text:
9 Phenomenal White Tea Benefits To Improve Your Health
Most people are familiar with the classic true teas such as green, black and oolong, but there's actually a fourth true tea that recently gained popularity and scientific acclaim. White tea first emerged in Asia and achieved popularity in the West only in the last 200 years or so.
White tea is a true tea and the least processed, making it a delicate tea that packs a punch when it comes to health benefits. White tea benefits include preventing tooth decay, promoting healthy skin and hair and increased energy and alertness. Drinking a cup a day can help prevent things like the common cold and eliminate free radicals that can cause an array of ailments from acne to cancer.
What Is White Tea?
White tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant just like black tea, green tea and oolong tea. It is one fo the five tea types that are called true teas. Before the white tea leaves open, the buds are harvested for the production of white tea. These buds are usually covered by minuscule white hairs, which lend their name to tea. White tea is mainly harvested in the Fujian province of China, but there are also producers in Sri Lanka, India, Nepal and Thailand.
True teas all come from the leaves of the same plant, so the difference between teas is based on two things: the terroir (the region in which the plant is grown) and the production process.
One of the differences in the production process of each true tea is the amount of time the leaves are allowed to oxidize. Tea masters can roll, crush, roast, fire and steam leaves to aid in the oxidation process.
As mentioned, white tea is the most minimally processed of the true teas and thus doesn't undergo a long oxidation process. In contrast to the long oxidation process of black tea, which results in a dark, rich color, white teas simply wither and dry in the sun or a controlled environment to preserve the garden-fresh nature of the herb.
Since white tea is minimally processed, it features a delicate flavor profile with a soft finish and a pale yellow color. It has a slightly sweet flavor. When brewed properly, it doesn't have any bold or bitter taste. There are several different varietals, which have fruity, vegetal, spicy and floral hints.
Types of White Tea
There are two main types of white tea: Silver Needle and White Peony. However, there are several other white teas including Long Life Eyebrow and Tribute Eyebrow along with artisanal white teas such as Ceylon White, African White and Darjeeling White. Silver Needle and White Peony are considered to be the most superior when it comes to quality.
Silver Needle (Bai Hao Yinzhen)
The Silver Needle variety is the most delicate and fine white tea. It consists of only silver-colored buds about 30 mm in length and offers light, sweet flavor. The tea is made using only young leaves from the tea plant. Silver Needle white tea has a golden flush, floral aroma and a woodsy body.
White Peony (Bai Mu Dan)
White Peony is the second highest quality white tea and has a mixture of buds and leaves. In general, White Peony is made using the top two leaves. White Peony teas have a stronger taste profile than the Silver Needle type. Complex flavors blend flowery notes with a full-bodied feel and a slightly nutty finish. This white tea is also considered a good budget buy in comparison to Silver Needle as it is cheaper and still offers a fresh, robust flavor. White Peony tea is more pale green and gold than it's pricier alternative.
Health Benefits of White Tea
Many people struggle with skin irregularities such as acne, blemishes and discoloration. While most of these skin conditions are not dangerous or life threatening, they're still annoying and can lower confidence. White tea can help you achieve an even complexion thanks to antiseptic and antioxidant properties.
A study by the Kinsington University in London showed that white tea can protect skin cells from damage induced by hydrogen peroxide and other factors. Antioxidant-rich white tea also helps eliminate free radicals that can lead to signs of premature aging including pigmentation and wrinkles. The anti-inflammatory properties of white tea antioxidants can also help to reduce redness and inflammation caused by skin diseases such as eczema or dandruff (1).
Since acne is often caused by pollution and free radical build-up, drinking a cup of white tea once or twice daily can clear up skin. Alternatively, white tea can be used as a cleansing wash directly on the skin. You can also place a white tea bag directly on any trouble spots to speed up healing.
A 2005 study by Pastore Formulations showed that white tea can be beneficial for people who suffer from skin conditions including rosacea and psoriasis. This can be contributed to the epigallocatechin gallate present in white tea which helps produce new cells in the epidermis (2).
White tea contains high amounts of phenols, which can strengthen both collagen and elastin lending a smoother, more youthful appearance to skin. These two proteins are vital in creating strong skin and preventing wrinkles and can be found in a variety of skincare products.
2. Cancer Prevention
Studies have shown the strong connection between true teas and the potential for preventing or treating cancer. While studies are not conclusive, the health benefits of drinking white tea are largely attributed to the antioxidants and polyphenols on tea. Antioxidants in white tea can help build RNA and prevent the mutation of genetic cells that leads to cancer.
A study in 2010 found that antioxidants in white tea were more effective in preventing cancer than green tea. Researchers used white tea extract to target lung cancer cells in the lab and results demonstrated dose-dependent cell death. While studies are ongoing, these results show that white tea may help stop the proliferation of cancer cells and even contribute to the death of mutated cells (3).
3. Weight Loss
For many people, losing weight goes beyond just making a New Year's resolution; it's a real struggle to shed pounds and live longer and healthier. Obesity is one of the leading contributors to a shorter life span and losing weight is increasingly at the top of people's priorities.
Drinking white tea can help you achieve your weight loss goals by helping your body absorb nutrients more efficiently and shed pounds more easily by speeding up metabolism. A 2009 German study found that white tea can help burn stored body fat while also preventing the formation of new fat cells. Catechins found in white tea can also speed up digestive processes and help with weight loss (4).
Not only is white tea good for skin, it can also help establish healthy hair. The antioxidant called epigallocatechin gallate has been shown to enhance hair growth and prevent premature hair loss. EGCG has also shown promise when treating scalp skin diseases caused by bacteria that is resistant to common treatments (5).
White tea also naturally protects against sun damage, which can help keep hair from drying out in summer months. White tea can restore hair's natural shine and is best be used topically as a shampoo if you're looking to capitalize on shine.
5. Improves Calmness, Focus and Alertness
White tea has the highest concentration of L-theanine amongst the true teas. L-theanine is known for improving alertness and focus in the brain by inhibiting exciting stimuli that can lead to overactivity. By calming the stimuli in the brain, white tea can help you relax while also increasing focus (6).
This chemical compound has also shown positive health benefits when it comes to anxiety. L-theanine encourages the production of the neurotransmitter GABA, which has natural calming effects. The best part about drinking white tea is you can reap the benefits of increased alertness without the side effects of drowsiness or impairment that comes with prescription anxiety drugs.
White tea also contains a small amount of caffeine that can help jumpstart your day or offer a pick-me-up in the afternoon. On average, white tea contains about 28 mg of caffeine in every 8-ounce cup. That's far less than the average 98 mg in a cup of coffee and slightly less than the 35 mg in green tea. With lower caffeine content, you can drink several cups of white tea per day without the negative effects that strong cups of coffee can have. You can have three or four cups a day and not worry about feeling jittery or having insomnia.
6. Oral Health
White tea has high levels of flavonoids, tannins and fluorides that help teeth stay healthy and strong. Fluoride is popularly known as a tool in preventing tooth decay and is often found in toothpastes. Both tannins and flavonoids help to prevent the buildup of plaque that can cause tooth decay and cavities (7).
White tea also boasts antiviral and antibacterial properties that help keep teeth and gums healthy. To get the tooth health benefits of white tea, aim to drink two to four cups per day and re-steep tea bags to extract all of the nutrients and antioxidants.
7. Help Treat Diabetes
Diabetes is caused by genetic and lifestyle factors and is an increasing problem in the modern world. Fortunately, there are many ways to regulate and control diabetes and white tea is one of them.
Catechins in white tea along with other antioxidants have been shown to help prevent or regulate Type 2 diabetes. White tea effectively acts to inhibit the activity of the enzyme amylase that signals glucose absorption in the small intestine.
In people with Type 2 diabetes, this enzyme breaks down starches into sugars and can lead to blood sugar spikes. Drinking white tea can help regulate those spikes by blocking the production of amylase.
In a 2011 Chinese study, scientists found that regular consumption of white tea lowered blood glucose levels by 48 percent and increased insulin secretion. The study also showed that drinking white tea helped to alleviate polydipsia, which is a severe thirst caused by diseases such as diabetes (8).
8. Reduces Inflammation
The catechins and polyphenols in white tea boast anti-inflammatory properties that can help relieve minor aches and pains. A Japanese animal study published in the MSSE Journal showed that catechins found in white tea aided in quicker muscle recovery and less muscle damage (9).
White tea also improves circulation and delivers oxygen to the brain and organs. Because of this, white tea is effective in treating minor headaches and aches and pains from working out.
Having a healthy heart means living a longer and fuller life. With everything from diet and smoking to environmental factors contributing to heart health, it's important to take steps to prevent against chronic diseases. White tea helps protect healthy heart function and prevent illnesses including blood clots, stroke and heart attacks.
Since white tea is the least processed of true teas, it also contains the most antioxidants. Catechins in white tea may help lower blood pressure, improve circulation and lower the risk of heart disease. Antioxidants in white tea have also been shown to lower cholesterol levels, especially bad LDL cholesterol (10).
How To Brew White Tea
Step 1: Prepare the Leaves
For a tea made from buds: Use 2 teaspoons of tea for every 6 ounces of water
For a tea made from leaves: Use 2 tablespoons of tea for every 6 ounces of water
For a tea made from both buds and leaves (like White Peony): Use about 1 tablespoon of tea for every 6 ounces of water
Step 2: Boil the Water
For white tea, boil water to 170 F.
As with most teas, using pure, filtered water will result in better-tasting and more flavorful teas. You can use any type of water from tap to bottled or filtered, but avoid using distilled water since it can taste flat.
Step 3: Steep
Infuse for 30 seconds to 5 minutes depending on the type of tea and your personal taste preferences.
Buds take longer to steep than large leaves and small leaves steep the fastest. Taste the tea every 30 seconds to ensure proper flavor as over-steeping can lead to bitter flavors.
Drink White Tea for Health
White tea undergoes minimal processing methods to produce a delicate flavor. It is one of the five types of tea known as true teas.The tea is amde largely from young leaves and unopened buds of the tea bush. It's use dates back to the Song Dynasty and Chinese white teas are still considered the gold standard today. The most popular varieties are Da Bai (big leaf), Silver Needle, and White Peony.
Drinking a few cups of white tea every day can have a positive effect on your overall health. Along with the traditional health benefits of tea on your immune system, white tea can help prevent serious diseases such as cancer and heart attacks while keeping hair, skin and teeth healthy.
The best part about white tea is that many varieties are easy to find. You can buy white tea at your local grocery store or purchase through an online tea shop. Some varieties are widely available as a loose-leaf tea or in tea bags, while pure varieties such as Silver Needle require a little more effort to acquire in the U.S.
Drink to your health and sip a soothing, golden cup of white tea while basking in the health benefits.
2. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.696.8743&rep=rep1&type=pdf
3. https://nccih.nih.gov/research/results/spotlight/092110.htm
4. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/5254153/White-tea-may-help-combat-obesity-say-experts.html
6. http://www.lifeextension.com/Magazine/2016/3/Brain-Benefits-of-L-Theanine/Page-01
Tags: White Tea


