My job today is to collage a picture of an exploded suitcase.
This guy will be part of it.
I think I'll stop now because I'm still feeling a bit ill... I wish I needn't go food-shopping today. Maybe there's something I can cook with frozen peas and a jar of tomato sauce.
It's got the silliest menu structure I've ever seen, and I love it very much.
Oh, and every so often I accidentally switch on the "voice prompts", which means it shouts "SEND A MESSAGE! CHANGE YOUR RINGTONE!" etc. at me, in case I might want to do anything like that. Heh.
Oh, oh, and it doesn't have any games, unless you count "guess the code to make things happen", which if you win changes the settings.
I've not been quite myself this winter... it's been impossible to stop thinking about work. Some weeks ago the doctor told me to start listening to classical music urgently, and take some time off before I'd keel over. But I just couldn't stop planning talks and workshops and novels and comics in-between painting and drawing and writing new work... anyway, I got a mean cold some days ago and yesterday I finally gave up and told myself to stay in bed and read a book. I'd not managed to read anything for fun since November or so, I just found myself re-reading the same page over and over again while thinking of work.
It's weird how something so fun - making up stories in words and pictures - can get so grating when you Never Stop.
Bah. Some days I just can't get it right. Am trying to paint André the cat looking REALLY KEEN. Problem is I need to blow my nose all the time and rather want to go back to bed. I has no zen today.
Meh, the one behind the ink pot is okay maybe. Good enough to call it a day anyway.
Grnh. I have a cold, and a deadline early next week. And it's work I can't do in bed. Meh.
So quite soon I'll be going to Ghent for week to do a few workshops with children, there will be all sorts of art and particularly sock monkey making.
The full instructions (in English) are here, in case you feel like monkey-making, too.
I also suddenly felt inspired to plug some decent headphones into my computer and sign up for Spotify.com - so suddenly I can discover new music while I work. Huh. Amazing what they can do with the internet these days.
Here's a hand-coloured photocopy of my one-page comic.
Weird weird project. That's what happens if I do little projects squeezed into the gaps of larger ones. Am pleased though!
Now I just need to tidy it up and send it off to be screen-printed (hopefully) or else just printed (also nice).
The week has definitely started.
Uch, yawn. I dreamed stone spaceships shaped like upside-down church spires were landing everywhere and out poured gibbon-like aliens that incinerated all. Then I got up and forgot AGAIN that we'd had a plumber around to fix the water pressure (was a trickle, could now be used to break up demonstrations) and when I turned on the tap to fill the percolator I soaked myself, AGAIN.
So I decided to really make an effort for joy and took my penny bank to the counting machine, shook it 'til my arms hurt and got enough cash back to buy ingredients for a spicy noodle soup at the Chinese Supermarket. And that's what I will cook now while the black ink is drying on my comic. With pounded lemongrass and incredibly fine rings of bird-eye chillies. And the noodles cooked seprarately. Yes.
I think something's gone wrong with the white ink, it's too viscous... it was like that when I first opened it though... I wonder if I can just add some water... does anyone have recommendations on brands of white ink? Must be opaque on black.
Yesterday I had a social evening with people I mostly didn't know and who all had interesting jobs... proper ones that make them travel around the world and deal with important stuff. I was very pleased that I could say "I make graphic novels". Which is true. I've signed my first contract for one at last! Picture books are great, but less impressive at dinner parties with international lawyers and such.
And I hope to finish my one-page comic for the Literacy Trust today... the ink at least, it'll take me a while longer to tidy it up and colour-separate it for screen printing. Here's a panel.
I'm wondering whether it would be a nice idea to post a list of useful resources for illustration that I've found on the internet... stuff about binding sketchbooks (like this or this) - but also stockists of really useful materials and open source software for digital image making or basic web design in case you want to give that a whirl but don't want to spend loads on something daunting... would that be interesting?
... I had an unfortunate combination of watching a random bit of "Hogan Knows Best" where Hulk Hogan told his daughter to "hold her breath for 24 hours" before an event so she'd not look fat, and took half a freshly-baked cookie away from her... and I thought: phew, that reminds me so much of parents I've met who don't even want their daughters to be international stars, but just "acceptable"... then I listened to the radio and heard a lady demand every Liverpuddlian should go and have elocution lessons to correct their English, the correct English being "what you hear on the BBC". Now I have a weird pain in my gut and am distracted from drawing, and I am starting to realise that I am actually angry.
I often feel sorry for people who somehow grew up believing that real people look and act and sound like movie stars, and that for some reason they are surrounded by weird deranged mutants instead. That something has gone wrong with the world to allow people to look not like on telly. That it is everyone's duty to try and look their very celebrity-best to deserve love and success.
Am I alone in feeling that people on TV look like they had their skin replaced with weird high tech... stuff? That TV hair has somehow turned into a completely different sort of substance?
Am I just getting old and cranky? I don't know.
Well, back to work. I'm going to put some smudges and fingerprints on my artwork.
Well... bit of a daft day, this.
Did lots of things that needed doing, then planned to go out to draw the comic I wanted to draw today but stayed in instead, and finally helped fix the flap on the letter-box which was loose.
I decided to chuck this day in and call it an early Saturday, and make Saturday a late Friday. I hope that by Sunday I'll have it all in the right order again.
My dad told me on the phone: "We are pleased you are starting to sell yourself so well... but now that you are becoming famous you have to really think about every word you write in your blog."
"I bloody well won't", I said. Which was a lie, because I already always think: can I write this or will it make my family phone me up?
But he's right. I'll start making a list of products to endorse casually in the hope of getting a free lifetime supply... has anyone noticed how Dr. Ph. Martin's radiant concentrated watercolour is just so much more versatile and brilliant than other liquid watercolours? I really wouldn't know what to do if I ever ran out! Ahemm! Ahemm!!!
...and just after breakfast I got a package containing magazines: "Let's Knit" and "Your Cat". The cat magazine is recommending "There are Cats in this Book", and the knitting magazine has three full pages on me me me me... and knitting patterns for the cats! And a free crochet hook.
They used photos of someone else's knitting to illustrate the pattern, which irks me slightly. They are very cute but, mmmmmm, well, it kind of says I knitted them and I didn't. One of them is by me, so where were the the other two when the photo-shoot happened? Probably gallivanting around in the canteen. Arrrgh hnnngh well mustn't grumble. Full page interview!!!
The schedule for the big scary university forum talk I'm supposed to take part in on Friday 13th of March. And I am first speaker. Makes sense because I'm the least known, but ARGH! Good thing: 15 minute coffee break after me.
And I'd been feeling impossible before anyway... mostly because I am still not used to showering with Aqueous Cream instead of soap. I used to collect soap, now I'm allergic to soap. So now I need to completely cover myself in a layer of white gloop before getting into the shower, and as soon as the water hits it makes me feel like a fish belly all over. Very odd, especially first thing in the morning.
There seemed to be some space between lunch and the next job of the day, so I added a Flash Gallery to my site. Completely unsorted at the moment. Is that any good? Hm.
My favourite picture of the day so far. Now for some lunch from the cafe downstairs & the rest of the day will be all dinosaurs and pirates (drawing-wise).
Today I'll be making a lot of small drawings with my new brush-pen and then turn them into greetings card material, hopefully. If I manage to sell some I'll buy an internet radio for the studio. Mm.
Kittens in handbags seem a safe bet.
I'm using a brush pen that Dave Shelton gave me when he visited last week... and a sketchbook I bought when I looked at his sketchbook and decided I need a proper sketchbook, filled with loads and loads of sketches. The kind of book you just doodle in all the time. Yes. Brush pens are great, I'd forgotten about them - means I can draw brush-draw stuff somewhere that's not my desk and not worry about ink spillages.
just to keep you entertained and all that.
...and here we go. Bologna book-fair around the corner suddenly, meaning I have to deliver artwork... and here's the first Tiny Cat, or rather the red ink, and while that's drying I'm catching up with my other work.
This morning I realised it's high time to take a day off, and I spent it exactly as I was hoping to - playing a WWE wrestling game on the Xbox with a friend.
The thing to do, of course, is to spend some hours beforehand creating wrestling alter egos first. There can be few things more uplifting and relaxing than watching a small version of yourself walk through a cheering crowd (with fireworks) and then fight until they drop while you're sitting at home comfortably with a cup of milky tea. - Incidentally, I chose to make my entrance in a bathrobe with sunglasses, rubbing my knuckles and yelling like a loony, which everyone agrees looks just like me in the mornings.
Here's my bouncing and yelling on the ropes display. Nice.
Surprisingly, the computer even sent a small version of my flatmate into the ring to help me out at some point... oh, I had fun. And to round the day off, we'll get a takeaway for dinner. So there. All good.
Oooh - a Viv Podcast!
Alex Milway interviewed me for a podcast, and so now you can listen to me talk about "There are Cats in this Book", and some other things.
I'm very flattered, in any case, and feeling important. Ha.
Remember to check out the rest of the website, and if it doesn't make you want to read novels about mice I don't know what's wrong with you.
Hang on, stop, I'm an hour early running off to my meeting... man, this coffee is strong.
I got interviewed! By Alex Milway. What fun... I'll post a link ASAP.
Just got the mp3 through to check it over, and I sure can ramble on about how to best glue something down. But otherwise I am very pleased, I actually sound less weird than I expected (I kept the odd descriptive sound effects and cackling down for the most part).
Now running off to my week-endly meeting to show off my efforts to dummy up "There are Cats in this Book With A Venegance" (working title).
So I posted some Sock Monkey instructions to see what would happen - and what's happening is socks all over the place are taking on a new sort of life. I am particularly glad that I didn't explain how to make the ears, because it really truly does not matter. In fact, it's good not to worry to much about the whole thing, if it doesn't come out as a monkey, it will surely be something else.
Please go and have a look at Parskot the Sock Cat, made by Kasia in Edinburgh one rainy afternoon. And while you're looking, check out the other creatures she's made appear in the world. She even made some beetroot mice happen by some sort of magic.
Yesterday I got some mail from America.
"Ha! Fan mail!" I said. And it was.
Except the letter wasn't actually to me. It's to Moonpie, the blue skinny cat in "There are Cats in this Book". A nice young girl was offering: "if you don't have a family you can come live with us".
"the ocean without a beach"
...so I will forward the letter to her, in case she wants to relocate in her old age.
There's also a picture of "Moonpie waterskiing with a blimp", which would convince anyone to retire to warmer climates.
Life is warmer and safer now.
I've scanned quite enough old pictures for today (still digitising my sketch-books, in case of mice or flood). This is the last one I did, and probably my favourite of the day... the rest of the sketchbook is quite rancid, filled with nasty thoughts about a relationship just past (at the time) but somehow there's this lovely lamb.
And now I shall go and join the rest of the household for an episode of "Pride and Prejudice". Thankfully they don't mind me jeering at it, or if they do, they don't say... I am enjoying it, really, but I can't look at Mr Darcy for too long without saying out loud "what's with the neck-brace then?" or "Nice try! Ha ha!"
I was sad today because most of my friends are having a hard time, and because it seemed like that's been that way ever since I left school. I reminded myself that this is mostly because I have creative friends.
World hear me whinge! WHINGE! AaRE YOU LISTENING?!
My flatmate just came in and typed that last line. Fair enough.
Anyway, I was much cheered when I had the Solar System ceiling light I got for Christmas installed at last - it's got nine planets in slightly random, but pleasing orbits, and it rotates when I press a button.
I also got a cheesecake in the fridge, so I think it'll be a good evening.
...my drawings looked like this.
I feel a long night coming on... I finally opened ALL the cardboard boxes under my bed, all of them stuffed with sketchbooks and scraps of paper, mostly just in bundles, some in plastic folders... print-outs of digital work, too (the files long lost)... and I am digitising the lot. Well, everything that I really want to keep, because you never know what climate and mice will do.
Tutors explained to me that there probably isn't a lack of lemurs and crows keenly felt in that area, and that one might want to start by having an interest in clothes. True.
I am spending this week-end tracking down all my old digital image files - ten years' worth of scanned sketches, small illustrations and files to do with book projects. I've set myself up with a big pot of tea, and spread all my CDs over a table so I can pick them easier (it's the sort of work that needs musical accompaniment, I find).
Some of the old photoshop files have layers missing - with strange effects, one that I opened had lost all the eyeballs, so the characters had ghostly empty sockets.
No major losses so far, but it is a bit... worrying.
Hooray! Dave Shelton drew a budgerigar because I asked him to.
That's just the sort of thing I needed just then... I'm waiting for some ink to dry on a page of drawings of thistles which I want to scan and turn into a wallpaper pattern in the background of a comic panel. It's something that tends to happen when I need to draw a proper illustration, with backgrounds and all. First I add a table somewhere in the picture and draw bottles and vases on it to suggest there's a room, with stuff in it. Then I spend the rest of the day making a wallpaper pattern, tiling it digitally and tracing it off. That's to suggest to myself I know what I'm doing... it feels very professional. Sometimes I make a pattern for the clothes people are wearing, too. I like making patterns. The thistle wallpaper is to suggest discomfort in a drawing of a cold bedroom, incidentally. While I was drawing it, I didn't notice that the studio somehow warmed up. There's an awful sort of a cold creeping in through the floorboards sometimes, depending on how the wind blows.
I'm also happily listening to some sad beautiful music I got in the post from Norway, and I am very pleased with myself for still sticking with my New Year resolution about having a tasty salad for lunch every day. Today I had one with almonds scattered on top, and I read the paper while eating it instead of fiddling about with work.
It's a melancholy winter day, this... it's very nice.
The head is pretty much finished.
The body... well I'm making granny squares whenever I have a spare minute - about a dozen of them on the Edinburgh train, for example.
Today I'll start on the comic that goes with this (in the exhibition people will hopefully be able to buy copies of the comic after gazing at this crafted monster).
Go on, make one already.
Do send me pictures if you do.
Well! This year is starting ok. I got home yesterday and had some international Christmas presents in the post, and I managed today to stick to my New Year Resolution No 1 and eat salad for lunch, never mind what else is in the house that needs eating first - salad is my favourite food but has been badly neglected - there's always something or other around that needs eating first. Also, I don't enjoy grocery shopping, so I tend to just buy a load of stuff every few days, and salad ingredients are never as urgently required as dinner stuff. But I'll prioritise it this year - salad makes me happy, and dinner can always be a takeaway if all else fails. What am I living in London for else???
I also decided that I want my curly hair back. I figured that it could only be due to the hard water that it straightened out some years ago. So I rinsed it with vinegar, fully expecting at least SOME curls to come back... but all I got was frizzy hair, poker-straight and smelling tasty. Must be the chemical dye's fault after all. So I cut it off. I really only kept all that hair on my head anyway because I kind of enjoyed men being charming to me as they seem to be as soon as one's hair goes past one's shoulders. Well, I can deal with opening doors and hanging coats myself if I don't have to put up with this limp mop of stuff any more. I do hope that it'll grow back curly now if I'm nice and not dye it any more.
Nothing much to report else... I just finished drawing some craft instructions and arranged the first meeting of the year. All's well so far!


