction when her reputation is questioned increase Kristin's ambivalence toward him?
Discuss Undset's use of elements drawn from medieval ballads, chivalric legends, fairy tales, and other traditional stories in her depiction of Kristin and Erlend's meeting and courtship. What particular motifs do you recognize? What themes, events, or characters represent Christian beliefs? How do these "archetypal scripts" enrich the story for readers? In what ways do Undset's narrative style, her depiction of the natural world, and her language create further links to the past and its storytelling traditions?
Which one of Kristin's two suitors appeals to you more and why? How do their attitudes about Kristin—and about love and marriage—differ? In what ways are they similar? Are there contradictions between traditional standards of morality and those imposed by the Church? Does Erlend take advantage of Kristin's innocence and inexperience or does she share equal responsibility for initiating their love affair? To what extent does the very secrecy of their relationship strengthen the tie between Kristin and Erlend? Why does Lavrans finally to consent to the marriage? What impact do the pleas—as well as the suggestive comments—of Erlend's noble kinsmen [p. 250] have on his decision? Why does Kristin begin to have doubts after her betrothal to Erlend is announced?
Kristin, Aashild, and Eline all sacrifice their reputations and moral integrity when they give into their sexual longings. Were their transgressions justified in the light of subsequent events? Do their lovers suffer to the same extent from the condemnation of society and the pangs of conscience? Does Undset's depiction of the consequences of adultery reflect the moral conventions of the time or does it represent a more universal truth?
In talking about her heroine, Sigrid Undset said that Kristin's greatest sin was not indulging in sex before marriage, but the sin of pride, which fueled her defiance of the rules she had learned as a child. Does her marriage temper Kristin's tendency to insist on having her own way? Is Erlend, too, guilty of the sin of pride? What do their reactions to Kristin's out-of-wedlock pregnancy indicate about their individual personalities and the likely course of their marriage?
What function does Gunnulf serve in the novel? Compare his relationship with Kristin to the ones she forms with Brother Edvin and with her parish priests, Sira Eirik and Sira Eiliv. Are Gunnulf's criticisms of Erlend based only on his religious beliefs or are they colored by childhood memories and his own inner conflicts? What do Undset's various portraits of the clergy reveal about religion and spirituality during the Middle Ages?
Why does Erlend become involved in the plot to remove King Magnus and secure the throne for Prince Haakon? How does his nostalgia for Viking times, when social mobility was linked to the test of battle, affect his judgment and his actions? What does he hope to gain as an individual? In addition to clarifying the political climate in Scandinavia and the rest of northern Europe, does this fictional conspiracy and the political maneuvering it involves provide insights into other aspects of medieval culture and the ideas that shaped it? What light does it shed on the relations between the Church and the state and on the role of each in the lives of ordinary people? Does Undset's description of Norway during the Middle Ages differ from what you know about the period from other readings or history courses? If so, in what ways?
How do Kristin and Erlend's feelings about one another change in the course of the book? Which partner do you think is more responsible for the deterioration of the marriage and why? What impact does the birth of their children have on each of them and their relationship as husband and wife? Do Kristin's faith—and her search for redemption—help or hinder her as a wife and mother? Is Lavrans' analysis of their marriage [p.236-7] valid or is it colored by his own experiences and beliefs?
Discuss Kristin's self-recriminations [p. 334-6] after Erlend is arrested in light of your impressions of their marriage. Why does Simon come to Erlend's aid? Are his motivations purely unselfish? What do their conversations at the prison [p.381-2] and after Erlend's release [p.402] reveal about each man? Do you think that Erlend has gained a deeper understanding of himself by the end of the novel?
When Kristin and her family move to Jørundgaard, why does she assume all responsibility for running the estate and stand by as Erlend "with chieftainlike calm and dignity lived on her father's manor like a guest?" [p. 26] Does Erlend's acceptance of their misfortune stem from a realistic understanding of the situation (based on the laws and conventions of the time) or is it a reflection of his childish approach to life? How do Kristin's memories of her father and her guilt about the way she treated him influence her feelings about and behavior towards Erlend?
The correlation between earthly love and divine love is an important theme in late medieval literature. Sex is viewed as an expression of love in God's name and procreation and maternal nurturing as a sacred obligation for women. Discuss the different ways this theme is woven into the story of Kristin and Erlend's marriage, considering both the positive and negative implications.
The first part of The Cross is entitled "Honor Among Kin." To what extent does Erlend's extreme sensitivity about his own honor and reputation contribute to his downfall? Is he foolishly naïve about the motivations and loyalty of others, as Simon suggests? [p. 99] Why is Simon devastated when he learns of his brothers' involvement in the plot against King Magnus? Does his jealousy of Erlend lead him to be too harsh on himself when he considers his behavior towards Kristin and her family? Which of the two men is truer to the medieval ideal of honor and nobility as it is presented in the novel? Which one more closely embodies your own definition of honor?
When Erlend eventually leaves the family, why does he make his home in Haugen, where one of the darkest incidents in his life occurred? Is Erlend's suggestion that Kristin join him realistic? Is Kristin's refusal motivated only by concern for her children? What other factors, both emotional and practical, influence her? Would it have been possible for Kristin to find spiritual peace with Erlend? What impact does the choices her sons make have on Kristin as she contemplates her own future? Is there a particular moment that marks Kristin's final understanding of the relationship between the material and spiritual worlds and her willingness to accept God's will wholeheartedly? What is the significance of her decision to donate her wedding ring for masses?
Kristin Lavransdatter explores many issues that resonate today: women's sexuality; the balance of power between men and women; and the role of religious faith in everyday life. Would you characterize Undset's approach to these subjects as "liberal" or "conservative"? Is Kristin a feminist heroine, striving to balance her career as the hard-working mistress of Husaby and the Jørundgaard and her family obligations? Are the decisions she makes and the values by which she lives her life relevant to contemporary readers?
Learn More About Kristin Lavransdatter