Everyone agrees that there is need for a change in our current healthcare system. Millions of people¹s healthcare needs are being lost in the cracks of a flawed system and it is costing the government nearly $100 billion. This cost could be dramatically decreased if the uninsured people of this nation would seek preventative, not just palliative, care. Diseases and conditions cost the least to treat when discovered early, which can only be accomplished through regular, preventative care. There are many answers as to why uninsured Americans only seek medical care when absolutely necessary, but most of these reasons boil down to cost. In recent years the cost of healthcare has gone up astronomically and it can be traced to frivolous lawsuits. These lawsuits have forced some practitioners to pay a malpractice insurance annual premium of nearly $300,000, based solely on where they practice and their chosen specialty. The increase of malpractice premiums has had a threefold negative affect. One, to combat the increasing overhead cost of running a practice and the decreasing reimbursement rates, doctors are being forced to increase their fees. This rise creates a greater divide between those who can receive regular care and those who cannot. A second response to the increase in overhead costs is that doctors are being forced to see more and more patients per day just to break even. Patients are being ³herded² through offices and sometimes do not even see a medical doctor during their visit. One particular office I worked in, an orthopaedic surgeon¹s office, saw seventy to ninety patients per day!
Things can be overlooked and mistakes can be made when that patient volume is seen. Lastly, many excellent physicians are hanging up the stethoscope in frustration of a failing system where insurance companies and lawyers dictate what will be done.
I am not saying that physicians should not held accountable. If a medical practitioner does something that harms their patient, they should take ownership of their actions. The Governor¹s veto of SB 55, if not overturned, opens the door for more frivolous lawsuits that will raise the cost of healthcare in Kansas even more. If we are serious about reforming the healthcare system, we must choose a practical starting point. I believe that starting point should be overturning the Governor¹s veto on SB 55.


text:
In the bifurcation theory, a bounded oscillation that is born without loss of stability of stationary set is called a hidden oscillation. In nonlinear control theory, the birth of a hidden oscillation in a time-invariant control system with bounded states means crossing a boundary, in the domain of the parameters, where local stability of the stationary states implies global stability (see, e.g. Kalman's conjecture). If a hidden oscillation (or a set of such hidden oscillations filling a compact subset of the phase space of the dynamical system) attracts all nearby oscillations, then it is called a hidden attractor. For a dynamical system with a unique equilibrium point that is globally attractive, the birth of a hidden attractor corresponds to a qualitative change in behaviour from monostability to bi-stability. In the general case, a dynamical system may turn out to be multistable and have coexisting local attractors in the phase space. While trivial attractors, i.e. stable equilibrium points, can be easily found analytically or numerically, the search of periodic and chaotic attractors can turn out to be a challenging problem (see, e.g. the second part of Hilbert's 16th problem).

Classification of attractors as being hidden or self-excited
To identify a local attractor in a physical or numerical experiment, one needs to choose an initial system's state in attractor's basin of attraction and observe how the system's state, starting from this initial state, after a transient process, visualizes the attractor.  The classification of attractors as being hidden or self-excited reflects the difficulties of revealing basins of attraction and searching for the local attractors in the phase space.

Definition.
An attractor is called a hidden attractor if its basin of attraction does not intersect with a certain open neighbourhood of equilibrium points; otherwise it is called a self-excited attractor.

The classification of attractors as being hidden or self-excited was introduced by G. Leonov and N. Kuznetsov in connection with the discovery of the hidden Chua attractor
for the first time in 2009 year. Similarly, an arbitrary bounded oscillation, not necessarily having an open neighborhood as the basin of attraction in the phase space, is classified as a self-excited or hidden oscillation.

Self-excited attractors
For a self-excited attractor, its basin of attraction is connected with an unstable equilibrium and, therefore, the self-excited attractors can be found numerically by a standard computational procedure in which after a transient process, a trajectory, starting in a neighbourhood of an unstable equilibrium, is attracted to the state of oscillation and then traces it (see, e.g. self-oscillation process). Thus, self-excited attractors, even coexisting in the case of multistability, can be easily revealed and visualized numerically. In the Lorenz system, for classical parameters, the attractor is self-excited with respect to all existing equilibria, and can be visualized by any trajectory from their vicinities; however, for some other parameter values there are two trivial attractors coexisting with a chaotic attractor, which is a self-excited one with respect to the zero equilibrium only. Classical attractors in Van der Pol, Beluosov–Zhabotinsky, Rössler, Chua, Hénon dynamical systems are self-excited.

A conjecture is that the Lyapunov dimension of a self-excited attractor does not exceed the Lyapunov dimension of one of the unstable equilibria, the unstable manifold of which intersects with the basin of attraction and visualizes the attractor.

Hidden attractors
Hidden attractors have basins of attraction which are not connected with equilibria and are "hidden" somewhere in the phase space. For example, the hidden attractors are attractors in the systems without equilibria: e.g. rotating electromechanical dynamical systems with Sommerfeld effect (1902), in the systems with only one equilibrium, which is stable: e.g. counterexamples to the Aizerman's conjecture (1949) and Kalman's conjecture (1957) on the monostability of nonlinear control systems. One of the first related theoretical problems is the second part of Hilbert's 16th problem on the number and mutual disposition of limit cycles in two-dimensional polynomial systems where the nested stable limit cycles are hidden periodic attractors. The notion of a hidden attractor has become a catalyst for the discovery of hidden attractors in many applied dynamical models.

In general, the problem with hidden attractors is that there are no general straightforward methods to trace or predict such states for the system's dynamics (see, e.g.). While for two-dimensional systems, hidden oscillations can be investigated using analytical methods (see, e.g., the results on the second part of Hilbert's 16th problem), for the study of stability and oscillations in complex nonlinear multidimensional systems, numerical methods are often used.
In the multi-dimensional case the integration of trajectories with random initial data is unlikely to provide a localization of a hidden attractor, since a basin of attraction may be very small, and the attractor dimension itself may be much less than the dimension of the considered system.
Therefore, for the numerical localization of hidden attractors in multi-dimensional space, it is necessary to develop special analytical-numerical computational procedures, which allow one to choose initial data in the attraction domain of the hidden oscillation (which does not contain neighborhoods of equilibria), and then to perform trajectory computation.
There are corresponding effective methods based on
homotopy and numerical continuation: a sequence of similar systems is constructed, such that
for the first (starting) system, the initial data for numerical computation of an oscillating solution
(starting oscillation) can be obtained analytically, and then the transformation of this starting oscillation in the transition from one system to another is followed numerically.

Theory of hidden oscillations

The classification of attractors as self-exited or hidden ones was a fundamental
premise for the emergence of the theory of hidden oscillations, which represents
the modern development of Andronov's theory of oscillations.
It is key to determining the exact boundaries of the global stability,
parts of which are classified by N. Kuznetsov as trivial (i.e., determined
by local bifurcations) or as hidden (i.e., determined by non-local bifurcations
and by the birth of hidden oscillations).

References

Books
	Chaotic Systems with Multistability and Hidden Attractors (Eds.: Wang, Kuznetsov, Chen), Springer, 2021 (doi:10.1007/978-3-030-75821-9)
 Nonlinear Dynamical Systems with Self-Excited and Hidden Attractors (Eds.: Pham,  Vaidyanathan, Volos et al.), Springer, 2018 (doi:10.1007/978-3-319-71243-7)

Selected lectures
 N.Kuznetsov, Invited lecture The theory of hidden oscillations and stability of dynamical systems, Int. Workshop on Applied Mathematics, Czech Republic, 2021
 Afraimovich Award's plenary lecture: N. Kuznetsov The theory of hidden oscillations and stability of dynamical systems. Int. Conference on Nonlinear Dynamics and Complexity, 2021