High quality Japanese incense. The name of this incense translates as Aloeswood Blue Cloud, and the formulation is a light aloeswood incense joined with a sandalwood bouquet for which Nippon Kodo (the manufacturer) is well known. A box of about 200 sticks (5.5" each).


You can play Truck Reign free online flash games On dpgames.com, now, this game have 566 total plays, have rating 2 good and 0 bad.
Did you know that: you can rate every game you play, you can share your favorite game with your friends on Facebook,Twitter and more, you can embed a game in your own website or blog, On dpgames.com makes online gaming fun, what are you waiting for? Play Truck Reign online Now!


SeaWorld Orlando's newest roller coaster has soft opened before its official opening June 10th.
SeaWorld's Halloween Spooktacular takes place from 12 p.m. to park close every weekend, October 1-30.
The popular annual event connects guests with animals, and features weekends hosted by Jack Hanna and Julie Scardina.
The Holidays return to SeaWorld with Rudulph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and the popular Sea of Trees!
A winner and 15 friends will be flown to Orlando to enjoy the park and swim with dolphins.
SeaWorld's new river rapids ride will feature a vertical lift and the world's largest rapids drop.
Ride vehicle is 7 cars long, and will feature lap-bar style seating when the coaster opens this Summer.


[ COMPLETE ] Challenge #15: ...and then there was light.
Who has the best use of light in it's scene?
Re: Challenge #15: ...and then there was light.
You can now vote on the best render. Remember that you can vote twice!
Re: [ COMPLETE ] Challenge #15: ...and then there was light.
Winners are: NickE, Tof, Mills and Floyd86 Congratulations!
For the rest of you: Good luck with the next challenge!
Hope I'll have more time for the next challenge..
Seriously everyone did an excellent job!!
wow, great job guys! mills, I was just wondering, how do you add those particles? I have no clue how you do it, and you've used it in an image before, in your 'stained glass window' image. can you say how you made it?
See you all in a next challenge, but before, I'm working on a special project...coming (not so) soon.
Congrats, guys. I thought I'd get a few votes, but heh.
Floyd deserved it. Can't wait for the next challenge!
Have been without internet for nearly two weeks now, so I missed the voting entirely, but it's fairly obvious it wouldn't have affected the outcome.
cheatsguy: it's a technique i've used a lot, and it's fairly simple to do. Essentially just a semi-transparent object matched to the shape of the window, which doesn't cast or receive shadows. I think it worked slightly better in the stained glass window because the window shape was more complex and so created more variation in the image. I'll see if I can put together a short tutorial if people are interested. It's not disimilar to the 'light cones' outlined in the last issue of DotAN8 e-zine. It was slightly more complex to produce in this image, though, because of the chair.
I actually had my own way of doing this: i would make an object, 0 everything except a emissive of .1 and white color. I actually used it in an image before.


text:
require 'redis'
require 'hiredis'

def insert_data(r,prefix,target,count)
    puts "Loading #{target} data..."
    image_filename = "mnist-data/#{prefix}-images-idx3-ubyte"
    label_filename = "mnist-data/#{prefix}-labels-idx1-ubyte"
    fi = File.open(image_filename)
    fl = File.open(label_filename)

    # Skip headers.
    fi.seek(16)
    fl.seek(8)
    # Load each char and respective label, sending it to the
    # neural network internal dataset.
    r.pipelined {
        (0...count).each{|i|
            bytes = fi.read(28*28).split("").map{|x| x.ord}
            label = fl.read(1).ord
            r.send('nr.observe',:mnist,*bytes,'->',label,target)
            puts "#{i+1}/#{count}" if (((i+1) % 5000) == 0)
        }
    }
end

r = Redis.new(:driver => :hiredis)
r.del(:mnist)
r.send('nr.create',:mnist,:classifier,28*28,100,'->',10,:DATASET,60000,:TEST,10000,:NORMALIZE)

insert_data(r,"train",:train,60000)
insert_data(r,"t10k",:test,10000)

puts "Start training with AUTOSTOP BACKTRACK for max 5000 cycles"

r.send('nr.train',:mnist,:maxtime,0,:maxcycles,500,:autostop,:backtrack)
oldinfo = nil
while true
    info = r.send('nr.threads')
    if (info != oldinfo)
        puts info
        oldinfo = info
    end
    sleep 0.1
    if info.length == 0
        puts ""
        nn = r.send('nr.info',:mnist)
        nn = Hash[*nn]
        perc = 100.0 - nn['classification-errors-perc'].to_f
        puts "Best net so far can predict MNIST digits #{perc} of times"
        break
    end
end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


This wall canvas has a wooden frame at the back and comes with a wall fixing it, the picture is a pirate scene with Spanish galleon boat and pirate flags featuring the skull and cross bones as well as lots of pirates wearing eye patches and wearing pirates hats. There's lots to see including an octopus reaching up out of the sea and fish swimming about in the sea.
Its a brightly coloured picture for your children's bedroom or play room wall, pirates are always popular and this pirate scene is painted in a cartoon style that's sure to keep kids interested and always looking at the picture as they walk past. You can mount the picture straight on the wall or you can put the picture in a frame.


All tracks will be on all platforms on Tuesday July 27.
All tracks are $2 a piece (160 XBL points, 200 Nintendo points, & $1.99 on PSN store). Both The Black Keys Track Pack 01 & Neon Trees Track Pack 01 will be available on XBox 360 & PS3 for $5.50 (440 XBL points & $5.49 on PSN store).


Learn how to make a fun Tube Dress in 10 minutes! Its a great dress for going out and it also works as a simply base for a halloween costume. And the best part is the materials cost less than $10!
Lycra Fabric (or any stretch spandex fabric) - 29" length x 25" width for a size small, increase the width size to adjust for size.
Width = 25", this will change depending on your size, this works for a size extra small and small, increase to adjust for size.
Height = 29", this will change depending on your height. This would work for someone in the 5' 2" to 5' 7" range.
Since the fabric is stretchy you don't need to adjust for curves in your body. I specifically measured the width of the fabric to be small so it would stretch around all my body.
THUS, just fold the fabric in half along the width (so it is 12.5" x 29" OR 1/2w x h) and pin the edges together in a straight line.
I used a serger to sew the edge together. You can also use a sewing machine - make sure you use a stitch that works for stretchy fabrics.
Steam-A-Seam is a really quick way to finish your hem w/o sewing. I didn't use this for the side seam because there will be a lot of force stretching the seam apart and this is not strong enough to deal with that.
Iron edge down so you have a crease in the fabric. This marks where the steam-a-seam will be laid down.
Place the steam-a-seam right up along the crease you created with the iron. Follow the directions on the steam-a-seam box.
Once you have done both edges the dress should be good to go!
the fabric is a bit sheer i would add a second layer around the breast area if chosen to wear in public.
Do you have an ratio for increasing the width? So that way we can guess how much to do?
Don't know if you still get 'Mutton Cloth' in your countries?! We still get it here and it's plain uncoloured cotton made in a 'knit' tube and is sold in rolls for various purposes. We used to use a meter length (and it'd look just like a knit mini dress - if the girls had gotten their clothes wet or whatever!) but without any sewing needed! We always keep a small roll of it in the car to wipe hands on etc!
If the dress was made form fitting on top and flared at the bottom would this material make for a wavey hem line? Or would you have to stretch and sew the fabric in sections along the hem?
Yes the more fabric you leave at the bottom, the more of a wave you will get.
If one wanted to make a face/head mask, what material could you use to "see through" kind of like a spider man mask?
Any tips on best way to incorporate "inserts" or external wings ?
Thanks! I plan on using it as a few bases for costumes as well!


Grand Canyon Suite was recorded in Camden, N.J.
Hvsfs ofs og aobm cdwbwcbg og hvsfs ofs sldsfhg.
Answer to yesterday's William Lawrence Sr Cryptowit quote puzzle: You didn't think of angels as white or black. They were angels.


