text:
Jay Barker, Ex-Alabama Quarterback and Sara Evans' Husband, Charged With Domestic Violence
Warner Bros. Film Chairman Toby Emmerich Floated for a New Job
As the studio navigates its day-and-date HBO Max plan with talent, David Geffen pitches the exec to Netflix.
By Kim Masters
Kim Masters
Editor-at-Large
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Toby Emmerich Michael Tran/FilmMagic
With 18 months left on his contract, is Warners film studio chairman Toby Emmerich exploring job opportunities? While it is far from clear that Emmerich will leave the studio after more than 20 years, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that David Geffen in recent weeks placed a call to Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos to inquire whether there might be a possible role for Emmerich at Netflix.
Geffen, 78, and Emmerich, 58, were both guests at a January dinner hosted by music mogul Jimmy Iovine; Emmerich started out in the music world and worked at Atlantic Records from 1987 to 1992; Geffen has credited Atlantic cofounder Ahmet Ertegun with giving him a start in the record business. Sources close to Emmerich say he had no knowledge of Geffen making any calls on his behalf. Others with knowledge of the situation say top Netflix executives did not see a place for Emmerich at the streamer. A source close to Sarandos said "no call was placed to him, and there was no discussion about a position." A Netflix spokesperson declined to comment.
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Emmerich was rumored to be departing in December; instead, he was given full control of films not only for theaters but also for HBO Max. Hits during his tenure as a top executive include Wonder Woman, Crazy Rich Asians and A Star Is Born. Misses include 2019 films The Goldfinch and The Kitchen. The exec was named president of the film studio in 2018 and promoted to chairman the following year. Emmerich's contract was last renewed in October 2019 and runs through the end of 2022.
A WarnerMedia rep, when asked for comment about Emmerich, confirmed that the exec is under contract and stated, "Any other speculation is just that, speculation," noting that he "has a wonderful relationship with [studio chief] Ann Sarnoff and there is no truth to the rumors."
One Emmerich associate speculated that a call from Geffen to Sarandos may have been intended to help Emmerich gain leverage in a future negotiation with Warners.
Another industry veteran says that while Geffen has said he no longer wants to be involved in the entertainment business, he still likes "to move chess pieces around" and has been making behind-the-scenes calls "just looking for action again … trying to extract information, like the old days." If he gets someone a job, this person adds, "he calls in favors for the rest of your life." This person adds that Geffen played a major, previously unreported behind-the-scenes role in getting Paul Simon to sell his music catalog to Sony Music Publishing, a deal that was announced in March. Geffen did not respond to requests for comment.
It's been a challenging several months for Warners, particularly for Emmerich. As THR previously reported, Emmerich — along with COO Carolyn Blackwood — was a key player in Warners' surprise December move to put the studio's entire 2021 slate of films on the HBO Max streaming service the same day they open in theaters. The studio faced backlash — including rebukes from directors Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve. Sources say Warners wrote big checks to some of those who had movies affected by the decision, such as Denzel Washington and Keanu Reeves. For some talent reps, resentment lingers. One agent with important movie clients says that when he challenged Emmerich about the move, "His answer was, 'Are we supposed to have called above-the-line people from 17 movies?' The answer is yes."
In explaining its decision, the company said its analysis was that theaters could not open meaningfully before the end of 2021. Not even two weeks later, the first vaccine shipments went out in the U.S. In April, WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar told Recode's Peter Kafka that certain 2022 movies will have an exclusive theatrical window and Cineworld said the studio had struck a deal to show certain films exclusively in theaters for 45 days before streaming, though the terms of that agreement are not clear.
Calling the episode "bumpy," Kilar said, "If I had the chance to do it over again, I think it's very fair to say that we would have taken a couple more days to see if we could have had even more conversations than we were able to have." (It is not clear that the studio had conversations with any of its creative partners.)
Warner Bros. higher-ups are also concerned about the performance of the studio's critically important DC movies. Warners had also faced negative publicity from the studio's response to Joss Whedon's alleged abusive behavior on the set of Justice League. Stars including Ray Fisher, Gal Gadot and Jason Momoa have said publicly that there were issues during Whedon's tenure on the film, which he finished after Zack Snyder left the production.
The March release of the Snyder version (at a cost of at least $70 million) renewed attention to the claims, with Fisher, who played Cyborg in the film, continuing to allege abusive, racist conduct on the project and accusing the studio of not seriously investigating his claims (which WarnerMedia fiercely denies).
This story first appeared in the May 5 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.


After spending the last four years rolling out and maintaining service oriented architectures, it's my hope that I've accumulated enough scars on the topic to approximate wisdom. This is an attempt to share some useful tidbits.
First I'll briefly describe the two different SOAs I've been working on to provide some context, and then launch into the lessons I've learned and observations I've made.
At Digg our SOA consisted of many Python backend services communicating with each other as well as being used by our PHP frontend servers and Tornado API servers. They used Apache Thrift for defining the interfaces, clients and as the underlying protocol. We had three major services (user, story, comment), and a handful of smaller ones.
All backend services were hosted on one class of machine–frontend servers were a separate class–and all backend services were deployed in unison from a single Git repository.
APIs are isolated to their own servers for decoupled debugging and scaling, have independent code bases, and are deployed individually.
SOAs are not a panacea, rather they significantly complicate your architecture. Nor are they fundamentally a high performance architecture, they impede performance by adding more parts.
Essentially the only value they provide is an abstraction for large teams to work together effectively through two mechanisms: defined interfaces reduce communication and breakage costs, and hiding internals behind those interfaces makes it possible to incrementally invest into quality without any additional cross-team coordination (you can rewrite the internals for various improvements without impacting API clients as long as you don't change the interfaces).
These advantages move mountains with large teams.
They don't necessarily provide a lot of value for very small teams. My gut feel is that small teams seeing massive performance wins from moving to a SOA could probably have gotten those same wins through any system rewrite/overhaul, and that the SOA is a bit of a red herring.
If you shouldn't immediately start with an SOA, then how do you move over to an SOA? The answer is "slowly and with great care." You'll either be moving over during a full rewrite–in which case, good luck!–or you'll be incrementally transitioning from your existing monolithic architecture.
If you're running a successful, growing company that requires splitting time between building out new features and infrastructure investment, then incremental migration is a likely strategy.
An interesting pattern to consider during migration is creating the new service API but having it share the existing database, allowing existing clients to migrate over the the new API incrementally. Once they're fully on the new API (which is still using the same old database), then you can migrate off to an independent database. Especially if you're dealing with four or five different teams with different development schedules, this technique can help you avoid data inconsistencies during a prolonged cutover.
On the flip side, Thrift is extremely self-documenting, which can make it more pleasant to work with than many HTTP APIs (we've used tastypie to create consistent APIs, which has been phenomenal, but it's APIs and datastructures are still more implicit and magical than comparable APIs built using Thrift).
Depending on the language you're using, you'll get different performance-per-hour-spent-optimizing between Thrift and HTTP. For Python I found it easier to get high performance using HTTP, simply because the ecosystem is extremely robust and the Python Thrift servers hadn't seen nearly as much community investment into their performance. Conversely, I could easily imagine for more robust Thrift implementations, like probably the Java implementation, that the inherently compactness of the Thrift protocol would facilitate superior performance over HTTP.
The last element to consider is that even with HTTP you don't get browser support for free. Rather, if you want to allow web browsers to access your APIs directly, then every single API endpoint will need to implement request authentication and authorization mechanisms. This is very doable (anecdote: we're doing it), but takes some time and consideration versus offloading authn and authz to an authorization layer (at Digg this was our PHP and Tornado services which auth(n|z)ed the requests and then acted as trusted users of our internal APIs).
Hot on the heels of picking your SOA's protocol is deciding the kind of API clients you'll use for interacting with your APIs. Broadly, there is a tradeoff between using sophisticated clients which hide as much complexity as possible (buying ease of use at the loss of control or awareness) versus dumb clients which expose all the ugly details of the underlying API (control and awareness at expense of "normal case" implementation speed).
Personally, I'm a strong proponent of dumb API clients.
I believe smart clients encourage engineers to treat a SOA as a monolithic application, and that's a leaky abstraction. For our current setup, each API request we perform–even within the same colocation–imposes about a 20ms cost simply for uWSGI to service the request (plus any additional time to perform logic or lookups within the API itself).
That's a lot of overhead to abstract away.
If you and your team are experienced working with SOAs, then by all means use a smart client, but if you're not then I tend to believe it's important to be exposed to the underlying implementation costs until you can build a mental cost model for the new development style.
If your organiation manages system architecture more through voluntary collaboration and evangelism than fiat, then the easiest way to prevent service adoption is creating a service which unifies a capability which several teams are actively implementing.
On first reflection, this seems obviously wrong: of course you should avoid writing the same component twice.
In practice though, if multiple teams are already implementing similar functionality and are commited to a schedule, then it's probably too late to try to unify implementations without forcing one or both teams to discard their project's schedule or design. After the various implementations are stable, then it's a good time to use those as concrete requirements for building a shared service.
File this one under "getting to the destination faster by avoiding fruitless debate."
Altogether, I believe moving to a service oriented architecture is an important phase of scaling your engineering team from approximately five to twenty. It probably also coincides with the transition from finding a product-market fit and scaling out the fitted business.
What are other ways to efficiently scale your engineering team?
What other important advice is there for creating an excellent SOA? Measurement and monitoring are probably a good topic to explore.


