text:
Demian Maia talks Anderson vs. Sonnen 2.
admin, September 12, 2010
Old School Ronda Rousey Judo Match
admin, August 7, 2012
Nyjah Easton, Keenan Cornelius, Cedric Bryant, & Malachi Edmonds Belt Promotions
admin, June 27, 2012
"It was like training with Pelé".
Interview with Enrico Cocco-Zen Jiu-Jitsu
Kit Dale Guard passing strategies and concepts
admin, March 30, 2014
Abmar Barbosa trains with BJ Penn in Hawaii.
Muzio De Angelis shows his leg drags from Brazil
admin, April 18, 2012
InterviewsNews
Interview with Jiu-Jitsu and Grappling Legend: Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu.
admin — November 18, 2010
From:bjjlegends.com
Written by Michael Sergi.
He was known as just Roberto Abreu back in early 2000. A tough blue belt that loved to compete and hungry to be a world class bjj black belt. Just four short months after having been in a horrific car accident that was to leave him with having to give up the sport he loved he went on to take 2nd in the Brazilian Nationals. That's when it all changed.
Roberto already knew, and now everyone else does too, that he was still on a path to accomplish his jiu-jitsu goals. But how could he. How could Roberto from the Brazilian country side make such a quick come back? How could he make a come back at all? It wasn't normal. It's like he's some kind of a machine or mythological figure. A BJJ player of his size with the quickness of a feather weight, the technical ability of someone raised in Rio and playing on the mats from infancy, and the power and pressure of a super super heavy weight. "Cyborg" could be an understatement.
Cyborg came to the US just 3 short years ago and has been on a tear competing in nearly every major tournament all over North America and Europe. Not only has he been competing he has been winning. Cyborg has beaten some of the biggest names in the sport. Coming off a huge win with his newly formed team as a competitor and now coach Cyborg took some time out of his busy schedule to speak with BJJ LegendsTM Magazine about his past, present, and future.
Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu: I was addicted to sports since I was little. I have always participated in some kind of sport. I have done everything from swimming, where I was multiple time state champ, to all kinds of martial arts like judo, karate and capoeira. I was born and raised in the country side of Brazil. I always had a pretty rough attitude and loved to fight. One day a friend of mine that was really skinny asked me to fight him at a party. I couldn't believe it. I laughed at him and told him he was too small for me to fight. The next thing I knew he submitted me many times. I didn't understand what all of that was. I had never seen BJJ before. After the fight I really got excited to learn that stuff. I made him take me to his gym and that was it. I fell in love with the Gentle Art. I was still 17, but I won my first tournament in the adult heavy weight division with 2 weeks of training. I got my black belt in 5 years. Now after 12 years of training I can only see how good BJJ has been for my life!"
BJJ LegendsTM: You had a bad accident early in your jiu jitsu career, which nearly caused you to have to give the sport up. Can you tell us more about that?
RA: It was back in 2000 when I was still a blue belt. I was in a car accident and my car flipped many times. I got thrown out the car and the car landed on me. It shattered my left arm giving me 300 stitches. There was lots of glass and debris inside my arm. The doctors said I wouldn't be able to move my arm again. Four months after the accident I took 2nd at the Brazilian Nationals. My coach at the time was Isaias and he said that I must have been a cyborg to make a come back like I did in such a short time. The name Cyborg suited me well and it stuck with me."
BJJ LegendsTM:You have a very unique style and you've been noted as creating the tornado guard. How did you develop the position?
RA: I started doing my tornado guard when I still was a blue belt. I was always really creative with my training. My natural flexibility also helped me a lot in doing different moves. I was always trying plastic moves. One day I pulled out a sweep from half guard that I didn't understand, but felt really cool. After that I began playing that style more. Since then, it was my main weapon. No one at that level understood what I was doing. When I got my purple belt in 2002 I opened my first school and named it Fight Sports in my home town of Campo Grande MS. Most of my students were smaller than me and pretty much all white belts. I had to let them move in order for me to have some good training. It helped me a lot in loosening up my game. Today many people say I move like a feather weight. I love to train with smaller guys and try to beat them on speed. Jiu jitsu for me has to be cool and fun. I always try to improve my mobility and balance. Playing top or bottom.
BJJ LegendsTM: What are you thoughts on gi vs no-gi training. Can the gi make you a better no-gi grappler?
RA: I love to train Jiu jitsu – period! I used to train only in the gi, but when I got my black belt I started training no-gi. I fell in love with it. But truly, I like the gi better.
Most of my classes, especially for beginners are with the gi on. You can not learn BJJ without putting the gi on. For sure they complement each other. Training with the gi on is like running in the sand. It's harder to move because of the grips, but when you take the gi off you fly. The same happens the other wayaround. No-gi training helps you tighten your game. To be a complete grapplers you must do both.
BJJ LegendsTM: You also have a very solid wrestling background. You were a national team member for Brazil. How did you get into wrestling?
RA: I have always had a lot of talent for take downs. I won the Brazilian Nationals of wrestling without ever having seen a wrestling match before. After that I fell in love with wrestling and I became part of the national team. Now wrestling is an important part of my schools curriculum. I train it as much as I can.
BJJ LegendsTM: You were finalist at the 2009 ADCC. Were you happy with your performance?
RA: The ADCC is the royal spot for grappling competition and I was very honored to have received the invitation to fight. I worked hard to be at the top of my game with Pablo Popovitch and it was amazing to be in the finals at my first appearance at the tournament. Of course, I wanted the gold, but I was really happy just to be there. Next time I'll be hunting for the gold.
BJJ LegendsTM: You moved from Brazil to Miami. How long have you been in Florida now?
RA: I moved to Florida 3 years ago and I have made this place my home.
BJJ LegendsTM: Do you have any big plans? What are you working on now?
RA: Today I have 2 awesome gyms here and business is awesome. One of the gyms is called Fight Sports. It's an awesome 3 story gym located in front of the beach in Miami Beach. This is where I have the Fight Sports Miami Camp – a hotel for people from around the world that want to come and train BJJ with me. The other gym is called Legacyfit and that is where I coach MMA Fighters. It is an amazing facility with strength and conditioning, Muay Thai, wrestling and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. It's complete training for MMA. We have a full size ring, an octagon, huge mat space, weights, and everything you need to be an MMA champion. You guys can look for it at legacyfit.com or cyborgbjj.com. Other than that I have been opening associations around the world. I'm sending my black belts everywhere.
Cyborg Fight Sports team is getting stronger each day. I just started a team with my brother Pablo Popovitch called The Avengers BJJ. Pablo and I have been working together for a while. Both of us have strong teams here in Florida and we train together full-time. It has already brought us important titles in pretty much all the bigger tournaments. Now with our fusion the results are going to be even bigger and better. So we built the super heroes of BJJ to destroy the tournaments (he says laughing). It is going to be fun!
BJJ LegendsTM: Tell us about the new team that you formed called The Avengers.
RA: The Avengers is a team formed by myself and my brother Pablo Popovitch. If you've ever been a comic book fan, then The Avengers is definitely a series you could never forget. They are defined as "earths mightiest heroes formed to fight the foes no single hero could withstand". This definition sounds surprisingly close to what's going on in south Florida these days on the BJJ/grappling circuit. If you could witness the training that takes place at our gyms you would understand how we came up with that name.
Everyone of our guys have an extensive list of titles and accomplishments such as ADCC, World, Pan Am and pro divisions across the world.The Avengers is the only name that accurately fits the assembly of talent we have. When you figure they were the "most prestigious super-hero team in the world" the name is perfect. Not only are these guys talented but their athletic builds also fit the mold perfectly. As 2010 is coming to the final stages of the year, the BJJ/Grappling world will no doubt feel the wrath of The Avengers. It will be history in the making and the start of a great alliance. We have already showed what we have came for."
BJJ LegendsTM: You and your team have had a great 2010. Can you give us a recap?
RA: The year of 2010 was a gift. I had the blessing of closing out pretty much all of the weight and open classes at many major tournaments with my teammates this year. We won the Grapplers Quest Texas, I had a great fight against Rolles (Gracie), Honolulu Open, Miami Open, the No-Gi Pan-Am's, and the No-Gi Worlds open classes closing out with Buchecha and Pablo. We also won the team title at the No-Gi Worlds, which was something unbelievable. Our students also won almost every open class at the No-Gi Worlds. Now is time to rest and organize the house. Pablo and I are going to sit and make the plans for next year. I'm really confident the year of 2011 is going to be awesome!
BJJ LegendsTM: That reminds me. Tell us about the choke you used in your match against Stephen Hall at the Miami Open. I've never seen anything like that before.
RA: I've been using that choke for a long time. As everybody knows I love to move a lot, so I use the knee on the belly a lot to control my opponents. That is a variation that I use applying the knee on my opponents neck and believe it has a lot of pressure. It's for sure one of my trade marks.
BJJ LegendsTM: Any plans on a seminar tour. If so, when and where?
RA: Thank God my work has been recognized. The tornado guard has had a big impact. I'm really happy and living a dream making my life with BJJ. I didn't stop the whole year. I traveled a lot doing seminars and it was awesome! I got to train with a lot of different people and got to visit wonderful places with my jiu jitsu adventure. Next year promises a lot. I'll start in January with a trip to Australia. I'm supposed to have about 12 seminars in 14 days. It will be crazy!
I'll have another tour in Europe where I expect to go to more than 8 countries. I'll be in Mexico at some point along with some countries in Asia. Of course, I will be all over the USA. Pablo and I are even going to be conducting some seminars together. We plan on conducting seminars where I teach my guard game and Pablo teaches his wrestling and guard passes, which would be perfect. For sure 2011 is going to come with many good things and many big tournaments. It means a lot of hard work and success!!
BJJ LegendsTM: Is there anything else you would like to mention?
RA: Thanks everyone for the good vibes always!! JIU JITSUUU!!!!
Next post Mendes Bros to Rickson Cup - ADCC NA Championship/USA East Coast Trials - LX Association draw big news.
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The Rise of Keenan Cornelius.
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Get out your sheet pans, bakers – we're back to cookies! Posting date is June 18.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and kosher salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth and lump-free. Add the peanut butter and beat until combined.
Add both sugars and continue beating on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla, and beat again until completely incorporated. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the flour mixture all at once, and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir in the butterscotch chips.
baking sheets about 1½ inches (4 cm) apart. Bake the cookies for 5 minutes, then sprinkle the tops with the sea salt, if you like. Continue baking until the cookies just start to brown on the edges, another 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the sheets on cooling racks for 5 minutes. Transfer the cookies from the sheets to wire racks and allow to cool completely.


