text:
UPDATE 17/01/22: Rung remains out on bail but with conditions that silence her right to protest, curtail her right to freely move, and she can't do or say anything that affects the monarchy. Rung could be sent back to prison at any time, and she still faces many charges that are before the courts. This has left Rung feeling really low. Please keep signing this petition and sharing on socials. You can also send Rung a message of support.
Panusaya 'Rung' Sithijirawattanakul is detained and facing up to life in prison for speaking out for freedom and democracy in Thailand. Take action now and demand her freedom.
23-year-old Rung is a voice for young people in Thailand. She is one of many young people calling for equality, freedom of expression and systemic change in Thailand. She's a leading voice in Thailand's youth democracy movement.
Rung, which means 'Rainbow' in Thai, became politically active while studying sociology and anthropology at university in the capital, Bangkok. She bravely took part in protests for social and political change throughout 2020. By August 2020, she had become a protest leader and was watched by thousands, calling for equality, freedom of expression and – what is a highly sensitive topic in Thailand – the reform of the monarchy. This unprecedented act propelled her onto the national stage.
But the authorities branded her a troublemaker, and in March 2021, she was detained by the Thai authorities. She was accused of provoking unrest and was arrested under sedition and lèse-majesté laws that make illegal the criticism of the monarchy. She now faces up to life in prison just for speaking out for freedom in her country.
Rung has been detained since 15 November 2021, after authorities denied her bail. This is the second time in 2021 that authorities have detained her. She was previously detained for 60 days during which she was diagnosed with COVID-19. The authorities denied her bail six times. In defiance, she went on a 38-day hunger strike and was released on 30 April 2021. She must be released and acquitted of all charges immediately.
Sign the petition and call for her release and for all charges against Rung to be dropped immediately.


text:
Celebrate your favorite NFL tight ends on Sunday
Posted: October 24, 2019 6:48 PM
by Stephen Anthony Sobek
It started in 2018 when San Francisco 49ers tight end Garrett Celek caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
While congratulating his tight end, the QB started a phenomenon that would eventually spread through the league and become National Tight End Day, which is this Sunday, October 27, according to the 49ers.
The "National Tight End Day" celebration had become a recurring theme and celebration in the 49ers locker room. According to San Fran's TE George Kittle, it's an internal motivator.
"We were on the sidelines after Celek's score when Jimmy asked, 'What is it, like National Tight End Day?'" Kittle recalled, according to the 49ers. "I was like, 'Yeah, it's National Tight End Day. It's a holiday. Tight ends all over the league are scoring touchdowns.' That's how it came to be. We just kind of rolled with it."
The NFL caught wind of the celebrations and christened the final Sunday in the month of October as National Tight End Day.
"It's awesome that we're finally recognizing it on October 27," Kittle said.
The NFL Films website also had a lighthearted take on the holiday, saying that it's rumored that football fan President John F. Kennedy originally decreed it and the idea was "shelved for decades."
Tight ends across the league will pay respect to previous tight ends by donning throwback jerseys. Kittle will wear custom cleats before to recognize various tight ends across the league. He'll also wear a "National Tight End Day" T-shirt that will be available for fans at the 49ers' stadium. A portion of the proceeds will go to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital.
Power outage from windstorm forces Northwest Spokane restaurant to close
Reps. Chase, McCaslin push for 51st state 'Liberty' in new House bill
Tree crushes teen's car on 19th birthday during last week's windstorm

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
DIVERSITY AND THE PUREBRED DOG-- Breaking Down Genetics
breaking diversity dog genetics purebred
I LOVE THIS ARTICLE!! It pertains to genetics, diversity and purebred dogs; in addition, it breaks it down and makes it simple. EXCELLENT READ!
DIVERSITY AND THE PUREBRED DOG
(The Poodle and the Chocolate Cake)
by John Armstrong
The Nature of Diversity
Think of genes as recipes. They carry the instructions for the various components that go into making up an organism. Each recipe specifies a particular component, and different individuals may carry different versions of the same recipe. (In the jargon of genetics, we say that they carry different alleles of a particular gene.) Individuals within a population often carry similar or identical recipes, for example, chocolate cake for a Poodle, lemon cake for a Beagle, and white cake for a Samoyed. A different canine species might be represented by a fruit cake. When you consider animals that are quite different, such as frogs and chickens, you will generally find "homologous" recipes, say for pies or puddings. Thus, there is more diversity among mammals than among carnivores, more among the carnivores than among the Canidae, and more among the Canidae than among the wolf group.
An organism carries a collection of recipes, and the collection defines the organism. The great diversity in the possible collections of recipes is the reason for the great diversity in the animal and plant kingdoms. The more closely related two individuals are, the greater the similarity in their collections. The number of combinations is huge, and during evolution, the recipe collection was undoubtedly reshuffled many times. The combinations that worked well survived and multiplied. Those that did not work quickly died out. In theory, one may make a meal of Champagne with tacos and Yorkshire pudding, but they don't really belong together. As time passed, exchange of recipes became difficult between animals that differed substantially in their physical and behavioural characteristics. Different groups, therefore, became constrained to work with only a subset of the total possible collection of recipes.
One definition of a species is that members of two different species bred to each other cannot produce a fertile hybrid. However, a more modern definition is that two species are geographically, physiologically, or behaviourally isolated such that they do not normally produce hybrids. Additionally, they should have features that differ sufficiently to allow them to be distinguished from each other. The domestic dog, wolf, coyote, and jackal can all mate with each others (barring size constraints) to produce viable and fertile hybrids. Yet, they have been considered different species (within the genus Canis) because they normally live in different places, behave differently, and can usually be told apart. (Though there has been a recent move to change Canis familiaris to a subspecies of Canis lupus.) However, a jackal will not mate with a dog unless they have been raised together from pups (presumably due to a learned behavioural difference). Furthermore, no Canis species can produce a hybrid with a fox. This is not because the kinds of genetic recipes are greatly different, but because foxes do not share the same number of chromosomes. (In other words, their recipes are filed under a different, incompatible system - somewhat akin to filing one under DOS and the other on a Mac.)
Genetic recipes may get modified when they are passed on. Many of the modifications will make no noticeable difference, or only a very subtle one. Some may improve the recipe and others will not. If we are making a chocolate cake and a critical ingredient is forgotten, or the cake is baked too long or at the wrong temperature, we end up with a disaster. (If we don't understand what has gone wrong, we will likely throw out the recipe and look for a new one.) We may even make deliberate modifications in an attempt to get a more memorable cake. Among the "chocolate cake" population, there will be a variety - or diversity - of recipes and, therefore, of cakes.
This, I would say, is a "good" thing. Do we always want the same chocolate cake? Surely we will tire of it, and even if we don't, we lose the pleasure of anticipation. If, for some unforseen reason, everyone suddenly loses their taste for THE chocolate cake, it will surely go extinct. To have the potential for evolution and adaptation, we must risk the possibility of the bad. That is the "cost."
In a large, naturally breeding population, we will end up with a number of versions (alleles), some so slightly different that we will never notice, some perceptibly different (but still functional), and some that just don't work at all. However, if we remove the diversity we lose the potential for evolution and for surviving unexpected change. To have the potential for evolution and adaptation, we must risk the possibility of the bad. Geneticists call that cost genetic load. This "bad" group persists because every individual carries two copies of every recipe, and often having just one "good" copy is enough for normal function. In most populations, every individual carries a portion of the load - three to five bad recipes out of several thousand. The load is so well distributed that if two individuals compare their recipe collections they will generally not have two copies of the same bad recipe.
Loss of Diversity
Suppose we start a new population with only six or eight founders. (A number of breeds have started with that few.) We will get rid of hundreds of bad recipes, but the remaining dozen or two will be encountered much more frequently. Furthermore, if there are several good or excellent recipes, the chance of dropping one of these from the collection grows greater as the number of founders diminishes, and the risk of losing one remains high as long as the effective population size remains low. Working with small numbers will inevitably decrease the diversity, simply because individuals do not pass on their recipes equally to the next generation and some recipes are accidentally lost. This has the superficially desirable result of giving a more reproducible phenotype, but at the expense of an overall reduction in quality, health, and longevity.
If breeders had the ability to recognize each individual recipe and choose only those that were excellent, breeds could be produced with a small number of individuals that lacked genetic problems. However, what we see (the phenotype) is the product of all the recipes and, for the most part, we cannot distinguish the individual recipes. Moreover, we do not have the option of selecting recipes individually. When we select an animal for breeding, we are forced to accept a complete set. Even in those few cases where we now have a DNA test for a bad recipe (allele), we do not possess the ability to correct or selectively discarded it. We are therefore forced to work around it, or to discard the whole collection, with the attendant risk of discarding something excellent along with it.
The common practice of almost everyone rushing to breed to the currently-popular male show champion is probably the most significant factor reducing whatever diversity remains. Consider your own breed (the situation for most breeds is similar). Can you find one or more males that appear in most pedigrees? Almost everyone decides they like the recipes of (insert name) - or at least the ones they can see readily - and abandons other recipes with little thought to the eventual consequences. In a few generations, almost everyone has a substantial number of his recipes, though not necessarily his exceptional ones, and many excellent alternatives are very hard to find.
How precious is the individual that comes along with some of the missing recipes and relatively few of the "popular" collection? Do we hesitate because there are also a few bad recipes in this alternate collection? Are we now so accustomed to dealing with the more-popular collection that we have lost the vision of the "memorable" chocolate cake?
Population Genetics and the Breeder
What is often called Mendelian genetics deals with the outcome of specific crosses. Population genetics deals with the distribution of alleles in a population and the effects of mutation, selection, inbreeding, etc., on this distribution. As a breeder, you are a practicing geneticist. A knowledge of both Mendelian genetics and population genetics is critical, not only to your own success, but also to the survival of your breed.
Because many early geneticists believed that there were only two possible alternatives for a gene - "good" alleles that functioned normally and "bad" alleles that didn't - they expected to find little genetic variability in a population. The majority of individuals were expected to be homozygous for the good allele for most genes.
But with the advent of modern biochemical and molecular tools, geneticists studying populations found far more variability (diversity) than they had expected. There are a number of possible reasons for this, and even the experts are not in total agreement on the most likely reason(s). However, geneticists have also discovered that populations lacking genetic diversity often have significant problems and are at greater risk from disease and other changes in their environment. The conclusion is that genetic diversity is desirable for the health and long-term survival of a population.
Are purebreds dogs genetically diverse? Some may regard that as a contradiction in terms. The very concept of creating a breed with characteristics that are distinctly different from other breeds implies a certain limitation on diversity. Nevertheless, within the standards for a breed, diversity should still be possible for genes that do not affect the essential characteristics that distinguish one breed from another. If, in order to maintain breed identity, one has to compromise on genes that relate to general structural soundness, good health, intelligence, and temperament, perhaps this breed should not exist. However, as long as these essentials are not compromised, I see no reason why one cannot have different breeds with different appearances and different talents.
For those genes that establish breed identity, there will be markedly less variability within a breed than within Canis familiaris as a whole. The tricky bit is restricting variability for those genes that make a breed distinctive without sacrificing the variability/diversity that is necessary for good health and long-term survival of the breed. In many cases, this has not been achieved, and we are now paying the price in terms of high incidence of specific genetic diseases and increased susceptibility to other diseases, reduced litter sizes, reduced lifespan, inability to conceive naturally, etc.
Why has this happened?
Many breeds have been established with too few founders or ones that are already too closely related.
The registries (stud books) are closed for most breeds; therefore you cannot introduce diversity from outside the existing population.
Most selective breeding practices have the effect of reducing the diversity further. In addition, the wrong things are often selected for.
Even if the founders were sufficiently diverse genetically, almost no one knows how their genetic contributions are distributed among the present day population. Consequently, breeding is done without regard to conserving these contributions, which may be of value to the general health and survival of the breed.
pitbullmamanatl Apr 6, 2011