text:
Foreign "experts" trying to put out GRU's flaming shame
It appears, someone now has to put out that massive fire of scandals raging around Russia's military intelligence over the past weeks, months, or even years. That's part of the Russian tradition to employ "information firemen" from abroad, in addition to own talking heads, to poor some cool water on the hottest spots or spin necessary narratives.
This is by no means a rare occurrence as the Russian propaganda machine regularly resorts to the services of such freelancers in various occasions. The breaking story of the GRU spy base in French Alps was no exception.
These days, Russian media, which we know are often affiliated with security and intelligence agencies, are increasingly promoting an interview with Alain Rodier, presented as a retired senior officer with the French intelligence, now deputy chief of CF2R, the French Center for Intelligence Research, an expert on Islamic terrorism and organized crime.
This retiree in his comments for Atlantico, a popular French-based online publication, claims that that the report on Russian spies in Haute-Savoie is more like an old James Bond movie, which has nothing to do with reality.
Well, maybe it is the case, and a high-ranking French intelligence officer, albeit retired, knows better. But here's a thing: the original comments published by Atlantico have not a single weighty argument or evidence to back a claim that no GRU base has actually existed in French mountains.
In fact, what the French expert does is offers some vague phrased and claims of nonsense, paranoia and "no traces" of the spy group activity in France. Come on, an intelligence pundit covering a serious topic, trying to be funny and witty instead of providing a single factual evidence to prove his point? I'm not buying it, sorry.
However, the article by Alain Rodier, published on Atlantico on December 9, which, as I'm writing this, has collected just 14 Facebook shares and another eight on Twitter, is becoming the most widely spun piece in the gray information segment of Ru-net.
But there's more.
Not so long ago, in June of this year, I already spoke about a French "ex-intelligence officer", Paul Barril, 73, a favorite of the Russian media, who claimed that Donbas warlord Alexander Zakharchenko had been assassinated by Ukraine's military intel specops unit, trained by U.S. instructors.
Back then, I easily discovered the nasty truth about the past of the retiree whom Russian propaganda calls a "military intelligence" operative. He's no hero in France but merely an infamous war criminal, accused of genocide during the civil war in Rwanda, as well as participating in shady corruption schemes and criminal groups.
However, this never stopped the old guy, who has nothing to do with intelligence and suffers from Parkinson's syndrom, from giving anti-Ukrainian interviews to Russian highly dubious news sites, for some extra cash, of course.
With Alain Rodier, things turned out to be much more complicated. His piece allows concluding that he is clearly a graphomaniac, playing and manipulating people's emotions (quite successfully, I must admit). In turn, his main platform is Atlantico, while numerous Russian sites of the "grey segment" just pick up on the original report.
That is, the "retired senior French intelligence officer" isn't really too popular in local media… How so?
As for the French Center for Intelligence Research (CF2R), whose deputy director the author supposedly is, any of their research pieces mentioning Russia, in any context whatsoever, ranging from espionage ad cyber to Syrian issues, can be noted for an openly pro-Russian stance in the criticism of what they call "unfounded" accusations, voiced by the West (especially the U.S.) against the Kremlin.
Even given the minimum of information available in open sources about the author, his works tell of Rodier's extreme subjectivity in his research. Meanwhile French security agencies should keep an eye on the "French Center for Intelligence Research" and take a good look at their activities. After all, it's Russian intelligence services who traditionally give the organizations they control some loud and pretentious names, which almost always include words like "center", "research", "analytical", etc.
But, most importantly, the very fact of this "talking head" was "activated" and put into a spotlight from oblivion testifies to the fact the Alpine spy base report is truly an information blaze that the GRU is scrambling to put out as soon as possible.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Domain of $\lim_{n\to\infty}|(n+1)x| < 1$ In the process of doing the ratio test (for testing convergence of a function), I have the following issue. I am trying to find the convergence domain of $x$ in the following function:
$$
\begin{align}
\lim_{n\to\infty}|(n+1)x| < 1
\end{align}
$$
The answer should be $x=0$. However, I do not know why this is the answer. Below is my workout:
\begin{align}
\lim_{n\to\infty}(n+1)|x| < 1
\end{align}
\begin{align}
\ |x|<\lim_{n\to\infty}\frac{1}{n+1}
\end{align}
\begin{align}
\ |x| < 0
\end{align}
Therefore, I thought that $x$ has no domain, because no absolute value of $x$ is smaller than $0$. I do not understand what is wrong with my reasoning.
However, in the 'model' answer, $(n+1)\to\infty$ and $\infty$ multiplied by $0$ is $0$, which is less than $1$. Therefore, the model answer for the domain of $x$ is $0$.

A: You made mistake by saying
$$
\lim_{n\rightarrow\infty} |(n+1)x| = |x| \lim_{n\rightarrow\infty} (n+1).
$$
This is assured to work only when when the limit exists, whereas the RHS limit does not exist. Your next couple of lines are (in their own nature) illegal for the same reason.
We do define $\infty \cdot 0 = 0$ in certain contexts (positive measure), but this is not one of them. What your "model" said does not look like the right solution, although it provides the right answer.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The theatre is located in adapted basement space of former cinema Skaut, constructed according the design of Bohumil Sláma from 1928 and opened in February 1929 in building N. 6 in Vodičkova Street.
The hall was allocated to the Minor Theatre after its former place on Senovážné square was demolished within reconstruction of the Slovanský dům. Adaptation of the hall took place in 2000- 2001. Inauguration performance took place on 6th December 2001. Aleš Kletenský was the designer of the reconstruction, Viktor Korejs was the interior designer.
The theatre, preferentially oriented to younger viewers, is located in adapted basement rooms of the former Skaut cinema, established according the design by Bohumil Sláma from April of 1928 and opened in February of 1929 in the house N. 674-II, Vodičkova 6 / Navrátilova 2. Municipal authorities allotted the hall to the Minor Theatre ensemble after their former workplace had been demolished within the reconstruction of the Slovanský dům (Slovanský house). A construction permit was issued on 11th February of 2000, building approval was granted on 3rd December 2001, first performance took place on 6th December. The the designer of the reconstruction was Aleš Kletenský, the interior designer was Viktor Korejs. Their work was awarded by the prestigious Construction of the Year 2002 and Prize of mayor of main city Prague. Further building alterations took place in 2002 and 2005 – again according to the design by Aleš Kletenský.
Front balcony and side box wings were removed and thus was created an unified, steeply raked area with a capacity of 206 seats in 12 rows. Apart this classical, unidirectional appearance, it is possible to transform this hall without a distinctive proscenium arch into an arena stage with a capacity of 109 spectators as well. Spacious technical booths are behind the last row of seats, a rich lighting system is located under the ceiling, transverse footbridges can be ejected out of the room above the stage into position over the front section of the auditorium.
The imaginative arrangement of the interior already commences in the outer passage with a cash desk, figures of stylized eye-catchers and illuminated entrance portal in the shape of a clown, bent in an acrobatic posture. A smooth, sharply coloured surface of the walls contrasts with matted silvery, metal components, in lighter or darker shades, in the tvestibule. A cloakroom counter in the mezzanine has the front side of the counter made from a backlit glass mosaic that covers also the sections of the rear wall between clothes-racks. The first foyer (in the level of the upper row of the hall) has small scene recess on one side and on the other, several stairs leading to a separate bar with a counter, stylized into a shape of a laying and drinking clown. The spectators can sit down in the breaks not only onto pleasantly profiled benches along the foyer walls, but – to bigger intimacy- into semi-enclosed units with benches, encircling a central round table. Similar possibilities are offered in the second foyer, located one storey lower, its one edge, panelled by a mosaic from small manycoloured ceramic facets, offers a possibility of rather adventurous activity for small spectators: slim supporting pillar spires diminished gradient footpath. Even minor hall keeps in mind the activity of child spectators, technically equipped for dramatic and art experiments.
- Baťková, Růžena & kol.: Umělecké památky Prahy – Nové Město; Praha 1998, s. 400-401 (stať Marie Platovské).
- Hilmera, Jiří: Stavební historie pražských kinosálů; Iluminace, roč. 10/1998, č. 2, s. 129-130.


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text:
Isabu,  de son vrai nom Kim Isabu (김이사부, 金異斯夫), est un général du  du royaume de Silla en Corée. C'est un descendant du roi Naemul. Il est renommé pour ses conquêtes.

Isabu commence sa carrière en 505 en étant nommé gouverneur de Siljik (Samcheok) et Aseulla (Gangneung). En , il soumet les iles de l'Usanguk (Ulleungdo, Dokdo) qui doivent dès lors payer un tribut à Silla. Chef militaire suprême à partir de 541, il contribue aussi à l'extension du territoire dans le bassin du fleuve Han face à Baekje et à Koguryo ainsi qu'à la soumission de la confédération de Gaya en 562.

Dans la culture populaire

 Interprété par Park Seo-joon en 2016 - 2017 dans Hwarang de KBS 2TV.