Dynamical systems
Oscillation
Chaos theory
Nonlinear systems
Hidden oscillation

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


As Congress embarks on long-promised comprehensive tax reform, we encouraged Senate and House members to enhance and expand charitable giving incentives like the charitable tax deduction. And we cautioned them on the implications of limiting these incentives, whether those limitations are imposed intentionally or consequentially – charitable giving will decline.
"I love charity" is not enough.
It comes as no surprise that our lawmakers really like philanthropy and charities. After all, our organizations help their constituents and enhance lives in the communities they represent. But, as I learned, we can't presume that this affection for charities equates to a full or accurate understanding of the issues and complexities of our work, let alone comprehension of how tax policy changes influence us.
Over the past eight years, since President Obama first proposed to cap itemized deductions (which includes the charitable deduction) to raise federal revenues, Members of Congress heard a constant drumbeat from charities – "don't limit the charitable deduction!" But in tax reform, the playing field has changed and proposals are different. For example, today, a little more than 30% of taxpayers itemize their deductions and can therefore take the charitable tax deduction. And, over 80% of all charitable contributions are made by that 30% of taxpayers. Why is this important? Because several tax reform proposals would simplify the tax code, raise the amount of the standard deduction, and allow far more taxpayers to take the standard deduction rather than itemize. I think most people support a simpler tax code, but there's a consequence . . . under these scenarios, only 5% of taxpayers would itemize. So, only 5% of taxpayers would have the charitable deduction available to them, and charitable giving could severely decline.
Beyond limiting the number of taxpayers eligible for the deduction, several proposed scenarios would keep a charitable giving incentive, but with limitations. For example, taxpayers could receive the incentive only if they reached a threshold level of giving (a "floor"), or would receive the incentive only up to a certain level (a "cap"). Both would result in significant declines in charitable giving. Study after study show that charitable giving would decline by billions of dollars annually if floors or caps are imposed.
One major objective of our meetings on Capitol Hill was to introduce a different option and collect feedback – we proposed a "universal charitable deduction." Just like other proposals, the devil would be in the details here, too, and our reconnaissance helps us finetune the plan. But the basic tenant is simple: Congress should enact a tax incentive that is not tied to itemizing deductions. If it were broadly available, it would increase giving, in terms of both dollars and donors, increase fairness by treating all taxpayers' contributions equally, and provide modest tax relief to middle- and lower-income taxpayers.
Both Congressional leaders and the Trump administration have identified a comprehensive overhaul of both the corporate and individual tax codes as a priority for 2017. And, both aim to get things done by late summer. While they all may share a goal, there doesn't seem to be much agreement on how to get over the finish line. Tax reform could take considerably longer – maybe the end of 2017 or even beyond.
Despite this longer timeline, I'm confident that our meetings were timely and important. First, senior staff on the Congressional committees that handle tax issues are writing the legislation now. While Members of Congress may be debating big issues, like how to level the playing field for American corporations, a lot of other issues are easier to resolve and get on paper. Second, every industry and every group that has something to say about tax reform is on Capitol Hill making its case – so we need to be there, too. It's a very noisy time, and the charitable sector must be part of the conversation and help shape solutions on tax provisions that directly impact our future.
My meetings reminded me of this simple truth – our Members of Congress are more likely to help us if we continually tell them who we are and what we do every single day in their states and districts. Without us, their lives and the lives of their constituents would be very different. I believe we take for granted that our lawmakers know us well. This is not often true. We bear the responsibility to educate, engage and inspire them, preparing our lawmakers to champion good tax policy that expands charitable giving and supports the broad, diverse charitable sector.