Official Listing Information! MLS #1971508 - Arden Woods neighborhood. 6395 Chartwell Ct located in Brentwood TN, list price of 1199900, with 5 bedrooms.
Open & inviting floor plan w/ exceptional finishes. Soaring ceilings, exquisite Master Retreat, gourmet Kitchen & Garage access on main level. Three bedrooms & bonus up. Basement w/ rec room, hobby/exercise rm & in-law suite. Private backyard w/ two covered living spaces. Ideal location between Brentwood & Green Hills!


Sports betting can stay a great way to enjoy your favorite showcases and make money online of it. But you are new and putting your money on the outcome of a certain sports event, it is important that one learn the rules, all basics as well although the risks that you are going into.
For beginners in recreation betting, here is per simple sports betting tips that may help a person make money from the device and enjoy it in the form of well. of course, bets on the outcome of most a sporting event is something that is for entertainment and fun and as well as don't make it the new means to make an important steady stream of purchases. Understand that putting money on sports product is gambling and having to do with course, is a joint partnership that is full towards risks.
If you is one of those who love in order to watch baseball or perhaps a football and you want to deposit an extra excit to your watching, here are a certain amount of simple tips and a sports betting guide to help you you enjoy with avoid getting broke as well.
-Understand the authorized of your marketplace pertaining to betting on sports. This is gambling in addition it may are banned from most other cities and job areas so make without a doubt you are not solely putting yourself back into more risk peculiarly when it appears to the police.
– Identify the arrangements and the rules in the sports bets. Even in case you are usually not in keeping with the extraordinarily detail related to the sport's rules, แทงบอลออนไลน์ the site is automatically important that many you know the unique codes of betting. Of course, you are usually putting your new money on the topic of it and as a result it could be important to understand the fact that sports bet is 't just relating to making most of the right speculate of which will or what team might possibly win a person's game but it is important just that you get against currently the rules of the betting. All the way through fact, adding your bets on the new team that a lot of is favored to earn does not necessarily mean you will definitely be assured of your sensational. You are blessed with to gain knowledge of that recently there are illnesses that during every imagine and most people have to assist you learn her.
The extend for as an example is an actual concept on the inside sports gaming that allows you with regard to think when you would bet within a top team also known as an underdog. In fact, the spread will promote a a large number of point advantage to i would say the underdog to be make one particular betting not likely one-sided. From a suitable understanding these concepts, you in many cases can indeed aide yourself along where that will put a new money correctly.
– Peek into other recommendations to win good bucks. Aside for putting your trusty money forward the team that the public think want an welfare considering your point distributed evenly as beautifully as typically the performances to the team, you can also observe sports poker by making a bet on all the total score of the specific game. One can also put this money on several sides and games as beautifully.
Especially if or when you have proven to be a first timer in professional sports gambling, it is principal that any person have to help learn how to curb your investment even until today starting to positively engage through betting. Dinero management has become very especially on such dodgy venture, as a result make sure that your company do not even bet more than what you will be able to afford so that it will lose and make definitely you acquire a competitive sports betting guide to make it possible to you by means understanding the risks of a sports gaming.


If you've taken the time to grow yourself a beautiful beard, then the chances are you have grown pretty fond of your facial fuzz, and are unlikely to want to ditch it just because you are heading away from home.
But how easy is it to travel with a beard? Are there any drawbacks to having a beard on holiday? And how can you care for your beard when travelling?
Here we take a look at a few of the issues around bearded travels, as well as some solutions to common problems that beard wearers can face when they are away.
Does your passport photo feature a younger, smoother, beard-free you? Are you concerned that your beard will be an issue at customs? According to our research growing (or indeed shaving) facial hair should not have an impact on your ability to pass through checkpoints as long as your face remains recognisable.
If you feel you look significantly different to your existing passport photo and are concerned that it could impede your travels you may wish to contact the passport office for advice before you set off.
Heading somewhere hot? There are a number of factors to consider when it comes to whether you want to keep wearing those whiskers.
SUN PROTECTION: Beards can offer some protection against the suns harmful rays (one study found beards block between 50 and 95 per cent of UV rays, although other studies show that finer growth and longer beards which are more prone to parting may offer less protection – meaning sunscreen should always be considered) The rest of your face will also need adequate protection, both for health reasons and to avoid drastic tan lines should you subsequently decide to shave!
SWIMMING WITH FACIAL HAIR: If you are planning a holiday with lots of beach or pool time, remember that pool and salt water, combined with sun exposure could have an adverse effect on beard condition. Ensure that you are carrying the proper beard conditioning products to keep your whiskers looking great throughout your break.
If you want to keep your beard Insta-ready throughout your travels, it's important to be prepared for proper beard care on your break.
Pack essential beard care for your trip in our eDOPP Bag – available in our shop.


How do I join 9rules?
So you'd like to be a member, eh?
When is 9rules open for submissions?
July 10, 2009: Submissions to 9rules is currently closed. Thank you for all who submitted. We are going through the current submissions and will post an update listing the new members once they have all been processed.
How Do I Know If My Site Was Accepted?
A list of accepted sites will be posted on the 9rules blog. We will also send an email to the email address used on the submission form.
There will be cases where we need to talk to the site owner because we need more information. In those cases we will contact the site owner individually.
My site wasn't accepted, when can I submit my site again?
You can submit your site during the next round of submissions. We do not accept submissions outside of rounds.
I am not a member but I would like to show my support. Do you have buttons I can use on my site?
Yes we do. You can download the 9rules reader badgers here.
How long does it take to find out if my site has been accepted?
Depending on the volume of submissions, the list of accepted sites will be posted on the 9rules blog.
Please use our contact form to send Tyme an email.


BookTube and Podcasts and Blogs, oh my!
It's no secret that book lovers love social media. I'm a little late to the blogging party myself, but I've been following a few great blogs and podcasts for quite some time now. Add to that the BookTube community, and social media has everything that a book lover needs. There are some wonderful people out there that pull these things together for our enjoyment – and all for FREE. It's hard work, and takes a lot of dedication, so I'd thought I'd share some of my favorites. Let's show them some love.
Now lets talk about BookTube. I learned about this community not too long ago, and I'm so impressed with how well these book lovers produce their videos. They're smart, articulate and fun. It's the perfect new medium for book reviews. Here are my favorites, again in no particular order.
Filed under Book Reviews, BookTube, Podcasts |	Comments Off on BookTube and Podcasts and Blogs, oh my!


text:
Independent Schools of New Zealand
ISNZ Sponsors Executive Lists Criteria for Membership of ISNZ ISNZ Honours Awards 2019 HISST Scholarship Grant Principals of Our Member Schools Our Outstanding Teachers Sponsorship Opportunities with ISNZ Celebrating Long Service Member Site
Directory of New Zealand Independent Schools Our Member Schools - Quick reference guide Types of Independent School Scholarships and Bursaries Qualifications our Schools offer Open Days
2020 ISNZ Annual Conference - Save the Date Events Calendar 2020 Professional Development Brochure 2020 Buy a Seminar Package Event Presentations 2019 ISNZ Conference - the highlights
Donald MacLean, Dilworth School
Outstanding Service to Independent Schooling in New Zealand
Donald retired from the Principal role at Dilworth in 2018, having served the school for over 20 years. When he joined Dilworth in 1997, the school operated on two campuses in Remuera and Epsom. In 2012 an additional Rural Campus at Mangatawhiri was opened. Donald was the initial inspiration behind the concept of this unique outdoor education centre, which offers boys an extraordinary opportunity they couldn't get elsewhere in New Zealand.
Born and educated in Scotland, Donald moved to New Zealand to live and work initially at Gisborne Boys High School in 1979, and then from 1980 onwards in Auckland. He held positions in English teaching at Northcote College, and at Epsom Girls Grammar was Head of the English Department. In 1994 he was appointed Deputy Principal at Mt Roskill Grammar, before taking up the Dilworth Principalship.
During Donald's time as Principal, Dilworth's roll increased from under 500 boarders to 640. The school developed a culture of outstanding achievement in all areas. Academic performance improved year on year, with 2017 NCEA results being the best in the school's history. Sporting and cultural performance also went from strength to strength. Thank you, Donald, for your outstanding commitment, dedication and service to Dilworth School, and congratulations on your award.
© 2020 Independent Schools of New Zealand