Références

Général coréen
Personnalité de Silla

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Ben Vee Blues
BMFR
WRHB – Home of the Ben Vee Roadhouse Blues
What is the Blues?
Mike Simon
February 23, 2020 February 24, 2020 Best of the Year, Blues, blues rock, Contemporary Blues, electric blues, music Leave a comment Alligator RecordsBarry Oakley Jr.Ben WielandBest of the BluesBest of the Blues 2019Bill RuffinoBlues 2019Blues in my BloodBMG Righst Management LLCBuddy GuyChristone Kingfish IngramChuck LeavallDavid GreenDevon AllmanDown to the RiverDuane BettsEndless Blues RecordsEric JohansonJeff JensenJohn GintyJohn LumKeb' Mo'KingfishMike SimonMike SwainMuscle Shoals Sound StudioNick ArchibaldNOLA Blue RecordsPeter LevinR. Scott BryanRyan CurtisTennessee RedemptionThe Allman Betts BandThe Weary TimesTiffany PollackTiffany Pollack & Eric JohansonTimo ArthurTom HambridgeWay Down Records
Best of the Blues 2019 – Five Best Roadhouse Blues Debut Albums of the Year
During the course of 2019, I was thrilled at the number of new artists that released debut albums. It bodes well for the future of the roadhouse blues in the next decade. My selections for the five best debut roadhouse blues artists of 2019 are (in alphabetical order) Christone "Kingfinsh" Ingram, Tennessee Redemption, The Allman Betts Band, The Weary Times, and Tiffany Pollack & Eric Johanson.
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram – Kingfish ( 2019 Alligator Records)
Christone "Kingfish" Ingram hails from the heart of the delta blues in Clarkesdale Mississippi. This rising blues prodigy is only twenty and has already captured the attention of blues lovers with the release of his debut album KINGFISH. Released on the prestigious blues label, Alligator Records, the album shot to the top of the blues charts this past May and has garnered him attention around the blues world.
He started out playing and singing gospel in church and by the time he was fifteen performed at the White House for Michelle Obama as part the Clarksdale Delta Museum Band. In 2017, he was a guest artist on Eric Gales' Middle of the Road album. Eventually he caught the attention of the living blues legend Buddy Guy, blues maestro Keb' Mo', and Grammy award winning artist and producer Tom Hambridge. With the touch of a master, Tom brings out the best in Christone on the debut album.
KINGFISH is a traditional blues album chocked full of great tunes. Fresh Out features the mastery of Buddy Guy, Hard Times is some fine delta acoustic blues, and Listen is a great duet with Keb' Mo'. Few debut albums feature such a strong cast of world class supporting artists. It is a tribute to Christone's talent and a beacon pointing to a very bright future.
Tennessee Redemption – Tennessee Redemption (2019 Endless Blues Records)
Brandon Santini, my 2019 Roadhouse Bluesman of the Year, received the award in part for the release of this self titled album TENNESSEE REDEMPTION. After years of honing their craft on Beale Street in Memphis (sometimes together sometimes apart), Brandon (lead vocals, harmonica) teamed with long time friend Jeff Jensen (lead vocals, guitar) and incorporated Timo Arthur (guitar, bass), Bill Ruffino (bass, vocals), and David Green (drums, vocals) to form this solid and tight band.
The album includes eight original songs plus a cover of the Tom Waits tune, Come On Up to the House and a great rendition of Little Walter's Watch Yourself. Back To Tennessee is a fabulous jam tune steeped in the southern sound that emanated out of Macon Georgia back in the 1970's and features some great guitar playing by Jeff and Timo. Glad To Be recounts Brandon and Jeff's time playing on Beale Street and collecting dreams that have been realized with release of this recording. Given my love for the beaches, people, food, and tequila found in the small towns of our southern neighbor, it should be no surprise that I also enjoyed I'm Going To Mexico. See About Me, Souls In the Water, and the funky We Got A Thing Going On are also highly recommended.
Tennessee Redemption is an ideal example of the roadhouse blues with its roots in the blues but also reflecting the influences of gospel, southern rock, classic R&B, and soul. I look forward to seeing how they develop and mature their sound as the years go by.
The Allman Betts Band – Down to the River (2019 BMG Rights Management LLC)
Few groups in recent years have debuted an album to such popular and critical acclaim as THE ALLMAN BETTS BAND. The core of the band is three sons of the Allman Brothers Band (ABB): Devon Allman, Duane Betts, and Barry Oakley Jr.. Additionally Johnny Stachela provides some stellar slide guitar playing along with one of my favorite Hammond B3 organ players, John Ginty. The band also features percussionist R. Scott Bryan and drummer John Lum. And as if that wasn't enough, former ABB keyboard player Chuck Leavall (currently with The Rolling Stones) and the Hammond B3 player for the Greg Allman Band, Peter Levin, make guest appearances on the recording.
Down to the River was recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama and features nine songs. My favorite on the album is a tune steeped in the legacy of ABB, Shinin'. All Night is a great showcase for Devon's vocal talent and Melodies Are Memories is reminiscent of The Band and the Grateful Dead at their best and features Duane on vocals. Long Gone is a terrific ballad and the title cut, Down To The River, is some sweet easy classic R&B. Autumn Breeze is a song I can't wait to see them jam to in concert. And Good Ol' Days is a beautiful reminder that we need to embrace and live the "good ol' days" now.
Since the album was released last summer, the Allman Betts Band has been on an ambitious tour of the United States and Europe. It is my understanding that the crowds have been huge and the audience response phenomenal. They are definitely on my bucket list of groups to see in 2020.
The Weary Times – The Weary Times (2019 Way Down Records)
THE WEARY TIMES, a band out of Boise Idaho, first caught my ear this past summer with Why Are You So Lonely. It's a sad song that captures the feel of early sixties doo wap enhanced by the gravely voice of Ryan Curtis and the sparse and delightful guitar playing of Mike Simon. The tune, Piece of Mind, also grabbed me with the keyboard playing of Mike Swain and is a throwback to the very best that Eric Burdon & the Animals kicked out back in the day. Nick Archibald on bass and Ben Wieland on drums complete this creative quintet of musicians that proudly claim the blues and early rock'n'roll as the basis for their sound.
Nostalgic blues rock is the best way that I can describe The Weary Times debut album overall. Mixing in reverb and fuzz to give several songs an energetic garage band feel just adds icing to the cake. Ain't Done Drinking and Anymore rock the blues, Best For You is another Eric Burdon & the Animals style tune, I Don't Know Why and Hard Times are great sixties psychedelia, and Give And Take is a slow insightful song about aging after a hard lived youth.
I listened to literally hundreds of new albums during 2019 and very few were as unique and imaginative as an overall recording as this one. They have captured the essence of the early and mid 1960's music sound (which was always based on the blues) and reintroduced it, after a fifty year lapse, with contemporary themes. It is music nostalgia for modern times.
After playing small clubs and venues across the Pacific Northwest the past couple of years, the Weary Times have earned the opportunity with this debut recording to expand their fan base and turn the rest of the roadhouse blues world on to their music. I just hope they are ready for the wild ride!!
Tiffany Pollack & Eric Johanson – Blues In My Blood (2019 NOLA Blue Records)
The best debut album by a duet couple since Joe Bonamassa and Beth Hart back in 2011, Blues In My Blood is a solid recording by New Orleans based Tiffany Pollack and Eric Johanson. Tiffany comes to the blues from her roots in jazz music and Eric is an up and coming bluesman who has caught the attention of non other than Tab Benoit!
They combined their writing talents to pen seven of the 11 songs on the recording. My absolute favorite is the title cut, Blues in My Blood. It starts with a gospel inspired delta feel and then builds in intensity with some great guitar work by Eric and a powerful vocal delivery by Tiffany. Another favorite is Diamonds on the Crown with great harmonies and thoughtful social commentary. Eric has a voice similar to another great blues man from Louisiana, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and his guitar style is stellar on the song. Tiffany takes on the Nina Simone classic Do I Move You? and aces it with a sultry jazzy performance. Eric takes the vocal lead on Get Lost With Me, a blues ballad, and again wowed me with his guitar.
I also enjoyed the roots blues tune Memories to Forget as well as a knockout performance by Tiffany of the Joni Mitchell song, River, which I consider a great Christmas time tune. I played it several times during my DJ sets this past season and the response was tremendous!
Musicians that contributed their talents to the recording include Brentt Arcement (drums), Phil Wang (bass), John Gros (keyboards), producer Jack Miele (bass, bass guitar, and percussions), Sean Carey (backing vocals) and a guest appearance by the great Jumpin' Johnny Sansone as well as the 504 Horns.
My only disappointment is that I have seen no evidence since the release of the album last spring that they have toured to support the recording. Both have returned to their solo careers. Tiffany & Co are playing jazz venues in New Orleans and Eric is touring with Tab Benoit who produced his 2017 highly acclaimed album, Burn It Down. I hear that Tab is playing drums for Eric during his part of the show; I'd pay to see that!!
My hope is that, as Joe and Beth have done, they will get back together from time to time and lay down some more tracks…..they both have blues in their blood!
Ben Vee is an internet DJ and writer from New Orleans that now lives in Connecticut with his wife Annette. He started spinning records back in the 1970's and has been writing about the roadhouse blues since 2011. He does two roadhouse blues shows each week on http://www.bluesmusicfan.com and he writes about the blues when the urge strikes on http://www.benveeblues.com.
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Booze, Blues, and Southern Grooves – Reddog and Friends Set the Bar High for 2022
Blues Rockin' Thursday 3-5 pm on BluesMusicFan Radio
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Roots and Bluzin 3-5 pm ET on BluesMusicFan Radio
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St on A Veteran's Day Roadhous…
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Roadhouse Blues
rockin blues
Roots Blues
Roots Music
soul blues