text:
	{% include_css_here "/static/finance.payment.pingpp.css/components.css" %}

				{{ "Ping++ Pay" | trans }}
				{{ "Please select payment channel and click pay" | trans }}

				{% for channel in paymentChannels %}

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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Home / Issues / September 1953 / THE SPRINT RETURNS TO BERKSHIRE
THE SPRINT RETURNS TO BERKSHIRE
S. Lewis-Evans Breaks Great Auclum Hill-Climb Record in blown Cooper 1,100. Class Records Topple.
SPRINTS tend to be overshadowed by races these days, but there was no denying the enjoyment derived by competitors and spectators alike at the Great Auclum Speed Hill-Climb. organised by the Hants & Berks M.C. on August 8th. The event was run off in perfect summer weather, which made the +-mile course with its banked bottom corner a truly picturesque venue-the banked corner was put in by Neil W. Gardiner, who loans his private road for the event, to remind him of his Brooklands days, and he motors his Bentley round it to no mean purpose.
The meeting went off very slickly, with three runs for each competitor, for -which A. H. S. Fountain, Morin Ness, D. C. E. Johns, Barclay Inglis and P. J. Bateman deserve credit, along with the other officials. Times were announced with commendable promptitude by J. Lowrey.
In the class for unsupercharged sports cars up to 1,300 c.c., G. P. Taylor, in a neat, special-bodied M.G., broke his own class record in winning from Harry Arklay, whose Arklay relies on a Riley Nine engine with two Ford Ten carburetters, Standard Eight i.f.s. and an Austin-base chassis. Third place was taken by Geoff Tapp's blue Buckler. Tapp and G. A. Naylor in a special Lagonda Rapier were amongst the few drivers, at all event of the slower cars, to really use Mr. Gardiner's banking. Tapp was particularly ambitious on all his runs, holding a high line right round the corner, so that the Buckler's rear suspension worked hard as the car regained a level keel. H. Sutcliffe drove a 1,286-e.c. Porsche coup6 which managed to beat two Bucklers and the high-geared Vernon-Balls Crossley, of Ards and Brooklands memory, driven by V. C. Freedman.
The class for unblown sports cars of 1,301-1,800 c.c., and supercharged sports cars of up to 1,300 c.c. (sprints can gain a lot in interest by intelligent sub-division) looked like going to Gerry Ruddock's neat but noisy Lester-M.G. until, in a spirited last run, Geoff Tapp, driving Buckler's own supercharged Buckler, beat the M.G. by 0.12 sec, He was, incidentally, 0.33 sec. faster than the car's constructor, with whom he shared this well-known car, and beat Ron Willis' old B.M.W. class record by a rousing 1.12 sec. The vintage Frazer-Nashes of P. J. Lovell and R. W. Ashley were over-geared for the Great Auclum course, and R. W. Christmas' blown PB M.G. Midget wasn't quick enough, third place going to Buckler himself.
The 1,801 to 3,000-c.c unsupercharged and 1,301 to 1,800-c.c. supercharged sports-car class went fair and square to F. B. Copeland's Le Mans Replica Frazer-Nash, in 23.5 sec. W. S. Perkins beat the vintage Bentleys in his B.M.W.-powered H.R.G. which was appreciably quicker than M. P. Moore's blown M.G. Betty Haig was slow in an Austin-Healey 100, troubled by vapour-lock in the fuel lines, in spite of removing the lid of the bonnet-hatch. Her modern mount was beaten by a vintage 4i-1itre Bentley which filled the hill, an aged Alfa-Romeo and an early Connaught.
The class for the big sports machinery saw Gordon Parker spin the wheels of his Jaguara almost all the way up to clock 23.27 sec. on his last ascent, a new record by 0.4 sec., from Crook's Frazer-Nash of 1951-foot and mouth disease spelt a miss at Great Auclum last year. The Jaguara has an X.K120 Jaguar engine with twin superchargers, a Jaguar back axle on coil springs, and modified Vauxhall LE& W. Coleman was next fastest in Parker's now outmoded Jaguette, also blown, but with a 2i-litre Jaguar engine, which was 1.49 sec. slower. This took second place, and third position was occupied by J. Berry's Bugatti 2.3. Four old Invictas performed, of which J. A. Shutler's low-chassis 4k-litre saloon was by far the most impressive, as well as being decidedly the quickest, its chassis and exhaust pipe scraping along the banking.
The racing-car classes promised fireworks but not a single car came to grief during the meeting, which, at a venue once fraught with incident, suggests a high standard of conductorship. S. Lewis-Evans broke his own class record by 0.83 sec. in winning the 500-c.c. class in his Cooper-Norton from Ken Gregory's J.B.S., which was 0.5 sec. slower. On a determined run W. C. Cuff in the" Hell's Hammers V" Special, its small over-engine fuel tank venting visibly, took third spot. The V-twin 1,100s made up for the dreamy summer thought during the interval that this course should suit the G.N.s ! Indeed, sharing the same Cooper 1,100 with blown J.A.P. engine, S. Lewis-Evans and Ken Gregory fought a stirring duel. Gregory opened with 22.07 sec.,
to which Lewis-Evans replied with 22.05 sec. Gregory replied with 21.7 sec., and Evans was slower, taking 22.24 see. Possibly this made Ken let up a bit. At all events, he seemed to use one cog too high on his last run, the engine fluffed, and his time fell to 27.81 sec. We waited breathlessly to see whether the J.A.P. really was sick. getting well behind the biggest trees meanwhile ! Then LewisEvans got away obviously to a healthy start, swung round the banking, clipped through the series of tight upper corners with the precision of a ballet dancer and-returned f.t.d., 21.47 sec. This cracked the old record, held by Eric Brandon's Cooper-J.A.P. 1,000. by 0.73 sec. This record run was noticeably tidy and Lewis-Evans' success well deserved.
Nor were these the only Cooper V-twins to perform. F. B. Lowrey in a Cooper 1,000 clocked 22.47 sec. but spun at the final corner on his second run. D. C. T. Bennett's Cooper 1,000, braked hard for the first bend on a brave run, did 22.9 sec., and D. G. Walker in an unblown Cooper 1,100 was steadier and took 25.32 sec.
The 1,101 to 2,000-c.c. racing-car class was tame in comparison. Copeland's sports Frazer-Nash was adequate to win it, in 23.7 sec., 0.1 see, too slow to beat the Norris Special's class record of 1950. W. A. Taylor in that delightful sprint car, the Caesar Special, with A.C. Six engine, Frazer-Nash transmission and transverse spring i.f.a., was second, and Tapp brought the blown Buckler, now prone to misfiring, into third place, the car's owner taking 0.36 see. longerdoes age tell ? C. J. Hamilton's E.R.A. never got going on this course, and the A.C.-engined Semmence Special did not go at all.
The final class, for racing cars over 2 litres, was notable for the delightful exhaust notes of the several GP. Bugattis which contested it. Of these, the single-seater 2.3 of J. Berry, with twin rear tyres, i.f.s. and a preselector gearbox, was fastest and again the class record, formerly the property of Butterworth's big A.J.B., fell by 0.6 sec. C. S. Henderson, using all the banking and most of the road as well, flung his beautiful 2.3 G.P. Bugatti, also with twin rear wheels, up the hill to net a courageous second place, beating the Jaguara. J. M. Perkins' 2.3 G.P. Bugatti was a shade slower, but took the V.S.C.C. Award.
Mrs. Eric Giles presented the £25 prize for f.t.d. to S. Lewis-Evans and peace descended on the rural slopes of the Great Auclum estateuntil 1954. ROSUitt t
LONDON RALLY
Over 225 cars are expected to compete in the London M.C.'s London Rally on September llth/12th. They include a team of works Sunbeam Alpines.
The National Race Meeting at Thruxon
ASTON MARTINS TROUNCE JAGUARS IN GOODWOOD "NINE HOURS"

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
Q: Broadcast receiver, check status, turning off connection with F8 I am using eclipse with android sdk 3.2
I have some problems to make my broadcast receiver working when the connection is lost.
first I have checked the type of network to make sure I understand well :
ConnectivityManager manager = (ConnectivityManager) getSystemService(CONNECTIVITY_SERVICE);
            boolean is3g = manager.getNetworkInfo(
                    ConnectivityManager.TYPE_MOBILE)
                    .isConnectedOrConnecting();
            boolean isWifi = manager.getNetworkInfo(
                    ConnectivityManager.TYPE_WIFI)
                    .isConnectedOrConnecting();

            NetworkInfo info = manager.getActiveNetworkInfo();
            if (info != null)
                Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), info.getTypeName(),
                        Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
            else
                Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "Pas de connexion",
                        Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();

            if (!is3g)
                Log.i("Network Listener", "DISCONNECTED");
            else
                Log.i("Network Listener", "CONNECTED");

==> this is a mobile network, I'm connected
Then I press F8 or I make :
telnet localhost 5554
gsm data off

to stop the connection
Here is my dynamic broadcast receiver in an activity :
public class ActivityA extends Activity {
@Override
public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
    super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
    setContentView(R.layout.query);
this.registerReceiver(this.networkStateReceiver, new IntentFilter(
     ConnectivityManager.CONNECTIVITY_ACTION));

}

BroadcastReceiver networkStateReceiver = new BroadcastReceiver() {

    @Override
    public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {

        ConnectivityManager connMgr = (ConnectivityManager) context
                .getSystemService(Context.CONNECTIVITY_SERVICE);
        NetworkInfo networkInfo = connMgr.getActiveNetworkInfo();
//i have tried several things : State networkState = networkInfo.getState();
// if (networkState.compareTo(State.DISCONNECTED) == 0) ...
        if (networkInfo != null && networkInfo.isConnected()) {
            Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "CONNECTED",
                    Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
                   Log.i("Network Listener", "Connected");
        } else {
            Toast.makeText(getApplicationContext(), "DISCONNECTED",
                    Toast.LENGTH_LONG).show();
            Log.i("Network Listener", "Network Type Changed");
            Intent offline = new Intent(AccountInfoActivity.this,
                    OfflineWorkService.class);
            startService(offline);
        }

};

My manifest :
 <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.INTERNET" />
 <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE"/>