Most of us involved in energy efficiency have realized at one time or another that there are greater opportunities to save energy through system optimization than through improvements to the efficiency of an individual device. A good way to visualize this is to picture a well-designed pump driven by a high-efficiency motor pumping water through a mostly closed valve that not only wastes most of the electricity going into the motor, it causes backpressure on the pump that will cause it to wear out quicker.
Proponents of energy efficiency believe that it not only saves energy and money, it creates jobs. The stronger the evidence that energy efficiency programs and polices create economic opportunity and jobs, the greater the likelihood that federal, state, and local governments will support them. Managers of existing programs use a variety of methods to monitor and evaluate their job creation impacts in order to justify and extend the investment.
How much energy savings resulted from a given energy efficiency program? This is the fundamental question that program evaluators have faced since the days of the very first energy efficiency programs in the 1970's.
Once again, some members of the House are trying to turn back a train that has already left the station. They have inserted a light bulb rider in the 2014 omnibus spending bill which would prohibit the Department of Energy (DOE) from enforcing the light bulb standards enacted in 2007 and signed into law by President Bush.
Any serious effort to acquire energy savings from the manufacturing sector will need to address the needs of small and medium-sized manufacturers. While most industrial energy efficiency programs have first exploited efficiencies of scale by tackling the biggest energy users (quite sensibly), that approach overlooks about half of the manufacturing energy consumption in the United States.


text:
This Shadow Talent Build is the fastest for Leveling Up a Priest Class from 1-60 in WoW Classic patch 1.12. Spamming Shadow Damage DOTs while kite mobs will be the name of the game with this build, having the ability to sustain your health is just a bonus. You will just need to make sure you are stacking enough spirit so you don't run out of mana often as that will slow down the levelling process drastically.
Other methods have been discussed. For example, mods could be crippled. DBM didn't exist back then, and the other boss that did that I don't remember the name of, didn't do as much back then as DBM does now. If our goal is to recreate the experience as it was, then obviously not having DBM would be a reasonable way to accomplish that. DBM simply existing, makes the game today easier than it was. So disallow it. Again, this is completely consistent with the spirit of vanilla. Remember one-button-decursing? That was nerfed. They crippled the capabilities of the modding API to disallow that because it made the game too easy. So what if they cripple it a little bit more to once again make the game less easy?
At some point, Zygor was destroyed. Accounts differed as to what the cause of this was and when it happened. According to one account, the planet was destroyed in the war against the Xaranti. (PROSE: The Bodysnatchers) Another account given by the Zygon Broton in the 20th century said his world was destroyed in a "recent catastrophe". (TV: Terror of the Zygons) Another account, given by Elizabeth I who had been posing as a Zygon in 1562, said that the Zygons lost their world when it burned in the first days of the Time War. (TV: The Day of the Doctor)
Step-by-step class guides are on the way! The 1-12 Mulgore Guide is the first guide to get all the individual class steps. At the top of the guide, simply select which class you are playing and the page will dynamically update all the steps in the guide for that class (both text and images). The rest of the guides will be slowly updated overtime to include all the class steps, but you can see how it's going to work with the 1-12 Mulgore. I want to thank crazyK and his Placeholderguild for helping me out with the individual class content. They are allowing me to get the 1-60 Alliance guide done while also getting all the class steps done at the same time, so everything can be ready for Classic launch (hopefully).
Why was this downvoted? The swing analogy is horrible. There's nothing physical that's going to change when u play the game the exact same way as 04 05 06. The difference is u know what's going on as opposed to not knowing where anything is. A good analogy would be playing Pokémon red again after beating the elite 4. The game itself won't be any worse, it just will be easier and maybe less enjoyable if all you enjoyed is the aspect of not knowing where to go. But this is why pvp servers are magical, because each time you level a character, your leveling experience is different based on the encounters that happen while questing. In 05 U may have breezed through stv, but in classic u may spend an hour on a single quest solely because of the competition between factions on that particular quest.
Analogy: think back on riding the swings in kindergarten. Was it fun? Now, imagine going back to those swings exactly as they were, and sitting in them now, as an adult. They're too small. They don't fit. Your feet drag on the ground because they're so low to the ground. The bar over your head is low enough that you can reach out and touch it, and even at the highest the swing will go, it's only about chest high when you're standing up. It's exactly the same swing, but riding on it now is a very different experience, yes?
Professions in Battle for Azeroth Professions in Battle for Azeroth, the next WoW expansion after Legion, have received a significant update, with many new recipes as well as a significant skill squish. In this overview, we'll highlight the major recipes, reagents, and useful items each profession offers. Battle for Azeroth Alchemy Guide Everything about Battle for Azeroth Alchemy including trainer locations, potions, flasks, reagents, transmutation, and special Alchemy-only perks. How the Scrapper in Battle for Azeroth Works Full explanation of how the Scrapper works in Battle for Azeroth and how to properly use it to get the crafting materials you need from unwanted gear.
Nov 13 What are the differences between versions? I just have a trial at the moment but i'm confused on what each version offers. Normal Sub : $15 a month Battle for Azeroth: $50 (needs subscription) Complete Colelction: $60 As far as i knew if you had a subscription to the game you get all of the content minus the latest expansion. So let me see if this is right. If i were to get the complete collection i would get one month at a $5 discount and the newest expansion OR Just pay $15 For the game and all expansions EXCEPT BFA?Buresh2	Nov 13
WoW: Classic is scheduled for August 27 (technically August 26 if you're in the Americas). The soonest that you can play it is starting in May, during Blizzard's scheduled stress tests. To opt-in you must have an active subscription on your Battle.net account. If you do, go to Account Management and select the Wow Classic beta. Keep in mind, there will be level caps during the test. The schedule is as follows:
The first stress test began earlier today, and as such Bornakk added that Blizzard has already finished sending out invites for it. If you're not aware, Blizzard has made it known a few days ago that players may be opted into the stress test even if they're not officially part of the beta, as the developer is looking to really push some load into the servers. The community manager then went on to clear some specifics with regards to how they choose people for the beta and stress test.