text:
Music and politics in 2014
"After a grand jury didn't indict a Ferguson, Mo., police officer last month in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, D'Angelo called his co-manager Kevin Liles. "He said: 'Do you believe this? Do you believe it?' " Mr. Liles said. "And then we just sat there in silence. That is when I knew he wanted to say something."" – New York Times, December 17, 2014
The big story in protest music in 2014 can be summed up in one word: Ferguson. And by Ferguson I don't just mean the death of Michael Brown, but those of Eric Garner and Tamir Rice, and the gut-wrenching reminder that in America black lives are valued less than white ones. It shocked hip hop into its biggest spasm of civic responsibility since Hurricane Katrina. Rappers stopped worrying about self-identifying as political (read: preachy, boring, not commercially viable) and stepped up without hesitation.
I've already come across New National Anthem by TI, the Nina Simone-influenced Black Rage by Lauryn Hall, Don't Shoot by The Game and others, War Cry by Tef Poe, Tell the Children by Tink, Be Free by J Cole, We Gotta Pray by Alicia Keys and Hands Up by Yakki Divoshi. Don't Shoot, named after a Ferguson hashtag and placard slogan, stands out because its sheer manpower allows for a range of responses, from Diddy's thoughtful restraint to Swizz Beatz' bleak despair to Problem's vengeful fury. Amid references to Martin Luther King and Jesse Jackson, The Revolution Will Not Be Televised and Fuck Tha Police, Curren$y's "I'm a resident of a country that don't want me" cuts deepest.
Those are just the songs intended to be about Ferguson. As D'Angelo's quote demonstrates, the crisis transformed the meaning and purpose of existing songs. When Vince Staples tweeted "Hands Up is not about Ferguson", I felt like replying, "Well, that's what you think." I was reminded of a quote from DH Lawrence in Greil Marcus's The History of Rock'n'Roll in 10 Songs: "Never trust the teller. Trust the tale." Hands Up wasn't written about Ferguson the place, Ferguson the crisis, but it's about what the name Ferguson now represents. Likewise Run the Jewels' heart-wrenching Early: "I apologise if I got out of line sir/Cause I respect the badge and the gun/And I pray today ain't the day that you drag me away/Right in front of my beautiful son." For D'Angelo, Ferguson recontextualised Black Messiah, an album which sometimes attains the humid density of There's a Riot Goin' On, and made its rush-release a necessary response. He wanted the album to reflect "anarchy and urgency and revolution". So when Questlove posted on Instagram, calling for songs that "speak truth", I felt that these songs were already out there.
The best of them feel fresh and alive in a way that Band Aid 30's Do They Know It's Christmas? did not. This lumbering anachronism reminded me of attending 2007's Live Earth, the massive benefit concert that was forgotten even as it was happening: the last gasp of an outmoded form.
Under fire from the likes of Damon Albarn, Fuse ODG and even Emeli Sande, who sang on the record, Bob Geldof proved unable to accept that pop music, the media and the world have changed, and immune to humility or self-awareness. His belligerent defence of the redemptive power of good intentions was forgivable in 1984 because the concept was new and its strengths outweighed its flaws. Thirty years later, nobody needs a pop song to tell them about ebola. I'm prepared to believe that it raised awareness of the epidemic among the very young but mostly it just raised awareness of the redundancy of the all-star benefit single. (I had high hopes for another multi-vocal effort, Rookie Magazine's Go Forth, Feminist Warriors, because it featured people like Carrie Brownstein, Aimee Mann and Tegan & Sara but unfortunately this "feminist We Are the World" is terrible. At least Do They Know It's Christmas? is catchy.)
Some of the year's most outspoken rock musicians were from the original Band Aid/We Are the World generation. On High Hopes, Bruce Springsteen enlisted Tom Morello to beef up two of his finest protest songs, 1995's The Ghost of Tom Joad and 2000's American Skin (41 Shots), the latter about – plus ca change – the police murder of an unarmed black man. On U2's Songs of Innocence, Bono stopped trying to throw his arms around the world and drew a tight bead on the Ireland of his youth: the violence of political fanatics (Raised By Wolves) and the complacent cruelty of abusive priests (Sleep Like a Baby Tonight). It's a shame that the album's controversially vast iTunes data dump distracted from the powerful intimacy of the words.
Morrissey's World Peace Is None of Your Business showed that a strong melody can redeem a ham-fisted lyric. Even as I couldn't get it out of my head, I wondered how he could bundle together protest movements in countries as different as Egypt, Brazil, Ukraine and Bahrain and empathise with the victims of autocrats while rubbishing the right to vote. Small wonder that he is good friends with Russell Brand. Elbow's The Blanket of Night took the opposite tack, tenderly sketching a scene of two asylum-seekers on a stormy sea. Compassion for ordinary lives can be more effective than raging vaguely against the powerful. The year's biggest surprise came from Paolo Nutini, an MOR soulboy reconfigured, on Iron Sky, as an urgent revolutionary idealist, making excellent use of Charlie Chaplin's famous "machine minds" speech from The Great Dictator.
Iron Sky's dystopian video is just one example of how visuals can emphasise and expand lyrics. The clip for John Grant's Glacier used the singer's deeply personal account of the impact of homophobia as an opportunity to chart the history of the gay rights movement, to emotionally overwhelming effect. The pansexual love-in depicted in Annie's Russian Kiss video made it an even more joyous riposte to Putin's anti-gay laws during the Sochi Olympics. Holly Herndon's Home, a break-up song addressed to her computer, was a witty sideways take on the mass surveillance program revealed by Edward Snowden.
Canadian country singer Kira Isabella's Quarterback doesn't necessarily read as a protest song but it should. I've said before that the only thing I'd change about 33 Revolutions Per Minute is to redraw the parameters of what constitutes a feminist protest song. I underserved personal songs with broad resonance that didn't present themselves as movement anthems. Quarterback is such a song.
Isabella describes a nightmarish inversion of an early Taylor Swift scenario, in which a timid geek hooks up with a football hero in the most horrific way. As the title and chorus indicate, the real target isn't the rapist but the high-school caste system that allows him to get away with it by disbelieving his victim. As Katherine St Asaph wrote in a brilliant review, "it's also a song about popularity, and who we deem to matter".
Originally written in the first person, Quarterback is far more disturbing in the third. Isabella's neutral delivery, cracking only on the line "when she saw the pictures on the internet," suggests that she could be one of the complicit bystanders. A stronger singer might have overplayed the indignation, tipped the song out of the everyday and into melodrama, made it obvious from the start where it was going. The video betrays the song's toughness by ending with a cathartic scene in which the rapist is exposed. The lyric allows no such happy ending. It's about trying to live at the very bottom of a crushing power structure. And it shows that great songwriting can bottle a major issue in a single story that leaves you stunned.
Here are my Top 20 albums and singles of the year. And here's a link to my Spotify playlist of roughly 100 songs I enjoyed in 2014.
Owen Pallett – In Conflict
FKA twigs – LP1
Manic Street Preachers – Futurology
St Vincent – St Vincent
Run the Jewels – Run the Jewels 2
Sky Ferreira – Night Time, My Time
D'Angelo & the Vanguard – Black Messiah
Caribou – Our Love
Lana Del Rey – Ultraviolence
Kate Tempest – Everybody Down
Kelis – Food
Wye Oak – Shriek
The Soft Pink Truth – Why Do the Heathen Rage?
Scott Walker & Sunn O))) – Soused
Taylor Swift – 1989
Lewis – L'Amour
Wild Beasts – Present Tense
Aphex Twin – Syro
Eno*Hyde – Someday World
The Juan Maclean – In a Dream
FKA twigs – Two Weeks
Todd Terje – Oh Joy
Caribou – Silver
Future Islands – Seasons (Waiting on You)
Sofi de la Torre – Vermillion
Taylor Swift – Out of the Woods
Idina Menzel – Let It Go
The War on Drugs – Red Eyes
Kira Isabella – Quarterback
Jane Weaver – Argent
Röyskopp & Robyn – Do It Again
The Soft Pink Truth – Ready to Fuck
Beyonce – XO
Elbow – Fly Boy Blue/Lunette
Porter Robinson – Hear the Bells
Schoolboy Q feat. Kendrick Lamar – Collard Greens
Vic Mensa – Down on My Luck
Jenny Lewis – One of the Guys
Perfume Genius – Queen
CONCERTS (CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER)
St Vincent at Shepherd's Bush Empire
Kelis at Metropolis Studios
Miley Cyrus at Phones4U Arena
Future Islands and Courtney Barnett at Field Day
OutKast at Wireless Festival
Kate Bush at Hammersmith Apollo
FKA twigs at Hackney Empire
Underworld (Dubnobasswithmyheadman) at Royal Festival Hall
Kate Tempest at Village Underground
Goldfrapp at Royal Albert Hall
Jesus & Mary Chain (Psychocandy) at Troxy
John Grant at Royal Festival Hall
Manic Street Preachers (The Holy Bible) at Roundhouse
Categories: Uncategorized . . Author: Dorian Lynskey
Comment by swgoimh on December 21, 2014 7:04 pm
Well I don't think we did a bad job this year. The opening song might be about events that are two years old, but some of the rest's pretty current: https://stevewhiteandtheprotestfamily.bandcamp.com/
The ballad of John and Russell Charlie Hebdo, satire and malicious misreading

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Thorp Collection 073, Temple at foot of Huang-shan, South Anhui, L.C.Li.
Temple at foot of Huang-shan, South Anhui, L.C.Li. This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of the image I.D. No. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing."
Thorp Collection 072, Fan Changhsien, after Huangshian, South Anhui, L.C.Li.
Fan Changhsien, after Huangshian, South Anhui, L.C.Li. This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of the image I.D. No. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing."
On way to Huangshan South Anhui. This image and all othrs identified as I.D.Nos. ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing."
Thorp Collection 078, Jiuhuashang (mountains) in Southern Anhui. L.C.Li.
Jiuhuashang (mountains) in Southern Anhui. L.C.Li. This image and all othrs identified as I.D.Nos. ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing."
Thorp Collection 069, Path in South Anhui.
Path in South Anhui. This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of the image I.D. No. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing."
Thorp Collection 065, Temple - Bridge - Southern Anhui.
Thorp Collection, Temple - Bridge - Southern Anhui. This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing," the first Thorp image presented in this collection.
Huangshan., Anhui (Yellow Mountains) This image and all others identified as ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of the image I.D. No. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing."
Thorp Collection 081, Dragon Boat Fan Chang Hsien south Anhui, L.C.Li.
Dragon Boat Fan Chang Hsien south Anhui, L.C.Li. This image and all othrs identified as I.D.Nos. ecasia000072 through ecasia000278, are scans of images from the James Thorp Collection, Earlham College. An explanation and description of the collection and its origin are included in the description of image I.D. ecasia000072, "Altar of Heaven at night, Beijing."
Thorp Collection 076, Jiuhuashang (mountains) - South Anhui. L.C.Li.