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text:
Darien company acquires Providence and Worcester
Affogato coffee, ice cream shop closes in SoNo after 2 years
Norwalk's Wall Street Tavern closes its doors
'Granola Bar' breakfast chain to open two new CT locations
Popular Bridgeport Italian restaurant Massimo's coming to Norwalk
New mobile gift card can be used at South Norwalk businesses
Here are 6 new restaurant and business openings in Norwalk
Critics: CT's first proposed Wegmans would make traffic worse
East Norwalk nurse helps moms struggling with breastfeeding
Construction begins for Stew Leonard's expansion in Norwalk
Arden's Rowayton cafe with modern coastal vibe opens this month
Alexander Soule
Aug. 15, 2016 Updated: Aug. 15, 2016 5:09 p.m.
1of5The Station Place headquarters of Genesee & Wyoming at 20 West Ave. in Darien, opposite the town's Metro-North stop. On Monday, G&W announced an agreement to acquire Providence and Worcester Railroad, giving it access to Amtrak and Metro-North tracks.Alexander Soule / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less
2of5Headquartered in Worcester, Mass., and operating in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York, Providence and Worcester Railroad is contiguous with Genesee & Wyoming's Connecticut Southern Railroad and New England Central Railroad. (Image: Business Wire)BUSINESS WIRE IMAGEShow MoreShow Less
4of5Genesee & Wyoming is acquiring the Providence & Worcester Railroad for $126 million, in a deal announced August 15, 2016.Robert M Reynolds / STShow MoreShow Less
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. is acquiring Providence and Worcester Railroad for $126 million, extending its existing Northeast operations that include the New England Central Railroad and the Connecticut Southern Railroad while gaining access rights to Northeast Corridor track used by Amtrak and Metro-North.
G&W (NYSE: GWR) is paying $25 for each share of Providence and Worcester (Nasdaq: PWX), up by more than half from the stock's closing price Friday. The deal is subject to the approval of P&W shareholders as well as the Surface Transportation Board.
G&W operates more than 120 freight railroads in the United States, Europe and Australia, reporting a $48.4 million profit in the second quarter on revenue of $501 million, down 8 percent on both fronts from a year earlier. The company employed 7,200 people at last report. Its executive offices are located opposite the Darien stop of Metro-North, with its main operational centers in Rochester, N.Y. and Jacksonville, Fla.
In a conference call in early August, CEO Jack Hellmann said the company has seen a noticeable uptick in acquisition opportunities the past several months.
Litchfield County bank being acquired in $204 million deal
"Those opportunities are both small and large — there's a whole range of things across our footprint that we're looking at," Hellmann said at the time.
P&W is based in Worcester and employs about 140 people, with the company hauling about 43,000 carloads annually on more than 160 miles of track it owns, also offering rail excursions along parts of its lines. G&W expects P&W to generate $35 million in the first 12 months of operation under G&W ownership.
Connecticut Magazine's 25 Most Romantic Restaurants in CT
Every year, Connecticut Magazine asks readers and experts for the state's best dining spots. This year we asked our panel of experts to give some extra love to those restaurants where amore is on...
The company was created in November 1845, acquiring much of the Blackstone Canal linking Providence and Worcester that had opened in 1828. The main railroad line would be fully operational as of October 1847.
In 1892, P&W signed a 99-year lease with the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad, a deal that did not reach its full term due to the 1961 bankruptcy of the New Haven.
Alex.Soule@scni.com; 203-354-1047; www.twitter.com/casoulman
Reach Alexander on
Alexander Soule is a business writer with Hearst Connecticut Media Group. He covers the state economy and other business news as well as penning a monthly column on personal finance for Connecticut Magazine. Before joining Hearst Connecticut, Alex started a growth economy website called Enterprise CT chronicling Connecticut startups. Before that, Alex spent six years with the Fairfield County Business Journal, and before that the Boston Business Journal, the Rochester Business Journal, Mass High Tech and InsuranceTimes in Boston. Alex is a Maine native who served a two-year enlistment in the U.S. Army (Fifth Infantry Division at Fort Polk, La.) before attending Connecticut College.


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If Diaco is half as good of coach as he is a salesman he will be nothing short of amazing. It seems he has won many hearts after 1 press conference
by PT HUSKER 1/23/2017 8:13:00 PM
@PTHUSKER: I think part of the reason he's been successful is his energy and ability to sell not only himself, but his system. He clearly believes in his system, and has parlayed that belief into a handsome living. Nebraska fans hope he can parlay his passion and belief in his system into a Big Ten Championship within the next three years. You have to belief it can happen or it will never happen.
How long do you think it will be before other schools come after Diaco? Cuz I'm pretty sure he will do well. After a 2 year contract, what do you think we will do. A guy with that kind of energy is needed here.
by Colby 1/23/2017 8:14:47 PM
@Colby: Oh, brother. Maybe we should wait until we seem some on-field results before we engage in that sort of discussion.
Ok Sip I'm confused. When we switched to the B1G, one of the common ideals was that Bo struggled because he had recruited for the Big 12 with smaller/faster guys and also general lack of opponent knowledge. While I disagreed (fast tends to always be better and the lack of opponent knowledge works both ways)....you supported this reasoning. Now we hear the 3-4 will be better to get quicker guys instead of the 4 brutes or "run stoppers" on the DL. Can you effectively make sense of all this to me?
@Trashman: You would agree that Bo's defense was better suited to stop spread offenses, correct? You would also agree that Bo used defensive backs -- 200-pounders -- in his base defense, correct? The Diaco defense won't have linebackers that small. Riley said he is interested in linebackers in the range of 6-2, 210 to 245 pounds.
Bray and Diaco both coaching lbs. potential problem as Bray up and comer in coaching world or necessary in 3-4
by Buzz M 1/23/2017 8:23:39 PM
@BuzzM: Bray will have to adapt to a new role. It could be awkward. How smoothly it goes will largely depend on the attitude with which he approaches the change.
Hey Sip, with signing day approaching, what do you think the final tally is on the class. Also, what player do you think is the biggest surprise on signing day and which is the best "get" for the class? Thanks!
by Fli7 1/23/2017 8:27:32 PM
@Fli7: Nebraska wants to sign 22 players, or thereabouts. I don't rule out the possibility of Joseph Lewis and Greg Johnson surprising everyone by eschewing the Trojans in favor of the Huskers.
I think the biggest benefit from going to Banker to Diaco will be no more wild opponent scores like 62, 40, 45 etc. I think Diaco gives us a chance to win the Big Ten West instantly, do you agree?
@Steve: If you're referring to Diaco's emphasis on strong red-zone defense, yes, I think you're on to something. And, yes, I think Nebraska's chances to overtake Wisconsin in the Big Ten West Division just improved significantly. But Wisconsin's stability -- starting with Barry Alvarez and his blueprint -- is why I will give the nod to the Badgers. And, yes, that is probably good news for the Huskers. :)
What is your early reading on Erstad's program in 2017?
@NewportRed: I plan to look into that subject this week. There is media availability Friday. I do know this: The pitching staff could be strong, with the starting weekend rotation returning intact. That's a good start.
Do you foresee a time when endless excuses and media-symbiotic propaganda for NU athletic failures will lead to less than sellouts at Memorial Stadium and Pinnacle Bank Arena?
@NewportRed: Loaded question! But I like it. And I understand your sentiment. I tend to be very patient in regard to program building, perhaps because I lack the emotional attachment that fuels the thoughts and desires of most fans.
Who should we be looking out for to commit next? Any big targets set to announce before NSD?
@HuskerDan: I think it's possible we could hear from Kurt Rafdal, the tight end from Carmel, Indiana, before signing day. And maybe Bryan Thompson, the receiver from Rancho Verde High School in Moreno Valley, California -- the same school that produced Quincy Enunwa. Seems like most players, at this point, push it right to the limit.
Hey Sip, with regards to Tim Miles' offensive system, have you spoken with people who know their stuff who can comment? For instance, I've heard Nick Bahe say it's very vanilla and not a lot of counters are ran off of it. Concerning.
by Chris 1/23/2017 8:40:59 PM
@Chris: I once watched Mike Krzyzewski explain his offense and was struck by the simplicity of it. Of course, the Blue Devils' roster is a bit more gifted across the board than Miles' group ... Even so, I like the idea of providing just the right amount of structure for great players, but not overloading them. There exists a fine line. I sort of feel like Hubie Brown answering that question. :)
C'mon Sip, don't pull a BC and claim impartiality! I think you guys just enjoy trying to balance out the rhetoric.
by JimNE 1/23/2017 8:44:09 PM
@JimNE: I believe in fairness and trying to understand multiple viewpoints. But I must admit I think my viewpoint on a given subject is the best one. :)
I will fine myself $250 the next time I make this smiley face ... :)
Sip, I deeply appreciate your willigness to take on and at least tangentially answer difficult and sometimes personally-threatening questions!
@NewportRed: There's something about being personally threatened that helps me stave off mid-afternoon fatigue.
Who do you see as your most intriguing prospect in this years recruiting class?
@Steve: Austin Allen, the tight end from Aurora, really intrigues me. You hear coaches (and quarterbacks) talk about "catch radius." Well, Allen is 6-foot-8. That has to be appealing to any quarterback. And both Mike Riley and Danny Langsdorf like using the tight end in their offense when they have a capable tight end to lean on. Allen is an excellent all-around athlete. I look forward to watching him develop.
Thanks for the reply. I feel like Nebraska should be past the stage of missing 17 straight shots to end the half against the bottom feeders of the Big Ten. And scoring droughts are becoming far too regular.
@Chris: Nebrasketball scoring droughts were becoming far too regular in the mid-1980s.
I heard Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers is a Husker fan. ?
@rickylee41: Flea is exceptionally cool. He's also in his 50s, so he remembers well when Nebraska was rolling as a football program. He might even remember when Danny Nee had Husker hoops rolling into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed. Yes, 1990 was a grand year for Nebrasketball, until Xavier spoiled the postseason party.
Think my favorite Diaco quite was the one about how Nebraskans want their defense to resemble what they see in there mirror or something to that effect. He knows how to get the blood flowing that's for sure.
@FLhusker: That was a great quote. I think it struck a chord with a lot of fans hungry for the program to return to elite status.