The problem is : when the activityA is launched, my broadcast receive something and it displays "Connected"(Log) and my toast. When I turn off the connection manually, nothing happend. My service is not started, log message are not displayed, only toast messages work ...
And even better, when I turn on the connection again (by pressing F8), I test again the type of connection, Toast messages are shown but this time Log messages don't work.
Problems happend when I press F8. Anyway, I think I miss something with broadcast receivers, it's not totally clear.
Please help me.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


This version of Tour de France 2016 – The Game 1.2.9 APK includes several changes which are mentioned below. You can Download Tour de France 2016 – The Game 1.2.9 APK directly from APK4Market, all you have to do is click the Direct Download Link given below.
APK Description: The Tour de France + VUELTA 2016 official game!
Requires an Internet connection and iPhone 5, iPod touch 6th Generation, iPad 3,iPad Mini 2nd Generation or newer.
Requires a device of 1 GB RAM minimum!
This year, we remade completely the game with a lot of new features: a brand new career mode containing the most famous cycling competitions (LA VUELTA, Tour de France, Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Nice, Paris-Tours, Dauphine criterium, and much more…), create and train your own team, challenge other players in the new multiplayer mode on 3 different rankings (Time, Sprint & Mountain), discover more than 30 landscapes with awesome views.
The simulation have been changed, with new animations and interactions with riders to get closer to realistic scenarios.
LA VUELTA 2016: you feel your riders are getting nervous. Each member of your team count on you to guide them on their life's challenge. After years of hard training, of surpassing oneself and sacrifices, they are gathered with the hope to win the prestigious competitions including the Tour de France.
You have to be on the top for them: Analyze the strengths and the weaknesses of each cyclist.
Examine every detail of stages in this new edition 2016 and develop a strategy to lead them to victory.
Concentration, passion and skills will be necessary to impose your style on VUELTA 2016, the Tour de France 2016 and in the cyclist world. Will you be able to make the right choices and reveal yourself during all these Famous competitions?
– NEW: a new AI and simulation to approximate the existing scenarios. You can now collaborate with the opponents, escape, accelerate with the pelotón to win the final sprint, and many other possibilities.
– Create your team! Choose the best talents to create your cycling dream team!
– All the official stages of LA VUELTA 2016 / Tour de France 2016 but also for the other famous competitions.
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We hold the Truth within our Minds. Truth is Love. It is the Light of God. It is in us, around us and throughout. It is everything. It is the only thing.
I am aware of Truth.
Anyone can be aware of Truth. You don't have to be special. You do have to be courageous. You have to be willing to question everything you believe and were taught. This part is not fun.
How do you know if you are open to Truth?
Do I believe I am more than a body?
I know I am more than a body. I sense it within me all the time. I feel the energy of our collective Oneness at all times. It buzzes through me and overwhelms me.
No one else around me seems to feel this Oneness. Everyone seems fully immersed in the framework that we are all individual selves.
It's as if all the air and noise are sucked out of a room and all that remains is Total Peace and Love. It's the loudest silence I've ever known. When I allow myself to break through my need for conformity and belief in external belonging and fulfillment, I am Whole.
There is no lack. There is no fear. There is only Love.
The best way to find the Truth in your individual story is to look at the places you feel the most love. Some good places to start are a parent/child relationship, immersing yourself in the quiet of nature or any time you feel joy or wonder in your life.
Real Love is trying get our attention all the time.
Here's the tricky part, since Love is trying to find us at all times and in all circumstances, it uses everything in our life to awaken us. This means even heartbreak and tragedy are a call for Love.
There have been times when my heart has been so broken, that my suffering was so great, it pushed me to the edge and I have fallen into Oneness. These have been the moments when my individual self gave way to Total Love.
While these moments were often fleeting, they also clearly showed me that I am more than this life.
I am more than this body.


text:
from django.template import Context, loader
from payment.modules.base import BasePaymentProcessor, ProcessorResult
from satchmo_utils.numbers import trunc_decimal
from django.utils.translation import ugettext_lazy as _

import urllib2
try:
    from xml.etree.ElementTree import fromstring
except ImportError:
    from elementtree.ElementTree import fromstring

# Response codes available at:
# http://apps.cybersource.com/library/documentation/sbc/api_guide/SB_API.pdf
CYBERSOURCE_RESPONSES = {
    '100' : 'Successful transaction.',
    '101' : 'The request is missing one or more required fields.',
    '102' : 'One or more fields in the request contains invalid data.',
    '104' : 'The merchantReferenceCode sent with this authorization request matches the merchantReferenceCode of another authorization request that you sent in the last 15 minutes.',
    '150' : 'Error: General system failure. ',
    '151' : 'Error: The request was received but there was a server timeout. This error does not include timeouts between the client and the server.',
    '152' : 'Error: The request was received, but a service did not finish running in time.',
    '201' : 'The issuing bank has questions about the request. You do not receive an authorization code in the reply message, but you might receive one verbally by calling the processor.',
    '202' : 'Expired card. You might also receive this if the expiration date you provided does not match the date the issuing bank has on file.',
    '203' : 'General decline of the card. No other information provided by the issuing bank.',
    '204' : 'Insufficient funds in the account.',
    '205' : 'Stolen or lost card.',
    '207' : 'Issuing bank unavailable.',
    '208' : 'Inactive card or card not authorized for card-not-present transactions.',
    '210' : 'The card has reached the credit limit. ',
    '211' : 'Invalid card verification number.',
    '221' : 'The customer matched an entry on the processor\'s negative file.',
    '231' : 'Invalid account number.',
    '232' : 'The card type is not accepted by the payment processor.',
    '233' : 'General decline by the processor.',
    '234' : 'There is a problem with your CyberSource merchant configuration.',
    '235' : 'The requested amount exceeds the originally authorized amount. Occurs, for example, if you try to capture an amount larger than the original authorization amount. This reason code only applies if you are processing a capture through the API.',
    '236' : 'Processor Failure',
    '238' : 'The authorization has already been captured. This reason code only applies if you are processing a capture through the API.',
    '239' : 'The requested transaction amount must match the previous transaction amount. This reason code only applies if you are processing a capture or credit through the API.',
    '240' : 'The card type sent is invalid or does not correlate with the credit card number.',
    '241' : 'The request ID is invalid. This reason code only applies when you are processing a capture or credit through the API.',
    '242' : 'You requested a capture through the API, but there is no corresponding, unused authorization record. Occurs if there was not a previously successful authorization request or if the previously successful authorization has already been used by another capture request. This reason code only applies when you are processing a capture through the API.',
    '243' : 'The transaction has already been settled or reversed.',
    '246' : 'The capture or credit is not voidable because the capture or credit information has already been submitted to your processor. Or, you requested a void for a type of transaction that cannot be voided. This reason code applies only if you are processing a void through the API.',
    '247' : 'You requested a credit for a capture that was previously voided. This reason code applies only if you are processing a void through the API.',
    '250' : 'Error: The request was received, but there was a timeout at the payment processor.',
    '520' : 'The authorization request was approved by the issuing bank but declined by CyberSource based on your Smart Authorization settings.',
}

class PaymentProcessor(BasePaymentProcessor):
    """
    Cybersource payment processing module
    You must have an account with Cybersource in order to use this module

    """
    def __init__(self, settings):
        super(PaymentProcessor, self).__init__('cybersource', settings)
        self.contents = ''
        if settings.LIVE.value:
            self.testflag = 'FALSE'
            self.connection = settings.CONNECTION.value
        else:
            self.testflag = 'TRUE'
            self.connection = settings.CONNECTION_TEST.value

        self.configuration = {
            'merchantID' : settings.MERCHANT_ID.value,
            'password' : settings.TRANKEY.value,
            }

    def prepare_content(self, order, amount):
        self.bill_to = {
            'firstName' : order.contact.first_name,
            'lastName' : order.contact.last_name,
            'street1': order.full_bill_street,
            'city': order.bill_city,
            'state' : order.bill_state,
            'postalCode' : order.bill_postal_code,
            'country': order.bill_country,
            'email' : order.contact.email,
            'phoneNumber' : order.contact.primary_phone,
            # Can add additional info here if you want to but it's not required
            }
        exp = order.credit_card.expirationDate.split('/')
        self.card = {
            'accountNumber' : order.credit_card.decryptedCC,
            'expirationMonth' : exp[0],
            'expirationYear' : exp[1],
            'cvNumber' : order.credit_card.ccv
            }
        currency = self.settings.CURRENCY_CODE.value
        currency = currency.replace("_", "")
        self.purchase_totals = {
            'currency' : currency,
            'grandTotalAmount' : trunc_decimal(amount, 2),
        }

    def capture_payment(self, testing=False, order=None, amount=None):
        """
        Creates and sends XML representation of transaction to Cybersource
        """
        if not order:
            order = self.order

        if order.paid_in_full:
            self.log_extra('%s is paid in full, no capture attempted.', order)
            self.record_payment()
            return ProcessorResult(self.key, True, _("No charge needed, paid in full."))

        self.log_extra('Capturing payment for %s', order)

        if amount is None:
            amount = order.balance

        self.prepare_content(order, amount)

        invoice = "%s" % order.id
        failct = order.paymentfailures.count()
        if failct > 0:
            invoice = "%s_%i" % (invoice, failct)

        # XML format is very simple, using ElementTree for generation would be overkill
        t = loader.get_template('shop/checkout/cybersource/request.xml')
        c = Context({
            'config' : self.configuration,
            'merchantReferenceCode' : invoice,
            'billTo' : self.bill_to,
            'purchaseTotals' : self.purchase_totals,
            'card' : self.card,
        })
        request = t.render(c)
        conn = urllib2.Request(url=self.connection, data=request)
        try:
            f = urllib2.urlopen(conn)
        except urllib2.HTTPError, e:
            # we probably didn't authenticate properly
            # make sure the 'v' in your account number is lowercase
            return ProcessorResult(self.key, False, 'Problem parsing results')

        f = urllib2.urlopen(conn)
        all_results = f.read()
        tree = fromstring(all_results)
        parsed_results = tree.getiterator('{urn:schemas-cybersource-com:transaction-data-1.26}reasonCode')
        try:
            reason_code = parsed_results[0].text
        except KeyError:
            return ProcessorResult(self.key, False, 'Problem parsing results')

        response_text = CYBERSOURCE_RESPONSES.get(reason_code, 'Unknown Failure')

        if reason_code == '100':
            payment = self.record_payment(order=order, amount=amount,
                transaction_id="", reason_code=reason_code)
            return ProcessorResult(self.key, True, response_text, payment=payment)
        else:
            payment = self.record_failure(order=order, amount=amount,
                transaction_id="", reason_code=reason_code,
                details=response_text)

            return ProcessorResult(self.key, False, response_text)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    """
    For testing purposes only.
    Allows this module to be run as a script to test the connection