text:
Spotlight on Guest Author Isabella Connor
First a heartfelt thank you to all of you who have downloaded my debut novel The Girl on the Beach since its release on 24 January 2017. I have been overjoyed by the response and support. The book is featured as book of the week on @TheAuthorHour on Twitter this week, which was a lovely surprise.
This week I am pleased to welcome fellow Choc Lit author Isabella Connor to my blog. Well that's not strictly true, as 'Isabella Connor' is the joint pen name of Englishwoman Liv Thomas, who works for the National Health Service in Southampton, and of Scottish-born Valerie Olteanu, an adult educator in the Canadian province of British Columbia. I spoke to Liv for this blog.
Liv Thomas
I live on the South Coast, and though pretty widely travelled, I've never lived outside Hampshire. If I had a choice, I would live either in Ireland, or in the Alps. I work for the NHS, at the first hospital that was featured in Channel 4's 'One Born Every Minute'. I live with the OH and our West Highland Terrier, Sophie. The kids have flown the nest but all live locally. I love reading and writing (not 'rithmetic though), also pub quizzes, and I have a girlie crush on Chris Evans (not that one!) whose character in the movie Push was the visual for Finn in An Irish Promise.
I am @Livbet on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Livbet – and will generally follow back, unless it's someone whose tweets comprise of nothing more than links. I give those a miss because although it's a useful promotional tool, I do think of Twitter more as a social thing.
I do have a blog, which is sadly neglected, but I am full of good intentions and plan to resurrect it in 2017 – there is quite a lot on it though, if anyone wants to give it a try. 🙂 http://livbet.webs.com/
I write mainly at weekends, and if I'm lucky I get a free day during the week as well. I don't find it easy to write if there are outstanding chores, and as there are always chores, I need to get into the mindset that these can wait.
Inspiration can come from a story picked up in the news, or like a bolt of lightning can just appear. I have no idea where the idea for Beneath an Irish Sky came from – it just turned up, uninvited, and interestingly, most of the characters were already named. There was virtually no thought given to the names – they just 'were'. An Irish Promise was the brainchild of my writing partner, Val Olteanu, so we have one each with both of us adding to the original ideas.
Val lives in Canada, and we've never met in person. Both of our novels were plotted and completed via internet and telephone. We 'met' on a Lord of the Rings message-board, which was also instrumental in me jump-starting my writing ambitions, and I wrote several fanfics. Had I given Faramir some duct-tape and cable ties, who knows where I might be now…
I've always had a passion for Ireland, and writing stories set in that locality, or with an Irish hero, just comes naturally. Originally though, An Irish Promise was to be set in the same English location as Beneath an Irish Sky (which takes place in both Ireland and England), and its working title was Winter Promises. However, our publisher – Choc Lit – asked if we would mind reworking it so that it had an Irish setting. It took a while, but was a labour of love – I was more than happy to make that change.
In the pipeline at the moment are both a prequel and a sequel to Beneath an Irish Sky, and we have a couple of other original novels in the planning stages. If only real life would stop being so continually disruptive, we could speed up the whole process…it's just so rude!
Praise for BENEATH AN IRISH SKY:
Two very different worlds collide when a wealthy English businessman learns he has a 20 year old son, who has been raised as a Traveller in Ireland. The arrival of Luke Kiernan in an affluent Cheshire village brings both anger and division, and sets in motions events that unearth long buried secrets. The following is a review from the Irish Independent newspaper:
The clash of two unfamiliar worlds is very concussive in Liv Thomas and Val Olteanu's debut novel. Using the pen name Isabella Connor, the two writers have conspired to craft a compelling tale of love and loss. You know how it goes: boy meets girl; boy falls in love with girl; girl runs away.
We meet the characters years later. Jack Stewart imagines that he's put his past firmly behind him. On the surface Jack has everything – success, money, a big house – but a tragic road accident shatters his perfect world. Jack's ex, Annie, an Irish Traveller, has been killed. He also discovers that Annie was pregnant when she ran away from him all those years ago and Jack has a grown-up son, Luke.
This is also the tale of Luke. Luke has had a difficult upbringing as a Traveller. When he wakes up after the accident in a Dublin hospital to find the man he's hated since childhood at his bedside, all he can think about is getting revenge.
Jack decides to take his estranged son back with him to England. Too little, too late – or is it? Jack and Luke's union exposes past deceits and unearths some dark family secrets buried long, long ago.
The real pleasure of the novel lies with Luke, who is both naive and knowing. His narration is shot through with a sly humour that's a delight to read.
This is a compelling, fast-paced read with a plot that builds inexorably. The characters are finely drawn and the writers, despite the fact that neither are Irish, manage to weave Irish Traveller culture throughout the fabric of the book.
They manage to authentically capture an atmosphere of suspicion between the Traveller community and the rest of society. They also beautifully convey the emotional stiflement among characters haunted by the spell of the past.
Lorraine Courtney
And also from the Sunday (Irish) Independent:
ONE of two unusual aspects of Beneath an Irish Sky is that, not only is it written by two authors – but they live on opposite sides of the world.
'Isabella Connor' is the joint pen name of Englishwoman Liv Thomas, who works for the National Health Service in Southampton, and of Scottish-born Valerie Olteanu, an adult educator in the Canadian province of British Columbia.
Despite the miles, these ambitious writers have managed to produce a pacey work without noticeable seams.
The storyline is the other unusual aspect of this book: it flows from an ill-fated marriage between a down-to-earth aristocrat and a courageous Traveller.
Of course, the barbed-wire barrier of class divide is not news for lovers of romantic novels. Nor are the obstacles of disapproving parents-in-law, small-minded rural communities or festering years-old misunderstandings.
These are staples in a competitive genre in which it is extremely tough to find new twists – but Thomas and Olteanu have had a fair crack at it.
Jack Stewart is old money but a new man; he dared to follow his heart and marry Co Clare Traveller Annie Kiernan, who had come to his ultra-traditional English village to work as a barmaid.
But, two decades before the novel begins in earnest, Annie disappears without so much as a note – and Jack's distraught efforts to solve the mystery proved fruitless.
It is down to the authors' skill, too, that Annie's heroic presence remains so alive throughout, particularly as the book opens with Jack identifying his estranged wife's body after a horrific car crash.
The complex web that unravels as a result has two distinct parts: calculated deception, deadly betrayal and festering bigotry from those who hated Annie and her roots, versus honest acceptance, high morals and loving kindness from the faction who could – or do now – open their hearts and minds to what she stood for and achieved.
Bang in the centre of the tangle are bewildered Jack and angry Luke, the badly injured son he never knew about.
It is only when – or if – this warring pair can make sense of Annie's flight that she will be able to rest in peace.
Beneath an Irish Sky is a solid read with credible characters (albeit set very distinctly either in the good or bad camp), gritty dialogue, competent scene-setting and with all plot strands satisfactorily knotted off in the fast-moving finale.
The collaboration between these long-distance writers of romance has delivered a well-rounded novel with definite heart.
Sunday Independent
AN IRISH PROMISE explores the effects of school bullying, not just on the bullied, but on the bullies too. This review from In D'Tale, received five stars, and four steamy kettles (this was actually a bit of a surprise…there is a romance, but in all honesty, it's not that steamy!).
Rachel Ford has returned to Kilbrook to make those who destroyed her life answer for the hurt they caused her and her family. She meets Finn Mackenzie, an Australian actor who is in Kilbrook to help his aunt with a legal matter. The attraction between them is undeniable but Rachel is afraid that if Finn finds out the reason she's in Kilbrook, she will lose his respect.
"An Irish Promise" is a skillfully crafted and a powerful story exploring the consequences of how one's past actions reverberates through time to haunt one's future. The characters are multi-faceted and the author makes them go to the wringer, particularly in respect of an incident that becomes the fulcrum of the story, a twist that is so unexpected that the reader might reel at the revelation. The reader will be torn between cheering for Rachel and sympathizing with some of those who made her life miserable. Revenge against those who have been allowed off the hook for so long is sweet, but at what cost? The cliché that it is a dish best served cold is more a dish with unexpected outcomes that will affect everyone in Kilbrook. Including Rachel.
A very powerful story of love, revenge, responsibility, and irony. And, of secrets that nearly destroy everyone if not for their strength and resolve to pick up the pieces and move on. And forgive. This is a tale that will stay with the reader long after the story has ended!
M.P. Ceja
http://www.indtale.com/reviews/contemporary/irish-promise-emerald-isle-romance-2
I have two Pinterest boards, based on the movies for both novels – well, we can but hope! I am more than happy to receive other suggestions for the leading roles 🙂
Thank you for visiting my blog, Liv. How interesting about the Pinterest boards. I collect photos of my characters, but have never thought about keeping them in this way. I also find it fascinating that you work with an author you have never met – what a special connection!
Contact details for Liv Thomas/IsabellaConnor below:-
Website/Blog: http://livbet.webs.com
Twitter: @Livbet on Twitter – https://twitter.com/Livbet
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/isabella.connor.hartswood.hill
Pinterest: liv Thomas
Purchase links can be found on the Choc Lit Website here
Please leave any comments for Liv about her books, or any aspect of this blog appearance below.
I shall be back next week with a round up of my debut release for The Girl on the Beach, which was a very exciting time.
angelabritnell says:
Looking forward to the sequel of Beneath an Irish Sky – leave the dusting alone and get busy 🙂 Life gets in the way sometimes more's the pity.
It's why I always try to write in cafes, otherwise I would get no writing done at all! Mx
Liv Thomas says:
I need to give that a try x
A dull woman's house is immaculate…so they say. I need to make that my mantra 🙂
jfishler08 says:
Yes, please, please get back to Luke and Jack and all the rest – tho I do so understand the chore thing.
Have tried the coffee shop, cafe. Others have such success; me, not so much, I get distracted. Isn't it funny, I can stay focused at home with TV, music, whatever…so long as the chores are done!
However. Please. More Luke and Jack and all the rest!
It must be done, Jen – we owe it to you. 🙂
Pingback: In Case you Missed Them … | Morton S. Gray – Author
Publication Day – The Girl on the Beach


text:
Hillary Clinton Has Pneumonia. Here's What it Means
By Alexandra Sifferlin
September 12, 2016 9:43 AM EDT
Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has pneumonia, according to a statement from her doctor, and the common illness has caused her to cancel a trip to California. The diagnosis came to light after Clinton left a 9/11 memorial ceremony in New York City and a video suggesting she was having difficulty standing surfaced online.
But what does a pneumonia diagnosis mean?
Pneumonia is a common disease that's characterized by an infection in the lungs. A diagnosis tends to be more serious for people over age 65 as well as infants and young children, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. People who already have compromised health, like heart failure or HIV may be at a higher risk. Smokers are also more likely to become sick from pneumonia. There are vaccines that can lower a person's risk for the illness.
Get our Health Newsletter. Sign up to receive the latest health and science news, plus answers to wellness questions and expert tips.
Pneumonia can be mild, severe, or anything in between. Milder symptoms can include a cough, chills, fever, and shortness of breath. In more severe cases, people may experience sharp pains, excessive sweating and sometimes confusion.
Treatment can depend on how severe a person's symptoms are. In Clinton's case, her physician Dr. Lisa R. Bardack said in a statement that Clinton, "was put on antibiotics, and advised to rest and modify her schedule." Hydration is important for someone with pneumonia. Bardack said Clinton became overheated and dehydrated at the event and now she is re-hydrated "recovering nicely." Rest is also key to a pneumonia recovery plan, according to the American Lung Association.
How serious is the illness?
It's estimated that every year there are around 1 million people who seek hospital care for pneumonia, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but there are more people who will catch pneumonia and not need hospital treatment. The illness is considered common, and is caused by a wide variety of bacterias or viruses that can inflame air sacs in a person's lungs. People who are young and healthy can also come down with a bout of pneumonia as well.
What is walking pneumonia?
The type of pneumonia Clinton has is unknown. But walking pneumonia is a very common type of the disease that does not require a hospital stay. People with walking pneumonia, which is often caused by a bacteria called Mycoplasma pneumoniae, often feel well enough to go about their daily activities and work. It may feel like they have a bad cold or a case of the flu. Anyone can contract walking pneumonia, which can be more frequent in the late summer and early fall, and people who work in crowded places are thought to be at a higher risk for getting it.
The New Science of Exercise


The first translation I read (years ago) was the Louis & Aylmer Maude. And I loved it! But how much of that was because of the Maudes I don't know. For my current re-read I picked up the Pevear/Volokhonsky and to be honest I haven't found a huge difference overall, as I expected. Also, I must say I'm enjoying it immensely and have picked up quite a few things I'd missed on my first read - not because of the new translation though, just that it's a second read through. Yes, I've read some of the criticism toward Pevear/Volokhonsky but then without having read the original in Russian, I can't make that judgement myself. Also it's fair to say that all of the translations have been "criticized" in one way or another. The Maude translation was a "first love" for me and so will probably remain a favourite for that reason alone, though I wouldn't avoid the Pevear/Volokhonsky. Hope you read it soon, a wonderful novel!
I just ordered this one thanks to your post, Brad. I've read some Roth and especially enjoyed Hotel Savoy (that ejp626 mentioned above ) and The Radetzky March - Radetzky I've read a few times! I haven't given much consideration to the different English translations, though it seems Hofmann is a preferred (?) choice for Roth. My copy of Radetzky was translated by Joachim Neugroschel. Wish I could read German. Edit: Forgot to add, I'm almost through a re-read of Tolstoy's classic Anna Karenina. Wish I could read Russian.
Don Rendell / Ian Carr Quintet (Decca, 2018 Download) Couldn't resist "upgrading" to the new remasters (something I rarely do anymore). Very nice!


