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Experts explain what the Big East means for UConn financially
Caitlin Nuclo,
Caitlin Nuclo
Rob Polansky,
Mike Savino
The University of Connecticut was officially welcomed back into the Big East Conference on Thursday.
NEW YORK (WFSB) - The University of Connecticut was officially welcomed back into the Big East Conference on Thursday.
The announcement was made by conference officials in New York City around noon.
It's big news for fans hoping to rekindle some old rivalries.
UConn's athletics programs, excluding football, will begin play in the Big East at the start of the 2020-2021 academic year.
They'll be able to face off against teams like Georgetown, Villanova and Xavier.
UConn's Board of Trustees officially voted to accept the Big East's invitation during a meeting on Wednesday.
"The opportunity to add a member who is a national brand that's in our geographic footprint, who has an outstanding fan base with proven support of our biggest annual event," said Val Ackerman, Big East Commissioner.
The Huskies were a charter member of the old Big East Conference, which ended when a group of Catholic schools broke away to form the new one. UConn was left behind in the hold conference, which became the American Athletic Conference.
Though the name is now familiar, UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma warns that it's not the same conference it was.
UConn became a national power in basketball as a Big East school.
Three men's titles were won under coach Jim Calhoun and eight women's titles came under Auriemma.
The move will cost UConn a lot of money in the beginning due to exit fees from the AAC and millions of dollars in entry fees.
Channel 3 sat down with an expert to see if this is a good deal for UConn financially.
"I'm not a big fan of it. I think it's similar to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic," said Gil Fried, University of New Haven.
Gil Fried, Chair of the University of New Haven's Sport's Management Department, said the decision does nothing to fix some of UConn's problems.
He said Connecticut has always been a tough sports market, and that includes UConn.
Josh Shuart, on the other hand, disagrees. The Chair of Marketing and Sport Management at Sacred Heart says this is a great business move because fans love the Big East days.
"It's sort of been a, I don't want to say passionless, but it's been a struggle conjuring up those rivalries since that move," Shuart said.
One big disagreement between the two is what this means for UConn football.
The Big East doesn't sanction football and the agreement bars UConn from talking to any of the top give football conferences prior to entering the Big East.
Once it joins, UConn would need to pay $30 million if the school wants to leave the Big East within the first 6 years. That fee drops to $15 million after year 6, and then $10 million after year 10.
That's more than any other Big East school would need to pay.
"Without having a major conference for football, which is the main money driver, UConn is still going to be facing financial trouble," Fried said.
Of the 225 school schools that compete in Division 1 athletics, only 14 broke even or turned a profit. Another 82 needed subsidies of up to $10 million, including schools like Michigan and Auburn, with big time football programs.
The other 129 schools needed subsidies of more than $10 million, led by UConn's $41 million.
Shuart says this means UConn will shift focus from football back to what it does best, basketball.
"I hope it's not the be all end all priority, and if it is this isn't going to get any easier for them," Shuart said.
UConn officials said that they remain committed to keeping Football in the NCAA's top division. Options include remaining in the AAC or joing another conference for football only, or becoming independent.
AAC Commissioner, Mike Aresco, released a statement on Thursday saying, "The University of Connecticut has announced its withdrawal from the American Athletic Conference. We wish UConn well. We will next address the exit procedure mandated by our conference bylaws. Our conference will continue to move forward in pursuit of its national goals in football, men's and women's basketball, and Olympic sports."
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Jules Winnfield Jun 27, 2019 3:21pm
How much did this cost taxpayers? UCONN is notorious for its outlandish spending then holding their hats out for state and federal funding. Seems very irresponsible considering how fat CT is in debt, and how bad the student loan situation is. Maybe it's time to eliminate sports programs from colleges and make education far more affordable. Sickens me to know that I'm paying for this BS in one way or another.
Feddup Jun 28, 2019 8:41am
With you Jules. Look at UCONN football. We pay a head coach, asst each, trainers, tutors, etc, etc. They also earn paid time off, medical, automatic pay raises, retirement, and bunches more. The facilities cost millions, sports equip costs big time. Travel, accommodations, meals etc. For what? Then consider how many team sports UCONN supports, like a dozen or so. Oh yeah, for each sport [almost all], you have a mens AND women team, coaches trainers, travel, fees, and so9 on. A chess team would cost a lot less than say our football, or baseball teams, and probably draw the same number of fans. Almost forgot, there is a movement to pay these student athletes too. League exit/entrance fees in the millions? I will not attend a college sporting event due to cost, travel logistics, and time, but I am forced to pay for these programs through my tax dollars. Make University education again.


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Fighting with the LTTE in the north killed seventeen in several actions on land and at sea..
November 27; The LTTE has offered to hold peace talks in a neutral site. At the same time, the LTTE doubted that there could be a peaceful end to the war in Sri Lanka.
November 25; Thousands of refugees continue to flee the fighting in the north.
November 24; Artillery duels between the army and LTTE gunners continued in the north. Over a hundred people on both sides have died in the last two days. The government ordered it's troops to move away from the 17th century Catholic shrine in Madhu. Some 40 civilians taking refuge in the church complex have been killed, and over 60 injured, by LTTE shelling in the last week. The Red Cross run a refugee camp in the area, but that did not stop the LTTE from shelling near the camp to hit government troops. With national elections coming up, the recent losses to the LTTE are a major issue and may prompt a new government. It took the army nineteen months and 3,600 dead to capture the territory they lost in a week recently.