    """

    import os
    from livesettings import config_get_group

    # Set up some dummy classes to mimic classes being passed through Satchmo
    class testContact(object):
        pass
    class testCC(object):
        pass
    class testOrder(object):
        def __init__(self):
            self.contact = testContact()
            self.credit_card = testCC()
        def order_success(self):
            pass

    if not os.environ.has_key("DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE"):
        os.environ["DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE"]="satchmo_store.settings"

    settings_module = os.environ['DJANGO_SETTINGS_MODULE']
    settingsl = settings_module.split('.')
    settings = __import__(settings_module, {}, {}, settingsl[-1])

    sampleOrder = testOrder()
    sampleOrder.id = '1234'
    sampleOrder.contact.first_name = 'Chris'
    sampleOrder.contact.last_name = 'Smith'
    sampleOrder.contact.primary_phone = '801-555-9242'
    sampleOrder.contact.email = 'null@cybersource.com'
    sampleOrder.full_bill_street = '123 Main Street'
    sampleOrder.bill_postal_code = '12345'
    sampleOrder.bill_state = 'TN'
    sampleOrder.bill_city = 'Some City'
    sampleOrder.bill_country = 'US'
    sampleOrder.total = "27.00"
    sampleOrder.balance = "27.00"
    sampleOrder.credit_card.decryptedCC = '6011000000000012'
    sampleOrder.credit_card.expirationDate = "10/09"
    sampleOrder.credit_card.ccv = "144"

    cybersource_settings = config_get_group('PAYMENT_CYBERSOURCE')
    if cybersource_settings.LIVE.value:
        print "Warning.  You are submitting a live order.  CYBERSOURCE system is set LIVE."

    processor = PaymentProcessor(cybersource_settings)
    processor.prepare_data(sampleOrder)
    results = processor.process(testing=True)
    print results


text:
Q: postgresql error in Cloud9 "could not connect to server: Connection refused" I'd like to setup postgresql for my rails app in Cloud9.
The following error appeared when I tried to bundle exec rake db:create.
could not connect to server: Connection refused
        Is the server running on host "localhost" (::1) and accepting
        TCP/IP connections on port 5432?
could not connect to server: Connection refused
        Is the server running on host "localhost" (127.0.0.1) and accepting
        TCP/IP connections on port 5432?
...

database.yml
default: &default
  adapter: postgresql
  encoding: unicode
  pool: 5
  username: <%= ENV['USERNAME'] %>
  password: <%= ENV['PASSWORD'] %>
  host:     localhost

development:
  <<: *default
  database: app_development

test:
  <<: *default
  database: app_test

production:
  <<: *default
  database: app_production

Gemfile
gem 'pg', '~> 0.18.2'

/etc/postgresql/9.3/main/pg_hba.conf
# Database administrative login by Unix domain socket
local   localhost            ubuntu                                md5

# TYPE  DATABASE        USER            ADDRESS                 METHOD

# "local" is for Unix domain socket connections only
local   all             ubuntu                                    md5
# IPv4 local connections:
host    all             all             127.0.0.1/32            md5
# IPv6 local connections:
host    all             all             ::1/128                 md5

Although I found similar questions in stackoverflow, they don't work for me.
It would be appreciated if you could advise me on how to avoid this error.

A: Configure the postgresql.conf file. You have to update the listen_addresses to all and make sure to uncomment that line by removing the # mark. So your listen_addresses should look like this listen_addresses = '*'