text:
DPRP.net • CD & DVD Reviews • 2015 • 019: North-American Special
Issue 2015-019: North-American Special
Published: Sunday 15 March 2015
The Boogeymen - Ordinary
Record Label: BrOkEn ReCoRdS
Catalogue #: n/a
Info: The Boogeymen
Samples: The Boogeymen website
Ignorance is a Disease (3:18), Rare Earth (3:00), Promise (Ben Howard cover) (5:04), Confined (3:38), Abnormality (1:33), Derp (2:44), Assturdoid (4:10), Mister Vixen (3:04), Mastering Mediocrity (3:51), Ordinary (4:07), Diffused (2:42)
'Homemade'. That usually stands for traditional, well known and crafted in a certain way through the ages. Yet when you combine that thought with a band name as frightening as The Boogeymen, what then might we expect? The cover shows a person in a straightjacket clearly in an isolation ward. That, if anything, adds to the wonder that the album holds. Kevin Heckeler is the main man and multi-instrumentalist behind the name, yet he has his friend Scott Watts joining him on vocals.
One of the previous albums by The Boogeymen got reviewed by DPRP (read it here) and it must be said that you would expect The Boogeymen to never ever again submit a review to us. Still, Kevin did, and from listening to this album and the music that The Boogeymen have made between that EP and this release, it is clear that the prog flag has clearly been raised over their music.
Thus, can we expect any references to classic prog or perhaps prog metal here? Well, no. Even though The Boogeymen have their very own version of the Moody Blues's classic Question, which may be found here, their music is actually far more lo-fi than anything you have encountered in the world of prog.
That might just be the charm that The Boogeymen bring to the fore. Here it is not about high production values, but it is all about the music. The music has alternative, heavy and sometimes punky influences, yet in the variation of time signatures and the subtle additions of keyboard sounds, there is more prog than punk to them. I think Kevin may just have found a niche of his own for The Boogeymen, in it being lo-fi alt prog. You might be inclined to think that prog music has to match up to modern-day studio efforts, but what if the essence of the songs is what it the music is all about?
Agreed, you might think that an outside producer could do a lot about how the music sounds. Yet, what I find most striking about this album is that the songs draw you in to listen. Kevin went on record as saying: "I write with the music being the backbone, and vocals are merely added to deliver a message or add something nominal to the overall composition. Don't look here if you expect earth shattering vocals." It may indeed be that the songs carry his musical message more than the vocals do. That might be supported by the fact that he writes quite a lot of instrumental tracks as well.
If you are interested in giving music that does not easily fit into this-or-that drawer of the prog world, and if your music doesn't necessarily have to be orchestrated or produced to the top level, if alternative music suits you just as much hard rock, and if you feel that humour belongs in music, then The Boogeymen might be for you. Even though this may not yet be their magnum opus, Kevin Heckeler definitely has a feel for making adventurous music as Assturdoid clearly shows. Beauty sometimes is in the ear of the beholder.
Marcel Hartenberg: 7.5 out of 10
Cailyn - Voyager
Record Label: Land of Oz music
Catalogue #: CLO82014
Info: Cailyn
Samples: Cailyn on Bandcamp
Voyager (4:21), Lo (3:38), Europa (3:10), Jupiter (5:40), Titan (3:49), Saturn (5:15), Enceladus (2:14), Miranda (3:55), Uranus (4:25), Ariel (2:12), Triton (3:38), Neptune (5:21), Pale Blue Dot (3:43), Heliopause (4:36).
Two years on from her first real progressive release (Four Pieces), Cailyn Lloyd returns with Voyager, a series of instrumental pieces inspired by the locations visited by the NASA voyager spacecraft, plus music from Gustav Holst's seven-movement orchestral suite The Planets, as revisited and re-imagined by the Wisconsin-based musician.
When I reviewed Four Pieces back in 2012 I posed the question as to whom this music was aimed, being too rock-derived to meet the acclaim of the classical purist or the crossover market. However with this release Cailyn seems to have come down firmly on the side of rock music. Indeed these pieces would appeal greatly to admirers of Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and even Yngwie Malmsteem, whilst still attracting interest from prog fans.
One thing that is certainly not in question, is the tremendous passion, skill and sheer musicality with which Cailyn embraces this rather astonishing music. The opening and title track is a case in point, starting with moody, atmospheric keyboards and featuring some dazzling guitar runs, as the piece builds and builds with some fabulous bass parts and fine drum fills. Finally a dynamic guitar break fades to chorus voices. It still has semi-classical overtones but it holds enough interest.
Europa features some lovely and laid-back guitar parts. Cailyn has rained in her skills, and rather than shred-away she has chosen to restrain herself in what she plays here, and it works excellently. A classic case of less is more.
Jupiter, the first of the four Holst tracks, (the others being Saturn, Uranus and Neptune) takes the familiar Jupiter theme and adds a far more bluesy tone to proceedings, which really works well.
In fact as throughout this disc, Cailyn has shown great imagination in how these pieces are interpreted, by wisely choosing to leave the melody that became I vow to thee my country intact, and only adding a soaring guitar melody at the end of the piece. In fact the guitar line she plays greatly underlines and shows what a simply astounding melody this piece possesses.
The other Holst pieces are of a similar standard and show great respect for that masterful and admired work In between the Holst pieces are her own compositions, all of which fit very well and are a pleasure to listen to. As always the more you play them the more you appreciate the craft that they possess, and the talent Ms Lloyd possesses.
This is a very mature yet accessible work, and I would suggest that if great guitar playing is your thing, then there is much to enjoy within these grooves. She has progressed significantly since the first disc. In addition this album has a simply astounding gatefold sleeve, and very interesting sleeve notes about the Voyager mission itself. A fine album by any standards.
John Wenlock-Smith: 7.5 out of 10
District 97 with John Wetton - One More Red Night
Record Label: Primary Purpose
Catalogue #: PP002CD
Info: District 97
Samples: District 97 website
One More Red Nightmare (4:41), The Great Deceiver (3:38), Lament (4:19), The Night Watch (5:31), Fallen Angel (5:47), Book of Saturday (3:07), 21st Century Schizoid Man (5:25), Starless (4:47), Easy Money (5:27).
John Wetton has long declared District 97 to be one of the bright hopes for progressive rock and so it was unsurprising that he would elect to join them to revisit some of his King Crimson back pages. Recorded live in Chicago in October 2013, this brief (42 minutes) CD is the result of that collaboration, and it is a decent portrayal of these classic pieces
The songs are taken from the Larks Tongues In Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red albums, along with the obligatory run through of 21st Century Schizoid Man. District 97 does a fine job of recreating the dense sound of mid 70s King Crimson.
What is different is the shared lead vocals of John Wetton and Leslie Hunt, as this brings a slightly different tone to proceedings. Generally speaking the songs remain pretty much as played by the original Crimson incarnates, except One More Red Nightmare and Starless which are shorter, the latter song being only about 40% of the original running time. That is a shame, as in its full version it is an epic, grandiose piece and one that D97 could do real justice to.
Overall this is a good, solid but not utterly spectacular album, but as a stop-gap between the Machines album and their new Kickstarter-funded release, it will appeal to those who follow D97 or who care to revisit these lesser-performed Crimson songs afresh. Really it should be longer and there should be more improvisation by the band, as improv' was what made the mid 70s version of KC so formidable and intriguing live.
So this is a bit of a missed opportunity, however it is good to hear a young band taking the chance and covering this music and the presence of Mr Wetton adds gravitas and credibility to the proceedings. So bring on the new District 97 album and we will see how that one fares.
Eccentric Orbit - Creation of the Humanoids
Record Label: independent
Info: Eccentric Orbit
Samples: Eccentric Orbit website
Breaking Osiris (7:04), Stellar Attraction (5:38), Creation of the Humanoids (part 1: Atomic War, part 2: Rise of the Robots, part 3: The Order of Flesh and Blood, part 4: In Rapport, part 5: Perfect Machines) (19:38), Marilyn Monrobot (5:07), By Air Express to Venus (9:32)
Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages... Oh no, wait this is not Trekkie territory around here. Here we have a universe created by those magnificent men and woman that already sent us into space with their Attack of the Martians album, reviewed here.
The line-up of the band has changed, partly due to the untimely passing of the band's original drummer Mark Cella. He is still missed, having played an important role in the band. Apart from introducing a new man on the drums, the band has added Tom Benson, who plays violin, guitar synth and the ever popular MandoBot.
The cover of the album takes us into vintage sci-fi movie territory, and a closer look at the track titles does the same. Opener Breaking Osiris comes with an Eastern flavour, yet this does not hark back to the times of the Egyptian pharaohs, it is all about Hubble images. Space and sci-fi are the central themes.
The band sure know their ELP and their King Crimson. Yet what they have succeed in, is to build on trademarks such as the grumbling bass, as much as the great vintage key sounds and the violin parts, as any lover of either of those bands would want them to. Their music is not simply a 1 + 1 of the music of these bands. What we have here is firmly rooted in the mystery that the sci-fi movies of old hold. The songs put that feel, that vibe into music. The richness in the keys is one of the main ingredients here, varied and spicy, as you might expect a meal to be produced from fusion cooking.
Both drummers are featured on the album and it is a great testimony to Mark Cella that his follow-up is a great drummer as well. What Bill Noland does with his bass is simply stunning, as Stellar Attraction easily shows. This is a song in which the whole of the band excel. Not that the other songs on this album are any less compelling, it is just the amazing bass part in the second track that left me stunned. As for bass sounds, wait for the opening seconds of the epic Creation of the Humanoids. As Madeleine Noland shows around the 1:50 mark, there might be some ELP vibe left in this band, but hey, this is far more than a tribute band could ever be.
It would be one great adventure to hear this music played live, yet picturing this band perform these great instrumental tracks in a vintage sci fi movie setting, already works miracles. If you like your prog to be heavy on keyboards, with a sense of humour in there as well, and by a band that builds their own musical landscapes as they go along, this might be your ideal trip into space.
FM - 2006 Nearfest
Format: CD / DVD
Record Label: Esoteric Antenna
Catalogue #: EANTCD 21038
Info: FM
Samples: FM website
Planet Vega (5:20), Phasor on Stun (4:16), One O Clock Tomorrow (6:15), Journey (5:23), Slaughter in Robot Village (5:07), Aldebaran (5:24), Shapes of Things (3:50), 7th Heaven (5:44), Sofa Back (5:02), Trial By Fire (12:27), Black Noise (10:20), Surface to Air (10:14).
Many years ago in the golden age of vinyl it was not uncommon to come across a batch of Import Cut Out LPs that had been imported for sale outside of the USA or Canada. I distinctly recall buying a couple of FM albums. I probably played them a little and then promptly forgot about them, an experience not uncommon to many I suspect.
So leap forward about 30 years to 2014 and those lovely people at Esoteric have dug deep and not only re-released the Black Noise and Surveillance albums on CD but they have also secured this rather splendid CD and DVD set of a re-formed FM's appearance at Nearfest from 2006.
What I wasn't prepared for, was how damn good this sounded all those years later. This is just wonderful.
FM never set the world alight musically, but on the basis of this set that is our loss. This has echoes of 80s Power Windows-era Rush and other bands of that time. It is primarily very keyboard-based, with the unusual addition of electric violin and electric mandolin, which add a very different dynamic to proceedings.
It's a good mixture of instrumentals, vocal pieces and short and lengthier pieces, all of which are very worthy indeed. There are some great musical passages, nippy synth lines, and great work from all musicians. It's very atmospheric at times, and as it's live, it sounds really together. Considering they had not played a gig for years, this is a major accomplishment.
Both the CD and the DVD have the same tracks and there are no "extras" on the DVD. But the filming is crisp and unobtrusive, giving a great representation of what was a triumphant return by FM..
This is music that has a stately majesty and class to it, and whilst it may not break any new ground, it is a very satisfying listen. A lot of the lyrics are quite sci–fi related, not that that is a bad thing. Singer Cameron Hawkins bears a passing resemblance to a lower register Jon Anderson, but it is the consistently interesting and accomplished playing, especially Claudio Vena, which elevates this release to being something pretty damn special.
Tracks like Planet Vega, One O Clock Tomorrow and Aldebaran remind me of why I love this genre of music. We have vast, emotive soundscapes that transport you elsewhere, with excellent lyrics and musicianship to boot.
The only thing that doesn't quite work for me is the reworking of Shapes of Things. It is a good cover version but not of the same calibre as their own material and is a tad superfluous to requirements.
The final trilogy is made up of epic songs, all being ten-plus minutes long and each being very different. Trial by Fire opens with moody extended violin sweeps and a gentle vocal, before more sinister keyboards are added to the mix. There is a nice crisp bass on this too. Black Noise follows, telling the tale of an epic struggle, and featuring some fabulous violin from Claudio, epic keyboards from Cameron and fine drum fills from Martin Dellar.
The set is concluded with Surface to Air, which opens with keyboards and a thumping bass, before a soaring synth leads a merry path to Cameron's vocal. What I like about these longer pieces is the room allowed to develop themes and stretch out a little. That said, FM have an economy of style where every note adds to the overall song, taking each piece to a higher level whilst still retaining a grasp of melody. A lot of bands could learn from these stellar performances by these veteran musicians.
This truly is a fascinating release and a great memento of what was a very special evening. So if keyboard-based prog is your thing, then you will find much to enjoy here and I heartily recommend it as a very enjoyable way to pass 80 minutes of your time.
John Wenlock-Smith: 9 out of 10
Heliopolis - City of the Sun
Record Label: 10T
Catalogue #: 10T10078
Info: Heliopolis
Samples: Heliopolis on 10T Records website
New Frontier (10:12), Take a Moment (8:56), Mr. Wishbone (3:31), Elegy (6:07), Love and Inspiration (14:05)
Formed in Los Angeles in the summer of 2012, rather than head straight into the studio, Heliopolis set up their stall in the proper way, with a series of live shows to fine tune their direction and songwriting.
It's a band with a decent track record, comprised of former members of progressive rock acts Mars Hollow, Ten Jinn and Genesis tribute Gabble Ratchet. Heliopolis features Jerry Beller (drums and vocals), Matt Brown (keyboards and vocals), Kerry Chicoine (bass and vocals), Mike Matier (guitars), and Scott Jones (voice). Two years of crafting has created a debut based on four high-energy long songs, which sandwich an instrumental.
It's not a long album but it has all the elements of contemporary, yet classically-based symphonic progressive rock. The soloing is extensive and relies heavily on the keyboards. The four part vocals are another key element. It is immediately identifiable as (north) American, very much in the vein of Mars Hollow, Spocks Beard, Mystery and Rush, with earlier influences from Yes and in places King Crimson.
The opening two tracks take their basis from Yes, Mystery and Rush. The very, very busy drums and bass carry the entire rhythm and riff, the keyboards dominate the solos, with the guitars used to add detail. Rarely on the album to the two solo instruments play against each other. They tend to just do their own thing. There is very little riffage from either.
Take a Moment is my favourite track on this disc, but both openers always seem to go very quickly. A great first half of the album.
Everything but the drums on the short Crimson-esque instrumental Mr Wishbone is played by Mike Matier. It's a filler really. A chance to take a break and get a half-time burger.
The second half however is a disappointment. Elegy doesn't quite work. It plods, lacking the spark and invention of the opening pair. It's too safe and twee, in the way of Neil Morse's ballads. Where the first two songs speed by, this drags.
We are in Spocks Beard territory for the longest and final track. But this also fails to ignite. The guitars seem to have gone AWOL and it is just too polite for my tastes.
On City of The Sun Heliopolis has shown they have the ingredients to produce a great modern prog album, but seem to have run out of steam after the break. I feel that much more should be made of the four-part harmonies, and the guitar needs to play a much stronger role. The final two tracks are just crying out for a good old-fashioned guitar-keyboard duel to add a bit of balls to it all. At times the guitar is buried in the mix and at others it just doesn't seem to be doing much.
For those who enjoy the sweeter side of contemporary American sympho prog, then this is well worth checking out, especially the first two tracks, which after all do occupy half the album. A promising start.
Andy Read: 7 out of 10
Last Scattering - Eidolon
Format: download
Record Label: Ghost Vision Records
Info: Last Scattering
Samples: Last Scattering on Bandcamp
A Thousand Khets (2:01), Compound Fiasco (9:14), GibGib (8:21), The Construct (1:24), Black Birdies (12:24), Obscenificator (9:18), Mystic Pizza (2:13), Matt Damon (18:13)
Eidolon is the debut release from Canadian progressive metal band Last Scattering. The band cite many contemporaries as major influences, such as Between the Buried and Me, Periphery and Protest the Hero. However, to me this sounds exactly like an album Between the Buried and Me could have made. The 'circus death metal' style of that band can be heard throughout this album, as well as a very similar style of screaming.
In terms of style, this scores low points when it comes to originality. But during this careful study of Between the Buried and Me's style, the band score maximum points when it comes to adventurous composition and playing skill. Instrumentally, these musicians pull off the crazy, syncopated riffs and rhythms, as well as their influences do. But more importantly, the compositions (as crazy as they may get) make sense more often than not. There are numerous catchy grooves and riffs, and certainly not every second is impenetrable in its complexity. A jazz fusion influence pops up here and there, and it's wonderfully developed.
Some of the highlights on the album include the shorter songs (which are still around nine minutes long) Compound Fiasco and GibGib, and the epics Black Birdies and Matt Damon. These tracks feature the most head-banging parts and wild guitar solos, as well as some more subdued jazzy exercises.
With so many creative twists and turns, it's a joy to hear that Last Scattering never lose the main thread that runs throughout many of these songs. Most of all, this is incredibly intense and epic music. Luckily, they haven't forgotten to include some clean, calming parts in order for the listener to catch some breath once in a while.
Areas in need of improvement include the production and the clean vocals. The bass and the guitars sound really good, but the drum recording, while not bad, doesn't quite match up to that kind of sonic quality. Vocally, as good as the screaming is, the clean vocals often sound like an afterthought and aren't as strong as they should be. I have a feeling the band must be aware of this, and I have no doubt that the second album - which is already in the making - will see some kind of progress in that department.
I cannot give this the DPRP recommended tag, primarily because of the huge contrast in quality when the clean vocals appear. Everything else is spot on. It's incredibly ambitious, focused and realised for a debut. I hope that their next creation will benefit from the expertise of a producer/engineer with an ear for tone. The results should be amazing with the talent on board.
If you enjoy the ridiculously fast, intricate and harsh progressive metal of the aforementioned bands, then by all means give this one a listen. If your liking of (progressive) death metal stops around Opeth, first check out the bands mentioned at the start of the review to see if you dig the style.
Karel Witte: 7.5 out of 10
Lotus Thief - Rervm
Record Label: Svart Records
Info: Lotus Thief
Samples: Lotus Thief on Bandcamp
Aeternvm (8:28), Miseras (8:57), Discere Credas (7:50), Lvx (8:57), Discordia (7:45), Mortalis (6:58)
Lotus Thief is a female/male duo from San Francisco consisting of Bezaelith (bass, guitar, synth, vocals and lyrics) and Otrebor (drums). Rervm is their full length debut.
They describe themselves, intriguingly as 'text metal'. The reason for this, I assume, is that the six songs here are each based on one of the six books of De Rerum Natura by Titus Lucretius Carus, a Roman poet of the 1st century BC. Lotus Thief's sound uses doom-laden, metallic riffs with touches of space-rock, and atmospheric, ambient sounds. Mix them together and ta-da, 'text metal'. So far so prog, at least in the concept.