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Coil were an English experimental music group formed in 1982 in London and dissolved in 2005. Initially envisioned as a solo project by musician John Balance (of the band Psychic TV), Coil evolved into a full-time project with the addition of his partner and Psychic TV bandmate Peter Christopherson, formerly of pioneering industrial music group Throbbing Gristle. Coil's work explored themes related to the occult, sexuality, alchemy, and drugs while influencing genres such as gothic rock, neofolk and dark ambient. AllMusic called the group "one of the most beloved, mythologized groups to emerge from the British post-industrial scene."

After the release of their 1984 debut EP How to Destroy Angels, Coil joined Some Bizzare Records, through which they released two full-length albums, Scatology (1985) and Horse Rotorvator (1986). In 1985, the group began working on a series of soundtracks, among them the rejected score for the first Hellraiser film. After departing from Some Bizzare, Coil established their own record label, Threshold House, through which they produced and released Love's Secret Domain (1991). Financial difficulties slowed the group's work in the early 1990s before they returned to the project on releases such as Astral Disaster (1999), and the Musick to Play in the Dark series  composed of Vol. 1 (1999) and Vol. 2 (2000), as well as releasing several projects under aliases such as Black Light District, ELpH, and Time Machines.

Balance and Christopherson were the only constant members; other contributors throughout the band's career included Stephen Thrower, Danny Hyde, Drew McDowall, William Breeze, Thighpaulsandra and Ossian Brown. With involvement from these members, the group also started several smaller independent vanity labels, including Eskaton and Chalice. The group's first live performance in 16 years occurred in 1999, and began a series of mini-tours that would last until 2004. Following the accidental death of John Balance on 13 November 2004, Christopherson formally announced that Coil as a creative entity had ceased to exist, ending the Coil discography with The Ape of Naples (2005). Posthumous releases and compilations of unreleased material have since followed this, with Drew McDowall and Danny Hyde leading the project's archive.

History

1982–1983: Formation and early years

In 1978, John Balance (born Geoff[rey] Burton; also known as Rushton, by his stepfather's surname) was a teenage zine journalist, writing—along with his schoolmate Tom Craig, a grandson of Edward Carrick and grand-grandson of Edward Gordon Craig—under a moniker Stabmental, through which he published the articles on UK underground artists, including seminal industrial bands Throbbing Gristle and Cabaret Voltaire. A Throbbing Gristle fan, Balance had contacted them via mail, and thus befriended the Throbbing Gristle frontperson Genesis P-Orridge. In February 1980, Balance had attended a Throbbing Gristle gig recorded and released as Heathen Earth, where he had first met P-Orridge's bandmate Peter Christopherson and befriended him as well.