November 22; Government troops have withdrawn from the 240 acre Madhu Catholic church compound in the north, in order to encourage the LTTE to stop shelling the refugees assembled there. The 450 year old church is a religious shrine for the Catholic minority on the island..
November 21; Army troops and refugees assembled near the Madhu church in the north are being shelled by the LTTE.
November 20; The government reports that the renewed fighting with the LTTE has killed over a hundred soldiers, LTTE fighters and civilians so far.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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GROUSSET, RENÉ
GROUSSET, RENÉ (b. Aubais, Gard, France, 5 September 1885; d. Paris, 12 September 1952; Figure 1), French historian who based his wide-ranging research on the studies of the leading French orientalists of his time, and wrote works of synthesis on various aspects of Oriental history and culture. He was forced by ill health to abandon his formal university education after graduating from the University of Montpellier in history and geography (1903), but continued studying oriental art and history on his own. In 1912 he joined the administrative staff of the Beaux-Arts in Paris and embarked on the research for his first major publication, Histoire de l'Asie. During the First World War he was severely wounded and received the Croix de Guerre and the Légion d'Honneur. After the war he resumed his research and the Histoire de l'Asie was published in three volumes in 1922. It proved a great success with the educated public. He was appointed assistant curator at the Musée Guimet, Paris, from 1925, and professor of Indian art and culture (indianisme) at the École du Louvre, in 1928. After some years as curator at the Musée Cernuschi, Paris (1933-44), he returned to the Musée Guimet as curator. His teaching career in Paris continued with his appointment in 1941 as professor of the history and geography of the countries of the Far East at the École des Langues Orientales and later, in 1945, as professor at the École de la France d'outre-mer, and at the École des Sciences politiques. He traveled in Persia and Syria (1929-30) and visited Japan in 1949. He was affiliated to a number of academic societies in Paris, Tehran, and Tokyo, and was a member of the Société asiatique from 1924, and the managing editor of the Journal asiatique for a decade (1936-46). He was among the founders of the Franco-Persian Société des Études iraniennes et de l'Art persan (1930) which organized lectures at the Musée Guimet, printed in its Publications. He was elected to the Académie Française in 1946.
Although Grousset never acquired proficiency in any of the oriental languages, he used his formidable flair for reading and collating a vast range of material culled from different sources to write many works of synthe-sis on the history and culture of the main eastern countries (China, Japan, Central Asia, Persia, Armenia, the Middle East in general, etc.). He focused mainly on artistic and philosophical aspects rather than economic and material issues, and concentrated upon the affinities between civilizations and the historical role of prominent men of action (Attila, Genghis Khan, Tamerlane, etc.). Many eminent French scholars including Sylvain Lévi, Louis Massignon, Paul Pelliot, Gaston Maspero, Henri Massé, and Louis Renou were impressed by the elegance of his style and the wealth of the documentation mustered by him and gave him much advice and encouragement. They regarded him and his prolific output as a reliable and necessary link between their own specialized works and a cultured public curious about other cultures and new perspectives.
Grousset's major works include: Les civilisations de l'Orient, 4 vols., Paris, 1929-30; tr. C. A. Phillips as The civilisations of the East, New York-London, 1931-34.
L'épopée des Croisades, Paris, 1926, 2nd ed. 1939; tr. N. Lindsay as The Epic of the Crusades, New York, 1970.
Histoire des croisades et du royaume franc de Jérusalem, 3 vols., Paris, 1934-36.
L'Empire des Steppes: Attila, Gengis-Khan, Tamerlan, 1st ed, Paris, 1939; tr. N. Walford as The Empire of the Steppes, A History of Central Asia, New Brunswick, 1970.
Le Conquérant du monde: vie de Gengis-khan, Paris, 1944; tr. M. McKellar and D. Sinor as Conqueror of the World, New York, 1966.
Histoire de l'Arménie des origines à 1071, Paris, 1947. La Chine et son art, Paris, 1950; tr. H. Chevalier, as Chinese Art and Culture, New York, 1959.
Works on Persia: "La fresque de Cehel Sutun à Ispahan," Artistica 5, 1929, pp. 196-8.
"L'Iran extérieur: son art," Bulletin de la Société des Études iraniennes et de l'Art persan, 2, 1932.
"Travaux francais en Iran," La Revue de Paris 15, June 1932, pp. 885-99.
L'exposition iranienne au Musée Cernuschi, Paris, 1948, vol. 1, pp. 105-11.
"L'Ãme de l'Iran et l'humanisme," in L'Ãme de l'Iran, ed. P. Grousset, L. Massignon, and H. Massé, Paris, 1951, pp. 7-11.
Biographies and bibliographical works on Grousset: Special issue of France-Asie devoted to Grousset, "La vie et l'šuvre de René Grousset," IX/88-89, Sept.- Oct. 1953, pp. 731-938; includes a bibliography of his works, pp. 935-38.
P. Gaxotte, Discours de réception à l'Académie française, élu en remplacement de M. René Grousset, le 29 octobre 1953, Publications de l'Institut de France 20, Paris, 1953.
D. F. Lach, "René Grousset, 1885-1952," in S. W. Halperin ed., Some 20th Century Historians: Essays on Eminent Europeans, Chicago, 1961, pp. 201-25.