So the Lightweight DITA Topics Opened Their Big Mouths and Out Came Talk, Talk, Talk!
For most of its existence as an XML grammar and open standard for structuring content, DITA has been heavily text-oriented and pretty much silent.
The DITA 1.3 technical specification, released in 2015, did not include element types to represent multimedia content natively in DITA tags. As a result, vendors and users had to develop their own solutions with the tag or with HTML5 code snippets.
Lightweight DITA (LwDITA) is a simplified version of DITA with a smaller element type and attribute set, and content mappings to HTML5 and Markdown. Although LwDITA has the primary objective of reducing the number of content components included in DITA, the proposed LwDITA standard introduces new components to represent multimedia content.
The LwDITA multimedia components are organized around the audio (<audio>) and video (<video>) elements, and they can be represented in XML and HTML5 authoring formats. Furthermore, these elements originated in LwDITA but will be included in a DITA 1.3 addendum and in the planned DITA 2.0 standard.
In this session, participants will get a preview of the multimedia elements included in LwDITA and planned for future versions of DITA. The session will feature ideas for tool support and implementation, and recommendations for authoring multimedia topics in XML or HTML5.
The session will also include a behind-the-scenes look and update on the development of the LwDITA standard.


text:
Magic Carpet – Magic Carpet (1972)
The emotion provided by Raga (classical India music) is not only effective, it's a real message, an aesthetic of nature, of the divine, a virtue able to guide the listener to a state of emotional trance. In the '60s, with the launch of the international success of raga, masters such as Ravi Shankar and Ali Akbar Khan, leaded European and American artists to become more and more captivated by the dynamical relation between mystical emotion, spirituality, and music. The emergence of Raga schools from everywhere (still perpetuating the ancestral musical traditions), and initiatory travels of Western minimalist-modern jazz composers (Terry Riley, Don Cherry) to India, founded a growing interest for this (transcendental) musical universe.
George Harrison & Ravi Shankar
The emphasis on circular rhythms, ornamentation (gamaka), the use of acoustic stringed patterns, the sense of beatific endurance and lengthy improvisation are the central characteristics of this music in term of practice and sound aestheticism. Emotionally, the function on the listener is hypnotic, voluntary trying to reach him into a higher state of consciousness, modulating his perception of time and space. (!)
The basic conception of drone (continuous sound form) will be taken back in popular music and turned into kosmische electronica (70's Berlin underground). After Seventh Sons' first original but rather discreet effort simply called Raga (1964) and Malachi's Holy Music (1967), famous bands such as The Beatles in Revolver (1966) and Traffic in their album Mr. Fantasy (1967) were seduced by the sonorities of Indian raga music, they also occasionally incorporate sitar elements to their music.
Raga Megha, Kailash Raj
Way back in the early '70s in London, three friends came together to play some unusual music: Sitarist Clem Alford, guitarist Jim Moyes, and tabla player Keshav Sathe, formed a unique Anglo-Indian fusion, calling themselves Sargam (the name of a note in an Indian scale). They made one album under the name Sagram, misspelled by the Windmill recording company and inappropriately entitled Pop Explosion Sitar Style. This album was released without the band's permission, with a ludicrous cover photograph bearing no relation to any band members or anything about them. (!)
In 1971, soon after the release of Sagram, the Sargam trio was offered another Lp recording contract by Mushroom Records, with the proviso that they find a singer. Having met her when they were both at Chelsea School of Art, Jim Moyes contacted Alisha Sufit. She busked in street markets, singing and playing at the London Underground by day, and did gigs around the clubs and colleges at night.
Cheesy Cover!
Jim Moyes invited her to play and the four musicians soon renamed themselves Magic Carpet, forming a unique Anglo-Indian musical collaboration, facilitated by the fact that Alisha was writing songs set in open modal tunings on the guitar making them instantly compatible with the tuning of the sitar. The band recorded the Magic Carpet album in the winter of 1971/1972 on Mushroom Records label.
The four stayed together for nearly a year, doing a few prestigious gigs, at the 100 Club in London, Wavendon (Cleo Laine, John Dankworth's venue), several festivals, Sounds of the Seventies on BBC Radio, but they finally parted company in 1972.
After a considerable gap, the four met up again. Jim was no longer performing and Keshav had retired, but Clem and Alisha were still playing professionally and it was a natural step to do another album, in 1996 they recorded the album Once Moor (subtitle Magic Carpet II) released on the Magic Carpet Records label. It consists of songs written/sung by Alisha, plus some instrumental tracks, with Clem Alford on sitar/tamboura, Alisha on guitar, and Pandit Dinesh and Esmail Sheikh on tabla.
Originally published in 1972 for Magic Carpet records, the Lp shows a dynamic mixture of original folk inventions, psych-Hindu sitar gems and gorgeous, omnipresent, accentuated female vocals by Alisha. Lyrically all the album is about east mysticism, love, spirituality, time of Creation and such. The music itself is poetic, combining simplistic folk guitar motifs to raga scales, in spiritual Hindu-folk experience, with soft psychedelic flavor floating all along with the album!
Alisha Sufit
There's a fantastic interview with Alisha Sufit with long details about them made by our friends from It's Psychedelic Baby, with a track by track comments, and more!
The 'IM' highlights are: Father Time and Take Away Kesh.
बॉन यात्रा!
A1 The Magic Carpet (Alisha, Alford, Moyes, Sathe)
A2 The Phoenix (Alisha)
A3 Black Cat (Alisha)
A4 Alan's Christmas Card (Alford, Moyes, Sathe)
A5 Harvest Song (Alisha)
A6 Do You Hear The Words (Alford, Moyes, Sathe)
B1 Father Time (Alisha, Alford, Moyes, Sathe)
B2 La La (Alford, Moyes, Sathe)
B3 Peace Song (Alisha)
B4 Take Away Kesh (Alisha, Alford, Moyes, Sathe)
B5 High Street (Alisha)
B6 The Dream (Alisha)
Electric Guitar: Jim Moyes
Sitar, Esraj, Tambura: Clem Alford
Tabla, Percussion: Keshav Sathe
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar: Alisha
Design (Cover Design) – Alisha
Photography: Gabriel Weissman
Producer, Engineer: Vic Keary
Magic Carpet Records – MC 1001 LP
Fantastic (Pulp) Magazine
Author gabaguillarPosted on 2 de September de 2014 9 de September de 2019 Categories Indian, UKTags 1972, ambient, female, folk, hindustani, hippy, instrumental, oriental, percussion, psychedelic, raga, rock, sitar, traditional, vocal3 Comments on Magic Carpet – Magic Carpet (1972)
Deuter – Aum (1972)
It was English musician, sound designer, and conceptualist Brian Eno who first officially coined the phrase ambient, in the sleeve notes to his 1978 opus Ambient 1: Music For Airports he defines it as music designed to induce calm and space to think. One of ambient music's prime sources is the classical avant-garde. Among the pioneers were two late-19th Century composers, Claude Debussy, and Erik Satie.
Satie's concept of furniture music for solo piano or small ensembles now seems surprisingly congruous with Eno's concept of ambiance: creating a sound environment that complimented the surrounds rather than intruded upon it. More musically direct but just as subtle and suggestive was the work of Debussy, who's wandering, impressionistic tone poems like Prelude To The Afternoon of The Fawn heralded an openness in Western music, bursting the rules in structure/linear composition.
Debussy & Satie
By the middle of the 20th Century, the American composer John Cage had blown stuffy notions of proper music right out of the water. He pre-empted world music with pieces that evoked the sounds of Africa, India, and Indonesia; he invented and composed for the prepared piano with objects stuck in piano wires to create Asian-like tones and percussive textures; and he perplexed his audiences with collisions of randomly created noise and, most infamously, his piece 4'33" which challenged listeners to consider silence as a perfect form of musical expression.
After Cage, the 60s saw the rise of a school of American composers with classical backgrounds who became known as minimalists (La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass). They took the idea of repetition and explored it over long distances, whether with orchestras, electric instruments or non-Western instrumental combinations. In turn, minimalism was to inform music as diverse as Krautrock, techno and new age music. German composer Karl Stockhausen further explored Cage's tape experiments with odd collages, a precursor to modern digital sampling.
John Cage, Variations V
This was also a time of absorption of avant-garde ideas into rock music. In the late 60s rock was enriched enormously by a combination of electronic music technology, psychedelic drugs, and the innovations of jazzmen like Miles Davis. The classical music of India also made a significant impact on Western musicians, initially championed by minimalists from the classical world such as Terry Riley and La Monte Young and then absorbed by The Beatles and The Incredible String Band.
Krautrock pioneers such as Tangerine Dream, Popol Vuh, and Ash Ra Tempel took the next step by downplaying or abandoning pop's emphasis on lyrics and taking audiences into totally new spaces. The tracks were instrumental, improvised, spacey and long. Rock was undergoing its own avant-garde and the open-ended sound of one instrument in particular: the analog synthesizer. Such an important tool of expression that music that's been released since then simply wouldn't exist without it!
Born Georg Deuter in 1945, in post-war Germany's town of Falkenhagen, he taught himself 'just about every instrument I could get my hands on', though it wasn't until after a near-fatal car crash in his early twenties that he decided to pursue a career in music. His first release in 1971, entitled D, marked the beginning of Deuter's spiritual and musical journey, ostensibly paving the way for a new genre: New Age (Ambient).
Which combined acoustic and electronic elements with ethnic instrumentation and nature sounds, such as whale/bird song, the open sea, wind in the trees, rain, etc.
Deuter, 70s
During the 70s and 80s, after traveling extensively through Asia in search of spiritual and creative inspiration, Deuter settled for a long time in Pune, India, where under the name Chaitanya Hari he became a neo-sannyasin, a disciple of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho). With the aid of a multitrack tape machine, he produced a series of music tapes to be used in active meditations, consisting of several stages of ten or fifteen minutes each, which range between Indian classical motifs, fiery drums, loops, synthesizers, bells, musique concrète, and pastoral acoustic passages.
In the early 90s, Deuter ended his long-standing relationship with Kuckuck, the small record label that had released nearly 20 original albums, and relocated to Santa Fe, New Mexico where he signed a deal with New Earth Records, an independent label founded by fellow sannyasin Bhikkhu Schober and Waduda Paradiso. This proved to be a lucrative move for all involved, the majority of them intended to accompany various healing/spiritual practices such as Reiki, massage and meditation.
Western + Eastern
Deuter continues to learn and master an ever-expanding array of instruments, including the shakuhachi flute, the koto, sitar, Tibetan singing bowls, santoor, bouzouki, piano, and keyboard. He has recorded and released over 60 albums and claims to have sold more than he can count during the course of his career. (!)