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MJC saddened at the senseless killing of matric learner
The Muslim Judicial Council (SA) offered its sincere condolences to the Alexander family on the loss of their beloved son, Abdul Muttalib who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Mitchell's Plain.
Abdul Muttalib (19), was caught in cross-fire during a drive-by shooting on Saturday evening. According to his family, he and a few friends had gone to buy a Gatsby when they were shot. Alexander was wounded several times and was declared brain dead on Sunday whilst his friend Tauheer Samuels was shot in the hand.
"He was supposed to write Matric exams at Mondale Secondary School today," the mother, Suwayba Alexander told the MJC Tuesday morning. "He was the youngest child out of three siblings. He was looking forward to his matric exams and told me he was going to get a good pass."
Speaking on behalf of the MJC, 1st Deputy president Moulana Abdul Khaliq Allie expressed his dismay that society has lost a beacon of light within the community.
"Criminality has got no limits when it targets [and kills] innocent human beings. Here a young man whose parents have reared and nurtured him in the ideal environment. He was hoping to get the best of results for the matric exam but because of the criminal element, he cannot realize this dream. We know that all is in the hands of Almighty Allah but there is no justification for any criminal activity and behaviour in our society."
We pray that Almighty Allah replaces the hurt and pain of the parents with contentment and the patience to deal with their loss, Ameen.
Moulana Abdul Khaliq Allie
1st Deputy President
Muslim Judicial Council
Caption – Main photo: Abdul Muttalib (left), was caught in cross-fire during a drive-by shooting on Saturday evening. His friend, Tauheer Samuels (Right) was wounded in his hand.


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Home / Paradigm Shift - Episode 13: Future History Series (Season 2)
Paradigm Shift - Episode 13: Future History Series (Season 2)
This item is only available for Canadian orders.
This title is a part of the series Future History: The Message (Season 2)
It Takes All of Us to Enforce the Law (English Version)
First Nations Child and Family Caring Society of Canada FNC001
It Takes All of Us to Enforce the Law (English Version): In February, 2007, the First Nations Child...
The Whale House
Terra Incognita Productions TIP000
Carved by Tlingit genius artist Kadjisdu.axtc in the late 1700s, the Whale House is considered by...
The Children - Episode 2: Future History: Harnessing Knowledge...
Redcloud Studios RS0002
Our hosts, Kris and Sarain travel to the nation's capitol to speak with Child Welfare Activist...
Toronto (Jay Soule) - Episode 13: Skindigenous Series (Season 1)
Nish Media 310013
Jay Soule is a multidisciplinary artist known as "Chippewar" in the Indigenous community. His...
First Contact (Season 2)
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Following the success of season one, this brand-new season once again takes six Canadians, all with...
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Sarain and Kris explore Indigenous concepts of Justice, from restorative justice to cultural...
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John Borrows is one of Canada's most prolific and celebrated legal scholars and a professor of law...
L'Nuk 101: Finding Common Ground
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Mi'kmaq Elder Joe Michael, invited by Acadia University to lecture on Mi'kmaw (L'nuk)...


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Newly-weds tell of church fall tragedy
Dave Gooderham
Published: 8:00 AM September 2, 2008
A NEWLY married couple have told how their dream wedding was turned to tragedy after a church verger fell 30ft to his death just minutes after they tied the knot.
Bride and Groom, Kelly Brown and Brian Keane, and their guests had just left St Mary's Church, Mildenhall, when 80-year-old Jack Sturgeon suffered the fall in the church tower.
Mr Keane, a retained fire-fighter and Forest Heath district councillor, revealed he and his wife were not immediately told about the tragedy, which happened as Mr Sturgeon's wife, Beryl, 81, was in the church helping to clear up.
He told the EADT: "I didn't know much about what had happened at the time but it is just a total shock and we are both very upset about what happened.
"One of my best men was a sub officer and he said he would deal with it. I was then told about it when we got to the reception. I didn't tell Kelly until later that evening and we both can't believe what happened.
"I know Jack has given a great service to the church over many years and when we met him on Thursday evening, he made everything very special for me and Kelly. Our thoughts are with his family at this time."
The couple yesterday left flowers in Mr Sturgeon's memory outside the church.
It is believed Mr Sturgeon had climbed to an upper level of the church tower to look at the clock when he fell.
Off-duty fire-fighters, who were part of the wedding parry, dashed to his aid but he was pronounced dead as further emergency services - including the air ambulance - arrived at the scene.
It is thought Mr Sturgeon suffered a heart attack but it is not known whether this was prior to the fall or as a result of it.
Speaking about the newly married couple, Rev Stefanie Hodges, Mildenhall team vicar, said: "They are local people and they have been left devastated. They'll never ever forget what happened on what should have been the happiest day of their lives.
"I wasn't taking the wedding and when I was told I felt as if I had been hit by a train. Jack's wife Beryl was downstairs in church helping to clear up after the wedding as usual when he fell.
"She was kept back from going to him and taken care of by people in the church. Beryl has a strong faith just like Jack but her life has just collapsed."
Paying tribute to Mr Sturgeon, who had worked as an engineer in Parker's Mill, Mildenhall, before retirement, Mrs Hodges said: "He was a lovely dignified man - the sort of person who turned on the lights when he walked into a room.
"Jack was wholly dependable and totally devoted to the church. He had been a bell ringer for 40 years and was methodical and very highly organised - we could all rely on him 100%.
"All we can say is that at least he died doing what he loved best in our church, a place he loved. I'm not sure yet if I'll be taking Jack's funeral but it would be an honour if I did - although it would be a very emotional day."


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class BusyEffect : public EffectWithForce {
private:
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public:

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


How principles from The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell can teach us to be better teachers, life coaches, parents, and people of integrity.
In the hero's journey, an individual rises to a calling, undergoes a series of challenges and experiences extraordinary transformations.
As life coaches we know that life is an ongoing and transformational journey through which we realize our greatest dreams and take action to attain them.
One of my very favorite authors, Joseph Campbell, dedicated his life to studying comparative mythology and writing about the archetypal hero's journey. In one of his most powerful texts, The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Campbell explores the 17 stages of hero's journey.
As life coaches, there's a lot to be learned by taking a closer look at some of these stages!
The hero's journey involves building discipline, persevering, and seeing goals through to attain an ultimate dream.
And once you're familiar with the hero's journey, you'll see it everywhere!
Joseph Campbell, a master scholar and writer on the process of personal transformation, writes about 17 steps of the hero's journey, a universal, archetypal journey (commonly depicted in film and literature) that an individual takes in their lifetime, through which challenges are faced and major changes are made.
The process of becoming a life coach itself could be considered a hero's journey, and understanding each step can give us insight on how to be a better life coach and how to best assist our clients on their own transformational journeys.
We'll be looking at 4 key steps for each stage.
So over the next year, we'll be going over 12 of the 17 steps in the hero's journey and discussing the wisdom we can take away from each.
You may want to bookmark this page so you can come back to it as we take another step along the hero's journey.
The first stage of the hero's journey is what Joseph Campbell describes as "the call to adventure." This stage is all about finding and realizing your dream. During the call to adventure stage, your routine, day-to-day life gets shaken up in some way. You're going about your life as you always have, and then suddenly, a new piece of information or opportunity presents itself to you. Perhaps this is what happened when you first heard about life coaching! Where were you in life when the possibility of becoming a life coach presented itself to you? Do you remember that feeling of something stirring within you as you contemplated taking this new path? The call to adventure is an event that ignites a spark in you, that beckons you to step through a new or different doorway into the unknown.
What happens during the "supernatural aid" stage in the hero's journey? The hero's journey entails an individual rising to a calling, undergoing a series of challenges as they pursue a goal, and experiencing extraordinary life transformations. This journey involves building discipline, persevering and seeing goals through to attain an ultimate dream. In this supernatural aid stage of the journey, once the hero has accepted their call to action and has begun their journey, a supernatural figure presents itself to the hero. This figure offers some form of guidance, protection and support as the hero rises to their destiny.
At the "crossing the threshold" stage, the hero makes a formal commitment to the journey and actually begins the process of something new. It's at this stage of the hero's journey where your client leaves the familiarity and safety of their former world behind. You can frame it for your clients this way: a door is a threshold between two rooms or places, so when a client "crosses the threshold" they have officially stepped through the door of opportunity into a new place. Crossing a threshold is a very exciting stage in the hero's journey – it requires your client taking the inspiration, intuition and clarity developed thus far, and taking a bold step forward into the unknown in the direction of their dreams.
The "belly of the whale" stage in the hero's journey is the true beginning of your client's metamorphosis. At this point in the hero's journey, your client has begun a new endeavor and is in the process of a dramatic paradigm shift. This is a totally new world for him or her! This period of time can feel uncomfortable or challenging at times. Your client may start to feel fear, doubt or uncertainty about their next steps, and in some cases even be tempted to give up on their dreams. A great way to think about this stage of the journey is that the "new world" your coaching clients find themselves in is actually a new way of thinking about the world. And the good news is that, with the help of your coaching, your clients can re-pattern their thoughts and habits so that they feel more self-confidence as they navigate through these uncharted waters and move toward a freer, fuller, happier life they love living.
Do you feel called to be a life coach?