However things start to go wrong quite quickly, once you get down to the music. A major problem is the production. Now it may just be the mp3 files sent for review, but the sound is full of bass boom which dominates each track. Only every so often does an instrument emerge from this, to capture one's attention. This is nothing to do with the musicianship, as both players are obviously talented and Bezaelith is not a poor singer, but the production makes the vocal lines, solo or multi-layered (with pleasingly odd harmonies), seem passionless and rather dull.
The music itself moves from the pummeling-aggressive (Miseras), to a track with tempo-changes (Discere Credas), and onto interesting vocal arrangements (Lvx). There is even a bit of heavy Hawkwind-style space-rock (Mortalis). But my attention drifted, due to the murky mix which makes the songs so similar. This is not helped by the long, ambient outros to each song. These can take upwards of three minutes to drift by, before the next pummeling starts. I must have been annoyed by this, because I worked out that the album contains 13 minutes or so of this nonsense, which gets very wearing.
I'm sorry that I cannot be more positive about this album from this obviously talented duo.
Martin Burns: 4 out of 10
Peter Matuchniak - Destiny
Record Label: Melodic Revolution
Catalogue #: MRR CD 22108
Info: Peter Matuchniak
Samples: Peter Matuchniak on Melodic Revolution website
Destiny (2:52), Product (8:27), Spies (3:47), Oyster Club (5:43), Tunnel (2:53), Go Fast (2:03), Go Slow (5:25), Island (7:20), Reprisal (5:32), Chaos (1:23), Victory (6:57)
It has been a couple of years since Peter Matuchniak's last solo release, the highly regarded Uncover Me. For someone who is not a full time musician, Peter is involved in several bands which are broadly associated with the wide church of progressive rock.
Evolve IV (2008) was sculpted over the internet by four individuals who shared a common prog interest, whilst Gekko Projekt (2012) had less focus on the guitar, mainly due to the band's keyboard player having a major role in composing. Although neither band has yet to release a sophomore album, Matuchniak keeps his musical muse satisfied with solo activity. It is far from a lonely endeavour, as his musical ensemble comprises no less than nine musicians.
Aside from Matuchniak himself, playing all the guitars and adding some vocals, there is able support from: Paul Mouradjian, a Berklee College music school graduate, on keyboards; drummer and vocalist Scott Connor, who performs alongside ex-Yes members Tony Kaye and Billy Sherwood in the band Circa; Steve Bonino on bass and vocals, Natalie Azerad a French jazz singer with an amazing voice (it is no surprise that she nails The Great Gig In The Sky in a Pink Floyd tribute band), brass and wind is provided by JoJo Nakano on saxophone and David Gilman on clarinet; with further vocal support provide by Ted Zahn and Alyssa Matuchniak, a new generation of Matuchniak musicians.
Whereas previous releases on which Matuchniak featured were all of a high quality, none were without minor flaws or lacked that essential something to lift the album to the next level. However, with Destiny that threshold has been reached and surpassed.
This is largely due to the variety in the music and the talents of the supporting players, with a whole lot of credit going to Natalie Azerad whose jazz background adds a new and authentic dimension to the music. However, this is not to diminish the achievements of the main man, who was solely responsible for composing and arranging all but three tracks, as well as engineering the recordings and producing it.
The three co-compositions, by the core group of Matuchniak, Mouradjian, Bonino and Connor, include the short numbers Tunnel with a nice and crisp guitar sound, Chaos, a marvelously-crazy instrumental, and the album's longest track Product with its soaring guitar, ethereal backing vocals and a whole host of tempo changes and styles that make it a bona fide prog gem.
Elsewhere the album reaches peaks on the lovely Spies, with its heavenly lead vocals (by daughter Alyssa) and haunting clarinet. Also on the lyrically funny Oyster Club which reminds me, particularly in the chorus, of a 30-year-old Janysium number. (As an aside: Matuchniak should re-release the Janysium music one day, even if only a download. My old cassette tape gave out years ago. Not that the music could be termed long lost classics, but it had an honest naivety, and the songs I can remember, although can't guarantee the titles are 100% correct, Honest Policies, Iron Lung, Hippy In The Rain, and A Bit Of Nothing Really... would be worth hearing again).
Island is a mature piece of music that would fail most prog tests, but fits in well with the rest of the album, particularly the guitar playing, both electric and acoustic, which is of a high standard throughout the album and the keyboard and clarinet coda which rounds the piece off nicely. Victory pulls everything together in a rousing finale that is a musical tour de force that many more established acts would be delighted to have in their repertoire, even if the faux reggae interlude is a bit cheesy.
It is a very long time since I first heard the Janysium/Mach One tape that was sent to the prog revival and erstwhile Genesis fanzine Afterglow in the hope of a decent review. Many, nay most, of the bands and musicians whose first tentative steps were highlighted in that fanzine, have fallen by the wayside, becoming footnotes in musical history. So it is good that some have persisted and are still enjoying making music. The fact that after all this time, Matuchniak is still exploring new avenues and, what is more, producing his best work to date, is an inspiration to us all.
Mark Hughes: 8 out of 10
Supernal Endgame - Touch The Sky Vol 2
Record Label: 10T Records
Info: Supernal Endgame
Samples: Supernal Endgame on 10T Records website
Supernal One (Immanence and Transcendence) (4:40), Different Stage (11:30), Again and Again (5:00), Eden's Song (14:06), S.O.S (Save Me) (5:26), Immutable (5:31), White Flag (10:00), Dischord n' Datchord (2:08), Swim In Your Ocean (5:46), Orwelled (0:28), The Endgame (15:13)
Supernal Endgame hail from Dallas, Texas and offer an engaging and sprightly blend of symphonic neo-progressive rock that is just brimming with hooks and solos.
Now a quintet, the band first emerged four years ago with a confident debut album (or "worship project") entitled Touch the Sky. It won them a positive welcome from prog fans in the USA. They have now signed to 10T Records and will undoubtedly gain a wider following with this second volume of Touch the Sky.
Lying somewhere in between Spocks Beard and Enchant, this is a very American-sounding prog album. Bright in its tone and delivery, all the songs have a clear vocal melody, yet also extensive instrumental sections, with the keyboards firmly to the front of the mix.
All the members contribute vocals, with Rob Price and John Eargle sharing the central parts, in a similar way as is done on the Enchant albums. On the whole the vocals are impressive, although here and there they take a different pitch or phrasing to the one I expect, not always in a positive way.
There is a very clear spiritual basis for the lyrics, which some may find too preachy and obvious, and a couple of the tracks tread a very fine line with their levels of prog cliché and rock cheesiness (Again and Again). There is nothing new or remarkable here, but I have to admit it is a darn good listen, and all delivered with great passion, belief and love for the music. Different Stage is one of many highlights.
On paper, of the two 10T albums I've reviewed in this edition, I was expecting to be giving the Heliopolis a more enthusiastic review. However despite its flaws, I think this is the album I will come back to more often.
Syzygy - Chaos And Cosmos (2015)
Record Label: www.syzygymusic.com
Catalogue #: 8 27770-11233 3
Year of Release: 1984 / 2014
Info: Syzygy
Samples: Syzygy on Myspace
Cosmos (1:18), Poetry In B Minor (For Solo Piano) (1:15), Guitar Etude No. 1 (D Major) (2:21), Guitar Etude No. 2 (G Major) (4:10), Tautology (For Guitar & Bass) (3:55),	The Tone Row (For Keyboard & Guitar) (2:15), Voyager (5:23), Circadian Rhythm (3:36), Closure (7:14), Strange Loop II (6:22), Mount Ethereal (7:34), Chaos (Fantasia On Drum Track)	(1:47), Opus No. 1 (Witsend Quartet - 1984) (5:46), Opus No. 3 (Witsend Quartet - 1984) (6:01), Strange Loop II (Syzygy Live - 2010) (6:38), Mount Ethereal (Syzygy Live - 2010) (8:03)
In science 'Syzygy' refers to an alignment of three celestial bodies in a gravitational pull. In this case, these three "celestial bodies" are Pulse, Pitch, and Purpose (trademarked!). Phew! That quote is from the very lavish press release "book", and sums up this bands' intellectual approach to rock and roll.
Pretentious? Moi? Not at all. Carl E Baldassarre, guitarist and leader of these merry minstrels, takes his music seriously and to that end the band has re-released this 20- year-old album. With new artwork, mastering, ordering, and now with added "New Piano" (trademarked), this CD showcases the original album with bonus material. Two previous instrumental tracks have a live outing, with Mark Boals singing, and cassette home-grown recordings of Opus No.1 and 3 complete the extras.
The reordering of the album means that the quiet acoustic ditties begin, with the dynamic increasing as it plays out. I don't know the original track listing, but for me playing this CD on a random setting gives it more light and shade.
Therefore four acoustic and almost classical guitar pieces flow into more ensemble tracks, ending with the aforementioned live stuff. Well played vituosity is the signature dish here, that always stays true to the menu with Strange Loop II and Mount Ethereal being the standout tracks. Paul Milhacevich's drumming is a particularly enjoyable experience.
Despite the gatefold images of all four members in what could be a homage to that famous Queen video, the album is mainly played by previous inceptions called "Witsend Trio" and "Witsend Quartet", featuring different players.
This isn't an essential purchase but probably a must for completists of Syzygy and lovers of instrumental versions of this genre. The really good news is that there is going to be a new "symphonic-progressive" project being built in Northern Ohio to once again launch us listeners even closer to those astronomical lumps of undeviating prog rock.
Andrew Halley: 7.5 out of 10
Thought Chamber - Psykerion
Record Label: Inside Out
Catalogue #: B00EC6VMLE
Info: Thought Chamber
Inceptus (2:40), Exodus (1:47), Pyskerion: The Question (3:02), In the Words of Avakus (01:52), Light Year Time (05:33), Kerakryps (05:27), The Black Hole Lounge (01:08), Circuits of O.D.D. (01:54), Behind the Eyes of Ikk (08:36), Isle of Bizen (04:34), Xyrethius II (04:30), Recoil (03:17), Breath of Life (03:04), Transcend (09:38), Planet Qwinkle (04:41), Inner Peace (02:07)
After a six-year hiatus and having released their first record Angular Perceptions, Michael Harris and Ted Leonard (Enchant, Spock's Beard) returned with their outstanding Progressive Metal project called Thought Chamber. This album is also the first to feature new members Bill Jenkins (Enchant) on keyboards, Jeff Plant on bass and Mike Haid on drums.
The band keeps their progressive metal roots, but it is now combined with some other musical influences from jazz and experimental music, and even a little reggae arrangement on Transcend, which has become the most acclaimed track from this album. Musically, we have a mixture of musical elements from bands such Dream Theater, Spock's Beard, Kansas, Styx, and even Yes on several tracks, which keeps this album from becoming monotonous.
Ted Leonard's voice sounds more mature and with more vocal technique and skill, keeping his influences from singers like Steve Perry and Steve Walsh. He sounds more harmonious and stays so even in the moments in which he must raise his voice. You can note this in the more recent work he has done with Spock's Beard and Enchant.
The work done by Michael Harris is awesome and he fully demonstrates his technical skills and influences such as John Petrucci and Arjen Lucassen. He has provided this album with wonderful riffs and guitar solos.
Pyskerion is a concept album in which the band keeps their prog metal style and influences mentioned above, but with a spacey ambience provided by the arrangements on guitars and keyboards. The album has too many short tracks in the form of instrumental passages or working-like intros for the main songs. I believe many of them could be included as part of the songs without losing any meaning to the story being told.
Michael Harris has stated that: "The story is told from the eyes of a young boy genius named Avakus. He is able to witness a mission aboard a ship (Kerakryps-One) through the galaxy of Psykerion, and his life is forever altered, causing him to reflect on, and question his own life, as well as the objectives and destiny of mankind".
We have an awesome album with all the elements that Prog Metal fans wants to hear; heavy and deep metal riffs and arrangements, spacey and ethereal keyboards solos and atmospheres, and solid and precise drumming, all placed in a very complex and sometimes unbelievable musical structure. Pay attention to what I think are the highlights: Psykerion: The Question, Light Year Time, The Black Hole Lounge, Isle of Bizen and Transcend. An interesting musical journey.
Guillermo Palladino: 7.5 out of 10
Johnny Unicorn - Angels In The Oort Cloud
Info: Johnny Unicorn
Samples: Johnny Unicorn on Bandcamp
Angels (16:42), Creation (2:01), LCD (2:32), Nebraska (4:38), Floaters (3:53), Inertia (8:31)
Head chef Johnny gives some words of advice and encouragement to his apprentice: "Hum a doleful tune lad! Grip the ladle tightly. Stir the cauldron vigorously. Let the ingredients of my original and inimitable rock based sauce simmer for five minutes. Now carefully follow my additional instructions!"
"Toss in some sprigs of Phideaux. Drizzle it with some Bowie juice. Add some raw and inflamed guitar riffs. Scatter on a trace element of punk. Flavour it with a hint of Morrissey angst. Colour it with Ariel Pink."
"See that book on the top shelf entitled 'Musical Pioneers'. Find the chapter entitled 'Miles Davis: Master of the Unpredictable'. Tear it out, grind it down; infuse this dish with a little of its essence. Locate the chapter 'Frank Zappa: Does humour belong in music?' Cut out the word 'Yes' that is written in bold beneath the heading. Place it in the cauldron. Let it slowly dissolve."
"For the final and most important ingredient, copiously sprinkle lavish amounts of my special unicorn dust for that added x factor. That should provide a thoroughly unique flavour and great mystique."
"Now, all we need is a name Johnny. How about Angels in the Oort Cloud"
The compositions contained within Johnny Unicorn's attractive creation are tastefully full of zest. They are never bland or predictable. The album is likely to stimulate and satisfy the palate of even the most discerning of listeners. I have hugely enjoyed the wide array of flavours on offer. Unicorn's banquet of sounds is agreeably nourishing and should appeal to those who enjoy unpredictable song writing, with a twist of alternative prog rock. It contains many exciting and often surprising musical moments during the course of the album's six varied pieces.
Johnny Unicorn is a talented multi-instrumentalist who has appeared on a number of highly regarded albums. Angels in the Oort Cloud is his seventh full length solo release. Unicorn is probably best known for his guitarist's role with Phideaux. He is currently part of Phideaux's live band. He is also the bassist of Seattle-based prog rock band Autumn Electric, appearing on their recent releases Flowers For Ambrosia and Star Being Earth Child.
The opening track Angels is a multi-faceted 16-minute epic. In this track Unicorn's ensemble of players skilfully play their part, to create a memorable statement of intent. Eric Padget's contribution on trumpet is brilliantly executed, adding even greater variety to an already inventive piece. In the role of an additional vocalist, synth player Naomi Adele Smith gives a number of the tracks, including Angels, an extra emotional intensity.
Angels, is divided into seven parts which on occasion seamlessly segue into each other. At other times, Angels challenges the listener with discordant and seemingly unrelated passages. Somehow, the sum of the parts works remarkably well. What could have been in the hands of a lesser chef, a mish-mash of ideas, succeeds as a challenging and inventive piece of progressive music. The complexity makes it an ideal opener.
Unnatural robotic vocals feature in both Angels and Creation. Phideaux successfully used similar effects in Beyond the Shadow of Doubt from the Ghost Story album. Unicorn's use is at least as good, if not more effective.
Angels in the Oort Cloud rarely disappoints, in its bold desire to dress itself in an alternative manner. Creation, LCD and Nebraska, are on the face of it short, straightforward, rock-driven tunes. All however display an unpredictable essence, which emerges on occasion to lift this trio of tunes out of what could have been a trough of predictable, standard rock.
For example, the rock/blues basis of Creation is totally transformed by the imaginative vocal effects and magnificent counterpoint vocal harmonies which dominate and unexpectedly conclude the piece.
The remaining pieces of the album more than make up for any disappointment or disdain that the raw punk stylings that make up Nebraska might have caused. I particularly liked Floaters. It contains many aspects that make Angels in the Oort Cloud so enjoyable. In its relatively short running time of just under four minutes, Unicorn manages to incorporate discordant and jarring keyboard effects, and hints of jazz, rap and moving solo guitar parts. Floaters is creative, highly entertaining and hugely satisfying. Once again, it is an example of the adventurous recipe that Unicorn has used to create this highly desirable dish.
Another highlight is the strikingly beautiful Inertia. It begins sparsely with a strummed acoustic guitar and Unicorn's enticing voice. His vocal performance is totally alluring, incorporating much emotion. He manages to be plaintive and sombre, but also warmly uplifting. The rich sounding vocal range achieved in this track is exceptional. In this respect Unicorn draws favourable comparison with the glorious vocals of Neil Hammond and his work with The Divine Comedy.
The lush instrumental sections of the piece are also particularly impressive. As the first vocal passage ends, a mournfully expressive saxophone comes to the fore.
The breadth and scope of the music is wide ranging. It includes a lovely, cinematic celestial soundscape. This recurring refrain is furnished by lush keys, multi layered choral vocals and brass instrumentation. It is unforgettable and could easily be utilised as a theme for a movie. It exudes a spiritual, out of this world quality for the listener to absorb. When the pace finally accelerates, an unexpected Tull-like folk rock interlude wistfully emerges.
The album ends as Unicorn's vocals fade away to nothing. The endearing qualities inherent in Inertia are very gratifying. On many occasions I have succumbed to an overwhelming desire to hit the repeat button.
Angels in the Oort Cloud is the first time that I have encountered Johnny Unicorn's solo material. I will definitely make sure that it is not the last. I will begin with the releases that were comprehensively reviewed on DPRP by Brian Watson, giving each the coveted mantle of highly recommended.
I also have no hesitation in adding another DPRP recommendation to Johnny Unicorn's growing collection of accolades.
Owen Davies: 8 out of 10
UV Traveler - UV Traveler
Record Label: Skeptikal Records
Info: UV Traveler
Samples: UV Traveler website
Prelude 19 (2:34), Candlelight (3:45), Traveler (5:27), Annabel Lee (5:08), Day After Day (3:49), The Road (3:32), Rebekkah (5:40), St.Andrews Fall (3:32), Riddle of the Sphinx (8:15), If There's Time (3:40)
Based in the San Francisco area, vocalist Wade Greenwood and multi-instrumentalist Randy Sepe are UV Traveler, and they bring together a love of classical prog, as well as their own unique take on contemporary music.
Mixing styles and sounds, their album covers all moods and themes, right from the opening Prelude 19. Its use of atmospheric sounds, and the way it subtly weaves in riffs and musical themes that later crop up in other songs, helps to create a continuity to their work.
With a versatile and powerful voice, Wade Greenwood can do epic and powerful on tracks like Candlelight, and the driving, heavy rock song Day After Day. This evokes Ronnie James Dio and the power of those 70s hard rock bands, but rooted in the now, with great work from the guests, bassist Michael J Schiavo and drummer Greg Annunziata. They bring a full-fledged rock band sound to the album, allowing Randy Sepe to go nuts on guitar, which he does gleefully.
These rhythmic travellers lend their talents to two other tracks on the album, the progressive metal inspired Rebekkah, which shows off Sepe's guitar virtuosity, Greenwood's powerful vocals, and brings to my mind early Judas Priest. The drum and bass propel the song forward, whilst wave after crashing wave of guitar comes crushing through.
The other full band track is the eight-minute plus Riddle of the Sphinx, which despite its clichéd prog title, is actually a well written and intricately performed powerhouse of traditional prog rock, (with the emphasis on the rock) and some fantastic vocals from Greenwood again.
Other stand-outs on the album include the haunting adaptation of the Edgar Allen Poe poem Annabel Lee, with Greenwood sounding like a possessed John Cale, whilst the haunting and spectral acoustic work of Sepe blends together to create a truly spine tingling piece of art. The band also cover Blind Melon's St Andrews Fall with style and aplomb.
UV Traveler have a variety of talents and styles at their disposal, and whilst the genre-hopping throughout the album could, in lesser hands be a mish-mash, they manage to make a coherent whole out of the album, and an intelligent musical journey that you want to take with them.
James R Turner: 7 out of 10