text:
No. 64 Jim McCarthy
First Prog: 37 (but as a mainstay, 500)
Latest Prog: 1961 (before the latest book of Bad Company, a Future Shock in Prog 1310)
Total appearances: 142
McCarthy's imagination and colour palette are equally vibrant.
Words by Grant Morrison
Bix Barton
The Grudge Father
Kid Cyborg
Other art credits:
Bad Company (series inker from beginning to end)
Rogue Trooper (inking again)
The Geek, a one-off from Crisis that I have no memory of
A bunch of Future Shocks, including some of the very first)
…curiously, no Dredds.
-is Kid Cyborg notable? Time, and perhaps one day a long overdue reprint with the Megazine, will tell…
Are you the future, Kid Cyborg, are you?
Words by Kek-W
Generally anarchic. Sparkly – but also grungy. Absolutely not shy of gore. Has a way with raised eyebrows and body language generally. There's something inherently earthy and fleshy about his work that I find v. appealing.
On Jim:
McCarthy got his start in the Prog inking over the top of his good pal Brett Ewins's pencil art on two of the very earliest Future Shocks. For reasons unknown, Ewins made a go of it alone after that, until the launch of hot new series with Prog 500, Bad Company. McCarthy was on fire for that seies. And, in turn, he began to get work as an artist in his own right. Now, I'm not much of one for being able to recognise the work of different inkers, but I will say that McCarthy full artwork looks amazingly like one would expect based on his inking style.
McCarthy inking over Ewins. 2000AD was despatching zombies decades before they were cool.
Words by Peter Milligan
A helpful panel showing Rufus Dayglo's un-inked pencils next to the inked version.
That shadow on Danny Franks's jumper, that's classic J. McCarthy.
Which is to say, thick, lush, vibrant, fun and a little bit loose.
McCarthy inking over himself. Everything feels so tangibly present, doesn't it?
I'm not sure there's much to say about Bad Company that hasn't been said already. It's excellent, it's gorgeous. The ink work is no small part of that!
The changing face of Danny Franks.
This cover is McCarthy's own work (B.E. on the cover is presumably Brett Ewins, who may have inked?) – you can tell by the teeth! It's entirely in keeping with the series style.
How do decayed zombie glands generate saliva anyway?
I suppose it's inevitable when friends/family learn to draw together, but it can't be denied that Jim does share some stylistic DNA with both Brett Ewins and baby brother Brendan.
Check out the faces and lapels in this early Bix Barton panel…
That attire is pure Brendan McCarthy, no? And the eyebrows + clothing creases are Ewins all over.
But the shiny bodywork on the car, and the delightful clouds - that's all Jim.
Words by Peter Milligan.
Around the time Jim and the Prog moved to more colour, his work took on much more of a life of its own. It becomes, for want of a better word, rounder. Or maybe that's just the presence of women, a species almost entirely absent from Bad Company.
Rotting fleshbag turns into hot babe - does that count as body horror?
Words by that man again, Peter Milligan
A lot of the charm of Bix Barton is in the world around him – the flying car, the endless clouds, the general air of a Britain slightly off to the side, if not in the future. (Although the series is, I think, technically set a few years into the future).
And so to the Grudgefather, 'based on an original grudge held by Jim McCarthy'. Wordplay aside, I assume what that means is that it was McCarthy's idea to explore the ramifications of human cloning, how this would intersect with religious faith (apparently by completely superseding it, while retaining a largely Roman Catholic flavour). Also key is the idea that once human cloning was perfected, there'd be no more room for new beings to appear – our spirit essences will simply hop from body to body, with the genetic engineers sorting it all out for us.
McCarthy's art really came into its own with this series. And I do love the main character design, with the face mask that actually holds his constantly rotting clone-flesh together.
Words by Mark Millar
So it's more fiction than science, but a neat premise. What may or may not be more of a Millar influence is the fact that the series ended up being amongst the goriest ever to see print. It's total body horror, in the most Cronenbergian, pre-CGI oozy vein-bursting sense. Yum! Also: squish.
"She unzips her DNA like a favourite dress." How do you draw that??
Words by Kek-W this time.
As with Canon Fodder, scripter Kek-W took over for a more coherent, more intelligent but less lurid second series. Meg floppy, please, Tharg!*
Teaming with Kek-W then yielded McCarthy's last hurrah (until Bad Company made its recent, triumphant return): Kid Cyborg. I dearly wanted to love this series, but it's not quite all there. The design for Kid himself is pleasing. He's part robot, part creepy but significantly heroic in demeanour. He's teamed with a neat pair of companions. Vector 13's Men in Black put in an extended cameo, essentially as villains, and McCarthy draws them particularly well, with all the menace of bureaucracy hidden behind there sunglasses and grey skin. There's the plot itself, which is sort of about contemporary politics and mass media and all that. Frankly, it needed to be a 24-part epic to squeeze it all in, but that was never gonna happen in 1994.
Eaerly episodes had an old-school, Visible-Man type vibe.
Aaah, the early 90s, when JFK conspiracies were all the rage.
Which brings me to another point – what McCarthy was doing, during his central tenure under Tharg, was its own thing. You know, like most 2000AD artists have always done their own thing. And it was part of what gives the lie to the 'lost its way in the early 90s' tag of the comic. I'm not going to pretend that Bix Barton or the Grudgefather are/were among the all-time great series, but they're both exactly the sort of thing that should be in a British Sci-Fi / dark humour comic.
Also, what a cover! Floating eyeballs never go out of style.
McCarthy, of course, went on to forge his own path as a comic strip rock biographer, presumably never looking back too hard at 2000AD. Good for him! And also, welcome back.
More on Jim McCarthy:
His own blog
An interview centred around his most famous work, the Kurt Cobain graphic biography**
The second half of a discussion panel with Alex Fitch***
Bad Company: all of it
Bix Barton: Barton's Beasts; Lovesick World; Bloated Case of the Fatted Keef; Nigel, the Napoleon of East Finchley
The Grudge Father (especially Skin Games)
A deliciously gooey Nemesis star scan, during his socially conscious years around Book IX
*Not least because it'll annoy all the people who are getting upset that Realm of the Damned is too gross for their tastes.
**In my experience, it's a constant presence on the shelves of any bookshop that deigns to have a Graphic Novel shelf (actually, Waterstones and Foyles are both pretty good for this, and they're about the only chains left)
***Still not me, much as I envy his position as the next Paul Gravett (Fitch is to Steve LeMaq as Gravett is to John Peel: discuss)
Posted by alexf at 12:06 AM No comments:
No. 63 Greg Staples
First Prog: 761
First Meg: 2.44 (cover) 2.47 (strip art)
Staples has earned a serious rep as a creator of iconic Dredd artwork.
Art credits:
Mean Machine (technically a Dredd story, but it's basically Mean Machine)
Sinister Dexter / Downlode Tales
Rogue Troopers*
Brigand Doom (in a Sci-Fi Special one time)
A couple of one-offs
Oola Bint
Jonni Kiss (although Peter Doherty did the cover - not sure which artist got there first)
The Whack Pack (although I can't be sure if he was the first to draw each individual member. Where's the dedicated SinDex wiki when you need it??)
Slick and stylish; costume design made to look easy.
Words by Dan Abnett
-and I believe he helped to create Witchworld, although he never actually drew any episodes, just this one cover.
Staples does good sexy, also this is an unusually gratuitous example
(as opposed to his cover for the Prog 1066, the Sex issue, where it's thematically relevant)
Did he design the look of Caitlin, maybe? Is she a notable character?
Master of a variety of styles, somehow combining paints that tend towards photo-realism alongside extreme cartooniness. Absurdly lush painting. Extremely beautiful people – but also absurdly grotesque people (not usually shown in the same style, mind you). Lavish textures. Drawing himself into his strips.
Staples (left) and Ennis (right) cameo as two doomed perps in a Dredd outing.
Words (and Pixies love) by Garth Ennis
Staples finds himself trapped on a bus full of perps.
On Greg:
When people complain that the early '90s in 2000AD was "full of Simon Bisley clones", I suspect one of the specific names they mean is young Greg Staples. Heck, in his own Nerve Centre interview, he himself cites Bisley as the man who helped him get his foot in the door with Tharg.
90s hair! Staples started out young, didn't he.
But I've never really seen it myself. His early stuff was nothing like Bisley, except that, like all 2000AD, it revelled in the funny side of violence.
There's something delightful about the super chunky, super garish cartooning in this very early effort.
Words by Garth Ennis
I suppose you could argue that Staples's painted but also cartoonish work has a Bisley vibe to it, in that he was one of the first people to get famous for doing it. (And he did do it bloody well, too!)
Confident cartooning.
Words by John Wagner
I guess Staples's first painted work on Slaine was a bit more similar, but only superficially. And you have to imagine than on that specific strip, he was probably editorially mandated to draw in a Bisley-esque fashion.
Making an effort to be lush
Words by Pat Mills
Of course, Staples back then wasn't yet up to his best standards – he sure has come a long way since.
Making lush look effortless.
That's one of the great joys of 2000AD fandom - getting to see new artists (and writers) figuring out their style on the page, and watching them get better. Frankly, by the time Staples took over on The Clown book II, in which he does an extraordinary job mimicking not Bisley, but Robert Bliss (series creator), he'd turned into his own thing.
Two contrasts in one: amazingly real painted art coupled with cartoonish goings on in panel 1;
straight up cartoony cartooning in panel 2. Nice lettering, too.
Words by Igor Goldkind
And the funny thing is, Staples doing his own thing turns out to mean Staples doing whatever he damn well pleases. The man has turned in a huge variety of art styles over the years, and you never know what to expect from story to story.
A moody flashback (with help from colours by Pete Doherty)
Showing off his pencil and ink skills.
Mixing up pencils and painting (and crazy cherubs)
Words by Steve White & Dan Abnett
His most recent work, Dark Justice, took him a notoriously long time to produce. The story goes that he wanted to put his all into it, cerate a truly stunning work of art. And it is quite something to behold! It also suggests that this hyper-real lush painting is what Staples himself sees as his 'best' work.
Judge Mortis is everyone's favourite sidekick, right?
I'm not going to argue with that, but I do absolutely love his more comic-y, ligne claire-ish inking on some of his earlier strips, such as Rogue Trooper…
Such a lovely blue
…and Dredd efforts including Mad City, most famous for introducing Oola Bint, a serial killer who, I think, continues to evade Dredd.
Another fine example of European comics corgeousness coupled with Brit comic foolishness
And also Chris Evans cameoing as Fritz Shakespeare (that's him to the right, getting his head cut off). As the character is written, I can't quite believe John Wagner specified the look – but it works overall, and singles Staples out as the assort of artist who puts that bit of extra thought and effort into his work to make it come alive.
Greg Staples is known and indeed adored internationally as a regular artist on Magic: The Gathering**. A card game based in s fantasy setting, where each card is adorned with more or less amazing artwork showing magical realms, beasts, warlocks and that sort of thing (not a million miles from the aforementioned Witchworld and Slaine, in fact).
As a master of iconic single-panel imagery, you'd think Greg Staples would be a legend at covers over on 2000AD and the Megazine. You'd be right! He's one of the top covers contributors, with at least 75 cover credits across various formats. A small selection...
This one is rather Bisleyish, I'll admit.
Equal opportunities sexy times
Love those veins
You know who has a back like that? Sylvester Stallone, circa The Specialist.
I miss Nikolai Dante's mecahnical flying chess knight
Staples would be amazing on ABC Warriors.
None more Dredd
It's mostly through his covers that Staples has maintained a regular presence in the Prog since he got his first break. I guess within the pages he's forged a place for himself as a Dredd artist, but he's turned his hand to plenty of other strips, too, and it always seems to fit. I'd love him to him work on Strontium Dog one day. Obviously not going to happen, but he'd be a fun way to go if Carlos decides to quit.