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You are here: Home > Touchstone > Lead Articles > 2003 > September 2003 > CCANZ Forum
Forum to Chart New Path for NZ Ecumenism
By Elaine Bolitho
A discussion on the future of the ecumenical movement in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />New Zealand will be the focus the annual forum of the Conference of Churches of Aotearoa New Zealand (CCANZ) in Christchurch September 26-28.
CCANZ general secretary Michael Earle hopes a new road map for the future will result, and he wants Forum delegates to be "open to the God of surprises".
Possibilities the Forum will consider include a new body to replace CCANZ, which has lost several members churches and is under financial pressure.
New Zealand has a rich ecumenical heritage. In 1941 it was the first Commonwealth country to develop a National Council of Churches (NCC). The NCC had a high profile, had links with the World Council of Churches and in 1945 initiated the Christian World Service (CWS) – today one of New Zealand's most respected aid and development agencies.
NCC's profile was heightened by church union activity from the 1950s to 1970s. This was seen as a step on the road towards fulfilling Jesus' prayer "that they may all be one" (John 17.21). Interest in a broader ecumenical network grew and after extensive consultations NCC was replaced by CCANZ in 1986. It included Roman Catholic and Orthodox Church representatives as well as Protestant denominations.
The staff and volunteers of CCANZ developed several influential programmes, the most notable being the Programme on Racism, fronted by Mitzi Nairn. CCANZ has promoted evangelism, public issues, peace and justice and the Decade to Overcome Violence (DoV).
However, questions are being asked about whether this structure is the right way to express 21st-century ecumenism. One of CCANZ's three presidents Bishop Murray Mills says today' s churches lack a strong belief in the call to be one. "The new generation of leaders has not gone through that ecumenical journey seeking church union."
Presbyterian external relations secretary Rev Chris Nichol echoes this view. He says CCANZ's strengths include the space it has created for CWS and DoV to operate and its national and international links with other churches and councils.
But Chris sees weaknesses too – particularly with finance and representation. With the withdrawal of the Lutheran, Serbian Orthodox, and Roman Catholic churches, only twelve Protestant and small Orthodox churches belong to CCANZ. It includes no Pacific or Asian churches and the more conservative, evangelical and Pentecostal churches belong to the new Vision Network.
Despite CCANZ's pared-down budget, it is an expensive organisation to fund for denominations with their own financial crises. "Money is not driving the agenda," says Chris, "how we serve the ecumenical movement is – but we have to be good stewards of the money we have."
Ahead of Forum, groups around the country have been looking afresh at ecumenical issues. Methodist Mission and Ecumenical secretary Rev John Roberts prepared a paper that argues Methodists should not turn back from their ecumenical journey. Synods have discussed it and it will go to Conference where members will be asked to renew their commitment to achieve justice and peace through ecumenical bodies.
Discussions at CCANZ Forum on new ways to be ecumenical will cover how to:
· Create an ecumenical space where more churches are represented and have greater freedom to come and go;
· Value our gifts and differences rather than distrust them;
· Continue supporting CWS and the DoV programme;
· Link national and international churches and councils;
· Celebrate resurrection and renewal rather than trying to revive dying structures.


LANSING, Mich.– August 8, 2016 – Liquid Web, a $90 million web hosting and cloud services provider devoted to delighting customers, today announced it has signed an agreement to purchase Rackspace® (NYSE: RAX) Cloud Sites business unit, which will remain in San Antonio.
Users of the Cloud Sites platform, who include designers, developers and digital agencies, should expect a seamless transition as Liquid Web and Rackspace work together to complete the transaction. In fact, Liquid Web plans to invest in developing innovative solutions on the Cloud Sites platform to better serve these savvy, skilled professionals who are dependent on a highly available and reliable hosting provider.
With its relentless focus on customer experience, Liquid Web ruthlessly designs its services to work for rapidly growing businesses living, building and creating on the web and in the cloud. Backed by Liquid Web's impeccable customer support, Cloud Sites will provide an all-in-one technology platform designed for high-traffic websites with easy scalability. The Cloud Sites platform-as-a-service (PaaS) product significantly augments Liquid Web's already premium portfolio, and adds capabilities to further simplify web hosting and cloud services. The Cloud Sites platform supports WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, .NET, PHP, and other development and production environments customers desire.
With the acquisition of Cloud Sites, Liquid Web will grow to approximately 550 employees and 30,000 customers globally. The addition of Cloud Sites supports Liquid Web's mission to heroically empower web professionals worldwide. The company plans to invest in the Cloud Sites platform, employees and overall business. Given the clear shift in how customers want to consume web services, for example the mass adoption of easy-to-use, open-source content management systems like WordPress or commerce platforms like Magento, Liquid Web aims to continually improve the usability and reliability of the systems behind those services.
Liquid Web delivers reliable, highly-available, secure and hassle-free hosting fueled by our Heroic Support. ® The company empowers its employees to go above and beyond to make life easier for professionals who create the content and commerce on the ever-changing web – so they can focus on the work they love. Liquid Web offers a broad portfolio designed so customers can choose their own adventure whether it is hands-on or hands-off or a hybrid of the two. The company owns and manages its own data centers providing a broad portfolio of offerings ranging from bare metal servers to managed WordPress and continues to evolve its service offerings to meet the ever-changing needs of its customers. With over 30,000 customers spanning 150 countries, the company has assembled a world-class team, global data centers and an expert group of 24/7/365 solution engineers. As an industry leader in customer service* with a 98 percent satisfaction rating, the rapidly expanding company has been recognized among INC Magazine's 5000 Fastest Growing Companies for the last ten years. Liquid Web is part of the Madison Dearborn Partners family of companies. Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC ("MDP") is a leading private equity investment firm based in Chicago. For more information, please visit www.liquidweb.com, follow us on Twitter @LiquidWeb, or read our blog posts at https://www.liquidweb.com/blog.