M. Lalou, "René Grousset (1885-1952)," JA 240, 1952, pp. 387-88.
(Jacqueline Calmard-Compas)
Vol. XI, Fasc. 4, pp. 369-370
calmard-compas
grousset
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Hillel must put Jewish diversity and social justice above Israel allegiance
By +972 Magazine April 25, 2017 | Edit
Just as Israel has banned BDS supporters from entering the country and demonizes those who show dissent, Hillel has sent a message to Jewish students that it only recognizes a certain type of Jew, and sees the rest of us as disposable.
By Ally Fernandez
Jewish students with Open Hillel protest the expulsion of an LGBTQ Jewish group from Ohio State Hillel, New York, April 16, 2017. (Gili Getz)
I am exactly the kind of Jew whom Naftali Bennett thinks should not exist. I am a proud, Puerto Rican, feminist, Jewish woman of color who stands in solidarity with Palestine and supports the call for BDS. I am the product of an interfaith and interracial marriage, a strong Ashkenazi mama and an amazing Boricua dad, making me fully Puerto Rican and Jewish, not fractions of either.
I grew up in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, where I knew very few Jews outside my family. When I began my freshman year at Vassar College in New York state, I immersed myself in the Vassar Jewish Union, our campus Hillel chapter. Having spent my life on an island that faces deep economic and social crises, and which grapples with lack of sovereignty and the legacy of colonization, my gut reaction when hearing about the Palestinian cause differed from that of my Jewish classmates. But luckily for me, in the spring of 2014 — before I arrived — the Vassar Jewish Union (Vassar College Hillel) became one of the first Hillels to officially 'open' and drop Hillel International's exclusionary "Standards of Partnership."
While I am still often placed on the outside of my Jewish community due to my racial and class-based experiences of Judaism and my political views, my experiences with the VJU have enabled me to access Jewish communal resources and have furthered my commitment to Judaism and open discourse. And I have had the opportunity to learn so much more than I ever could from the narrow view that Hillel International currently promotes.
Throughout my years at Vassar, I've learned about Jewish history, religion, and traditions, and formed friendships with Jewish students with a range of experiences and viewpoints. I've engaged in some of the hardest and most productive conversations here, right in our Bayit and through the lens of my Jewish identity. I am a leader in my campus chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace, and have worked on campaigns with Students for Justice in Palestine and other student of color-led movements for BDS and Palestinian human rights.
In short, I am deeply engaged with the Jewish community and with Israel/Palestine, and my activism in no way contradicts my Jewish identity; rather, I know that I am acting on my Jewish values.
Yet mine is not the kind of engagement that Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett and other Hillel mega-donors want to see. Bennett recently launched "Mosaic United," a $66 million "Jewish engagement" and "identity-building" program focused on the Jewish diaspora. Mosaic aims to combat "critical discourse" on Israel and to promote a sexist, homophobic, and anti-interfaith vision of the Jewish family. By partnering with Mosaic, Hillel has chosen to marginalize and silence Jewish students like me.
Working with Mosaic has worsened Hillel's policies of exclusion. Most recently, under pressure from Hillel International, Ohio State Hillel (which received a $73,000 grant from Mosaic United) expelled B'nai Keshet, Ohio State's Jewish queer group, for partnering with Jewish Voice for Peace on a fundraiser for LGBTQ refugees. OSU Hillel cited Hillel International's Standards of Partnership in justifying its decision to punish students for supporting refugees and oust LGBTQ Jewish students from the campus Jewish community.
In response to these exclusionary policies and practices, during the Pesach holiday of liberation, I helped lead an Open Hillel rally in New York in solidarity with B'nai Keshet. We called on OSU Hillel and Hillel International to re-admit B'nai Keshet, drop the Standards of Partnership and reject Mosaic United and Naftali Bennett's money and influence.
As long as Hillel remains closed it will foster division and prevent dialogue between Jewish students and other communities dedicated to social justice. As long as Hillel remains beholden to donors rather than students, it will promote a narrow, exclusionary, and overwhelmingly right-wing vision of politics and Jewish communal life.
When Hillel places allegiance to Israel and its donors above engaging with the most pressing social justice issues of our time — whether refugee rights, Black Lives Matter, or the movement for LGBTQ equality — it leaves behind too many people in the Jewish community. Most importantly, it leaves behind Jews with identities that make those movements just as personal to them as anything within the Jewish community.
Right now, just as Israel has banned BDS supporters from entering the country and demonizes and harasses those who show dissent, Hillel has sent a message to Jewish students that it only recognizes a certain type of Jew, and sees the rest of us as disposable. But the members of B'nai Keshet are not disposable. Queer Jews and refugees are not disposable. Palestinians are not disposable. Jews of color are not disposable. Jews coming from interfaith families are not disposable. Anti- and non-Zionist Jews are not disposable. I am not disposable.
Naftali Bennett sees pluralism, diversity, and open debate as signs of the degeneration of the Jewish community. Yet I and all of us at Open Hillel know that our diversity ensures the Jewish community's vibrancy and strength. We cannot allow ourselves to remain stagnant and close-minded. We are all a part of a living, breathing, dialoguing and disagreeing community, and we all belong at the Seder table.
Ally Fernandez is a junior at Vassar College studying English and Latin American Studies. She plans on attending graduate school and working towards a career in higher education and public service. In the meantime, she likes to organize, drink coffee, and spend time on the beach with her family when she's home.