Following the dissolution of Throbbing Gristle in 1981, P-Orridge, Christopherson, and Alex Fergusson (formerly of Alternative TV) went on to form the new project, titled Psychic TV, along with the accompanying fellowship titled Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth. Balance, who had attended the University of Sussex for a short time and participated in Brian Williams' Lustmord project, returned in London to live with Christopherson—with whom a romantic partnership had begun. As a Psychic TV member, Balance participated in the recording of the single "Just Drifting" (from the album Force the Hand of Chance) and, the following year, of the album Dreams Less Sweet.

Already having an experience of performing and recording previous to his tenure in Psychic TV, Balance went on to use the name Coil in 1982, originally envisioned for a solo project. In 1983, Balance wrote a manifesto titled The Price of Existence Is Eternal Warfare and sent a tape of the song "On Balance", dated 5 May 1982, to Gary Levermore's label Third Mind Records for an inclusion on a compilation album Rising From The Red Sand; Levermore, however, had rejected the track. Despite this, Balance had recorded three more new tracks—"S for Sleep", "Red Weather", and "Here to Here (Double-Headed Secret)"—on 11 May 1983. On 4 August 1983, Coil—as the duo of Balance and Christopherson—had played its first gig in London at the Magenta Club, during a screening of films by Cerith Wyn Evans and Derek Jarman. Since Christopherson's commitments for Psychic TV—in which he had become disillusioned due to growing conflict with P-Orridge—still limited his participation in Coil, Balance approached John Gosling—also Psychic TV member who fronted his own project Zos Kia—to work with. Balance's and Gosling's collaboration resulted in the next three gigs during 1983, with the last one being performed in December on Berlin Atonal festival, where Balance participated as both Psychic TV and Coil member. The recordings from aforementioned gigs, as well as "On Balance", were later included on Zos Kia/Coil split album Transparent, released in February 1984 by Austrian label Nekrophile Records. Since January 1984, Balance and Christopherson had departed from Psychic TV and the Temple of Psychic Youth, in order to make Coil as a full-time concern.

1984–1986: How to Destroy Angels and Some Bizzare years
The band's official recording debut, an extended play titled How to Destroy Angels, was released on the Good Friday (20 April) of 1984 by a Belgian-based label L.A.Y.L.A.H. Antirecords. Recorded on 19 February 1984 at Britannia Row Studios, the album was dedicated to Mars as the god of spring and war, using predominantly iron and steel instruments.

Shortly after in May 1984, Coil went on to record their first full-length studio album, eventually titled Scatology, approaching JG Thirlwell as a co-producer and co-composer; several others contributors, including Stephen Thrower, Alex Fergusson and Gavin Friday, took part in its recording. Scatology'''s themes echoed those of How to Destroy Angels, while focusing mainly on alchemy as an idea of transforming matter.Scatology was released in early 1985 with a 1984 copyright date by the band's own label, Force & Form, and K.422 (a Some Bizzare Records sublabel), to mainly positive feedback. Shortly after, a single featuring a remix of "Panic" and a cover of "Tainted Love" was released, with the profits being donated to the Terrence Higgins Trust;; . hailed since then as the first AIDS benefit music release, it was supported with the "Tainted Love" video directed by Christopherson, which was purchased by The Museum of Modern Art in New York, U.S.; ; ; .Horse Rotorvator followed in 1986 as the next full-length release. Although songs such as "The Anal Staircase" and "Circles of Mania" sound like evolved versions of Scatology material, the album is characterized by slower tempos, and represented a new direction for the group. The album has a darker theme than previous releases, according to Balance:

Horse Rotorvator was this vision I'd had of this mechanical/flesh thing that ploughed up the earth and I really did have a vision of it—a real horrible, burning, dripping, jaw-like vision in the night ... The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse killed their horses and use their jawbones to make this huge earth-moving machine."

The artwork features a photograph of the location of a notorious IRA bombing, in which a bomb was detonated on a military orchestra pavilion. Horse Rotorvator was in part influenced by the AIDS-related deaths of some of their friends. Furthermore, the song "Ostia (The Death of Pasolini)" is about the mysterious death of Pier Paolo Pasolini, as well as what Balance described as "the number one suicide spot in the world", the white cliffs of Dover.

Gold Is the Metal... and Unnatural History (1986–1990)
After the release of Horse Rotorvator, Coil left Some Bizzare Records, since they fell out with its owner Stevo Pearce. Gold Is the Metal (With the Broadest Shoulders) followed as a full-length release in 1987, marking the beginning of the band's own label, Threshold House—the album is described in the liner notes as "not the follow-up to Horse Rotorvator, but a completely separate package – a stopgap and a breathing space – the space between two twins", which refers to Horse Rotorvator and Love's Secret Domain.