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Fermentation播客
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SheBrews, HeBrews: A Jewish Fermentation Podcast
Evan Harris
a Jewish fermenting podcast, where we hope to discuss all things, home brewing and fermentation, both biblical and modern from a Jewish perspective, including beers, meads, ciders, breads, pickles, cheeses, and much, much more.
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The Fermentation Podcast
Creating Culture.
Fermentation Beer and Brewing Radio
Emma Inch
Beer and brewing magazine-style show, produced and presented by British Beer Writer of the Year, Emma Inch. Find out more at www.fermentationradio.com or follow Emma on Twitter @fermentradio
Episode 16: Old Man Liquors 47:31
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct8V5y-n1Bw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyIJJzr3T0E https://www.youtube.com/c/TheTimTraveller https://xkcd.com/1053/ Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jewishfermentationpodcast/ Our Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1789715由Evan Harris
Episode 15: New Years 34:17
https://www.gregcal.com https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1470255637355544578.html https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decimal_time https://www.lifestyleasia.com/kl/culture/events/unique-new-years-eve-traditions/ https://www.german-way.com/history-and-culture/holidays-and-celebrations/silvester-new-years-eve-germany/ https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/24…
Episode 14: Punchy Punches 44:00
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/cape-fear-punch-recipe-1917913 https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/good-eats-company-punch-recipe-1948159 https://altonbrown.com/recipes/clarified-milk-punch/ https://www.seriouseats.com/clarified-milk-punch-the-varnish Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jewishfermentationpodc…
Episoide 13: Brining and Thanksgiving 49:28
https://twitter.com/angrysemite/status/1461923655747784706?s=25 . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKr1rByVVCI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAZI5GcPm8c&ab_channel=Jam2go https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigd https://www.thejewishstar.com/stories/a-sweet-and-sour-history-of-jews-and-pickles,19579 https://www.ochjs.ac.uk/language-classes/oxford-school…
Episoide 12: Mulling Infusions 41:16
https://altonbrown.com/recipes/immersion-circulator-fennel-cordial/ https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pepper-vodka-recipe-2103970 https://altonbrown.com/recipes/allspice-dram/ https://www.justonecookbook.com/plum-wine/ https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/22934/glogg/ Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jewishfermentationpodc…
Episode 11: Spiritus Spirits and Distilled Drinks 58:21
https://www.youtube.com/c/StillIt http://www.smugglerscovesf.com Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jewishfermentationpodcast/ Our Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1789715由Evan Harris
Episode 10: Ancient Jews Wines and Modern Recreations 52:51
https://www.israel21c.org/try-the-wine-that-king-david-and-jesus-may-have-sipped/ https://www.recanati-winery.com/en/bittuni-a-fresh-new-israeli-wine-from-ancient-local-grapes/ https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/israeli-archaeologists-discover-ancient-winemaking-complex-80514319 Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jewishferm…
Episoide 9: Current Brews and More Holidays 36:59
Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jewishfermentationpodcast/ Our Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1789715由Evan Harris
Episode 8: Yom Kippur and Sukkot 39:16
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ushpizin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJgGEGFoggo Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jewishfermentationpodcast/ Our Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1789715由Evan Harris
Episode 7: Rosh Hashana 34:11
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/3783-original-plum-torte Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jewishfermentationpodcast/ Our Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1789715由Evan Harris
Episode 6 1:08
Episode 5: Vinegar and drinking Sour Wine 32:36
Episode 4: Fermented Dairy 42:39
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brunost https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y561JaCuVjc www.cheesemaking.com Alison's Quiche recipe: Evan's Sous Vide Yogurt Recipe: Pint or Quart jars 180ºF for 30min to denature Cool to below 110ºF Add yogurt starter/leftover yogurt to each jar 110ºF for at least 12 hours Take jars out and cool Eat! old.reddit.com/r/yogu…
Episoide 3: Preferred Potent Potables & Favorable Fermented Foods 41:55
Paper on Fermentable Foods: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1541-4337.12520 Chocolate Fermentation: https://www.thechocolatejournalist.com/blog/fermentation-magical-step-chocolate Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jewishfermentationpodcast/ Our Website: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1789715…
Episode 2: Jewish Breads 42:12
Samin's Focaccia: https://www.saltfatacidheat.com/fat/ligurian-focaccia Alton Brown Sourdough Starter: https://altonbrown.com/recipes/wild-sourdough-starter/ Chef John from foodwishes.com sourdough starter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FkGX3xGlog Evan's Sister's Challah: Alison's Water Challah Recipe: https://www.thespruceeats.com/vegan-water-c…
Episode 1: What is Fermentation Anyway‽ 38:09
Find us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jewishfermentationpodcast/ Beer and Mead made with ancient yeast: https://www.timesofisrael.com/its-not-what-goliath-drank-but-ancient-yeast-brews-still-bring-giant-flavor/ Alton brown Yeast Sock Puppets: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7hFsuGIMcM Barry's One Month Mead: https://gotmead.com/blog/arti…
Episode 0: A Jewish Fermentation Podcast 39:37
Welcome to Episode 0 of "She Brews, He Brews, a jewish fermenting podcast", where we hope to discuss all thing homebrewing and fermenting both biblical and modern from a Jewish perspective including beers, meads, ciders, wines, breads, pickles, cheese, and much more. Goals of the podcast Sharing brewing and fermenting knowledge Learning new things …
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 21 December 2020 - Beer & Music 50:39
Can what we listen to change how we feel? More importantly, can what we listen to enhance our enjoyment of our favourite drink? In this episode, Emma: talks beer & music matching with beer writer, Pete Brown; discusses the links between beer & music with Tom Bott, co-founder of London brewery, Signature Brew; and performs an experiment with beer & …
Roger Ryman: In His Own Words 12:54
I last interviewed Roger Ryman at St Austell Brewery in November 2019. As usual, he was entertaining, insightful, and full of stories. Here's 13 minutes of the best from one of the greats of modern brewing. Roger Ryman: 02/06/1967 - 28/05/2020 Available via: Apple Podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts…
Fermentation in Isolation - #7 48:19
How is the current coronavirus crisis affecting the beer industry? Featuring: Emma McClarkin (Chief Executive, British Beer & Pub Association); Katy Moses (Founder & Managing Director, KAM Media), and Jane Peyton (drinks writer & educator). Available via: Apple Podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts…
Fermentation in Isolation - #6 1:02:32
How is the current coronavirus crisis affecting the beer industry? Featuring: Steven Alton (Chief Executive, BII); Mark McCulloch (CEO of Supersonic Inc), and Jane Peyton (drinks writer & educator) Available via: Apple Podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts
Fermentation in Isolation #5 47:58
How is the current coronavirus crisis affecting the beer industry? Featuring: Tony Sophoclides (Strategic Affairs Director at UK Hospitality); Gabe Cook (The Ciderologist); Jane Peyton (drinks writer & educator) Available to listen to via: Apple Podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts
How is the current coronavirus affecting the beer industry? Featuring: Neil Walker (Head of Comms & Marketing, SIBA) Chris Hyde (Pub2Me) Carolyn Jenkinson (Licensed Trade Charity) Jane Peyton (drinks writer & educator) Available to download & listen to at: Apple Podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts…
How is the current coronavirus crisis affecting the beer industry? Featuring: Emma McClarkin (Chief Executive, British Beer & Pub Association) Annabel Smith (Head of Training at Cask Marque & founder of Beer Belle) Jane Peyton (drinks writer & educator) Available to download & listen to at: Apple Podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts…
How is the current coronavirus crisis affecting the beer industry? Featuring: Tom Stainer (Chief Executive, CAMRA) Keith Bott (co-owner of Titanic Brewery & President of Pub Aid) Jane Peyton (drinks writer & educator) Available to download and listen to at: Apple Podcasts Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts…
How is the current coronavirus crisis affecting the beer industry? Featuring: James Calder (Chief Executive, SIBA) John Willetts (Director, Simply Hops & founder of Beer is Here) Iain Chambers (Community Project Manager, The Bevy) Jane Peyton (drinks writer & educator) Available to download and listen at: Apple Podcasts Spotify or wherever you get …
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 5 March 2020 - Is it ever 'just beer'? 1:07:51
Beer has the power to unite us, to say something to us, and to have a major influence on the world around us. So is it ever 'just beer'? Featuring a discussion with two of the most influential people in beer today: Dr J Jackson-Beckham (Diversity Ambassador, Brewer's Association) & Paul Jones (Co-Founder & Director, Cloudwater). Available to downlo…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 6 February 2020 - Where's Cask At? 56:51