Jews of color
Open Hillel
Hillel


I've been trying to "cut back" on my drinking, but it doesn't work. I got drunk last night and I regret it. So, I've quit drinking. If you're my friend please be supportive and don't offer me alcohol please.Thank you.
Reading about AKMA's hernia operation reminds me of my own hernia operation. My scar stings with the memory like Harry Potter's scar. This also reminds me of my tonsillectomy. I remember after the operation thinking, "this hurts WAY to much for it to be worth it. Note to self: remember how much this hurts." The funny thing is, I don't remember how much it hurt. My theory about anesthesia is that it's probably just as much about making you forget your pain as it is about making you not feel it. Would you choose to have more pain, but not remember it, or choose less pain but perpetual memory of it? I guess most people would choose no pain... ;-p Which reminds me of the Jack Handy quote, "I'd rather be rich than stupid." Enough associative memory fun...I hope you feel better AKMA. I'm still going to SD you. Actually, looking forward to SD'ing everyone this weekend in Boston. muahahaha!
I've been drinking too much alcohol in the evenings and drinking too much Diet Coke during the day. Diet Coke is starting to taste weird and I'm having trouble moderating my alcohol consumption. I'm going to go off aspartame and alcohol for 1 week and try to turn alcohol on again in moderation after a week. I think this will make me feel happier and give me more energy. If this were a controlled experiment, I wouldn't do both at the same time, but I'm pretty sure that drinking myself asleep and jolting myself awake is not very good for me.This is probably more information than anyone really wants about my life, but I figured that if I blog it, I'm more likely to keep this promise to myself. Oh, and anyone who seems me drinking Diet Coke or alcohol during the next week can slap me around with a trout.
As a Quaker, I wonder if you're allowed to think about hard-on's in church and joke about people's deaths on your blog. Or maybe being an A-List blogger forces you to resort to deadpan humor to tighten up your style. ;-|Doc SearlsOther dead Atkins headlines I'm still on the Atkins diet. Dr. Atkins isn't , of course. I mentioned that a couple days ago under the headline Ultimate Diet . Since then I've regretted not using either of two other headlines that came to mind at the time: 100% weight loss Dead weight Anyway, both Doc and I are on the Atkins Diet which is basically a low-carb diet. Many people swear by it, but many people continue to warn me against it. It's too bad that Dr. Atkins died, but at least he died of an injury and not of something that could be tied to the Atkins diet.
A few quotes from the proMED-mail, which is a good list to follow for on the ground updates from the global medical community.
Yesterday, I officially weighed in at our gym with witnesses and I came in at 67.3kg with my clothes on. My target was 68.5kg so I cleared it comfortably. (Again, flashbacks from my wrestling days.) I had challenged myself to stop drinking alcohol completely until I reach the target weight. I was off of alcohol for exactly 2 weeks. It was a good experience. I lost a lot of weight, found out that I was an alcoholic (addicted to alcohol) and that alcohol was lowering my productivity and my general emotional quality.
I am now 9kg lighter than when I started my Atkin's Diet program about a month ago. I weighed in this morning at home at 68.4kg which is just barely under my target of 68.5kg.
Is UN politics getting in the way of best practices?APTaiwanese accuse U.N. health agency of ignoring them; say it could aggravate spread of mystery illnessvia Technorati Hot Links.Also, Karuna Shinsho, former CNN and NHK anchorwoman now living in Hong Kong, has written a first hand report on Chanpon.org.
So I went on a walk as Dave Winer suggested. Then, I called Yuichi, my fat club partner and we decided to play squash and have a weigh-in.
So new rule. No more alcohol until I hit my target.
"It is rather slow-moving, rather restricted to families and hospitals, not a rip-roaring affair, but still very nasty. "There are no anti-viral drugs against this family of viruses, and there are no vaccines available. It will be a question of several years work. "But it is not fantastically infectious, so I wouldn't expect there to be a massive outbreak in other parts of the world."
Yesterday, the NYT reported the outbreak of a killer pneumonia in Asia. I was freaking out getting ready to blog about it when the WHO just announced that it has gone global.
Is Diet Coke bad for you? A lot of people think so.


For some reason, none of the cards with clan abilities are multicolored.
What this means is that each clan has easy access to all five abilities, although not necessarily the best examples of an ability. Sure, I can use Heir of the Wilds or Riverwheel Aerialist in my Sultai deck, but will they be as good as they would be in a Temur or Jeskai deck? Actually, maybe even better. Sometimes.
Sultai is a more controllish combination of colors. Sure, it can be built to be a more tempoish deck, but mostly you want to sit back, stabilize the board and put yourself in a situation where you can put your nicely constructed graveyard into a good use. In this sense Heir of the Wilds is a great card. It can trade with pretty much anything and can be a good beatdown card if you happen to need to go down that path. Sure, if you have ferocious, it would better (and key Sultai creatures tend to have three Power).
Riverwheel Aerialists on the other hand is a good finisher for a control deck. The Prowess is nice bonus, but the card works just fine without it. There aren't many cards that can blank it in the air. And Sultai has plenty of noncreature goodness to trigger the Prowess if need be.
But from a flavor standpoint this is a bit problematic. Clans don't get to show of their abilities as much, when any clan can abuse any mechanic. I get why this is possible (because of limited, where you need enough options for every deck, so that no one is forced into a corner in a draft, and it can limit the variance at least somewhat in sealed).