The 13-track Unnatural History compilation was then released on Threshold House in 1990. The first three songs on the album were first released as one half of the Nightmare Culture mini-album.

Love's Secret Domain (1991–1992)Love's Secret Domain (abbreviated LSD) followed in 1991 as the next "proper" Coil album, although a few minor releases had been produced since Horse Rotorvator. LSD represents a progression in Coil's style and became a template for what would be representative of newer waves of post-industrial music, blended with their own style of acid house. Although the album was more upbeat, it was not intended as a dance record, as Christopherson explained "I wouldn't say it's a party atmosphere, but it's more positive." "Windowpane" and a Jack Dangers remix of "The Snow" were released as singles, both of which had music videos directed by Christopherson. The video for "Windowpane" was shot in the Golden Triangle, where, Balance claimed, "the original Thai and Burmese drug barons used to exchange opium for gold bars with the CIA." Christopherson recalled "John [Balance] discovered while he was performing that where he was standing was quicksand! In the video you can actually see him getting deeper and deeper." Furthermore, Thai friends of the group commented that they had known of several people that died where Coil had shot footage for the music video.

A music video for the song "Love's Secret Domain" was also shot, which was initially unreleased due to its nature: as Christopherson explained, "We shot 'Love's Secret Domain' in a go-go boy bar in Bangkok; with John [Balance] performing on stage with about 20 or 30 dancing boys, which probably won't get played on MTV, in fact!" As of January 2015, the music video is viewable on more than one YouTube channel. Stolen & Contaminated Songs followed as a full-length release in 1992. However, as with Gold Is the Metal..., it is a collection of outtakes and demos from the LSD era.

Soundtracks and side projects (1993–1998)
Coil separated their works into many side projects, publishing music under different names and a variety of styles. The pre-Coil aliases, Zos Kia and Sickness of Snakes, formed the foundation of a style that would evolve to characterize their initial wave of releases.

Before embarking on their second wave of side projects and pseudonyms, Coil created a soundtrack for the movie Hellraiser, although they withdrew from the project when they suspected their music would not be used. Furthermore, Coil claimed inspiration for Pinhead was partly drawn from the piercing magazines that director Barker borrowed from the group. Balance explained after the release of Stolen and Contaminated Songs, in around 1992:

Yeah it would have been brilliant but we wouldn't have carried on, because they were changing everything and they weren't being very nice to us, the actual film people. They were keeping us in the dark a lot. We said we'd had enough just at the same time they decided they wanted to use Howard Shore. They just wanted normal film music. They didn't want anything too scary which is sad and ridiculous for a horror film.

Also in 1992, Threshold House released a "Remixes And Re-Recordings" version of How to Destroy Angels. Nurse with Wound's Steven Stapleton contributed a remix of the song, "How To Destroy Angels II".

In 1993, Coil contributed music to Derek Jarman's film Blue. Their 1985 score for Jarman's The Angelic Conversation was released on CD in 1994. In addition, they recorded soundtracks for the documentary Gay Man's Guide to Safer Sex as well as Sarah Dales Sensuous Massage.

Much like the pre-Coil aliases, Coil's series of side projects represented a diverse basis from which the group evolved a different style of sound. While Nasa Arab—credited to the group's project "The Eskaton"—was Coil's farewell to the acid house genre, the following projects, ELpH, Black Light District, and Time Machines, were all based heavily on experimentation with drone, an ingredient that would define Coil's following work. These releases also launched the start of Coil's new label Eskaton.Transparent was reissued in CD format in 1997 on Threshold House. A disc and booklet were packaged in a "thick" slipcase, which was released
in partnership with the World Serpent music company.