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The Wizards-Raptors Game One betting line had Toronto as a -8 favorite at home. This number is right on the money according to the NBA Betting Power Ratings.
These teams have essentially split wins and losses over the last six meetings. It is interesting to note that the visitor has won five of the last seven in the series.
The Raptors are 1-8 Against The Spread in their last 9 games following a ATS loss and 0-5-1 ATS in their last 6 home games vs. a team with a losing road record.
The Wizards are 1-7 ATS in their last 8 road games. They are also 1-5 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
The Golden State Warriors aren't expected to get much of a fight from the Los Angeles Clippers in their first-round NBA playoff series.


Who will rule the Ancient Earth -- and Beyond? Enter the world of Risk Godstorm, where ancient faiths and fears rule. Battle across the Earth and the dark regions below. Harness spiritual forces to strike with devastating power. Command five ancient cultures -- Greek, Celtic, Babylonian, Norse, and Egyptian -- in a continent-spanning battle that will determine whose civilization reigns supreme. Rest assured, the gods will not sit idle in this war.
Risk Godstorm is a mythology-themed game of Risk set in Ancient Earth, with gameplay spanning to even Atlantis and the Underworld. Players control armies of ancient faiths, aided by their gods, and perform devastating acts of magic and miracle.
Risk Godstorm is recommended for 2-5 players. The game box includes 382 playing pieces, two game boards, rules, and various accessories. Rule variants include everything needed to play the classic game of Risk as well.
Are you ready to take over the world? Test out you capabilities in Risk Reinvention, a revised version of the classic game of Risk, with updated parts and new rule variants.
Risk Game of Thrones Edition brings the classic strategy game of war and conquest to the world of Westeros and Essos. Ally yourself with the famous Houses of the Seven Kingdoms and aim to sit on the Iron Throne.