Cask beer. The very soul of the British pub or boring brown beer? Good value or desperately undervalued? The future of craft beer or a dusty old relic? Where exactly is cask beer at? Feat: - Roger Ryman (Brewing Director; St Austell Brew Co) - Ben Duckworth (Director; Affinity Brew Co & Cask Festival) - Matt Eley (Editor; Cask Report) - Jane Peyton…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 9 January 2020 - Obadiah Poundage 45:35
Obadiah Poundage is a recreation of a nineteenth century porter and the result of years of work and a collaboration between Mike Siegel (Goose Island, Chicago), Ron Pattinson (beer historian) and Derek Prentice (London brewing legend). All three came together at the Goose Island Brew Pub in Shoreditch to launch the beer and tell some of the many st…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 12 December 2019 - One for all. All for one. 29:32
The beer industry has moved on in terms of diversity over the past few years, particularly for some previously excluded groups. But - as in common with most other industries - we're still at the beginning of a potentially very long journey. Featuring: Megan Stone - US brewer & founder of @isbeeracarb Jack Hibberd - Laine Brew Co Farooq Khalid - hea…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 28 November 2019 - Sustainability #3 - Leaving a Smaller Footprint 44:56
Sustainability involves a complex web of interconnectedness between consumer, brewery, supplier and worker. Colin Johnston (Crisp Malting) and Fergus Fitzgerald (Adnams) discuss some of the issues. Recorded live at Cambridge Beer Festival.
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 14 November 2019 - Sustainability #2 - Good Things Brewing Co 56:54
Sometimes a brewery comes along that captures minds, captures imaginations, captures hearts even, and reminds us that beer can be all about people, about story, and about the wish to make the world a better place. Emma visits Good Things Brewing Co and speaks to Chris Drummond about his vision of a fully-sustainable brewery.…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 31 October 2019 - Sustainability #1 1:05:15
It's hard to switch on the television or open a newspaper nowadays without coming across something about the environment and the importance of protecting it. Whether it's Greta Thunberg, Extinction Rebellion or David Attenborough, the message would seem to be clear: we all need to act more sustainably. But how are breweries responding to this chall…
Fermentation Bitesize - 17 October 2019 - Ampersand Brew Co 49:00
Ampersand Brew Co is a small, progressive brewery based in South Norfolk. It produces seasonal beers, session beers and big barrel-aged beauties. The story of this family-run brewery throws the spotlight on many features of the contemporary brewing scene. Ampersand's Andy Hipwell discusses tap rooms, collaborations and cask ales, and shares some of…
Fermentation Bitesize - 3 October 2019 - Toucans & Widgets 1:05:03
From the original lease to the distinctive advertising, and from the earliest recipes to the invention of the widget, Guinness is a brewery with a rich 260 year history. Take a step inside the Guinness Archive alongside archivist Fergus Brady, and discover some of the secrets that bring this unique beer alive. Available to listen and download on: A…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 19 September 2019 - Both Barrels 51:04
Beer and whisk(e)y: great drinking buddies and close relatives in the family tree of booze. But what's the relationship between them? What do they share and how do they differ? Where do barrels and wood fit in? And what can we learn about beer from its spiritual cousin? Available to download and listen via Apple Podcasts, Spotify and more. Feat. Do…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - Back to the Country 51:23
The 'craft' beer revolution in the UK is often associated with railway arches and industrial estates. But that's not the whole story. Beer is going back to the country. Emma is joined live at the Cambridge Beer Festival by Sophie de Ronde (Burnt Mill Brewery), Miranda Hudson (Duration Brewery) & Bates (Duration Brewery).…
Fermentation Bitesize: Jereme Zimmerman - The Red-Headed Yeti 44:13
Jereme Zimmerman - avid fermenter and self-described 'peace-loving, green-living Appalachian Yeti Viking' shares a beer with Emma. The birth of civilisation, prohibition, sustainability, Norse mythology and the importance of stories to our enjoyment of beer all feature in this wide-ranging discussion. And if you've ever considered brewing Chicha de…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 8 August 2019 - Liquorice, Saffron, Blueberry & Hibiscus 47:52
We all know that beer can contain so much more than just water, malt, hops & yeast - and there is always something new to try. Emma highlights four breweries - two from the UK and two from further afield - that are doing interesting things with ingredients that fall slightly outside the norm. Feat.: Liquid Light Brewing Company (Nottingham, UK) Gar…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 25 July 2019 - Please can I see the beer list? 41:35
Inside the beer industry we've been talking for years about how well beer goes with food, and how it can work even better alongside food than wine. Are people outside the beer industry beginning to listen? Featuring insights from: Garrett Oliver (Brewmaster, Brooklyn Brewery) Melissa Cole (Beer Writer) Ian Colgan (Beer & Food Specialist, Guinness B…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 11 July 2019 - The value of cask ale 1:12:35
In this world of unparalled choice, where kegs, bottles and cans of all styles constantly cry out for our attention, what's the value of cask ale? Emma hosts a panel discussion about the value of the pint in your glass - not just the price, but the history, the provenance and the meaning of cask ale. Featuring: Gary Sillence (Head Brewer, Brighton …
Fermentation Bitesize: Lily Waite - Queer Brewing Project 30:49
Beer: it's powerful stuff. In fact, all evidence points to it being one of the main reasons behind civilisation as we know it. So why shouldn't it change the world? In this bitesize edition of Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio, Emma speaks to artist, beer writer, queer activist and founder of the Queer Brewing Project, a collaborative beer project …
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 13 June 2019 - Love beer, will travel 59:11
From your local brewery tap room to a UK beer city, from closer to home to further afield, more people are planning their holiday based on the beer and beer experiences on offer. And, on this episode, Emma investigates beer tourism. Emma takes a closer look at the Czech Republic's beer scene with the help of Keterina Hobbs (Czech Tourism), Viktor T…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 30 May 2019 - Cheers to beer! 1:06:27
Britain: a land of damp Sundays, conkers on strings, cooked breakfasts, unnecessary apologies, and wonderful, wonderful beer. In this episode we delve into the exciting world of contemporary British beer and look ahead to Beer Day Britain - Britain's national beer day - which is coming up on Saturday 15 June. Mark Newton - Marston's resident cooper…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - Barcelona Revisited 1:07:20
The Catalan beer scene is an exciting place. If no media player appears in your browser, click here to download & listen When Emma went over to host a live podcast at Barcelona Beer Festival back in March, she made it her business to explore the rest of the city. And she ended up meeting many of the people who make the scene such an amazing place. …
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - Do you remember your first? 58:58
We all have a first. That special one, the legendary one. The one that first awoke your taste buds. Maybe it was supping the foam off a pint of your dad's homebrew. Maybe it was a taste of your grandmother's glass of stout in the village pub. Maybe it was a cold can of something thrust into your hand as you watched the football. Join Emma (and resi…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 18 April 2019 - Goose Island, Two Tribes, Brasserie des Franches-Montagnes & Thornbridge 1:00:13
On this episode, Emma links up with four breweries - from the UK, mainland Europe and the USA - who are shaping the contemporary beer scene in their own unique ways. If no media player appears in your browser, please click here to download & listen Featuring: Tim Faith, Research & Development brewer at Chicago's Goose Island Brewery; Simon Webster,…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 4 April 2019 - LIVE at Barcelona Beer Festival 55:31
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio goes LIVE at the 2019 Barcelona Beer Festival! If no media player appears in your browser, please click here to download & play this episode Emma with members of the Spanish Pink Boots Society Joan 'Birraire' Villar-i-Marti Emma with Anna Hereu In this extra-special episode we celebrate pan-European collaboration, …
Fermentation Bitesize - Justin Hawke (Moor Beer) & The Citizens of Everywhere 30:35
Today's episode is the very first Fermentation Bitesize - occasional single-guest specials featuring the best of the contemporary beer scene. If no media player appears in your browser, please click here to listen and download. Collaboration is the theme of the discussion and today's guest has pulled together a truly monumental collaboration betwee…
Fermentation Beer & Brewing Radio - 7 March 2019 - International Women's Day 56:22
The month of March is Women's History Month and Friday 8 March is International Women's Day - a time to reflect on the great progress made in terms of women's rights, and also to redouble our efforts in the fight for change, the fight to achieve equal rights for all women and girls across the world. In this episode we mark International Women's Day…