Late Coil (1998–2004)
After the wave of experimental side projects, Coil's sound was completely redefined. Before releasing new material, the group released the compilations Unnatural History II, Windowpane & The Snow and Unnatural History III. In March 1998, Coil began to release a series of four singles which were timed to coincide with the equinox and solstices of that year. The singles are characterized by slow, drone-like instrumental rhythms, and electronic or orchestral instrumentation. The first single, Spring Equinox: Moon's Milk or Under an Unquiet Skull, featured two versions of the same song, the second version of which included an electric viola contribution from a newly inducted member, William Breeze. The second single, Summer Solstice: Bee Stings, also featured performances by Breeze, and also included the industrial-noise song "A Warning from the Sun (For Fritz)", which was dedicated to a friend of Balance and Christopherson's who had committed suicide earlier that year. The third single, Autumn Equinox: Amethyst Deceivers, includes the track "Rosa Decidua", which features vocals by Rose McDowall. The single also features the song "Amethyst Deceivers", later reworked and performed throughout most of Coil's tour—it was eventually re-made into an alternate version on the LP The Ape of Naples. The fourth single, Winter Solstice: North, also includes a track sung by McDowall, and is partially credited to the side project Rosa Mundi. The series would later be re-released as the double-CD set, Moon's Milk (In Four Phases).Astral Disaster was created with the assistance from new band member Thighpaulsandra, and was released in January 1999 via Sun Dial member Gary Ramon's label, Prescription. Although the album was initially limited to just 99 copies, it would later be re-released in a substantially different form. Musick To Play In The Dark Vol. 1 followed in September 1999, and a few months later Coil performed their first concert in 16 years.Queens Of The Circulating Library followed in April 2000, with production credit given to Thighpaulsandra. The single-track, full-length drone album is the only Coil release made without the assistance of Christopherson. Musick To Play In The Dark Vol. 2 followed in September 2000, and Coil began to perform live more intensively, a period that also included writing the music for Black Antlers in between a series of mini-tours. Coil also released a series of live albums around this time. Constant Shallowness Leads To Evil, a noise-driven experimental album reminiscent of Christopherson's work with Throbbing Gristle, was first sold at a live performance in September 2000. Coil finally released Black Antlers in June 2004.

In contrast to many of their earlier releases, Coil's later material is characterized by a slower sound which relies more on drone than acid house. This change in sound was reflected in their live performances, as songs like "Ostia" and "Slur" were slowed down from their original pace, as well as re-recordings of "Teenage Lightning" and "Amethyst Deceivers" that were later released on The Ape Of Naples.

Coil Live
Coil's live incarnation is associated with a distinct legacy. The first live shows took place in 1983, but after only four performances, 15 years would pass before they would play live again.

On 14 December 1999, Coil performed elph.zwölf at Volksbuehne in Berlin. Although the performance lasted just under 18 minutes, it marked the beginning of a new era of live performances. Coil would go on to perform close to 50 additional concerts, with varied set lists as well as performers.

Coil performed twice at the Royal Festival Hall in 2000. The first concert was in April, as part of a weekend curated by Julian Cope, when they first performed as the full band line-up – and wearing the "fluffy suits" that would become a staple of live performances for the first time – performing Time Machines. They performed again in September, sharing a bill with Jim Thirlwell (as Foetus) on that occasion. Both performances were full sets.

Coil's performances were surrealistic visually and audibly. The signature fluffy suits, an idea inspired by Sun Ra, played a foremost role at the live shows. The suits would later be used as album covers for the release Live One, while other costumes appear on the covers of Live Two and Live Three—straitjacket and mirror-chested hooded jumpsuit, respectively. Video screens projected footage and animations created by Christopherson, while fog machines created an eerie atmosphere. Balance would often screech and howl during performances, which would add to the effect.

The band's performance at the 2003 All Tomorrow's Parties festival was released as ...And the Ambulance Died in His Arms. Released on Threshold House in 2005 as a digipak, a Thai version was released the following year. ...And the Ambulance Died in His Arms was released under a name chosen by Balance before his death in November 2004.

Many Coil performances were released, including the widely available releases of Live Four, Live Three, Live Two, Live One and ...And The Ambulance Died In His Arms, as well as several very limited editions, such as Selvaggina, Go Back Into The Woods and Megalithomania!. Video recordings of several concerts were released on the DVD box set, Colour Sound Oblivion, in 2010.

Coil's final performance was at DEAF (Dublin Electronic Arts Festival), Dublin City Hall in Ireland.

Deaths of Balance and Christopherson
Balance died on 13 November 2004, after he fell from a second-floor landing in his home. Christopherson announced Balance's death on the Threshold House website, and provided details of the circumstances of the death. Balance's memorial service was held near Bristol on 23 November 2004, and was attended by approximately 100 people.

The final studio album, The Ape of Naples, was released on 2 December 2005. In August 2006, the rare CD-R releases The Remote Viewer and Black Antlers were "sympathetically remastered" and expanded into two-disc versions, which included new and recently remixed material. A comprehensive 16-DVD boxset, titled Colour Sound Oblivion, was released in July 2010. A "Patron Edition" was pre-orderable in November 2009 and sold out in three hours. Christopherson also discussed the possibility of releasing Coil's entire back catalogue on a single Blu-ray disc.