With Greg Staples, you know you're going to get something gorgeous, with fun poking in from all sides.
More on Greg Staples:
His own website
A dissection of his art on Dark Justice
Covers uncovered had him on for one of his all-time best ever covers
An old interview on House of Betty
An a super-old interview about his Magic the Gathering work
Judge Dredd: Rough guide to suicide; You are the Mean Machine; Mad City; Dark Justice
Slaine: Name of the Sword; Beyond
The Clown: his parts of Book II look amazing. I can't in good conscience claim I enjoyed the story overly much. (Book I, on the other hand, that's a classic)
Sinister Dexter: Drop Dead Gorgeous; The Whack Pack;
Rogue Troopers
The DC/Rebllion reprint years weren't great but this one cover suited the glossy look perfectly.
*The final series featuring Friday and Venus Bluegenes, wrongly credited to Alex Ronald over on Barney. An incredibly rare error from them!
**A game I found myself playing with a few colleagues at work for the first time about a year ago. It's surprisingly fun, although I get the impression you have be something of an obsessive to have hope of getting good at it. And yes, the art is pretty fantastic, with Staples one of the better contributors.
Posted by alexf at 6:47 AM No comments:
No. 62 Brendan McCarthy
First Prog: 82 (unless his Dredd from the 1979 Annual was commissioned or published first?)
Final Prog: 1784 (strip work) 1958 (cover)
First Meg: 3.33 (or 136 in normal numbers)
Final Meg: 311 (strip work); 329 (cover)
-including his work for Revolver, but not Skin, which was meant to be but didn't actually get published in Crisis.
Sooner or Later; Rogan Gosh; Zaucer of Zilk
Zenith (he designed many of the characters)
ABC Warriors (1 Warrior in particular)
Strontium Dog
Walter the Wobot
various Future Shocks / one offs
Zenith (main character design, and a bunch of supporting characters, too)
The Judda
Steelhorn aka the Mess
Brit-Cit Judges in general, Judge Armour in particular
Oz Judge outfit design (I think?), maybe even the Hondo City Judge outfits, too?
McCarthy during an especially experimental phase.
Colin MacNeil drew the story inside, anyone know who designed the uniform?
Style; fun; characters who are more interested in having a good time than in doing the right thing, deliciously flamboyant colours; pizazz, if that a word anyone still uses;
amazing lettering; chunkiness; a particular sense of fashion
On Brendan:
This is my favourite ever piece of reader art. It just sums up the artist's approach so neatly. He's idiosyncratic, he's heightened, he's not afraid to just pull everything up at the corners and loosen things up a bit, you know?
It also neatly gets across the fact that although there are and always have been many distinctive artists at the house of Tharg, somehow McCarthy in the late 80s was the mostest distinctivistest. Especially on Dredd. It wasn't just his take on Dredd, it was his approach to the whole city, and the way he had of drawing rain, and fear, and a general sense that just reading his strips might be enough to engender a classic case of 'future shock' (that's to say, the in-story medical condition that causes people to go mad because they can't cope with their own contemporary normality).
Frankly, I was scared off. I was super excited by the idea of Brit-Cit when Atlantis was on the cover…
Such vibrant design!
But I couldn't quite wade through the actual strip (at the time), because the art itself was kind of off-putting.
Actually, this is from 'Riders on the Storm'. But it's scene-setting and scary.
Like, if this was a video, young me would know from the design that it's a 15 or even 18 rated effort.
Words by Wagner & Grant
I was, at that timek, mostly drawn to the likes of Ezquerra, Gibson and Belardinelli. Greats all, and, l.ike McCarthy, utterly idiosyncratic and not like any other comics artist, but they did have on-thing in common not shared by McCarthy: their work is always easy-to-read! The Witness, the Dredd two-parter that began in the legendary Prog 500 was a step too far – but at least that story was actually supposed to be frightening!
So much steam and sweat; the fear oozes off the page.
Weirdly enough, Sooner or Later, which ran around the same time, was a comforting read. I mean, the story made very little sense to 8-year-old me, who barely knew what unemployment was, let alone the importance of good grooming. But the art was a burst of wonderful colour and whimsy and evil barbers with insane hairdos. The lettering on the 'next Prog' captions was an especial treat.
So much fun with the sound effcts and emanata!
It's the Todds! Best hair-based villains ever.
I'm getting ahead of things. I tend to end up being dreadfully chronological in these write ups, and McCarthy had in fact been working for the Prog pretty much since the beginning. A cover here and there, some Walter the Wobot episodes, a bit of pitching in on Dredd, but most notably, a couple of one-offs from the early Annuals and Specials, which proved that he was pretty fully formed right out of the gate. Although I would say that McCarthy's early (and to some extent his later work too) feels very informed by British humour comics, in a way that much of the rest of 2000AD seemed to be striving to be more European or American.
McCarthy is co-credited with Brett Ewins, his long-term chum.
Dredd on his downtime, something we used to see a lot more in the early days.
This story may even have been written by McCarthy; not sure.
This page is right out of the Beano if you ask me.
McCarthy filling in from Carlos Ezquerra on a really early Strontium Dog.
Most terrifying robot EVER.
Then he was plucked by Mr Mills to tackle a couple of early episodes of ABC Warriors. Including the introduction of cross-dressing as a theme.
Larking around with Happy and Joe.
I'm sad that he never got to do any more in that series, there's something about his robots that delightfully fleshy that is rather unlike most other artists. I think he'd be a great fit for a comic about the adventures of the Geminoid lot.* The saddest thing of all is that, having introduced the Mess as a terrifying burning liquid metal robot, he never gets unleashed again.
Some more one-offs followed, including steamy robot action,
Cracking design for the world's first robot.
Words by Gary Rice
and of course a well-loved Future Shock with Alan Moore.
Every panel of this strip is a delight.
Words (and no doubt detailed panel descriptions) by Alan Moore
I guess he was kinda busy doing his own thing with Freakwave / Paradax / who knows what, but it's weird to me that he never got a steady series until he became a Dredd regular in the mid 80s. Maybe he was too off-beat for the publishers at that time? Still, he had a good run on Dredd, a bunch of AMAZING covers, and of course the lunacy of Sooner or Later, the strip that saw him team up in 2000AD for the first extended run of work with long-time friend and collaborator Peter Milligan.
Who doesn't have this cover in their top 10? Anyone?
It's worth dwelling a bit on Judge Dredd: Oz. The story goes (well, a story I've extrapolated from the interview he did on the Thrill Cast) that he spent some time bumming around in Australia, doing a bit of surfing, and he rang up John Wagner and told him a future Australia would be a great setting for a Dredd adventure. Somehow involving both skysurfing around Sydney and also going to Ayers Rock Uluru.
Wagner and Grant responded by setting up two entirely unrelated stories and mashing them together, allowing Chopper to muck about in Australia, drawn by an enormous variety of artists, while McCarthy got to design Morton Judd and his Judda, who terrorises the Judges in MC-1 while coming to a sticky end in Ayers Rock.
The hall of Judd
The Judda stuff ended up setting a major chain of events in motion, ultimately leading to Necropolis and arguably starting a domino topple of continuity that continues to this day (although I suspect it's not too hard to make an argument that dominoes have been toppling pretty much since the Robot War, or maybe Sov aggression on Luna-1).
This is how angry Judd gets in a flashback. Think how bad it gets in the present day
after he's turned full megalomaniac!
ANYWAY the Judda sections are slightly incoherent, but they're stylish as heck. Morton Judd literally froths at the mouth at one point, before spontaneously combusting.
And, pretty shortly thereafter, farewell. A couple more Dredds, some covers, and then goodbye to 2000AD (on the whole), hello to sister publications Crisis and Revolver.
Some occasional updates on his efforts in Hollywood fleshing out Highlander II: the Quickening. Which I have seen and remember nothing about, except that every time I'm reading a back Prog that shows a snippet of McCarthy's concept art I immediately want to watch it again, even though I know in my head it is a boring film.
Luckily, his other bigSci-Fi film turned out alright in the end! And isn't it very 2000AD in feel.
Anyway, McCarthy was, for me, the poster-boy of what late 80s grown-up comics meant. They weren't titillating or sweary or hyper-violent (that last but was already pretty well sewn up by 2000AD anyway). No, they were crazy weird, and revolved around real-world adult concerns such as 'what's the point of life?', 'running away from conformity' and 'how can I have a bit more fun?'.
Grown-up comics = comics about needing money and/or a job.
I'm not entirely sure how I got wind of Skin, a Milligan/McMcarthy piece that as supposed to run in Crisis, but it sure piqued my interest. As it ended up being published by Tundra, it doesn't strictly belong in this blog, but here's a sample anyway. And yes, it should remind you of 'This is England'. Only with added thalidomide**.
Note the super-different art style.
Certainly Rogan Gosh, which absolutely does belong on this blog, was the only reason I had any interest in picking up Revolver (which I didn't at the time). No offense to Milligan, whose words and story are fascinating, but it's the Brendan McCarthy show all the way. Colour at its most vibrant, and the boredom vs delight dichotomy of the story is made stunningly real by the images. There's a case to be made for this being one of the most comic-y comics of all time, and it's one of the closest examples I know of that captures the feeling of reading a poem in comics form – as in, the art itself has poetry about it, not just the words (which are prose anyway).***
A man about to enter a dream sequence
A man in the midst of a pseudo-epiphany
Words still by Peter Milligan. He's good at words, isn't he.
And then that really was it for McCarthy and Tharg, aside from checking in with some more gorgeous covers from time to time.
For about 20 years or so.
And then, out of the blue**** came Zaucer of Zilk. One wonders whether McCarthy finally had a free window to draw some more comics, or whether it was in fact a character he'd had in mind for years, waiting only for the right scripting partner to come along. Enter AlEwing, who certainly put his own stamp on the story.
McCarthy's heroes are kind of dicks, no?
Words by Al Ewing.
In a way, Zaucer of Zilk is the most McCarthy story ever. You've got an idle, slightly irritated if not angry young man. Who cares about how he looks. Who gets into inter-dimensional shenanigans, and interacts on a meta-textual level with pop-culture references. And doesn't so much have an adventure, as float from scene to scene, pointedly not learning any lessons.
This page wears its heart ell on its sleeve: our bored hero take a pill
to escape from dull, rainy life into techncolour adventure and glory.
Words by Al Ewing
All lavishly illustrated with oozingly beautiful colours (tip of that hat to Len O'Grady who must have rubbed his head a bit at the challenge of adding colour to an already-coloured McCarthy page of art!).While it didn't ultimately engage me all the way, it sure brightened the Prog, and I'm always keen to see more of this sort of thing.
McCarthy has been part of the Prog since the very beginning, and remains part of the Prog today - or at least, one hopes he'll come back. As one of the most visibly innovative and out-there artists of his generation, he stamped a mark on 2000AD pretty much every time his work has been printed. Without nudity or violence, I'd credit him as much as anyone with the shift of 2000AD out of the juvenile division and into the world of comics for everyone.
More on Brendan McCarthy:
Interview on the Thrillcast
On Covers uncovered
The Strange World of Brendan McCarthy, a now closed blog dedicated to the man himself
Judge Dredd: Dr Panic; Atlantis; Witness; Oz; Report to the Chief Judge on the Accidental Death
ABC Warriors: Steelhorn
Rogan Gosh
Robo-Tales: Ye Firste Robote
*I happen to be working on a book about robots in my day job at the moment, so I'm up on my robot tech. Geminoids are the super-uncanny-valley androids with fake skin.
**Last Century's zika virus, only worse because it was man-made and actively pushed onto pregnant women. Brrr.
***Massive digression, but another great example of a comic that functions as a poem is Richard Maguire's Here. And just maybe some of Steve Ditko's Dr. Strange, which was for sure an influence on young Brendan.
**** pun absolutely intended for this bluest of comics.