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About Rev. Mitcz
My official short bio
Rev. Mitcz (pronounced "Reverend Mitch", but you can call him "Mitch") is a Stand-up Comedian, host of multiple podcasts, occasional indie actor, and all-around nutcase living in the jaded city of Hollywood, CA.
While Rev. Mitcz's stand-up comedy can be at times jarring and abrasive, he presents an endearing and silly worldview on life and society. His comedic appeal is a mixture of his stage presence, his unique personal appearance, and his dark self-awareness that exposes surprising honesty. The energetic and often upbeat nature of his act becomes infectious - making audiences laugh at subject matter they'd normally find appalling.
Questions : Answered
These question aren't necessarily "frequently asked", but they've been asked of me at least once. Many of them are based on the revolving "quotes & quips" header on the front page, while others come from various projects I've done.
What was it like to be on the Bad Girls Club? What was Ailea REALLY like? What got cut?
I'm not really at liberty to discuss much of that. It's in the contract. What I can say is this : Ailea seemed like a pretty normal girl at first, but once the cameras caught us talking, she started getting really needy and mean and whiny. Throughout the evening, she would flip from "pissed off and whiny" to "normal, happy-go-lucky" girl on a dime whenever the camera showed up.
As far as what got cut? I honestly don't even remember.
Why would you admit such personal things on the front page of your website?
Cause it's funnier that way. And, who cares? It's no fun being serious and worried all the time.
Have you REALLY never worn a t-shirt onstage?
Really. Never. Always some kind of button-up. Once, I think I wore a long-sleeve thermal or something at an open mic.
I'm pretty sure you didn't use the word "cat" in a performance of yours that I saw
I probably did. It's a subtle thing.
Will you buy me a drink on a bad day?
Probably. I'd just be honored that you mentioned having seen this site, frankly.
Your little "quotes" header says I should send you nude photos. does anyone do that? and what do you do with them?
Yeah, people have done that quite a lot over the years. Mostly women, which is what I prefer, but I've gotten the occasional cock pic, too. As for what I do with them? Look at 'em, smile, and send a reply email of "thanks!". I've never shared them with anyone, and I'd never post them online. They're for my eyes only, and I wouldn't breach the trust people would put in me to keep things like that secret.
So, ya know, feel free to shoot off a filthy email at me. I'd be only too pleased.
Why don't you bless people when they sneeze?
I just prefer a non-denominational gesundheit is more appropriate. It simply means "good health", and that's the sentiment even the "god bless you" folks wish to impart. If I can do a very small part in chipping away at the religious standard of assuming everyone's on board with the jesus fella – well, then, I'll keep on saying gesundheit (and, sometimes, responding "please don't" when people bless me — but that's mostly just for fun).
Wait! Wait! I have more questions!
Okay, then email me a question and I'll probably respond.