In November 2006, the official Coil website posted the following announcement: "Following the success of Thai pressings of The Remote Viewer and Black Antlers, and after many requests, we are planning to expand the CD catalog still further." A few days later Duplais Balance and Moon's Milk in Six Phases were announced. Furthermore, an expanded vinyl version of The Ape of Naples, which includes the album The New Backwards, has been released, and a two-disc version of Time Machines has been announced.

Six years after the death of Balance, Christopherson died in his sleep on 24 November 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Artistry
Style, instruments and creative methods
While their work became increasingly difficult to describe as their career progressed, Coil's musical style encompassed genres such as industrial music, noise music, ambient music and dark ambient, neofolk, spoken word, drone music and minimalism. They often considered their works more as magical rituals than as musical pieces; Balance explicitly referred to this approach as "magickal music". Balance described the first half of the Coil discography as "solar" and their later work as "moon musick".

Coil incorporated many exotic and rare instruments into their recordings and performances. The group expressed particular interest in vintage electronic instruments including the Moog synthesizer, the ANS synthesizer, the Mellotron and the Optigan. During Coil's later period, marimba player Tom Edwards joined the group, and performed on the live albums Live Two and Live Three, as well as on the studio albums Black Antlers and The Ape of Naples.

Often ensuing from improvisation and intuition, Coil utilized experimental techniques such as the cut-up technique, ritual drug use, sleep deprivation, lucid dreaming, tidal shifts, John Dee-like methods of scrying, technical glitches, SETI synchronization and chaos theory.

Releases
Coil's distribution sometimes included releasing limited editions of albums, thereby making them collectors' items among fans. Including quirks such as "art objects", sigil-like autographs and even stains of blood in the packaging of their albums, Coil claimed that this made their work more personal for true fans, turning their records into something akin to occult artifacts. This practice was markedly increased in the later half of Coil's career. Due to this, critics accused Coil and its record company of price gouging. However, Balance expressed interest in having regular Coil albums in every shop that wanted them. In 2003, Coil began re-releasing many rare works, mostly remixed. They also launched a download service, where a large amount of their out-of-print music was made available.

Religious views
Coil held pagan and alchemical beliefs, as well as a fixation on chaos magic, but were sometimes labelled as Satanic.Pilkington, Mark. "Sounds Of Blakeness ". Fortean Times, (2001). Retrieved 27 December 2006. Balance explicitly referred to himself as a "Born Again Pagan", and described his paganism as a "spirituality within nature." Christopherson, however, described the beliefs of Coil as unassociated:
We don't follow any particular religious dogma. In fact, quite the reverse, we tend to discourage the following of dogmas, or false prophets, as it were. And we don't have a very sympathetic view of Christians up to this point. The thing we follow is our own noses; I don't mean in a chemical sense.

Members
 John Balance was the founder of Coil and was the primary vocalist and composer of Coil's music.
 Peter Christopherson was the chief producer.
 Stephen Thrower worked as a full-time member of Coil from 1987 to 1992.
 Danny Hyde was periodically involved as co-author, collaborator, studio engineer, remixer, and producer. Peter Christopherson called him as Coil's 3rd secret member.
 Drew McDowall began collaborating with Coil in 1990 and was officially inducted in 1995. He left the group sometime between 1999 and 2000.
 Rose McDowall, Drew's ex-wife, provided vocals for several Coil tracks including "Wrong Eye", "Rosa Decidua" and "Christmas Is Now Drawing Near". She also collaborated with Coil for the short-lived project Rosa Mundi.
 Ossian Brown had been a Coil collaborator since about 1992 and joined the group in 2000, touring extensively with them and working on several recordings up until the final Coil album The Ape of Naples.
 William Breeze was Coil's electric viola player between 1997 and 2000.
 Thighpaulsandra became an official member on 26 January 1999 and participated until the final album, The Ape of Naples. Most notably, he created the entire instrumental for the album Queens of the Circulating Library.
 John Gosling performed with the initial live incarnation of Coil, as featured on Transparent.
 Tom Edwards of Spiritualized participated in Coil's live incarnation, and was Coil's marimba player from 2000 on.
 Cliff Stapleton played hurdy-gurdy on several live performances, as well as in the studio for Coil at various points throughout the 2000s.
 Massimo & Pierce of Black Sun Productions were members of Coil Live in 2002. However, they were stage performers, never contributing musically other than reading the poetic introduction to "Ostia" during live performances.
 Mike York was part of the Coil Live collective for a limited time.