This album sounds like when you keep waking up from dreaming and you can't quite tell what's the reality and what's part of your dreams. That alternate dimension between the real world and the dream world, where nothing is in focus and you merely catch fleeting glimpses of images as they roll past your mind's eye. Each song on Aum fades into silence before continuing into the following track, creating the feeling that they are all separate entities, unrelated to each other.
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
Drums, flute, guitar, and sitar, combined with the sounds of the ocean, create a variety of different moods and feelings. Some of the pieces are more meditative and reflective, while others are more rhythmic. Deuter is a highly skilled musician who joins his musical talent with spiritual insight and sensitivity.
Welcome to another example of transcendental music, such as Alice Coltrane's previous post, today's album has also a distinct imprint, leaving the controversial Guru aside, let's just stick to Deuter's heavenly music, ok?
Deuter, Lately
Even though not being a diehard fan of New Age music, this Lp takes us to an atemporal world of discovery, freedom, and breaking of paradigms. Only a political and social landscape as Germany, would have so many strands and styles within a musical scene such as Krautrock, light an incense and put your headphones.
Enjoy the album as a whole and Udhëtimi I Mirë!
A1 Phoenix / Aum / Soham
A2 Offener Himmel 1 / Gleichzeitig / Offener Himmel 2 / Sattwa / Morning Glory
B Soma / Sunrat Shabda / Abraxas / Susani / The Key
Artwork (Cover) – Manfred Manke
Composed By, Performer, Producer – Georg Deuter
Music by, Arranged by – Deuter
Kuckuck – 2375 017
Darß (Darss), Coastline
Author gabaguillarPosted on 28 de December de 2013 9 de September de 2019 Categories GermanyTags 1972, ambient, avant-garde, eastern, electronic, folk, improvisation, jazz, krautrock, new age, oriental, percussion, synth3 Comments on Deuter – Aum (1972)
Osanna – Preludio Tema Variazioni Canzona (1972)
Italy. Rome has for centuries been the leading political and religious center of Western civilization, serving as the capital of both the Roman Empire and Christianity. During the Dark Ages, Italy endured a cultural and social decline in the face of repeated invasions by Germanic tribes, with Roman heritage being preserved by Christian monks. Beginning around the 11th century, various Italian communes and maritime republics rose to great prosperity through shipping, commerce and banking (capitalism has its roots in Medieval Italy); concurrently, Italian culture flourished, especially during the Renaissance, which produced many notable scholars, artists, and polymaths such as da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo, and Machiavelli.
Meanwhile, Italian explorers such as Polo, Columbus, Vespucci, and Verrazzano discovered new routes to the Far East and the New World, helping to usher in the European Age of Exploration. Nevertheless, Italy would remain fragmented into numerous warring states for the rest of the Middle Ages, subsequently falling prey to larger European powers such as France, Spain, and later Austria. Italy would enter a long period of decline that lasted until the beginning of the 18th century.
Renaissance Ensemble
The second and the third wars of Italian independence resulted in the unification of most of present-day Italy between 1859 and 1866. From the late 19th century to the early 20th century, the new Kingdom of Italy rapidly industrialized and acquired a colonial empire in Africa. However, Southern and rural Italy remained largely excluded from industrialization, fuelling a large and influential diaspora. Despite victory in WWI, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil, which favored the establishment of a Fascist dictatorship in 1922.
The subsequent participation in WWII at the side of Nazi Germany ended in military defeat, economic destruction, and civil war. In the years that followed, Italy abolished the monarchy, reinstated democracy, and enjoyed a prolonged economic boom, thus becoming one of the most developed nations in the world.
El Duce, Speech
The Years of Lead was a period of socio-political turmoil in Italy that lasted from the late 1960s into the early 1980s. This period was marked by a wave of terrorism, initially called Opposing Extremisms (Opposti Estremismi) and later renamed as the Anni di Piombo. Among the possible origins of the name is a reference to the vast number of bullets fired, or even the 1981 Margarethe von Trotta's homonym film (in Italy).
There was widespread social conflict and unprecedented acts of terrorism carried out by both right-and left-wing paramilitary groups. An attempt to endorse the neo-fascist Italian Social Movement (MSI) by the Tambroni Cabinet led to rioting and was short-lived. The Christian Democrats (DC) were instrumental in the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) gaining power in the 1960s and they created a coalition.
Multiple Murders
The assassination of the Christian Democrat leader Aldo Moro in 1978 ended the strategy of historic compromise between the DC and the Italian Communist Party (PCI). The assassination was carried out by the Red Brigades, then led by Mario Moretti. Between 1969 and 1981, nearly 2,000 murders were attributed to political violence in the form of bombings, assassinations, and street warfare between rival militant factions. Although political violence has decreased substantially in Italy since that time, instances of sporadic violent crimes continue because of the re-emergence of anti-immigrant, neo-fascist, and militant communist groups. (!)
The left-wing autonomist movement lasted from 1968 until the end of the 1970s. The years of lead began with the shooting death of the policeman Antonio Annarumma in 1969 and the Piazza Fontana bombing.
Aldo Moro, Kidnapped
Is in the midst of this boiling cauldron that Italian prog (or symphonic) scene is established from Collage, La Orme's second album in 1971. The Lp, beyond the indisputable technical merit, had a great reception and was hailed as a turning point to Italian rock. At the dawn of the 70s, Italy was the first country to recognize the talents of some British progressive bands such as Genesis, Gentle Giant, and Van der Graaf Generator, whose first albums had been ignored at home, becoming their market reference; they even toured and entered at the musical charts.
Thenceforth bands like Premiata Forneria Marconi, New Trolls, Banco del Mutuo Soccorso, Metamorfosi, Il Balletto di Bronzo, Goblin and Osanna played symphonic rock heavily influenced by classical music, against the backdrop of the Italian canzone tradition. The scene more or less ran dry by the end of 1975, owing to the difficulty of making a living as a rock band, many bands from Italy released only one or two albums before disappearing. Emphasis on PFM, they were the only band to enter the U.S. charts and completed four tours in the country!
PFM, U.S. Tour
Osanna came from Naples and was formed in 1971. The band was composed of Danilo Rustici (guitar), Lino Vairetti (vocals), Lello Brandi (bass) and Massimo Guarino (drums), all these musicians come from the band Cittá Frontale. There was also Elio D'Anna who came from Showmen. The group immediately began an intense concert activity, beginning in 1971 at the Caracalla Pop Festival and later taking part in the Festival of Avant-Garde Music and New Trends in Viareggio. With all band members dressed in long vests and with their faces painted, the collaboration with theatrical groups produced unique shows, odd for the Italian audience of the time.
The group signed a contract with Fonit and debuted with the album L'uomo, who receives a good reception and won the Record Critics' Award Italian.
The following year, master Luis Enriquez Bacalov involves the group in the execution of the soundtrack composed for the film Milano Calibro 9, a police noir thriller. The album is titled Preludio Tema Variazioni Canzona, and fits into the genre between classical orchestra and rock music, which had just been started by the same Bacalov with the Concerto Grosso by New Trolls.
1972, Backcover
The intense live activity continues in 1973, in that year, they release Palepoli, which is considered one of the most successful Lp's of the Italian prog scene (mine's favorite). The record consists of three long compositions, which are developed around the contrast between tradition and modernity, between the urge to innovate which is opposed to the recovery of the folk tradition. Palepoli, means the ancient city, is ideally opposed to modern Naples, cold and detached in his metropolitan selfishness.
In 1974, Landscape of Life is released, though the group is undermined by internal strife, heightened during the process of recording. After its publication, the group dissolves to reconstitute itself in 1977 without Elio D'Anna, replaced by keyboardist Fabrizio D'Angelo, and with Enzo Petrone on bass. With this formation, Osanna realizes Suddance in 1978 for CBS, a record that despite critical acclaim does not receive the expected success. They finally melt at the beginning of the following year.
Palepoli Promo
The band reformed in 1999 (with Lino Vairetti) releasing the Lp Taka Boom the following year, including old successes and some new songs. Their next production was Prog Family, under the name of Osanna/Jackson, featuring notable figures of prog rock history, such as Van der Graaf Generator's saxophonist David Jackson, King Crimson's David Cross, Balletto di Bronzo's Gianni Leone and others. (!)
Later, with David Jackson and Gianni Leone, the band contributed eight tracks to the live boxed set Prog Family (2009). And finally Rosso Rock Live In Japan (2012).
Although not being a proghead, I've always tried to bring things beyond the usual, thankfully, today's album is no exception, and despite not even being the best of the band, Palepoli (forementioned). Here, Osanna'a terrific timbres, strong recording, and performance is a need between the Italian scene, they're my faves!
Classical and Rock, I will leave the magnificent Preludio and Tema with you, this Lp also ends with some tacky (sentimental) rock ballad, a must-see. The 'IM' highlights are for: Variazione III (Shuum…), a preview of the direction the band took in Palepoli, Elio D'Anna's performance resembles Hermeto Paschoal freaky technique, short but amazing. And Variazione VI (Spunti Dallo Spartito…) a serious hard rock with a soul pause and a King Crimson ending. Kyau Tafiya!
A1 Preludio (Bacalov)
A2 Tema (Bacalov)
A3 Variazione I (To Plinius)
A4 Variazione II (My Mind Flies)
B1 Variazione III (Shuum…)
B2 Variazione IV (Tredicesimo Cortile)
B3 Variazione V (Dialogo)
B4 Variazione VI (Spunti Dallo Spartito n° 14723/AY del Prof. Imolo Meninge)
B5 Variazione VII (Posizione Raggiunta)
B6 Canzona (There Will Be Time) [Baldazzi, Bacalov, Bardotti]
Fonit – LPX 14
Music A3 ~ B5 by: Osanna
Arranged by, Directed by (Orchestra Direction) – Luis Enriquez Bacalov
Bass – Lello Brandi
Drums, Percussion, Vibraphone, Vocals – Massimo Guarino
Guitar, Vocals – Danilo Rustici
Saxophone, Flute, Vocals – Elio D'Anna
Vocals, Synthesizer – Lino Vairetti
Producer: Sergio Bardotti
Recorded by: Giancarlo Jametti
Recorded by, Mixed by: Plinio Chiesa
Liner Notes: Matthias Scheller
Artwork, Photography by: G. Greguoli
Transferred by: Franco Brambilla
Soundtrack from the movie Milano Calibro 9
Vesuvius View
Author gabaguillarPosted on 14 de December de 2013 9 de September de 2019 Categories ItalyTags 1972, ballad, brass, classical, folk, fuzz, hard, orchestrated, OST, prog, psychedelic, reed, rock, soul, strings, symphonic, synth, vocal1 Comment on Osanna – Preludio Tema Variazioni Canzona (1972)
Totem – Descarga (1972)