The kitchen is the heart of a restaurant. Its design, construction and efficiency affect the entire operation of the restaurant and can drive or hinder success. Disorganized spaces lead to spills, wasted steps and loss of income. But a thoughtfully conceived and executed space can work like a well-oiled machine.
Whether you are opening a new restaurant or have been in the industry for years, the process is still the same. There are many considerations to make when designing a kitchen layout. In our latest edition of "Building a Smart Restaurant," we're going to look at how you can design your kitchen to ensure your restaurant is efficient and, of course, successful.
You'll need each of these areas to keep everything flowing smoothly. Depending on the menu you have selected for your restaurant, you may need additional areas that are specialized to meet your needs. The menu should dictate much of what need to be in your kitchen.
It's important to ensure that any equipment you do order is designed for a commercial kitchen, is the appropriate size and meets all health and safety standards.
There are four basic restaurant kitchen configurations: Assembly line, island, zone and ergonomic. The menu and work style of each restaurant operator will drive the layout of the kitchen space. For instance, restaurants with limited menu items, such as fast food or pizzerias, can use an assembly line setup to maximize their output.
An ergonomic kitchen design aims to decrease preparation times by placing equipment in places where staff will work at optimal levels and reduce the number of steps they need to take. For instance, placing a cold refrigerator next to a hot fryer will reduce the energy efficiency of the refrigerator, but it means being able to quickly pull out fries and toss them into the deep fryer.
Creating zones can significantly increase the efficiency of a kitchen. This configuration tackles the kitchen design by defining specific areas for single purposes. This means breaking the kitchen up by task, with one zone dedicated to prep work, another for cooking, one for desserts and one for plating. A zone configuration creates less movement because each member of the staff is placed in the area of the kitchen they need to be in.
The island style configures tables similarly to the zone style with one exception: the central tables are arranged in the center of the room, allowing prep work to be done in the center of the room and cooking along the outer walls. This arrangement also works in the reverse, with cooking in the center and prep work and plating done along the outer walls.
We know your chef loves kitchen gadgets, but the quickest way to a disorganized kitchen is to stock up on all the latest and greatest products. Chances are you don't really need 20 different knives or that garlic press that ends up wasting half the clove. Make sure that everything in your kitchen is an absolute necessity that has earned its place.
Paring down your supplies and accessories is a great way to keep your kitchen moving efficiently. Take your organization to the next level by keeping items that have similar functions together and encouraging the staff to always put items back where they found them. That means you need to invest in smart storage for your things. If you're running low on space, think vertically — you'll find there's plenty of unused space in your kitchen once you change your perspective.
Building smart kitchens requires industry knowledge and experience. Getting the right design, even for a small kitchen, can have a significant impact on sales revenue. The team at econstruct, led by Frank Neimroozi, can get your restaurant kitchen off to the right start. By designing kitchens alongside owners and chefs, econstruct creates spaces that are functional and efficient. Give us a call today to start planning your restaurant construction.


Dedric Carter, vice chancellor for operations and technology transfer, and Gwen Bolden, director of Parking and Transportation Services, welcomed students, faculty and staff back to campus with updates and reminders about getting to, from and around Washington University in St. Louis.
As a reminder, any eligible individual who wants to park on campus during the 2018-19 academic year must purchase a new 2018-19 parking permit. Permits are required for all zones. However, between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 a.m., no permit is needed to park in any yellow or visitor space in any zone. Red spaces are enforced at all times.
Those eligible for a permit include undergraduate students with a junior or higher standing; graduate students; full- or part-time employees; and basic service contractors (employees of Allied Universal, Aramark, Bon Appetit, Catering St. Louis, Focal Pointe, Follett, Huntleigh and WFF) who work at the Danforth, North and West campuses. Other vendors who require access to campus may purchase a vendor permit. First- and second-year students may not have a vehicle on campus.
To purchase a permit, visit the parking permit site. By logging in with a WUSTL key, the system will only show the permits each individual is eligible to buy. Those without a WUSTL key can visit the Parking and Transportation office at North Campus, 700 Rosedale, at the corner of Skinker and Enright. To review the full list of permits, visit the Permit Options webpage.
There is a waitlist for all Zone 2 and 3 parking permits. Those who would like to be added may email parktrans@wustl.edu with the subject "waitlist" and include their preferred permit and zone, six-digit university ID, email address and phone number. Individuals will be added to the waitlist in the order the email is received.
The Occasional Parking Program is available to full- and part-time faculty and staff, graduate students and basic service contractors who only occasionally park on campus and do not have any other permit besides a motorcycle permit.
Interested participants have up to one month to try the program. Within that trial period, individuals can return the permits for a refund of any unused time. They then may purchase any available permit or pay public parking rates.
Learn more about OPP on the Occasional Parking Program webpage and carefully review all of the details to ensure the program is a fit throughout the permit year, which ends July 31.
Bearly Drivers Carpool allows full-time Danforth faculty and staff to share the cost of a significantly reduced parking permit and park in designated Bearly Drivers parking spaces within the team's assigned area. To participate, each member of a carpool team must enroll in the program, and individuals pay their portion via payroll deduction. Rates for 2018-19 include: $240 for a four-person carpool; $360 for a three-person carpool; and $540 for a two-person carpool.
Learn more about all of the university's alternative transportation programs on the Transportation Options webpage.
Those interested in purchasing an OPP or Bearly Drivers Carpool permit can apply online at Occasional Parking Program or Bearly Drivers Carpool.
Visitor parking has been consolidated to the Danforth University Center, Snow Way, Millbrook and West Campus garages. Visitors parking in these garages must pull a parking ticket, park in a designated visitor space and pay prior to exiting. The university also offers Passport Parking — an app that allows individuals to pay for parking by the hour from their phones — and park in designated visitor spaces across campus.
Learn more about visitor parking and review parking locations on the visitor parking webpage.
For additional information, visit parking.wustl.edu or contact the Parking and Transportation Services team at 314-935-5601 or parktrans@wustl.edu.


To say that Nintendo's handheld gaming consoles have been popular would be a huge understatement. According to Wikipedia's tabulation of worldwide console sales, the Nintendo DS, Game Boy, and Game Boy Advance occupy three of the top five spots. The DS alone is said to have sold over 135 million units since its initial release.
Today, Nintendo filled in the final missing details on its next-generation 3DS handheld, which was first unveiled at E3 earlier this year. It was then that we learned the 3DS would sport dual displays, one of which offers glasses-free 3D with an adjustable depth slider. Now we know how much the 3D portable will cost: $249.99 when it goes on sale in North America on March 27. In fact, you can already pre-order one on Amazon.
This news comes on the heels of a Joystiq report from early January revealing that the 3DS's battery only lasts 3-5 hours while playing games. As the article points out, that's quite a bit shorter than the claimed 17 hours of battery life offered by the Nintendo DSi XL. To make matters worse, charging the 3DS' battery reportedly takes more than three hours.
Of course, the 3DS's biggest problem may be the fact that it's entering a market teeming with smartphones that have credible gaming chops. The iPhone has been a boon to handheld gaming, and with Apple selling millions of them each month, I can't help but think it will be much more difficult for the 3DS to reach the levels of success enjoyed by its predecessors.