This is someone mitigated by cards in clan colors which facilitate or abuse the clan mechanics, but these are generally rare or even mythic. These include the clan leaders, Ascendancies, Charms (which generally have one mode that playes well with the clan mechanic) and several other tricolored cards.
Abzan has Ivorytusk Fortress to keep you creatures either attacking or outlasting without compromising your defenses, and Armament Corps to give those important +1/+1 counters to creatures that can't naturally gain them. Jeskai has Sage of the Inward Eye to gain extra benefit from all those noncreature spells and Warden of the Eye to play those spells twice. Sultai has Rakshasa Vizier to grow into immense sizes (you know, Become Immense permanently) from delving and Sultai Soothsayer to put cards into your graveyard. Mardu doesn't have anything as direct, but Ankle Shanker does make attacking (and thus triggering Raid) easier. Temur… well, Temur doesn't really have anything. Sure, they do have plenty of creatures with Power 4 or better, but so does Abzan.
These gold cards do help somewhat with the flavor, but they are still not readily available due to rarity in limited. The usual strategy of either limiting yourself to two colors, or going over and playing four or five in limited makes the flavor that much more hard to feel. Perhaps there's too much fixing in the format.
From development point of view, the game works nicely. You have plenty of options on how to make your deck and there doesn't seem to be a strategy you need to use to be able to be competitive. Abzan is very strong, but since that usually means more than one player will go into black-white, its not that devastating. From flavor point, not so much. Flavor-wise its pretty messy. Abzan and Mardu seem to be very different approaches philosophically, but they work very well together in the warrior-style deck.
This entry was posted in Magic: The Gathering and tagged abzan, flavor, flavor judge, jeskai, khans of tarkir, mardu, sultai, temur by Aki Vainio. Bookmark the permalink.
I only wish they give Temur something in the expansion. As flavor goes Ferocious is kind of nice, but it has already been done and the clan as it is doesn't even look that ferocious (when looking at the cards).


We've all said it. We've all heard it. And, more often than not, it's solid advice.
Whether you're trying to figure out why your TV won't turn on, looking for a reputable pediatrician, or trying to solve a problem at work, search engines give easy answers to hard questions.
Perhaps you're in the manufacturing business or some other B2B industry. You'd like to know how to show up when people are searching for your offerings.
There's a short, three letter answer to your problem. SEO.
Search engine optimization, often referred to as SEO, makes your website visible through search engines such as Google, Bing, or Yahoo. You probably already know this.
What you might not know is that SEO strategies fall on an ethical spectrum. white hat SEO is the ethical "good guy" approach and black hat SEO is the shadowy mob boss of the Internet.
It's your classic good vs. evil.
From our white-hat perspective, white hat SEO follows all of Google's best practices to bring long-term results, while black hat tries to take the easy way out.
White hat SEO is the most ethical way to go, but that doesn't mean it's the easiest. A lot goes into a successful white hat SEO strategy, and best practices are always changing. Don't be discouraged!
Think of it like remodeling your house. You can remodel the kitchen, the bathroom, your bedroom, or even finish your basement. But, your house won't stand if your foundation is moldy.
Here's how to keep your SEO foundation stable and strong.
Keywords should be visible enough to give the reader, and search engines, a clear idea of what you do.
Whatever you do, don't plaster it all over your site, or in every sentence of your blog posts. That's called keyword stuffing and Google will see right past that.
Inbound links make search engines see you as a valuable, trustworthy resource and reward your site with a solid domain authority.
The white hat way of earning links is creating valuable content that others want to share. Rand Fishkin, creator of Moz, is a big fan of white hat SEO.
As for the black hat ways of building links?
It can be tempting to just pay for a bunch of links, but chances are these sites won't be relevant to your content.
Also, while quantity helps, it's the quality of your inbound links that really matters. Create relevant content, link to relevant resources, and you'll have a great chance of earning quality inbound links without having to pay for them.
We've all seen comment sections with random spammy links. They're usually irrelevant, annoying, and nobody clicks on them.
Don't go around pasting links to your website in random comment sections. Google can see right through that, and it'll destroy your SEO efforts.
There's no underestimating the importance of quality images, CTAs (Calls to Action), or infographics. Key word there is quality. Poor quality content doesn't belong on your site, no matter the form. If you're creating these CTAs or images for no reason, don't even bother.
If you're currently working with an SEO provider, check your site against this list.. Some SEO providers think they're doing white hat tactics, but they're integrating black hat as well. Others like to use black hat tactics and pass them off as white hat.
If that quote scares you, throw on a black hat.


Everything we write about here at The Daily Driver Project feels personal – we're so in love with vintage cars that each one we meet and get to know is special to us in some way. Week after week, we bring you stories and coverage of other people's cars. Sure, we've formed a connection through meeting these cars and their owners at shows and special events, but we don't typically have the opportunity to share a personal history with the vehicle itself.
Meet the family Austin, who holds a very special place in our hearts. Cute as a button, isn't she? Previously owned by my grandparents, this little 1931 Austin was a part of our family for nearly 40 years. Of the five Austins that our family once owned, this girl was an absolute favorite.
Full of interesting textures and the patina of a bygone era, this pint-sized beauty has plenty of automotive character.