Unlike Argentina, Uruguay has a share of over 13% of the non-white population, composed of blacks, mulattos and mestizos. Since before its independence in 1830, the coming of Africans for slave labor was present along with the presence of European settlers. Together with them, a specific rhythm survived and spread in different ways throughout Latin America. In Brazil it is called Candomblé, has strong religious ties and is present today in different parts of the country as we have seen in previous posts. In Uruguay the Candombe's origins lie in the Kings of Congo ceremonial processions and have a main festive mark; it is also related to other musical forms of African origin found in the Americas such as Cuban Son and Brazilian Maracatu and Congadas.
The form had evolved by the beginning of the 19th century and was immediately seen as a threat to the elites, who sought to ban the music and its dance in 1808. Candombe is what survives of the ancestral heritage of Bantu roots, brought by the blacks arriving at the Rio de la Plata, this rhythm traveled to Uruguay from Africa and is still going strong in the streets, halls, and carnivals of this enchanting country. Nowadays was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage of Humanity!
Candombe Festivity
Long known as the Switzerland of South America, it had a stable, two-party political system with a large middle class. This underrated country has one of the highest indices in quality of life, administrative transparency, income distribution and security in the whole South and Central America. It is constantly at the forefront of controversial issues such as the legalization of marijuana, abortion and media's regulation, making him an example to be followed by Brazil and Argentina. Uruguay has historically served as a geopolitical buffer zone, a nation whose own political and cultural identity has been overshadowed by its neighbors. Yet during the 1960s, this tiny state generated some of the most original rock found anywhere in the hemisphere.
Foreign influences abounded, from the Anglo-rock invasion by the U.K. and the U.S. to the commercialized pop of Argentina and the cultural remixing of the Brazilian Tropicalistas, Uruguayan rockers chewed on these influences and spat them back, mockingly at first and more somberly as the night of political repression fell in the late 60s and early 70s. Discódromo, a legendary radio program (and, later, TV show) started by Rubén Castillo in 1960, had already exposed the youth of Montevideo, Uruguay's capital, to the teen culture emerging abroad by the Beatlemania.
Los Shakers
By the mid-1960s, scores of so-called beat bands were performing across Uruguay: Los Shakers, Los Iracundos, Los Mockers and such. Except for Los Shakers, whose subsequent recordings were mostly originals, these bands essentially performed covers of foreign hits. By 1968, the cultural climate for making music was undergoing a radical shift, Los Tupamaros, an urban guerrilla group, captured the headlines with a spate of kidnappings in the name of revolutionary justice.
Che Guevara was dead, but his spirit was more alive than ever, in June 1968, the president declared a state of emergency, suspending numerous constitutional protections. Uruguay was now on a slippery slope that leads to direct military rule in 1973 led by Juan María Bordaberry (sic). Inside this theme, Costa Gavras directed an excellent film in 1972, State of Siege, deserves your full attention, check!
June 1973 Coup
But let's back up a bit and understand the contexts of this turbulent time! By 1955 an economic crisis which also affected political institutions began, during the 1960s there was a continuous process of social and economic decline with a significant increase in the agitation of union sectors left. Simultaneously, the activity of ten revolutionary groups (!), among them the Tupamaros, that leaned toward an urban guerrilla.
The action of these groups on the radical left was met by right-wing organizations, such as the Juventud Uruguaya de Pie (JUP) and the Comando Caza Tupamaros (CCT), known as Death Squad. The Armed Forces, used to favor the deterioration that plagued the country, gradually assuming prominence. These facts led, ten years later, a civilian-military coup d'etat. During this process a lot of political tension, several clashes occurred between the Tupamaros and the armed forces, highlighting facts like Toma de Pando or the criminal escape of Punta Carretas.
Tupamaros Propaganda
The Uruguayan rock was not their entrenched roots when society entered a spiral of violence motivated by a fairer system, the middle stage of change throughout the world, so that the rock was set aside, and then would come the civil-dictatorship Uruguayan military from 1973 to 1985. Youth movements and the intelligentsia couldn't found a way to express their disagreement and have evolved into popular folk song or traditional musical events, such as Murga and Candombe.
Within this context that Totem forms itself, coming from the ashes of El Kinto, one of the first bands to leave the beat/garage to start the Candombe Rock era, alongside Eduardo Mateo. Other famous acts from that time would be Días de Blues, Psiglo and world-famous Opa, respectively blues, prog, and fusion proposals.
1971 Promo
Inside its formation is one that is considered one of the greatest artists of his country: musician, composer, and performer, Ruben 'Negro' Rada as part of the three biggest bands in Uruguay's history, El Kinto, Totem and Opa (Fattoruso brothers), apart from his extensive solo career. His rough voice, serious songwriting, and shiny mood are the main focus of this great rock act that lasted only 3 albums. Rada's career are still active and in the last decades, he released more than 30 records!
The 'IM' highlights are Pacifico, a hippie ballad with spiritual feeling, fine guitar work, hard bridge, and open coral final, simply fantastic! And Negro, a soul-bomb with lots of fuzz, heavy percussion and a stand out performance by Rada. Prepare yourself for another Latin rock act, with superb melodies and well-tuned band, by the end of the record you'll understand the Candombe spirit.
Opa, 1981
Lastly, the song Heloisa that I thought might be from Pot Zenda actually opens this Lp, less a question for us. хороша поїздка!
A1 Heloisa (Rada)
A2 Orejas (M. Cabral)
A3 Manos (Rada – Lagarde)
A4 Pacifico (Lagarde – Useta)
A4 Todo Mal (Rada – Lagarde)
B1 Negro (Rada)
B2 Mi Alcoba (E. Useta)
B3 Un Sueño Para Gonzalo
B4 Descarga
Discos de la Planta– KL-8321
Bass Guitar: Daniel 'Lobito' Lagarde
Drums: Santiago Ameijenda
Guitar: Eduardo Useta, Modesto Rey
Percussion: Mario 'Chicito' Cabral
Voice, Percussion: Ruben Rada
Artwork by: Juan Alberto Arrubarrena
Mastered by: Luis Quinteros
Recording Technician: Carlos Píriz
Recorded: Estudios ION, Buenos Aires, June 1972
Montevideo Breeze
Author gabaguillarPosted on 6 de December de 2013 10 de September de 2019 Categories UruguayTags 1972, afrorock, ballad, candombe, folklore, fuzz, latin, mellow, percussion, prog, psychedelic, soul3 Comments on Totem – Descarga (1972)
Alice Coltrane W/ Strings – World Galaxy (1972)
Today's record has a distinct imprint, something really powerful, different from everything that already appeared here. With a very suggestive name, i invite you all to enter in a spiritual journey led by the surpassing Alice Coltrane, namaste!
Born and raised in the religious family of Solon and Anne McLeod in Detroit, Michigan, Alice McLeod (August 27, 1937 – January 12, 2007) became interested in music and began her study of the piano at the age of 7. She consistently and diligently practiced and studied classical music. Subsequently, she enrolled in a more advanced study of the music of Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Stravinsky, and Tchaikovsky.
Alice: 'Classical music for me, was an extensive, technical study for many years. At that time, I discovered it to be a piece of truly profound music with a highly intellectual ambiance. The classical artist must respectfully recreate the composer's meaning. Although, with jazz music, you are allowed to develop your own creativity, improvisation, and expression. This greatly inspires me.' (!)
Heavenly Strings
With a scholarship to the Detroit Institute of Technology, her musical achievements began to echo throughout the city, to the extent that she played in many music halls and churches, for various occasions as weddings, funerals, and religious programs. Her skills and abilities were highly enhanced when she began playing piano and organ for the (gospel) junior and senior choirs at her church.
But her brother, bassist Ernie Farrow, introduced her to jazz early on, and as a teen, she became quite taken with bop and its offshoots. In Detroit, she played piano on sessions with masters like guitarist Kenny Burrell and saxophonist Lucky Thompson. By the early 60's she was sharing the bandstand with vibes player Terry Gibbs, it was on tour with Gibbs that she met saxophonist John Coltrane.
John & Alice
Their 1965 wedding was the start of a musical union as well. When she replaced pianist McCoy Tyner in the classic Coltrane Quartet there was hubbub in the jazz world. But John Coltrane's music was unfolding further with every passing month, he had begun probing musical motifs and deep inspiration from the East.
When her husband died in 1967, Alice continued working with members of his last group, including Garrison, saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, and drummer Rashied Ali. She began playing the harp, utilizing sitar and tablas in the ensemble, and turning fully to Eastern cultures for inspiration. Spiritual and colorful, her music morphed into the soundtrack for prayer and meditative techniques. (!)
70's Alice
Coltrane was a devotee of the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba, and over the 70's she established herself into the Vedantic Center, in California, changing his name to Turiya and evolving as a spiritual Hindu guru. Even releasing some albums through the 80's and 90's, she decided to diminished their public appearances, and following a 25-year break from major public performances, returning to the stage for three U.S. appearances in the fall of 2006, with a concert for the San Francisco Jazz Festival with her son Ravi, drummer Roy Haynes, and bassist Charlie Haden.
Alice Coltrane died of respiratory failure at West Hills Hospital in LA, aged 69. (RIP)
Alice & Swami Satchidananda
This big lush symphonic beauty must be heard over and over, with no distinction of tracks or highlights, Alice's music creates his own wash of color and dynamic for the strings to fall like water from the sky into her mix, it shifts and change constantly as the rhythm section responds, in the prism of Coltrane's textured harpistry.
This set may take some getting used to for some, but it's easily one of the strongest records Alice Coltrane ever released, and one of the finest moments in 70's jazz!
Prepare yourself and be ready for the voyage, चांगल्या ट्रिप!
A1 My Favorite Things (Rogers – Hammerstein)
A2 Galaxy Around Olodumare
A3 Galaxy In Turiya
B1 Galaxy In Satchidananda
B2 A Love Supreme (Coltrane)
All Galaxys composed by Alice Coltrane
Alice Coltrane: percussion, piano, organ, harp, tamboura
Reggie Workman: bass
Ben Riley: drums
Elayne Jones: timpani
Frank Lowe: saxophone, percussion
Swami Satchidananda: voice
Leroy Jenkins: solo violin
The String Orchestra
David Sackson: concertmaster (all other members, strings)
Alan Shulman
Arthur Aaron
Avron Coleman
Harry Glickman
Henry Aaron
Irving Spice
Janet Hill
Joan Kalisch
Julien Barber
Ronald Lipscomb
Seymour Miroff
Thomas Nickerson
William Stone
Arranged, Orchestrated, Producer – Alice Coltrane
Cover, Design – Peter Max
Engineer (Assistant) – Dan Tuberville, Dennis Ferrante
Mixed By – Baker Bigsby
Mixed At – The Village Recorder (LA)
Narrator – Swami Satchidananda (tracks: B1, B2)
Photography By – Philip Melnick
Recorded By – Tom Flye
Recorded At – Record Plant, NYC
Recorded November 15 and 16, 1971, at The Record Plant (NYC)
Impulse AS-9218
Alice's Lastly Portrait
Author gabaguillarPosted on 8 de November de 2013 10 de September de 2019 Categories USATags 1972, ambient, avant-garde, cinematic, classical, female, free, fusion, harp, improvisation, instrumental, jazz, orchestrated, oriental, strings, symphonic, virtuoso1 Comment on Alice Coltrane W/ Strings – World Galaxy (1972)