text:
You are here: Home › USNO › Astrometry › Optical/IR Products › Double Stars › DM3
The Third Photometric Magnitude Difference Catalog
The Second Photometric Magnitude Difference Catalog, maintained at the United States Naval Observatory, is a collection of magnitude difference measures for double stars and serves as a repository for double star observations where no astrometry is given. As of 1 January 2012, it consisted of 195,529 measures of 63,140 systems with a mean Delta-m of 1.71. Additional magnitude information is available in the Fourth Interferometric Catalog which is available online. Due to the non-uniformity of filters and the possible variability of one or more components in a system no "WDS-like'' summary line is provided. Rather, all the data are presented, and their interpretation is left as an "exercise for the reader.'' A brief summary and statistical analysis of the contents of the catalog are presented.
The most significant addition since the last version of this catalog is due to matching the WDS with the 2MASS catalog. Delta-m determinations in J, H, and K bands are now listed for the 42,009 systems matched with WDS pairs. A brief summary and statistical analysis of the contents of the catalog are presented.
Introduction to the Differential Magnitude Problem
The problem of obtaining accurate magnitude differences in binary star astronomy is a long-standing one. The crux of the problem, as in accurate binary star astrometry, is the lack of standards against which systems can be measured. Binary star astronomers have, since the time of John Herschel, maintained a consistency in the way in which fundamental astrometric data are published (usually, Besselian year, position angle, and separation in seconds of arc). However, the publication of photometric information has been uneven - while sometimes individual magnitudes or magnitude differences were estimated or measured, on other occasions catalog magnitudes were published with no indication of the source of the measurement, yielding no clear way to determine when a measure of photometry was made and when it was not.
Yet the importance of accurate differential photometry of binary stars cannot be overstated. While there has been more overlap of late between spectroscopic and visual binaries, historically the characteristics of visual binaries were known through orbital analysis and parallax, leading to a mass sum. A measure of Delta-m can place the individual components of a binary star system on an empirical mass/luminosity plot, which (although model dependent) can aid in the refinement and convergence of models of stellar characteristics. In addition, measurement of Delta-m at two or more wavelengths ties the masses and luminosities to an effective temperature.
When looking at publications providing binary star measurements which are primarily listings of relative astrometry, a measure citing a magnitude difference can typically be believed as a true measure. However, unless it is made explicitly clear in the publication, cases where magnitudes are published for both companions typically cannot be trusted. In considering measures contained in the Washington Double Star (WDS) Catalog, the only ones which can be trusted as bona fide Delta-m measures are those where only a magnitude difference is cited or where it is known that individual magnitudes of the components were measured (as was the case, for example, for Hipparcos and Tycho). Additional complications to these matters are the different (and often non-standard) central wavelengths and passbands of measurements, as well as the photometric variability of some of these companions.
Sources of Photometric Magnitude Differences
In addition to this small subset of relatively reliable magnitude difference measurements, there are a few cases where the primary purpose of the work has been the measurement of photometry of the components of binary stars. Double-image photometers and micrometers were used from the late 19th Century (Pickering 1879) until the late-20th (Worley 1969); these permitted moderate Delta-m measurements over a wide range of separations, sometimes as close as half a second of arc, although both of these (and any other) techniques have a number of smaller Delta-m systems which serve to calibrate the technique against other standards. Kuiper (see Baize 1950) pioneered work in objective gratings which, although limited in the separations of systems for which they could effectively observe, were capable of measuring larger magnitude differences. This work culminated in measures by Lindenblad (1970) of the Sirius AB system. Wider systems have had a variety of techniques applied, including the area scanner observations by Rakos and Franz (see, e.g., Franz 1970), as well as more conventional photographic measures. This was standardized by Strand (1969). Recent efforts have used CCDs (e.g., Tokovinin & Shatskii 1995). A listing of the different techniques, their contribution and mean Delta-m is provided here.
Systems which are separated by an arcsecond or less are typically not observable by the aforementioned techniques. Unfortunately, it is often these systems which are the most astrophysically interesting. The occultation of stars by the Moon can be used to determine Delta-m measurements for quite close systems. However, these events are restricted to zodiacal band stars and are infrequent and unrepeatable occurrences. Also, the Delta-m determinations from lunar occultation have suffered from large errors and were often taken with non-standard filters (Mason 1996, 1997). In high angular resolution work, the "fork'' algorithm (Bagnuolo & Sowell 1988) is only applicable to a photon-noise-limited detector with more than 5 photons per speckle, while the "directed vector-autocorrelation'' has errors which are too large without laborious calibrations (which in turn, decreases observational efficiency by as much as a factor of 40; Mason et al. 1993). Full image reconstruction from non-redundant aperture masking or bispectrum analysis is possible; however, the intensification used with CCDs in most speckle observations seems to prevent accurate determination in all but photon-limited data (Roberts 1999). Some of these data from selected papers are included below. While the technique of adaptive optics appears quite promising (e.g., ten Brummelaar et al. 1996, 2000), it is quite labor intensive and has yet to see effective throughput. The most effective technique of late for measurement of the delta magnitude of close binaries has been the determination of V and B magnitudes of Hipparcos stars measured by the Tycho instrument (Fabricius & Makarov 2000).
Changes since the First Photometric Magnitude Difference Catalog
Changes in the method file:
The WDS and Delta-M method files are now the same. This has resulted in the merging of similar techniques which were quite small in number.
Measures in the Photometric Magnitude Difference Catalog have been collected, collated, and maintained as an internal USNO publication for over 30 years. Presented in order are the WDS 2000 coordinate, the discovery (and component) designation, the measured magnitude difference, the number of measures contributing in the mean, a reference code, a method code and a column of notes. These notes include but are not limited to wavelength characteristics (in nanometers) and error of the measurements (sigma). Links to the complete Delta-m Catalog are below, as are links to the reference list and a description of observing methods. All these materials are also included on a CDROM of USNO double star catalogs. Copies of this CDROM can be obtained from the authors.
The Delta-M Catalog
Method Key to the above file
Number and mean Delta-m for various methods
Reference file
Bagnuolo, Jr., W.G. & Sowell, J.R. 1988, AJ 96, 1056
Baize, P. 1950, J. Obs. 33, 1
ten Brummelaar, T.A., Mason, B.D., Bagnuolo, Jr., W.G., Hartkopf, W.I., McAlister, H.A., & Turner, N.H. 1996, AJ, 112, 1180
ten Brummelaar, T.A., Mason, B.D., McAlister, H.A., Roberts, Jr., L.C., Turner, N.H., Hartkopf, W.I., & Bagnuolo, Jr., W.G. 2000, AJ, 119, 2403
ESA 1997, The Hipparcos and Tycho Catalogues (ESA SP-1200) (Noordwijk: ESA)
Fabricius, C. & Makarov, V.V. 2000, A&A 356, 141
Franz, O.G. 1970, Lowell Obs. Bull., 17, 191
Lindenblad, I.W. 1970, AJ 75, 841
Mason, B.D. 1996, AJ 112, 2260
Mason, B.D. 1997, AJ 114, 808
Mason, B.D., McAlister, H.A., Hartkopf, W.I., & Bagnuolo, Jr., W.G. 1993, AJ 105, 220
Pickering, E. 1879, Harvard Annals 11, 105
Roberts, Jr., L.C. 1999, PASP, 111, 650
Strand, K.A. 1969, Pub. USNO 18, Pt. 5
Tokovinin, A.A. & Shatskii, N.I. 1995, Pisma Astron. Zhur. 21, 523
Worley, C.E. 1969, AJ 74, 764
This catalog has been substantially improved by Hartmut Jahreiss pointing out an earlier Delta-m catalog of Stefan Wierzbinski (Contributions of the Wroclaw Astronomical Observatory No. 16, Wroclaw, Poland, 1969). While the calculated determinations of Wierzbinski are not included, the list of references in his catalog has allowed the identification of many WDS magnitude listings as delta-m measures, as well as the several references that were not previously included.
If the WDS and associated databases were helpful for your research work, the following acknowledgement would be appreciated:
"This research has made use of the Washington Double Star Catalogs maintained at the U.S. Naval Observatory."
A notification of references to relevant papers is appreciated.