Sons Lance, Scott and Craig bought this for their father, Guy Railsback, as a gift in the 1970s. Found in El Monte on a used car lot, Lance had been looking for an Austin like this one for over a year. He happened upon the Austin purely by accident – while picking up wood from a lumber yard for a construction job, Lance noticed the little Austin, which was parked just around the corner.
Guy and his wife Nadine (pictured above) sold this Austin just over a year ago at auction to local resident Bruce Hearn, whose grandson is also named Austin. Bruce took that as a sign that he just had to own this car!
Bruce kindly brought the Austin by recently to show our family how the restoration of this vintage charmer was progressing. It was good to see this old girl again, and in such good hands. As we mentioned, Bruce lives locally in Whittier, and to date, this was the farthest trip the Austin had made since he purchased it.
Shortly after ownership, Bruce joined two car clubs, including the American Austin-Bantam Club, to learn more about his car and to find much-needed parts. As expected, these clubs and their members have been an incredible source of information on the history, restoration and care of these retro beauties.
Getting to know members of the Austin clubs led him to meet a man named Norm, who lived in Pasadena and had once owned a fleet of 25 Austins. After a few conversations and a visit, Bruce was able to purchase two engine blocks from Norm's stock. However, he later discovered later that both blocks were unusable, so he then ordered a block from a gentleman in New Jersey who remakes them. He also purchased the extra internal parts needed to make it all run.
After a year's worth of restoration, Bruce has had a chance to really get to know the Austin, solving some of her mysteries and still trying to find answers to a few others. He discovered that Model A and Austin parts are very similar, and as a result, some parts, like the side mirror, can be crossed over. After a long hunt for a radiator cap and coming up with one option for a $700 rooster cap, Bruce decided that a gas cap would work just fine for now. His next problem to solve? A slight knock in the engine. Despite his many hours of restoration, this little girl is still demanding his attention. Thankfully, Bruce is happy to oblige.
Bruce knew the tires needed to be replaced, and after quite a bit of research, he landed at Lucas Classic Tire in Long Beach, a company which manufactures tires of all sizes, including ones to fit his Austin. Originally warned not to take the wheels apart, it later became obvious that it was unavoidable. Later, putting things back together posed a serious challenge, so much so that he had a machinist friend fabricate a tool to enable the reassembly of the wheels. Thankfully, and after much effort, they were able to get everything back together and the Austin was back on her feet, so to speak.
Here's my grandmother, Nadine Railsback. I have a strong memory of her driving this Austin to one of her favorite pastimes, golf. For years, she drove an Austin just like this everyday to her job at Baker Oil Tools in Huntington Park, including right up through the last months of her pregnancy with her first son. How she got behind the wheel (at 9 months pregnant) in this little car, we'll never know! Notice how close she is to the steering wheel – Bruce had an upholsterer reduce the stuffing so there would be a bit more space and comfort while behind the wheel. Can you imagine the ride being any closer than it is here?
Here's my Uncle Lance, closing the hood as Bruce gets ready to head off to a weekend errand at our local Home Depot. If only cars could talk! Spiffed up and sporting new tires, I imagine the Austin would say that she's quite happy to be running about town.
When Bruce gets home, the Austin will have plenty of company in the garage. Bruce is also the proud owner of a TR6, a '62 Ford Army Jeep, and a '67 Morris Minor Tourer – and the Austin adds wonderful new variety to his collection. Each of his vehicles enjoy their time outside of the garage; his jeep has been used to transport veterans during the Whittier Holiday Parade, and the entire group made a fine showing at the Whittier Area Car Classic earlier this year.
We wish Bruce the very best as he continues to restore, drive, and enjoy his Austin. Nothing makes our family happier than to see it in his hands, where we know it will continue to receive the loving care it so deserves. We look forward to meeting up with the Hearn family and their many classic cars at future shows and events!


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Faith-Popular Culture-Imagination Curious about how they fit together.
Everyday Resources
Popologetics Preview
The Movie Night Kit
Life in the Twittersphere
Outline for "Uncovering Culture: Engaging Popular Culture with Kids"
Popular Culture as Alt. Religion
Popular Culture, Apologetics, and the Discourse of Desire
Jack Be Evil, Jack Be Quick
Hunter's "To Change the World" Digest
Book Reception Speech for "Popologetics"
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Riffing on Mehldau: Anti-Classical, Pro-Pop, and Escaping History by Imrovising in the Moment, Gunning for Transcendence
For Saturday morning breakfast, we often listen to jazz. This morning, we listened to the Brad Mehldau Trio, Art of the Trio 4: Back at the Vanguard. Mehldau's playing on the disc is exceptional. The trio crushes the set, a sort of musical smack-down via aggressive virtuosity. If you're just starting to appreciate jazz, or Mehldau in particular, I wouldn't recommend the disc - there's just so much information coming at you at once, it's hard to process. Even now, I have to be in the right mood. He's just that good. My 13-year-old daughter, listening with me, said, "How do you even play that?" I just rolled my eyes and waved my hand in front of my face as if her question were a pesky fly. I don't play that way. I will never play that way. I'd cut off my right arm just to have his left hand (not really, but it is an amazing hand).