The capital city of Lipetsk oblast: Lipetsk.
Lipetsk oblast (Lipetskaya) is a federal subject located in the central part of European Russia, about 370 km south of Moscow, part of the Central Federal District. Lipetsk is the capital city of the region.
The population of Lipetsk oblast is 1,156,000 (2015), the area - 24,047 sq. km.
1 March, 2018 / Yelets - the magic of provincial Russia.
29 November, 2017 / Majestic Church of the Holy Trinity in Novotroitskoye.
11 September, 2017 / Sights of the Muromtsev Estate in Balovnevo.
5 October, 2015 / Safari Park "Kudykina Gora" in the Lipetsk region.
25 June, 2015 / Architectural and historical sites of Lipetsk region.
According to archaeological and historical data, the territory of the present Lipetsk region was inhabited since ancient times. Before the Mongol invasion, there were the towns of Yelets, Dobrinsk (the village of Dobroye now), Dubok (Dubki). During the Mongol yoke, a lot of fortified towns were destroyed, the region depopulated.
In the initial period of feudal fragmentation, this land belonged to the Chernigov principality. After the death of Prince Igor Svyatoslavich (1202), Yelets, Lipetsk and Vorgol principalities appeared. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Chernigov principality, Ryazan princes seized all the lands of the upper Don and Voronezh rivers and annexed them to their possessions.
The revival of the region began following the expulsion of the nomads. In a relatively short period of time (the end of the 16th - the early 17th centuries) the fortress-towns of Dankov, Talitsky ostrog, Yelets, Lebedyan were rebuilt. In 1635, construction of the Belgorod fortified line began.
In connection with the reforms of Peter the Great, industry and agriculture began to develop in the region. Since the end of the 17th century, construction of large factories began here: the steel works on the Beliy Kolodez River (1693), the Lipsky Iron Works (1700), the Kuzminsky Anchor Plant with a workshop for assembling weapons (1703). Settlements of workers were constructed near the plants. Lipetsk was initially one of these settlements.
Because of the formation of the Russian regular army and navy, the demand for flax, hemp and wool increased. Therefore, agriculture began to develop actively too. In the 18th century, large farming estates continued to grow. This province rich in black soil was the breadbasket of Russia. Lipetsk became widely known as a mineral waters resort.
In the early 20th century, Yelets was the largest town in the region. Lipetsk, thanks to its curative mineral water and mud, was a popular resort town. Rapid industrial development of Lipetsk and other towns in the area began during the first Soviet five-year plans. However, it was interrupted by the Second World War. During the war, 246,000 inhabitants of the region were drafted into the Soviet army, 128,500 of them were killed or gone missing.
In the postwar years, the restoration of the destroyed industry and agriculture began. The decision on the establishment of a powerful metallurgical industry in the center of Russia played an important role in it. Novolipetsk Steel was built by the entire USSR. Lipetsk, originally a small provincial town, turned into a large city. January 6, 1954, a separate Lipetsk oblast was formed from adjacent districts of Ryazan, Voronezh, Kursk, and Orel regions.
The length of the Lipetsk region from north to south is 200 km, from west to east - 150 km. The main rivers are the Don and Voronezh. The largest cities and towns are Lipetsk (510,000), Yelets (105,000) and Gryazy (46,500).
The climate is temperate continental with moderately cold winters and warm summers. The average temperature in January is minus 11 degrees Celsius, in July - plus 20 degrees Celsius.
There are about 300 deposits of various minerals on the territory of the Lipetsk region: limestone, dolomite, sand, clay, cement raw materials. The region takes the first place in Russia by stocks of carbonate material. Also there are significant deposits of peat.
Metallurgy, food industry and machine building are the main industries of the local economy. Lipetsk oblast produces about 20% of Russian pig iron and finished rolled steel, 18% - steel, 28% - washing machines, 26% - refrigerators and freezers, 70% - children's fruit and vegetable preserves and juices, 13% - sugar, 12% - starch, 7% - mineral water.
Favorable climatic conditions and fertile black soil (more than 85% of the territory) contribute to the development of agriculture. The area of cultivated land is more than 1.8 million hectares. There are about 22 thousand hectares of fruit orchards (mainly apples, pears and plums). The region produces different crops, sugar beet, potatoes, cattle, pigs, and poultry.
The world's first hyperboloid construction (1896), a steel openwork lattice tower built by the engineer and scientist Vladimir Shukhov, is located in the village of Polibino in Dankovsky district of Lipetsk oblast. In Polibino you can also see a classical palace built in the Empire style in the 18th century and an extensive park.
The city of Yelets has numerous monuments of church and secular architecture, including the Cathedral of the Ascension (1889).
In Zadonsk there are important monuments of church architecture and history, including three active monastery.
Meschersky Arboretum in Stanovlyansky district.
Borki Manor (Borki Castle) in the village of Borki in Terbunsky district - the only monument of architecture in the region built in the English Gothic style, an architectural monument of the last quarter of the 19th century.
The Memorial Museum of P.P. Semenov-Tyanshansky in Ryazanka Estate in Chaplyginsky district.
There are two reserves in the region: "Galichya Mountain", the smallest nature reserve in Russia with preserved pre-glacial flora, and part of the Voronezh Reserve.


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Beautifully shot and well-acted, Changeling is a compelling story that unfortunately gives in to convention too often.
Total Count: 206
User Ratings: 227,036
Changeling Ratings & Reviews Explanation
Changeling Photos
Inspired by actual events that occurred in 1920s-era Los Angeles, Clint Eastwood's The Changeling tells the story of a woman driven to confront a corrupted LAPD after her abducted son is retrieved and she begins to suspect that the boy returned to her is not the same boy she gave birth to. The year was 1928, and the setting a working-class suburb of Los Angeles. As Christine (Angelina Jolie) said goodbye to her son, Walter, and departed for work, she never anticipated that this was the day her life would be forever changed. Upon returning home, Christine was distressed to discover that Walter was nowhere to be found. Over the course of the following months, the desperate mother would launch a search that would ultimately prove fruitless. Yet just when it seemed that all hope was lost, a nine-year-old boy claiming to be Christine's son seemed to appear out of thin air. Overcome with emotions and uncertain how to face the authorities or the press, Christine invites the child to stay in her home despite knowing without a doubt that he is not her son. As much as Christine would like to accept the fact that her son has been returned to her, she cannot accept the injustice being pushed upon her and continues to challenge the Prohibition-era Los Angeles police force at every turn. As a result, Christine is slandered by the powers that be, and painted as an unfit mother. In this town, a woman who challenges the system is putting her life on the line, and as the situation grows desperate, the only person willing to aid her in her search is benevolent local activist Reverend Briegleb (John Malkovich).
R (for some violent and disturbing content, and language)
Drama, Mystery & Suspense
J. Michael Straczynski, Joe Michael Straczynski
Oct 24, 2008 wide
as Christine Collins
as Rev. Gustav Briegleb
as Capt. J.J. Jones
as Det. Lester Ybarra
as Chief James E. Davis
as Ben Harris
as Mayor Cryer
Jason Butler Harner
as Gordon Northcott
as Carol Dexter
Geoffrey Pierson
as S.S. Hahn
as Dr. Jonathan Steele
Peter Gerety
as Dr. Earl W. Tarr
as Walter Collins
Devon Conti
as Arthur Hutchins
Eddie Alderson
as Sanford Clark
News & Interviews for Changeling
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Critic Reviews for Changeling
All Critics (206) | Top Critics (52) | Fresh (127) | Rotten (79)
There are moments when it seems as if it wants to be an inspirational story about a person who refuses to be beaten by a corrupt system -- but it doesn't, in the end, settle for the uplifting narrative.
Feb 13, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…
Philippa Hawker
The Age (Australia)
Eastwood is a director made for melodrama and this one proves a lot juicier than Gran Torino, with its dry, dogged sense of righteousness.
Feb 5, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/5 | Full Review…
It's a tough movie but also rewarding and inspiring: something of a quiet triumph.
Nov 28, 2008 | Rating: 5/6 | Full Review…
Wally Hammond
Changeling, like Letters from Iwo Jima before it, is a mature, thoughtful and sometimes brutal movie that casts a cold eye on the past while sending shivers through the present.
Kevin Maher
What a bold, virile, operatic piece of film-making from this 78-year-old director. He is now well into a remarkable late period, and I sense we ain't seen nothing yet.
Changeling fails because, despite its awful subject matter, it isn't very moving. Eastwood is too classical, too restrained a director to get inside his characters; they feel like well-costumed showroom dummies.
Nov 28, 2008 | Full Review…
Sukhdev Sandhu
Daily Telegraph (UK)
Changeling simmers with emotion, tension and that sense of wide-eyed incredulity that comes with such an unbelievable true story.
Oct 31, 2019 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…
Nikki Baughan
Roll Credits
A finely crafted and at times mesmerizing film.
Jun 6, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…
Matthew Lucas
The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
Yes, Changeling is a well-made film, but "slick," not "substantial," is the word to describe it all.
Kelly Jane Torrance
Changeling is such a dead weight of poor, blandly prestigious Hollywood genre cinema
Dec 9, 2018 | Rating: 1/5 | Full Review…
PJ Nabarro
Patrick Nabarro
Ultimately all of Eastwood's genre-blending comes up with nothing more than a hollow highbrow message movie that lacks all the blood and verve of its lowbrow inspirations.
Oct 18, 2018 | Full Review…
Stephen Garrett
It feels empty, monotonous, bloated... This is old-fashioned story-telling that often feels unsophisticated and familiar.
Aug 23, 2018 | Full Review…
View All Critic Reviews (206)
Audience Reviews for Changeling
Jolie is good, but slightly over-the-top in her performance as Christine - a woman who's kidnapped son is replaced by a "changeling", someone the police force reassures her is her son, however bares little likeness whatsoever to her real child. Based on true events and with Eastwood at the helm, Changeling compells its audience from the beginning and has it's fair share of great moments, but the film's tone eventually begins to grate and the meandering story is often confusing.
Harry W Super Reviewer
Angelina Jolie tries her best to tell the story of Christine Collins and what happens to her is truly ghastly but somehow I think something is missing. I know that Eastwood can be brilliant behind the camera and miss the mark at others. Perhaps he and not Jolie is the one responsible for a less than convincing effort.
John B Super Reviewer
It's a tale of the discrimination and corruption of society and how a single mother tries her best to overcome it. Angelina Jolie along with Clint Eastwood should have won academy awards for their work in the film. I couldn't stop crying when I watched the film, it's very bittersweet and misogynistic. But all's not well, still ends well.
Sylvester K Super Reviewer
Enjoyable, historical drama. Not my favorite, but not bad either.
Changeling Quotes
Christine Collins: Never start a fight... but always finish it
Capt. J.J. Jones: Departmental policy is what I say it is.
Carol Dexter: Once they get us in here, we either shut up and learn to behave or we don't go home.
Christine Collins: I used to tell Walter "Never start a fight... but always finish it." I didn't start this fight... but by God, I'm gonna finish it.