I just got back from Dallas from a horse show. It was so fun and Bella was amazing!
The second day of the show was also really good. Bella was super great, and we finished off the show with 2 first place ribbons, a second place ribbon, 2 third place ribbons, and a sixth place ribbon.
Las Colinas (the name of the show) is always so fun, and Bella and I can't wait to go again next year!
Las Colinas is a show in Dallas, held around Halloween time every year. The highlight of the horse show, is that the show puts on a huge halloween parade on Saturday night. Every one gets together with their barns and chooses a theme for everyone at the barn to dress up as.
Last year, my barn and I were Spider Man saves Christmas… So my coach's 3 year old daughter was spider man, my friend dressed up her horse and Santa Claus, and she was Mrs.Claus, and me and my other friend dressed up ourselves and our horses as elves. It was so fun, and out of 30+ barns, our costume got 6th place in the contest!
This year, I am hooking up with a friend, and the theme that we are doing is Rio! My friend is going to be a parrot with her horse, and Bella and I are going to be Blue Birds! I am really excited to go to Dallas and compete, and of course participate in this Halloween parade. It is going to be super fun, and I can't wait to see what my friends from other barns have come up with for their costumes this year.
I often get asked questions about my riding and my horse, so here are some facts, and some photos of me and my horse as well.
So, I have taken some new photos, and have found a few that I took in Colorado… So here is some more of my photography! Enjoy!
(All photos are taken BY ME, Please do not steal them).


Big Brothers Big Sisters offers mentoring programs to support vulnerable children in our community. Our volunteer mentors can inspire the confidence for a child to achieve so much more! We are a registered Canadian Charity.


Coriander leaves are widely used in Indian and Southeast Asian cuisine. Use in curry sauces and vegetable dishes.
Greenfields are a second generation UK-based family business. Greenfields' herbs and spices are used by restaurants, artisans and street food producers across the country - all who enjoy their great value products. For home cooks the smaller packets of spices are great for filling your spice drawer. The Greenfields philosophy is to provide good quality products at a great price.


It is said that the heart of the fashion industry which stretches from Ninth Avenue to Broadway and from 34th Street to 40th Street is one of the few Manhattan neighborhoods that has a desolate and bland presence. According to a report from the Design Trust for Public space, this new vision for the fashion district will boost New York's economy by $340 million dollars. Some of the suggestions in the report aim to convert this least fashionable area in the city into the most fashionable neighborhood. Residents in Midtown West will also benefit from this plan to bring back that spark the fashion district once had. Who wouldn't like an area full retail stores with a runway appearance that complements it?
Compared to neighborhoods such as Soho, Chelsea, and Hell's Kitchen, all of which have a charming presence, the Fashion District no longer has that same charm. Architects are envisioning a new and improved Garment District, one that may lead to an increase in rent but will make for a more welcoming and desirable neighborhood. In developing the fashion district into a premier Manhattan location, residents in their nearby Midtown West luxury condos can benefit from the many perks such as wider streets, parks and better lighting. Architects are shedding light on the issue at hand and are proposing to preserve and expand the fashion district as a service to New Yorkers and the fashion industry.


text:
Dec. 28, 2012 / 1:16 PM	/ Updated Dec. 28, 2012 at 1:23 PM
Optical illusion has man riding woman on a boat [PHOTO]
When a man's black pants perfectly aligned with a woman's black striped dress they accidentally created a photoshop worthy image in which he appears to be riding her.
As if the optical illusion wasn't cool enough as it was, check out the horns on the man's reflection on the mirror.
WATCH: Best News Bloopers of 2012 Last Full Moon of 2012 rises today and for a very long time Is the man defending a life-size statue of a watermelon-holding Obama racist? WATCH: Odd Japanese exercise video goes viral Asteroid won't hit earth in 2040 WATCH: Kelsie Elise Frick-in' 'Awesome' graduate
Blog // 5 years ago
8 things you didn't know about baby gorillas
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Much like human babies, baby gorillas are cute, they crawl before learning to walk and they love breast milk. Here are some interesting facts about these tiny primates who share about 98.3 percent of their DNA with humans.
Vegan celebs turn up for Peta's 35th anniversary party
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals celebrated 35 years of advocating for animal rights with a star-studded bash Wednesday.
The best dressed at the TIFF 2015
TORONTO, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- As designers rolled out their new Summer/Spring collections during New York Fashion Week, Hollywood A-listers put on their Sunday bests while walking the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto Canada.
The most daring outfits at NYFW 2015
NEW YORK, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- From Michael Costello's completely sheer gown with strategically placed beading to Dennis Basso's cheeky shorts, designers are venturing more and more into the revealing in their creations for next years' sunny months.
Scott Weiland gives a bizarre performance of "Vasoline"
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas, May 1 (UPI) -- Video from a live performance in Corpus Christi, Texas, shows former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland slurring his way off-key through the STP hit "Vasoline."
Chrissy Teigen, Jenna Dewan-Tatum and Katie Couric get playful at White House Correspondents dinner
WASHINGTON, April 27 (UPI) -- Model Chrissy Teigen and journalist Katie Couric showed off her legs white posing for pictures during saturday's White House Correspondents dinner.
Olive Garden offers free babysitting for annual date night
WASHINGTON, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Olive Garden is offering free babysitting for couples who want to go out for a date night and eat unlimited breadsticks on Feb. 20.
VIDEO: Dog rescued from leg-crushing trap in national park
YANGMINGSHAN NATIONAL PARK, Taiwan, Nov. 24 (UPI) -- This video shows a dog being rescued in Yangmingshan National Park after being caught in a cruel-looking gin trap, which pins an animal's legs between steel bars.


text:
<?php

namespace SmarterSolutions\PhpTools\GooglePlayScraper\Exception;

/**
 * This exception is thrown when can not import html from a given url.
 *
 * @author Jerry Anselmi <jerry.anselmi@gmail.com>
 */
class HtmlImportException extends \RuntimeException
{
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


An exemplary Millcraft project, Piatt Place is a renovation of the former Lazarus department building. This mixed-use project features Class A office space, restaurants and retail, and 60 luxurious condominiums. Piatt Place's residential component helped spark the movement and demand for Downtown Pittsburgh homes.
Read more about Piatt Place.