So imagine my surprise at reading the liner notes he wrote and finding an incendiary piece on the meaning of jazz, classical, pop, art and death. It's a brilliant rant about things that have bugged him for years. And when I mean "brilliant," I mean it. He speaks as someone who has walked the virtiginous paths of postmodern literary theory. He's conversant in that language, and can use it to deliver some convincing verbal smack-downs to go with his musical smack-downs. Believe me, I know. I teach on postmodern cultural theory - the man knows what he's talking about. Apart from the fact that this makes me insanely jealous (How is it possible for someone to be that good on an instrument AND that good with words and theory?), his argument resonated with me, even as I found parts wrong and disturbing.
Here's the part that caught my eye, where he discusses the term "classical," and jazz as "America's classical music" :
Classical wasn't called classical when it was being created. Someone came along after a point in time and lumped it all under one term, implying as well that an ending had taken place. This in turn implied that anything after that wasn't valid. 'Classical' is a term ripe for deconstruction: It defines itself by a symbiotic Other that belately doesn't rise to its stature. Its shaky legitimacy depends on a dreary nostalgia for a time when distinctions between the high arts and everything else were more clear (if they ever were). People with this kind of backward longing are blind to their own irony. They feel that they missed an event that's no longer possible and, with their heads in these grey clouds, miss the present event.
I love his argument here. He's right. The fetishism wrapped up in a high culture mindset makes us blind to the great and excellent all around us now. In theological terms, an idolizing of past culture blinds us to the grace of the present time.
But as his argument continues, it's clear that his anti-classicism runs far deeper. There's a sense in which calling something "classical" implies a judging norm, a weight of history that sets a bar that all other works have to conform or be dismissed. The same things happens in a negative mode when something is called "pop." It's assumed that this means disposable, ephemeral. In reality, classical was the pop of its day, and some pop has achieved long-lasting legitimacy, and so can be called classical. Or in Mehldau's words:
what was initially called classic reveals itself as a pop anachronism; what was conceived as pop cheats its origins and wins the bid for immortality.
Jazz, in his opinion, rejects this dichotomy and dances between the two. It escapes the weight of history, refuses to play the game of legitimation and normativity by living in the moment. It's an improvised music - a thing of the present. And so, it offers a sort of immediate salvation:
Jazz musicians want to make the earth move now. They don't want to interpret how someone else did it and be told they're wrong. Again, there's something intially American in that project: after a thorough ransacking, a gleeful egg-tossing at the entire rule-list of Occidental music, in favor of a hit-or-miss attempt at a quick-fix transcendence, to be felt here and now, for the first (and maybe the last) time. This is what I love about jazz more than anything -- the spirit in which it's created.
Jazz (and pop) try to throw off the weight of history, the hierarchies and the standards, in order to revel in the moment, in a bid for a "quick-fix transcendence." It sounds like a much-needed corrective to the dour idolizing of the Grand Tradition of Western Art, the Romantic notions of Art-as-Religion out of which the high/low culture distincts grew.
In fact, Ken Myers in his pop-culture-hating book, All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes, speaks much about transcendence. Unlike Mehldau, his "culture of transcendence" is about the reverence for tradition, for craft, that is rooted in beloved abstract ideals like Truth and Beauty. It is a slow, heavy, and judgmental type of transcendence. I think it comes too close to turning high culture into an idol. And you can understand Mehldau's reaction: Throw it off! Throw it all away and jump into the transcendence of the moment! But what Mehldau doesn't realize is that he's simply trading one false trasncendence for another. The transcendence offered by Brahms or Handel, or the transcendence offered by Trane or Miles, both are wonderful, and neither lead ultimately to life.
The real deal comes only through relationship with the living God, in which there is an authority structure and norms (sorry Brad), and in which there is freedom from the weight of the past, improvisation and spontanaeity (sorry Ken). In a world that has rejected the story of salvation, people mistake feelings of transcendence for the real thing. And they can err on both the side of tradition or innovation, high or pop. Our culture's soul-sickness draws energy from both sides. And only grace can cure it.
One more thought. (Otherwise, this turns into "Look! A cultural problem! What's the solution? All together now: JESUS!" True, but can feel cliche). I think part of Mehldau's grumpiness with classicism, and with jazz critics in particular, is the feeling of being judged, of having to labor to be creative underneath a load of preconceptions. And he'd just rather make music and give people joy. I can truly understand that. I'd be willing to bet my eye-teeth that he's not a Christian for pretty much the same reasons: He finds the judgmental attitude of Christians unattractive, burdensome, and he'd rather just be free to do his thing.
But that's not how the church should be. We should be about grace, about presenting the gentle freedom available through the way we live our lives and pursue our relationships. Does this mean we jettison the law? No. But the law has lost its power to condemn, to judge, to make us feel small. It is now a guide for intimacy with the Father, for following hard after Jesus, for keeping in step with the Spirit. Something that lasts.
Even Mehldau isn't into absolutely free jazz. He says in his liner notes that musical improvisation needs a framework to give it purpose and motivation. Isn't that true of the law and grace as well? The law no longer condemns, but gives us a life-giving framework within which we improvise our lives in concert with the Father (like a good jazz trio would). (I don't mean to undermine God's sovereignty - it just feels a whole lot like improvisation from my side). And over time, that builds a life-giving relationship full of grace. And that grace spills out to those around you, hopefully drawing people into engaging with the Father.