Like video killed the radio star, Web evolution killed Internet Explorer. Microsoft Marketing Chief Chris Capossela announced that the popular software company would be putting its original web browser to out to pasture.
Microsoft has developed a new, unnamed browser that is currently being referred to as Project Spartan, to take the spot of the default Web browser on the future releases of Windows software. IE will still exist in some versions of Windows 10, but will not be the designated browser the way it has been on previous versions of Windows. It will mainly be available for users who require legacy browser support.
Though this may not be the end of IE, this sure is the beginning of one. Many people think this has been a long time coming and we agree. Robmark Web is looking forward to what Project Spartan has in store for Web users and we are waiting to see if this will be the one-two punch that chomps into Google's browser market share.
This entry was posted in Browsers and tagged IE, Internet Explorer, Web Browsers on March 20, 2015 by Mandy Bradshaw.


There is an art to crafting a good homepage (or landing page) for a website. A good homepage is a fine balance of visual interest, capture strategy, just enough information (and the right information!), and just the right amount of sass. Find that balance and you've got a killer mouse trap; miss that balance and you'll lose your audience.
And the first way to tell is by looking in your Analytics at a number called your "bounce rate".
The Bounce Rate is the percentage of bounced visits to your site.
A bounce is calculated as a single-page view or single-event trigger in a session or visit.
A user clicks on a link deep into your site sent by a friend, reads the information on the page, and closes the browser.
A user comes to your home page, looks around for a minute or two, and immediately leaves.
A user comes directly to a reference page on your site from a web search, leaves the page available in the browser while completing other tasks in other browser windows and the session times out.
While there are exceptions, for the most part a bounce means your site failed to convert.
Three of these four reasons are not neutral occurrences; not to be rude, but they are your problems of your making.
How can I fix my bounce rate?
Fixing your bounce rate generally requires that you take a hard look at your site's content, design, and layout. It requires a hefty amount of introspection and truly having a critical eye for analyzing and identifying your site's failures. Hiring an information architect and usability strategist to help you analyze your digital strategy can be a wise, and inexpensive consultation.
The purpose of the architect/strategist will be to dissect the various ways that people are coming to your site, why they're coming to your site, and draw big circles around the site's problem areas and ways that it is failing to convert.
So take a look at your site's Analytics and your bounce rate. Just how high is that number site-wide? How high is that number when broken down along your different traffic sources?
Then ask yourself why and can it be better.
The bounce rate of my blog is on about 30% -45% ... don't know, is this good or terrible?
I'd rate that as good/acceptable. When it gets above 40-50% is when you really should be worried, but at the same time, always think about how you can lower it.
Good to know ... my goal is to hold readers as long as possible on the blog. The bounce rate was until now not my focus, I need to take a closer look. Thanks for the post, very interesting!
Good and accurate write up. Bounce rate is something I'm always trying to improve and keep an eye on, but it's not an easy stat to lower as you mention. Requires lots of tweaking and tracking.
I used to obsess about my bounce rate until someone told me to stop and a group of experienced bloggers shared their bounce rate. The reason it was so high is because people were following links, reading the article, commenting, then leaving.
I'd still like it to be lower, so I'm working on that, but at least I'm heading in the right direction.
Hi Kimberly, you should always obsess about your bounce rate, and just because others rate is high, doesn't mean that yours should be. Getting people to your site is good, but once they're there, you want them to finish the article they just read AND THEN READ ANOTHER! You want them to comment, and most comment submissions force a refresh of the web page (making it a non-bounce). And if they're coming to your homepage and bouncing, you definitely need to work on your landing page.
Excellent article David. My bounce rate use to be around 30. I know we made some changes recently, but it's up around 50's. I know it's only been a month since the changes and the up-tick. Should I check back next month? Or start scrutinizing things? I know I'll need an un-biased eye though.