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The Scottish Samurai Awards – By Duncan Harley
Aberdeen City, Featured, History, Information
By Duncan Harley.
The four-star Maryculter House Hotel was today the venue for the Scottish Samurai Awards. Scotland and Japan have long enjoyed both trade and cultural links – well for just around 150 years in truth.
Japan sent many students to the UK between the late Edo period (1603-1867) and the early Meiji period (1868-1912) in order to explore and import Western technology.
The various international trade exhibitions of the 19th and early 20th Century provided useful platforms for the sharing of both scientific and aesthetic ideas.
Cities such as Glasgow and Aberdeen provided ripe-pickings for the aspiring technologists and alongside acquisition of new skill-sets the two nations exchanged cultural and artistic aesthetics which continue to create broad-ripples to this day.
Japan, of course, had participated in the second Glasgow International Exhibition in 1901.
The Japan Pavilion was located near the main exhibition hall at Kelvingrove and there is a likelihood that Rennie Mackintosh and many other influential Scottish designers of the day would have visited and been influenced by what they saw there.
Some 11.5 million visits were recorded during the eight-month span of the exhibition and surely Mackintosh would have been one of those tempted to return again and again to absorb the sights.
Contemporaries of Mackintosh certainly visited Japan at about this time and Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum hold a collection of so-called 'Industrial Art' collected by Glasgow born designer Christopher Dresser who visited Japan in 1876 or thereabouts.
Aberdeenshire, of course, has a splendid claim to the forging of the Scottish-Japanese relationship and one man in particular played a pivotal role. Variously known as the Scottish Samurai or The Scot who shaped Japan,
Thomas Blake Glover was probably born in Fraserburgh in 1838. His father worked as a coastguard officer and the family lived at various locations along the Aberdeenshire coastline including Sandend, Collieston and at Bridge of Don.
On leaving school, Glover began work with the trading company Jardine, Matheson & Co and quickly progressed to the Shanghai office before taking up a post in Japan.
His role in Shanghai has often been glossed over in order to present a popular image of Glover as an enlightened trader intent on hauling an impoverished Japan into the industrial age. In truth however, Jardine Matheson & Co were happy to trade in everything from silks and tea to guns and opium.
Glover excelled in his role as trader and alongside making vast amounts of profit for his employer he soon started taking a substantial cut for himself.
His move to Japan, in 1859 age 21, came at a time when various rival clans were warring for control of the country. For more than 200 years, foreign trade with Japan had been permitted to the Dutch and Chinese exclusively.
However, following an episode of gunboat diplomacy in 1853, the US Government had persuaded the Japanese to open trade up with the West.
Glover arrived in good time to use his proven skills to exploit the situation.
Soon he was supplying both sides in the civil war with guns and munitions. Before long he was taking orders for the building of warships, to be built in Scotland, to arm a fledgling Japanese Navy. The market for weaponry however soon became saturated and he turned to mining to maintain his by now dwindling fortune.
Glover is often credited with importing the first steam engine into Japan.
Demand for coal had surged as steamships began to proliferate in Japanese waters. Glover, in partnership with a Japanese clan, invested in developing the Takashima coal mine on an island near Nagasaki in 1868.
The mine was the first in the country to employ Western methods. Mitsubishi acquired the Takashima mine in 1881 in the organization's first main diversification beyond shipping.
Glover is often credited with importing the first steam engine into Japan and being instrumental in the formation of the Mitsubishi conglomerate. Japan also lacked modern facilities for repairing ships. So, Glover imported the necessary equipment for a dry dock in Nagasaki in 1868.
He later sold his share to the government, which leased the dock to Mitsubishi as part of the shipyard in 1884. By 1905 Japan had, according to many accounts, become the 3rd largest naval power in the world.
There are many enduring myths surrounding the life and career of Thomas Blake Glover.
One involves the notion that his Japanese wife Tsuru was somehow the inspiration for Puccini's opera "Madame Butterfly".
There appears to be little substance to this idea. A booklet produced by Aberdeen City Council to publicise the areas links with Glover asserts that:
"the association of Glover Garden in Nagasaki and Madame Butterfly no doubt relates to the fact that American soldiers after the Second World War dubbed the house Madame Butterfly House."
Thomas Glover eventually became famous in Japan and was the first non-Japanese to be awarded the Order of the Rising Sun.
today's event saw some 23 or so Samurai and Shogun awards made to a broad range of recipients
When he died in Tokyo in 1911 age 73, his ashes were interred in Nagasaki's Sakamoto International Cemetery. Fraserburgh Heritage Centre host a permanent exhibition celebrating his North-east links and his former house in Nagasaki attracts two million visitors each year.
Founded and overseen by Aberdonian and OBE Ronnie Watt, the Order of the Scottish Samurai is an award inspired by Blake Glover and those admitted to the Order are encouraged to use the letters OSS after their name.
While Ronnie actively heads the Order, he is supported by patrons, members and recipients – many of whom, such as Lord Bruce and Joanna Lumley take an active interest in the progression of the historic relationship between the two nations.
Opened by Ms Masami Fujimoto, Deputy Consul General at Consulate-General of Japan in Edinburgh, today's event saw some 23 or so Samurai and Shogun awards made to a broad range of recipients.
Two previous Lord Provosts, Margaret Smith and Margaret Farquhar received Shogun awards for services to Aberdeen while Duncan McPherson and Robert Boyd received Legendary Samurai Awards for services to the Japanese Martial Arts.
Terry Boyle and Tyrone Smith were awarded OSS Shogun and Becca Hobart – alongside delivering a splendid display of Highland Sword Dance – collected up a well-earned OSS Hatamoto for services to the Order of the Scottish Samurai.
Previous recipients of the various Scottish Samurai Awards have included Ian Wood, Alex Salmond, Charlie Abel, Len Ironside (for services to wrestling) and film producer Compton Ross. So it looks likely that Becca Hobart is in fairly good company.
Words and images © Duncan Harley – Inverurie September 16th 2018.
Duncan Harley is author of The A-Z of Curious Aberdeenshire plus the forthcoming title: The Little History of Aberdeenshire- due out in March 2019
Aberdeen City Council Hosts 2015 Samurai Awards
Joanna Lumley Recieves Scottish Samurai Award
City's Karate Master To Visit Japan
Law Student Wins Thomas Blake Glover Scholarship
Record Entry For 2016 Glover Scholarship
Posted by Editor at 21:05 Tagged with: Aberdeen, Arts, Awards, Heritage, House, Japan, Martial, Maryculter, Ronnie Watt, Samurai, Scottish, Shogun, Trade
P.I.L. @ The Assembly – Dod Morrison Reviews Dragados: More Safety Concerns Emerge


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Place the pork in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste and the fennel. Cover and let marinate for 2 hours.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and the pork and brown slowly for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the peppers and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a serving dish. Serve hot.