Influences and legacy
Although Coil expressed interest in many musical groups, they rarely, if ever, claimed to be influenced by them. Coil explicitly stated the influence of such non-musical sources as William Burroughs, Aleister Crowley, Brion Gysin and Austin Spare. Furthermore, the group were friends with Burroughs and owned some of Spare's original artwork.

Balance encouraged fans to trade, discuss and discover new and different forms of music, stressing the importance of variety. Music that Coil expressed interest in is diverse and wide-ranging, from musique concrète to folk music to hardcore punk to classical to techno. Among the musicians Coil expressed interest in were early electronic, experimental and minimalist artists: Harry Partch, La Monte Young, Karlheinz Stockhausen (once referred to by Balance as "an honorary member of Coil"), Alvin Lucier, and Arvo Pärt. Coil also expressed interest in krautrock groups including Cluster, Amon Düül II, Can, Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream. Rock musicians and groups Coil have expressed interest in are: Angus Maclise, Captain Beefheart, Flipper, Leonard Cohen, Lou Reed, Nico, Pere Ubu, Butthole Surfers, Napalm Death, The Birthday Party, The Velvet Underground and The Virgin Prunes. Coil expressed an interest in the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, and used a sample from his ballet Rite of Spring on the Horse Rotorvator song "The Anal Staircase". Furthermore, on the album Black Antlers Coil dedicated a song to Sun Ra and covered a song by Bam Bam.

Coil's influence on electronic music has become more evident since the death of Balance, with electronic musicians from all over the world collaborating on a series of tribute albums. Some notable artists who appear on these albums are Alec Empire, Chris Connelly and KK Null (see ...It Just Is). Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor also expressed the significant influence that the group had on his work in February 2014:

[Coil's] 'Tainted Love' video remains one of the greatest music videos of all time. I was always more attracted to Coil than Throbbing Gristle; the darkness and the scatology really chimed with me. If it's not immediately obvious: Horse Rotorvator was deeply influential on me. What they did to your senses. What they could do with sound. What Jhonn was doing lyrically. The exotic darkness of them permeated their work.

The track "At the Heart of It All" (found on Scatology) later lent its name to an Aphex Twin track on the Nine Inch Nails remix album Further Down the Spiral; Coil also provided remixes for Further Down the Spiral as well as "Gave Up" on the remix album Fixed. Furthermore, in 2010, Reznor, Mariqueen Maandig and Atticus Ross started a new band called How to Destroy Angels—named after the Coil song—which received Christopherson's blessing after Reznor made contact with him.

Discography

Coil's rapid musical output over two decades resulted in a large number of releases, side projects and remixes as well as collaborations.

Primary, full-length, Coil studio albumsScatology (1985)Horse Rotorvator (1986)Gold Is the Metal (With the Broadest Shoulders) (1987)Love's Secret Domain (1991)Stolen & Contaminated Songs (1992)Worship the Glitch (1995, as "ELpH vs. Coil")A Thousand Lights in a Darkened Room (1996, as "Black Light District")Time Machines (1998, as "Time Machines")Astral Disaster (1999)Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 1 (1999)Queens of the Circulating Library (2000)Musick to Play in the Dark Vol. 2 (2000)Constant Shallowness Leads to Evil (2000)The Remote Viewer (2002)The Restitution of Decayed Intelligence (2003)Black Antlers (2004)The Ape of Naples (2005)The New Backwards'' (2008)

References

Citations

Bibliography

External links

 Coil at Brainwashed
 Threshold House online shop

 Interviews
 COIL Interview Collection
 Heathen Harvest Interview with Coil (1 April 2004)
 Stylus interview with Peter Christopherson. (12 April 2004)

 COIL – Robert Jelinek (Ed.) DER KONTERFEI 017 / Paperback /  (November 2015)

British industrial music groups
English electronic music groups
English experimental musical groups
Musical groups established in 1982
Musical groups from London
Ableton Live users
Musical groups disestablished in 2004
LGBT-themed musical groups
Dark ambient music groups
Neofolk music groups
1982 establishments in England
Wax Trax! Records artists
Some Bizzare Records artists
Soleilmoon artists


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