text:
Jenni Dale Lord Band
Lubbock, Texas, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2012
Lubbock, Texas, United States
Established on Jan, 2012
Band Americana Country
Share Jenni Dale Lord Band's EPK!
"Fallout Shelter Review"
The long running question about 'nature vs. nurture' can often arise when it comes to music. Is there something about the Mississippi Delta water or the prominent hard times of racism that resulted in most of the great blues pioneers rising from that fertile ground? And what about Texas...is it the innate "attitude" or is there something about the soil that sprouts so many great musicians and songwriters?
Jenni Dale Lord grew up in Lubbock, TX...the same Lubbock that claims Buddy Holly, Mac Davis, Natalie Maines, Delbert McClinton, Joe Ely and a host of others. She's not on those lofty plains just yet but if history has it's way her songwriting and majestic voice may put her on the path that will one day include a road sign just for her. The songs are strong, heartfelt in one breath and whiskey soaked with "don't fuck with me I'm from Texas" attitude in the next. The 'red-dirt' Texas country sound has a life of it's own outside the watered down, adolescent pap that has become Nashville country music and singer/songwriters like Jenni Dale Lord reap the benefits. That's a good thing...country music should be more of an attitude and less a commercial for beer, trucks and misogyny.
There's no doubt these songs can stand on their own and that Jenni Dale Lord can sit on a barstool by herself and more than adequately convey the softness of a song like 'Out of the Blue.' When your playing a 'home game' you can add a full band and all of the texture that allows...when you're on the road with the inherent costs of lugging around musicians you had better have a repertoire that holds up on it's own. Bringing a guitar slinger like Steve Lott along not only adds a substantial layer of texture it also adds a layer of comfort for an up and coming musician 1000 miles from the comforts of home. Lott is a seasoned pro that has mentored many young performers on professionalism, performance art and structure.
Where Jenni Dale Lord separates herself from a crowded pack is sheer attitude and confidence in her material and that comes back to the West Texas roots. She's brash but not cocky. She can deliver the 'cheap motel' pulp novel score 'Free Whiskey' with a sweet innocence that's almost humorous and entirely believable and then flip to an all-to-familiar relationship gone bad saga like 'Already Gone' with ease. Melodic songs with tight, biting lyrics delivered with power, confidence and woman-in-charge chutzpah...gotta love that!
-Bill Hurley - Fallout Magazine
"Never Let Go - Review"
"Texas Americana with a kick. That's how I would describe the new album "Never Let Go" by the Jenni Dale Lord Band. To start with, the songwriting is superb. The lyrics are real and tangible, they spin emotions right into the music. Jenni has a razor sharp voice and a great ear for phrasing. Not only is she a great singer, she knows how to sing a song and connect with the listener. The new single "There We Were" is out now (featuring Kent Mings), it's a hit that will get stuck in your head and have you singing along. I am partial to the title cut "Never Let Go," that's the one I have on repeat at the moment. The lovely lady from Lubbock delivers big time with this CD, pick it up and thank me later!"
-Kenny Graves - Bridge the Beats Magazine
"HubCityMusic.com Review"
There is an element of pure country in Jenni Dale's music, but her songwriting and performances are an amalgam of country, rock, blues, folk, and more, making her style unique and all her own... She IS going places, and fast … I was listening to her CD, and I was thinking how "Willie" has "monster hit" written all over it. It's catchy, clever, and there's not a wasted word or note in the whole song.
-Paul Johnson - HubCityMusic.com
"Free Whiskey Album Review"
The Jenni Dale Lord Band Free Whiskey Independent Release
One of the rewarding joys of ageing is getting to watch and learn from seasons of maturity. Some of us mature slowly. We need time to hone our powers of observation, our capacities to process what we observe, and our abilities to express the outcome of those cognitive activities. Others of us seem born with that kind of maturity. They seem able to read the world — to interpret life in all its moments and facets, in all its attendant emotion, those that are dark and those that are radiant and transcendent — and to express what they read in ways that let the rest of us connect to their reading simply and beautifully. One such person born with that kind of maturity is Jenni Dale Lord.
In November of 2014, I was granted the privilege of reviewing Jenni's previous release, Never Let Go . At that point, she was already mature beyond her years. Never Let Go was more than promising. Jenni's voice, the singular voice comprising her authorial voice and her singing voice, was already distinctly discernible. Her writing was insightful and confident. Her singing was effectively evocative. Regardless of whether you're inclined to think she'd found her calling, or her calling had found her, she was quite clearly where she belonged. And so it is with Free Whiskey .
As an indication of her artistic-vision-as-unifying-force, Jenni is accompanied by the same band with which she recorded Never Let Go , with one exception. The venerable Steve Lott still plays lead guitar. Andrew Mason still plays bass. But Bucky Broadus has replaced Tony Garcia behind the drums (although, Tony guests on percussion). And Free Whiskey boasts a long list of backing vocalists and guest musicians. But no one steals the show from the band. And nothing overshadows the brilliance of Jenni Dale Lord's talent. The proof is right here:
Free Whiskey : The title track opens like a Pandora's box of unexpected surprises, all of them intriguing and enjoyable. From the first swell of the horn section to Steve Lott's layered guitar tracks, from Andrew Mason's walking bass lines to Roy Agee's trombone fills, from Bucky Broadus' brushed snare to the rueful knowingness of Jenni's lyrics, we're put on notice: This disc will be estimable by any measure. Stick around.
Back There Again : Aside from the soft beauty of its melody and Jenni's delivery, this is all you need to contemplate about this song:
But when I was seventeen
And they crowned me cotton queen,
Gravity was my friend.
Oh, to be back there again.
I don't know what's more touching about that lyric — its gentle, longing whimsy or the fact that a woman so young can sing it so beautifully, with a peaceful acceptance that suggests all of life is exactly as it should be. If the combination of yearning and celebration in this song doesn't get you, it's time to have your tear ducts checked.
Someone to Believe : Why is it that the most subtle wallops are the most powerful? If this track weren't a stone showcase for every one of Jenni Dale Lord's gifts (it is), it would be a showcase for Steve Lott. I'll refrain from spoilers about the story this song tells. But I have to say the sympathetic interplay between Jenni and Steve is magical, mystical. As many times as I've played the cut, I've never decided if I'm listening for the lyrics, for Jenni's voice, or for Steve's fills and lead parts. Thank God I don't have to choose or know. Neither do you. Just cue it up and revel in the artistry.
Me and My Brother : Imagine having the audacity to put Commander Cody , Lyle Lovett , Jim Whitman , and Ogden Nash in a blender. Imagine having the talent to pull it off. Now imagine making it sound effortless, to say nothing of careening, pedal-to-the-metal fun. I'd have been skeptical that a young lady as gentle and poetic as Jenni could conjure a convincing Bonnie to her brother's Clyde. I'd also have been wrong. And I don't know who made the decision to let Steve Lott play his guitar with reckless raunch on this track. But it was the right decision. Buckle up.
When I Drink : A lesser person, a lesser talent, a lesser purveyor of the language would have named this aching, slow waltz "I Only Dance When I Drink". But Jenni Dale Lord is too big a person with too much talent and too keen an appreciation of the language to telegraph and lessen the arresting irony of her own double entendre. In its every aspect, this song is wise in its self-awareness, fearless in its openness, and heartachingly beautiful.
Already Gone : More than anything else, I'd like to have been in the studio when this track was cut. I'd like to have seen the mutual admiration in the eyes of Jenni Dale Lord and Joe Ely. (Ely has to see Jenni as one of his musical progeny.) I'd like to have seen Bucky Broadus play his drums so deftly. I'd like to have seen Andrew Mason smile, knowing he could have played many more bass notes but didn't need to. I'd like to have seen Steve Lott weave his wizardry so sympathetically. I'd like to have asked Jenni how one so young can capture the agonizing intricacy of relationships so deeply and succinctly. And I'd like to have seen the expressions on all of their faces when they realized what they'd created.
Predictable (Here It Goes) : I don't know if the absence of credit for the arrangements on this disc is an oversight or if the arrangements were a group effort requiring no particular credit. But the arrangement on this track is every bit as affecting as the sentiments expressed, as Jenni's voice. Maybe it's in deference to the syllabic sophistication of Jenni's lyrics ("Please forgive my predictability/I know that that's your least favorite quality in me"). Maybe it's out of pure complementary musicianship. I don't know. But the notes not played in this track — the restraint, the reflective space, the need to force nothing — makes the listening all the more engaging and the emotional pull all the more touching.
I Need a Broken Heart : What? When I read the title of this track, I opened the lyrics I received with the disc and read them before I played the track. I had to know: Who needs a broken heart? Why? I found part of the answer in the punch line: "But darlin' don't be gone too long/I just need time to write one song." But I still wasn't prepared for what I heard. The horn section is in your face, accentuated with hand claps. The rhythm is Calypso-meets-New Orleans. And Jenni, with her tongue
firmly in her cheek, is ready to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous loneliness to get her Muse back. Nice twist.
Country Rock and Roll : Today's Pop Quiz is brought to you by the Jenni Dale Lord Band. Here we go: Who had the biggest smile:
A. Jenni when she cleverly riffed off of lyrics from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones?
B. Steve Lott when he swapped lead lines and then harmonized with Kyle Aaron's fiddle?
C. Andrew Mason and Bucky Broadus when they created a pocket deep enough to hold a Texas-sized bankroll?
D. Me, when I realized I'd been sitting with a huge grin plastered across my mug for three minutes and 52 seconds without even blinking?
E. All of the above.
And the answer is: Who the hell cares? Any time you can have this much fun doing anything, don't question it. Just do it. Then, if you can get away with it, do it again.
Find the Words : The instrumentation here recalls the work Sir George Martin did with the Beatles, particularly the strings he used in "Yesterday" (against Paul McCartney's wishes) and "Eleanor Rigby". Since the disc is dedicated to Jenni Dale Lord's dad, who passed away on December 19, 2015, I presume this track was written for him. It's a beautiful evocation of the struggle to process grief, loss, and finality: "Find the words/To say I'll never love a better man/Find the words/To tell my heart be brave/You're off in some better place/Than here on Earth/That's what I've heard/But I just can't find the words." Starting with Jenni's strummed chords on an acoustic guitar, over which Steve Lott plays a melodic, electric, overdriven lead line, violins and cellos find their way in on the first chorus. Their sadness is palpable. And as Steve's final solo fades away, the strings punctuate the last 30 seconds of the track emphatically and dramatically before holding an abruptly final bowed note. You can feel the pain of their passing.
Trust : The first time I drove over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel , I imagined being the guy in whatever meeting who said for the first time, "Hey! You know what we can do?" When I heard Steve Lott's furiously overdriven guitars opening this track, I imagined Steve saying something quite similar: "Hey, Jenni! You know what we can do?" The guitars don't have to bridge a body of water, but they do have to segue into a very poignant reflection on betrayal and resolve. And they descend masterfully into roiling rhythm riffs that rendezvous with the bass and drums solidly behind Jenni Dale Lord's impassioned vocals: "There's nothing left for us to say/'Cause I don't trust you with my heart." This track is a musical and emotional match, note for note and word for word.
Where Are You Now : This track plays like a long, languid anguish. Jenni Dale Lord's voice smolders with a longing passion that will no longer be requited: "It was a cold, cold December/But the heat our bodies made/Could've burnt down the house/Where are you now?" The anger hinted at by the syncopated rhythm chirp with which Steve Lott opens the cut is unleashed in his scorching solo, made ethereal by playing it through reverb and delay. After the second verse, Andrew Mason shows the adroitness of his own talent, adding melodic lines that play as a counter-narrative to Jenni's plaintive lyrics, managing to be at once attention-grabbing and subtle. And this track may be the measure of Bucky Broadus's own artistry: It wasn't until the third listen that I noticed what he was doing with his bass drum. Alternating single and double kicks — with faint, syncopated taps on his snare drum that echo Steve Lott's opening chords — he holds the time like an anchor. And when it's time to pick it up, his snare is like a slightly muffled rifle shot, with a spare sprinkling of cymbal over the top. No clutter. Nothing unnecessary. All class and controlled finesse. It takes a while to get over the throbbing in your chest after this cut.
Being Me: The final track on the disc strikes an unorthodox and uncanny balance of melancholy and self-satisfaction, of self-defeat and comfort in one's skin: "Tomorrow I'll face the cold truth once again/When I wake alone while she's kissing your chin/And I'll turn to your pillow, confused, but I'll grin/From a lifetime of being me." The music plays like a Tyrolean waltz, with Steve Lott's acoustic guitar dancing lyrical figures around Wade McNutt's accordion. And the lasting effect is one of wonder: Even at the end of another ruthless self-examination, Jenni Dale Lord emerges whole, strong, triumphant.
In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say I've been a fan and reviewer of Steve Lott's work for more than 20 years. It pleases me immensely to hear, to know, Jenni Dale Lord has inspired Steve's best work to date. I don't know for whom I should be happier — Steve for finding Jenni or Jenni for finding Steve. But I do know their finding each other cannot be an accident. Musical relationships like this are gifts of the spirit. Talents like these are gifts of the spirit. And the paths of these two spirits were intended to cross. We're beneficiaries of the fact that they recognized the gifts when they were given them. And for that, we should be as honored as we are grateful for their sharing those gifts.
Since Free Whiskey is the work of the band that bears Jenni Dale Lord's name, and since she wrote every song on the disc, I tip my hat to Jenni for finding the work of her heart, for sharing that work so generously, for honing her talent so diligently, and for having the courage to do all three. I can't be sure where she goes from here. No one can be sure. We can only be sure it will be up.
In my review of Never Let Go, I wrote this: "The disc that follows this one is breathtaking to imagine." I'll gladly suffer accusations of immodesty to say I've never been happier to be correct. And I'm humbled to bear witness to this season of Jenni Dale Lord's maturity.
December 2016 - Mark O'Brien - O'Brien Communications group
"Never Let Go CD Review"
"Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different than that from which it is torn." (Eliot, T.S., The Sacred Wood)
By T.S. Eliot's definition, Jenni Dale Lord is a poet both mature and good. She's young. But she's mature enough to have solution well and artfully as evidenced by an assortment of recognizable shards throughout this disc. And she's good enough to have turned those shards from random splinters into songs very much different from their sources. After all, it's long-since established: "There is nothing new under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 1:9).
By any definition, Jenni Dale Lord also is canny enough to have assembled one crack unit to constitute her band. Steve Lott, lead guitarist, is a veteran of the road and his own 20-year international recording career. Andrew Mason is a young bassist who plays with the accomplished understated grace of an old pro. And drummer, Tony Garcia, has an infallible feel for the pocket and just enough flair to be perfect. As for the material, that speaks for itself. - Mark O'Brien - O'Brien Communications Group
"Art Dissections by Andy Eppler"
The first thing that is really striking to me about this album is the voice that is featured on it. Jenni's voice is that of a strong woman and even though she is often singing sweetly, it doesn't play like what you might call a "girl song". That is, I'm sad to say, a rare thing to hear these days. She sounds powerful. This kind of performance is unique and there is no "girl song" feel undermining the album. This is a straight songwriting album, as far as I can tell. The lyrics are fun and well put together. They flow nicely and make for easy and positively charged listening. As the hippies might say, this record has "good vibes".
The overall production values are high across the board. I don't know what prices are like at Crossroads Recording Studio in Lubbock, Texas but this shit sounds expensive. Tones are warm and close. The guitars are impressively played and carry most of the groove of these tunes. There are a few examples of "Holy Fucking Shit" electric guitar solos on here as well. In the mastering seat on this album is local legend Alan Crossland and his collected years as a tone smith are on display here as well. Nothing is lost or jumbled or bleeding into the tonal territory of another instrument. I love this kind of mixing because it's easy to hear individual instruments and follow their parts.
I think Jenni deserves an album this good. She has content worth producing and sharing. I'm glad she's in the game. As far as standout tracks are concerned, there are several worth mentioning in more detail. The first one I really stopped and played again was "Lover, Don't Leave" it stands apart musically from the rest of the tunes with minor tonality and a sort of Santana type guitar attack. It's a really strong tune about doin' it. I was actually surprised by the level of sexual content in it. It's very sensual and flirts with crossing the line into the graphic. It's excellently written and finds the balance between sweet and dirty. The phrase "I'll make you cum more" is one that calls for applause around my house. Clever and sexy is always a winning mix.
Another especially strong tune on Jenni's self-titled record is "Willie" which is a total classic in the making. It's one of those that could, I imagine, be picked up by some Nashville debutant show pony and provide Jenni a well deserved pay day. Jenni comes off as "Miss Bad Ass" sitting comfortably in some grime slicked Texas draft house. Strong tune. It sounds authentic and unforced because she's a good Texas girl at heart.
Another song I want to mention from this record is the first one on the disc. It's called "A New Me" and it's a pretty basic country tune recorded and composed with a wink to pristine classic country. It sounds like it's a cover of some older song from the golden age of this music but it's a fresh original from a strong songwriter who knows what pieces need to come together to create a well balanced song like this one.
Over all I'd say that this album is an insta-purchase for anyone who loves music from West Texas. The flavors of the area are captured well and mixed with a level of creativity and respect for the genre that is rare and lovely. I would probably classify this as "West Texas Soul" which is music that simply couldn't come from somewhere else and carries the stain of the flatlands on it. For enthusiasts of Lubbock music history I think this is an album to take note of. I hope you will pick it up and visit the site as well.
Featured performers are JT Paz, The Eddy Weir, Dr. Curtis Peoples, Brian Dunhan, The Legend John Hartin, Lonnie Joe Howell, Steve Anderson, Amy DeVoge, Mike Morgan and Terry Vincent. - prairierscholars.com
"Reboot Album Review"
While a song from her previous album continues to climb the Texas charts ("Already Gone" is currently #25 on TRRR), Jenni Dale Lord Band dropped a new album on us last week; that album is called 'Reboot' and it's a stunner. There is a comforting familiarity to her music, even on first listen; this is the kind of artist that will make a new fan out of you when you weren't looking.
Jenni is one that just spits out earworm after earworm. Each of her albums has a distinctly different sound, and while I enjoy them all, 'Reboot' has a lyrical style that conveys well with her vocals and effortlessly finds a spot in the corner of my brain.
'Reboot' came in under the radar for me; I was turned onto Jenni's current radio single, but I gravitated to her new album almost immediately, falling in love with its varying degrees of honky-tonk and folky Americana. With lyrical content that feels like it was written from the corner booth of a low-lit down-and-outer bar, this one will hit you right in your country soft spot.
Jenni's voice has a style that doesn't need to prove it's feminine; it doesn't drip with sugary sweetness, there is power and confidence in her delivery. That's not to say that it's trying to be something it's not, quite the contrary, I don't think for a second that there is anything but honesty and reality in the delivery of her emotional lyrics. Some of the analogies and comparisons might seem cliché with someone else delivering them, but Jenni sings them in a way that leads us to believe this is just a snippet of the highlight (Or Lowlight?) reel of her life.
I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the quality of the players and production on this whole recording. This is an album that could stand alone on lyrics and vocals, but it's so much better for the quality of its layout and well-played instrumentals. I often find myself more drawn to stripped down music, but I'm very impressed with how perfect everything works together to create such a well-rounded album.
"A New Me" is a fun one to lead with; it sets the tone for the album, letting us know that this isn't going to be just another sappy love song album. While we are treated to a couple love songs, this album is going to resonate for its eloquently written heartbreak songs. "I Think He Still Loves Me", "Smile", "A New Me", and "Cigarettes and Alcohol" all have well assembled relatable lyrics and creative instrumentals. It's albums like this that sneak up on me, reminding me just how much great music there is out there that I simply haven't heard yet.
-Douglas Palmer, IOUMusic.net - IOUMusic.net
Jenni Dale Lord (self-title) - 2012
Never Let Go - 2014
Free Whiskey - 2016
REBOOT - 2018
Part Texas, part Bakersfield, part old school and new, Jenni Dale Lord Band has created a style all its own, blending elements of country, rock, and blues into one tasty emulsification.
Jenni Dale Lord rocked the live music capital of the world, Austin, Texas, for over a decade, but has since returned to her roots in Lubbock to claim her place in the West Texas music scene. After years of writing music on her own, Jenni Dale rounded up a group of amazing musicians to take her songs and set them on fire. Their high-energy and heartstring-pulling show entertains audiences far and wide.
Jenni Dale Lord Band includes acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, keys, and drums, but often brings in guest players and instruments. With three successful albums and several charted radio singles, including a duet with the incomparable Joe Ely, the band is working on its fourth studio album set to release in 2020. Stay tuned!
Jenni Dale Lord
Bucky Broadus
Michael Cano
Curt Hyden
Aaron Dick


The bursary is granted in any semester based on financial need and community service to a student who is a member of the Squamish, Fort Langley, or Cheam First Nations and who have demonstrated volunteer involvement in service to the university or the community at large. The bursary may be granted to graduate or undergraduate students in all disciplines and fields of study. The successful student will have completed a minimum of 30 credit hours and will have achieved a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.33. The application should include a discussion of the student's volunteer involvement in community activities and confirmation of the student's status in the Squamish, Fort Langley or Cheam First Nations.