The Liberal Democrat Cabinet minister's comments came in an interview with the Independent newspaper in which he called on the prime minister to do more to take on Tory eurosceptics who want a "semi-detached" relationship with the continent.
Key decisions are believed to have been made at the meeting of the EPP's leaders in Marseille on the eve of the Brussels summit earlier this month.
"If you are not at the table when things are being decided, you can't defend your interests," Mr Huhne said.
"The phrase in Brussels is very clear: if you are not at the table, you are on the menu."
Negotiations ended when Britain attempted to veto fiscal integration measures, but saw all the other EU member states press ahead with the reforms without it.
Mr Huhne's criticism echoes those made repeatedly by the opposition, which has blamed the Tory decision to leave the EPP in 2009 for the summit's acrimonious outcome.
He said Mr Cameron needed to act now to tackle the views of his backbenchers seeking to build on the veto to seek a more fundamental renegotiation of Britain's position in Europe.
"I am worried there is a tendency on the Conservative right wing, a significant part of its parliamentary party, that does not appreciate the importance of being at the table in Brussels when it comes to negotiating the rules for the single market – and does not understand the strength the EU gives us globally in tackling problems like climate change," the energy and climate change secretary said.
"We need to make that case more positively. The case for our membership of the EU is not a case for ending national sovereignty but for delivering an age-old, historic objective of our foreign policy."
He added: "A lot of the Conservative right pine for some semi-detached status where we would be like Norway or Switzerland – enjoying the benefits of the single market without being a member of the EU."
The case for Britain adopting a similar relationship to Europe as that currently held by Switzerland was made by Conservative MP John Baron in a comment piece for politics.co.uk published yesterday.
He argued that the prime minister's veto should lead to the establishment of a new relationship with Europe "based upon free trade, competitiveness and growth, moving away from political union and deadweight regulation".
Mr Baron wrote: "This is not some grand utopian vision – it exists today.
"Switzerland in particular enjoys easy access to the EU's markets, without its burdensome regulation, and prospers as a result.
"This kind of new relationship with Europe would recognise that we want good relations with our neighbours - but that we also want to better engage with the faster-growing world outside the EU."
Mr Huhne conceded that reform of the EU is needed but added that it would be achieved more easily if Britain remains closely involved in its processes.
"That reform is much better argued from a position where you passionately believe in the benefits that can arise from EU membership than if your counterparts believe you have a hidden agenda which is essentially to destroy the EU and all its works," he said.


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An excellent chase day for such a marginal setup and a good way to start the tour! We left Oklahoma City bright and early with the idea of chasing storms somewhere between Limon and Fort Morgan, Colorado, so we knew we had a long drive in front of us. The group was ready to roll at 7:30 and we made good time, getting into Colorado by about 3:30 Mountain Time. What we saw when we got there was not good however! A cirrus deck near the Colorado / Kansas border had slowed heating all day and was still there as we got into Colorado. On satellite, it was clear elevated cumulus were forming to the west once it cleared, but the question was whether storms would fire on the excellent convergence projected by the models on the east side of the Denver Convergence Vorticity Zone (DCVC).
We were discussing dropping the bags off in Limon and waiting when the first storm blew up near Byers and quickly went severe. We got to Limon and blasted north towards Last Chance and the storm was suddenly tornado warned! While mesocyclone tornadoes weren't likely because of the extremely high cloud base, landspouts were definitely in play. We continued to charge north, but soon it was clear we would not be able to get through the core to where we had to be, so it was off onto the mud roads between Woodrow and Akron. Despite getting rained and hailed on pretty hard, the roads were in great shape and after stopping and observing for a bit, we hit the pavement south of Akron, but instead of heading north decided to head south as a new cell down there had been tornado warned with one reported tornado. As we charged south around the back side of the line, we plowed directly into the hook echo of the rotation of the tornado warned cell and were hammered by strong winds and rock-hard quarter sized hail. As we got through there was violent rotation to our east, but it was very high based and didn't produce.
After a while longer observing several attempts of the storm to get its act together, we headed south to try and intercept a new severe cell which was right along I-70. We picked up the storm near Siebert and went blasting through the hail core on I-70 near Vona. As we neared the core, the sun was setting, so the storm was pitch black, but the hail was reflecting white in the Sun so you could clearly see the sheets of hail coming towards us, then it was like someone dropped a giant bucket of ping-pong balls in front of us! It was an awesome core punch and we got through unscathed. We stopped in Stratton to refuel and as the storm caught us we headed to Bethune and stopped and filmed the now highly electrified storm. After we'd had enough of that, we plowed through the hail core again and off to the hotel in Limon. There was enough hail that the plows were out on the highway and the fields were covered in white.
What a fun day to start the tour when the setup looked bad, and when we reached the target area it got worse! The target area verified almost exactly.
It was a long day of driving, 828 miles, but worth it.
Approaching our first storm of the year near Last Chance, CO. We head off east into the dirt roads to get away from a big hail core. A big, flat updraft base is just to our west. Lowering off to our north. We headed for a new storm to our south, driving right under a rapidly rotating mesocyclone. Here we stopped to check it out as it moved off to the east, with hail falling around us.
Funnel! The base drifts off to the north, dumping out a big hail core to it's north. Another look at the cell drifts off. And yet another hail core to our east. Hail was the name of the game on this day!
We headed back south to the interstate, then tried to cut between two big cells that were both dumping hail. A big curtain of hail closing on the highway to our east told us we weren't going to make it! As we hit the hail core it was like someone dropped a bucket of ping pong balls on us! The hail was illuminated in white by the setting Sun against the black storm clouds. We stopped in Seibert to fuel up and watch as the now highly electrified hail storm caught back up to us.


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Cinema Signal:
Hollywood's Unsolved Mysteries
. "Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle"
This picture does what no other movie has done: it transforms a TV show into a cartoon. Not that this was such a challenge. The TV show that spawned the film franchise never offered depth of character as a selling point or as a component. It gave us female exploits while exploiting female beauty, a mission not given to much more than colorful action -- the stuff of the comic strip.
The distinguishing of one beautiful person from another is purely in the visual realm as Charlie tasks his team to perform their feats of flashy acrobatics in vanquishing their foes. In this installment, after a kick-ass rescue of Ray Carter (Robert Patrick), purportedly an undercover agent secreted in a cellar prison by a vicious bunch of fun-loving barbarians in a third world country, they return him to freedom with his secret decoder ring.
Meanwhile, the possessor of a matching ring is killed for it because the pair of them, used in tandem, opens a database containing the locations for all the participants in the federal Witness Protection Program. The pair of rings, then, is a magnet for the nefarious, and it has now fallen into the possession of villainous psychopaths. Safely returned to their dormitory style lair the Angels, Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Dylan (Drew Barrymore), and Alex (Lucy Liu), along with the new Bosley (Bernie Mac) receive Charlie's next assignment (again voiced by John Forsythe) to uncover the perpetrators.
Well, the person who currently has the rings turns out to be fallen Angel Madison Lee (Demi Moore) whose treacherous partner is Ray Carter himself. It seems Lee's intent is to sell the rings to the highest bidder, bringing out the Asian Triad, the Italian Mob, a few bloods and Crips. And then, in his own special category, is the criminally deranged escaped convict who is out for revenge against angel Dylan for putting him behind bars. This depraved creature is Seamus O'Grady (Justin Theroux) and he leads an Irish contingent. They're all in the auction action.
The Angels demonstrate their attributes in a fashion show cum make-believe girl power masquerading as a plot. Yes, it's fun to watch as the team appears in an endless array of outfits and acrobatics, but it's more satisfying to a voyeuristic eye than it is to the preposterous notion that there might be an idea beyond the obvious. As movie entertainment, it's playful, energetic and mindless and if that's your cup of confection, it's there for your gratification.
There's a gravity defying motocross competition that's more like air-hanging double cross, and every excuse to put the babes in sexy, suggestive motion, displaying as much of their parts as limited decorum will allow. This reaches a peak in a dance number that's worth repeat attendance by a few million guys, with fashion ideas pulling in the opposing gender.
Diaz is delectably trim as she lets the dialogue all hang out, little caring about the zaniness of it. Who cares? She and Lucy Liu are just fun to watch. Demi Moore has no trouble relating to her real life in her buff revenge mode that can get savage at times. As for the comic relief, I'll take Bill Murray's subtle yocks over Bernie Mac's bluster anyday.
Filming locations will be an added element of charm for Angelenos whose city is getting revitalized as a site for making movies. The Griffith Observatory is closed to the public for a multi-year renovation, but that doesn't keep the Angels crew from using it as an outdoor stage.
Action and beauty is what it's about, finally, and it's as single dimensional as ink on paper. It's a sugar rush and an adrenaline boost; whipped cream without the cake; capuccino froth without the coffee. "Full Throttle" is as good a title as any for the racy adventure -- fun while the tank has gas but brief and oh so forgettable, a sunny, breezy trip for mindless entertainment. A comic strip.
~~  Jules Brenner
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Lucy Liu, Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore
in peak form (at the Los Angeles Observatory)
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