text:
Gay priest to lead LGBTQ campaign in Church of England
The gay priest who was ousted post his marriage, returns to the clergy after 2 years.
London gets its first female Bishop
Sarah Mullally was installed as the 133rd Bishop of London at St. Paul's Cathedral on International Nurses Day.
First female Bishop of London installed
Sarah Mullally is now the state church's third most senior cleric.


text:
Merry Happy Whatever is a one time watch
MEGAN HUBER|December 3, 2019
Merry Happy Whatever, the Netflix Original series that was released on Thanksgiving, follows Matt as he tries to integrate into his girlfriend Emmy's family. The Quinn's, Emmy's family, are notorious for being prestigious and high up compared to others around them. There's this toxic mindset that "That's not what the Quinn's do" that all the characters seem to struggle against.
(COURTESY / NETFLIX)
My favorite characters are the in-laws, also referred to as the 'Quinn-laws', to the family. Elizabeth Ho, who plays Joy Quinn and Adam Rose who plays Todd manage to bring a sense of humor to the utter perilous situation that is living in the same town as your in-laws. The acceptance of their hopelessness as they try to integrate Matt into the "outlaws" takes what would be a decent show into a good show.
Their characters are funny and easy to laugh both at and with. They add personality to the other emotionless characters in the show.
I found it interesting that all of the Quinns (who the story is followed around) only had around 3 lines an episode. It was something I've never seen a TV show really do before and it created a disconnect between the viewer and the main characters.
One of the most obnoxious parts of the show was the laugh track. This show wasn't filmed in front of a live studio audience, so there was literally no need for it. It made it hard to focus on what was actually happening when there was a laugh track every time someone inhaled. If a show is confident in it's humor, it doesn't need a laugh track. Good comedic shows can rely on making the audience laugh with their own jokes.
Instead, you're left with a false sense of funny. It made it hard to actually find the show funny, even though there was so much potential.
Speaking of obnoxious, Ashley Tisdale killed it as self-centered middle child Kayla Quinn. She has proved time and time again that she can still bring a fresh take to the classic dramatic diva. Between her roles as Sharpay Evans in the High School Musical series and Candice in Phineas and Ferb, it would have been easy for her to use the same personality and model types that her previous characters possessed. Yet, she brought Kayla to life, and it felt like a fresh character that she hasn't played before.
I'm not the biggest fan when shows are built only for political gain. It's a good thing as a director to defy what's normal. It's not a good thing when you are constantly shoving it down people's throats. Having a message is good- in fact it can be great. But the message can often get hindered and become obnoxious if it is there not to add to the story, but to gain clout.
MEGAN HUBER, A&E EDITOR
What if…?: What?
A&E: October 5th, 2021
Must-binge shows for the COVID-19 break


text:
What happens when you buy a Groupon?
Question: What happens when you buy a Groupon?
What happens after you buy a Groupon?
How long after you buy a Groupon can you use it?
How do you redeem Groupon?
How do you get paid through Groupon?
Where can I sell my unused Groupons?
After you sign up, youre ready to start looking for Groupon deals, or having a deal find you. Once you get comfortable using the site, select a deal and hit purchase. Once that task is accomplished, Groupon issues a coupon for that particular deal, either through the company website, or via the mobile app.
Deals remain live on the Groupon Web site for a limited number of days (the Groupon Web site provides a countdown clock). Once the deal is purchased, there is a second deadline by which the deal must be redeemed. After that date, an unredeemed Groupon is just a useless piece of paper (or barcode).
Promotional value expires 120 days after purchase—This means that after 120 days, the promotional value of your Groupon will expire. But after that period, you can still use your voucher for the amount paid towards the goods or services advertised in the deal at the merchant.
0:042:05How to Redeem a Groupon Voucher - YouTubeYouTube
Key TakeawaysGroupon generates money through the sale of vouchers and card-linked deals, which connect consumers with local businesses.The company also sells goods directly to consumers in many cases.Groupon has shifted its focus toward card-linked deals in an effort to streamline the process for customers.
Fortunately, several sites now offer you the chance to get some or all of your money back. At CoupRecoup, DealsGoRound, and Lifesta, you can sell your unused deals.


text:
Initial Impact of the Computer on Securities Markets The invention of the computer after World War II had a profound impact on the securities markets and the way that business was operated therein. In the 1960's, the complete value of the computer was not realized. It was considered only in terms of cost-reducing techniques, and was not initially appreciated for the value that it would later bring to the markets. It wasn't until the early 1970's that the exchanges would begin to develop and implement the electronic trading devices, which would have such a profound effect on shaping the industry. In the late 50's, and almost the entire decade of the 60's, computer technology was all about increasing convenience and efficiency in order to keep up with higher annual volumes of securities traded.
By the 1950's, the securities markets in the United States were experiencing steady rates of growth in the amount of securities traded every year. Volumes were hovering around 350 million shares per year at the beginning of the decade, but had climbed to a level of around 800 million shares per year by the end of the decade. With this increase in volume came an increase in clerical functions, accounting and paperwork. By the sixties, with volumes climbing to 1 and 2 billion shares per year, it was becoming more obvious that the exchange markets would not be able to handle any more growth. The computer, with its capability for performing these types of tasks, was initially recognized as a tool to reduce costs by performing clerical functions. The introduction of the computer in this facet allowed the markets to handle twice the volume of any previous era. It was this recognition of the computer's skill at performing clerical tasks and reducing paperwork that marked the first stage in the propagation of information systems technology in securities markets.
Although many people had already recognized the computer's usefulness in the office, most people in the sixties either did not realize, or did not want to consider the computer's usefulness in operating the markets. In the latter end of the 1960's, the New York Stock Exchange had been pondering the effect of the computer in a type of electronic market, which would allow traders and buyers to collaborate through the use of computers. This type of automation was certain to have a huge effect on the Exchange, but under heavy pressure from its specialists, who thought that automation would eliminate their position in the Exchange, the NYSE turned its back on the development of an electronic exchange.
The organization of the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), which had been formed by Congress in 1938 to provide some regulation of the over-the-counter (OTC) dealers, actually did realize the potential of automation. Without the pressure of specialists, the Association realized that an electronic market was not only feasible, but could actually serve as a competitive weapon for the NASD to compete the NYSE. Due to a lack of money and expertise, however, it wasn't until 1968 that the Association finally entered into an agreement with Bunker Ramo, a small electronics company. The company agreed to create a system for NASD, operate it for a small profit and give the Association an option to purchase it in 1976. The NADS' system was a small success, but it would have been a bigger success if they had been the first to develop a system of automation.
Earlier in the same year Alan Kay, a computer designer, created the first automated exchange, which he called AutEx.
Armed with an AutEx console, the operator could transmit messages regarding his willingness to buy and sell
ecified amounts of stock. His offer would go out to all subscribers, like a broadcast, and should one of them
be interested, he could contact the operator by telephone and consummate the deal.
Initially Kay hoped that he would sell his idea to the NYSE, but after he was rebuffed, due to their aversion to an electronic system at the time, he decided to start his own system. In 1969 he signed up his own subscribers and experienced some success, but by this time, the NASD and others had already begun implementing their own systems. Even the NYSE had come with an electronic system called the Block Automation System, which was supposed to perform the same function as Kay's system, except that it operated through specialists. Other computer designers were getting in on the business as well; Jerome Pustilnik designed the Instinet system in 1970, which was basically the same type of system as AutEx, except that it provided for the anonymity of its customers.
By the beginning of the 1970's, the securities industry was finally beginning to feel a real effect from computers and electronic markets. Brokers and traders were realizing the full potential of the computer, not just for its clerical and bookkeeping capabilities, but for its ability to transform the market into a more efficient, electronically controlled system. In mid-1970 NASD announced the creation of an alternate operation, called NASDAQ, which was billed as an electronic stock market. 1972 saw the Securities Industry Automation Corporation established, which many people believed marked the beginning of a new stage in computer-driven markets. This second stage was "characterized by the proliferation of automated aids designed to support the prevailing trading philosophy." In 1971 the annual volume of stocks traded was nearly 4 billion shares per year, and these annual figures were climbing faster every year. In the past decade, computers had enabled that growth, but in the coming decades computers would be responsible for the growth.
1. Amihud, Ho, and Schwartz. Market Making and the Changing Structure of the Securities Markets, Lexington Books, Massachusetts, 1985.
2. Sobel, Robert. Inside Wall Street, W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 1977.
3. Wyckoff, Peter. Wall Street and the Stock Markets, Chilton Book Company, Philadelphia, 1972. :wq


text:
CLARK Co., Ill. (WTWO/WAWV) — Recreational marijuana became legal in Illinois on Jan. 1, but it most likely won't be coming to the communities of Marshall or Oblong.
When signed into law, state officials allowed for local jurisdictions to make the decision on if marijuana dispensaries would be allowed.
In November of 2019, Clark County board members voted 6-1 to ban dispensaries within the areas they control; Marshall City Council voted unanimously to place a referendum on the ballot, allowing their residents to make the choice in Tuesday's primary.
Voters Tuesday were split almost down the middle with 49.44% voting for the measure and 50.56% voting against it.
Mayor John Trefz said the measure will now go back to the council for a vote.
"The council is the determining group," he said. "They either make the ordinance or don't pass it, one of the two."
According to Trefz, the council decided to wait for the election to see what residents wanted.
"Since it's so close, I'm not sure what will happen as far as which way it will go," he noted.
According to Marshall City Councilman Warren LeFever, an application had already been submitted for a dispensary location.
Meanwhile in Crawford County, Oblong residents voted in favor of the Village Board of Trustees prohibiting cannabis businesses.