All of this produces something far better than a quick-fix transcendence. After all, the problem with a quick-fix transcendence is that you keep needing another fix. And sooner or later, you've got a nasty jazz habit, because jazz cannot deliver what you truly need. You need a lasting transcendence, one as stable as the grace of God for us. Art cannot save. Art cannot produce a generous heart that sees God's goodness in all things. Only walking with the Father can produce that kind of music.
Memorial Remarks for My Mother, Vivian Turnau (April 16, 1937-March 22, 1991)
Thoughts on Popular and Elite Culture as Art
On "Engaging Culture": How Culture and Entertainment Are Different than Air
"Jessica Jones," Moral Debt and Self-Contempt
Why Christians Should Engage Popular Culture: Worship and Bridge-Building
Angels, Culture, Worship, and the Image of God - An Open Letter to Joe Martin
Livin' for the Applause-plause
Hipsters vs. Nerds
Random Thoughts on Dragon*Con, Fandom and Spirituality
The Problem with Pilgrimage
Interesting and engaging secular people
hi...Ted. this is Sangyil Park
Thanks, Kenny!
Yep - baaaad bloglord.
Missing footnotes
Really informative post.Thanks Again. Really Great. Hayword
A Grace/Gospel Appendix
Good point, but...


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Armory Show 2014
dieter roth landscapes features seminal works from 1960-79. Though landscapes constitute a small part of Dieter Roth's approximately 600 graphic works, they are notable for their powerfully perceived subject. Most of these works are appropriated from mass-produced imagery. Roth first began to appropriate such imagery when, in 1961, he cut stacks of British Daily Mirror newspapers into small 2 cm cubes and bound them with cheesecloth to form the daily mirror book. With this gesture Roth created the first conceptual artist's book. Also that year, he combined newspaper pages, now shredded and mixed with gelatin, lard and spices in a sausage casing, creatingLiteraturwurst (Literature Sausage). A unique example of this iconic work is on show as well as another organic piece, the Spice Window from 1971(pictured above) where he used spices to offer an olfactory experience.The earliest examples of Roth's landscapes are altered postcards. In these, the artist takes two like postcards of Icelandic views, cuts them in half horizontally and then tapes two top (or bottom) halves together to form a conceptual symmetric landscape. Five variations of these works, on view, were sent to a dealer in Germany to be sold for 5 Marks each in 1964; however, they were never sold and were kept in the original mailing envelope. Roth's most famous reproduced postcard is of London's Piccadilly Circus, the basis for numerous works, several of which are on display . When Roth began a series of silkscreen monotypes in 1970, rather than a postcard he used a photograph of the square in front of the train station in Solothurn, Switzerland, that became the basis for new work.
Solothurner Bahnhofplatz, 1970, is one of a series of monotype prints made with a revolutionary silkscreen process Roth had developed, employing 10 to 20 colors to create unique images. The idea behind these visually magical prints, and one which encapsulates Dieter's philosophy, is to practice art as life and life as art--each pull and each color results in an unknown outcome, a chance happening or a beautiful accident. A group of these monotype Swiss landscapes, Solothurner Bahnhofplatz, Berner Oberland and View of the Emme are featured in the booth. *There is a special presentation of the hand cut books in refabricated simple aluminum frames Dieter designed for the furniture shop, KULAN in Reykjavik in 1961. These books cross borders of classification as they require the viewer to be involved in the visual output. They were exhibited with Group Zero, Oeuvre d'Art Transformable at Gallery One in London, Galerie Loeb in Paris, Nouvelle Tendencies in Zagreb, Moving Movement in Amsterdam, Museum Haus Lange in Krefeld, and many other venues.
*New publication: diter rot collected landscapes, 2014 is available upon request.
Booth in the Entrance Lounge to Pier 92


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Why WSJ Mobile App Gets ** Customer Reviews
Why WSJ Mobile App Gets Customer Reviews
The Wall Street Journal 's iPhone app had just 2 stars in Apple's App Store at the time of this writing. Averaged across 68,418 consumer reviews, the rating is not just a reflection of a few irate users.
As a rough estimate, a 2-star average across 68,418 reviews means that 40,000 users gave the application a 1-star rating. Given the 90-9-1 rule for social design, most users never bother reviewing products, so 40,000 low scores represent at least half a million dissatisfied customers .
The WSJ is one of the world's most respected newspapers and has long been a digital pioneer. How can it produce a 2-star mobile app?
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In London, one of our first culinary ports of call is the celebrated River Café, still looking schmick from a 2008 refurbishment that plays up the simple, clean lines of the light filled-room Sir Richard Rogers created as a staff canteen adjoining his architectural practice in 1987.
It wasn't long before the world and his gourmand wife were making their way to the restaurant that Rose Gray and Roger's wife Ruth created at this now hallowed site alongside the Thames at Hammersmith, from where their food revolutionised Italian cooking in Britain and their subsequent six cookbooks gave the kitchen an international following.
Pale spring sunshine is falling on the diners, among them a party that includes Ruth and her husband, as we lunch here on this early Spring Monday. We have come to honour the memory of Rose Gray who died in 2010 at the age of 71.
An aperitivo of Prosecco and blood orange juice with a slither of chickpea and raddichio farinata (crisp pancake) opens the meal, as we peruse a menu that revels in the freshness, seasonality and simplicity that are Gray's hallmarks.
Chicory and rocket is braised in a 2012 Selvapiano olive oil; nettles accompany the buffalo ricotta ravioli; a Donnaluna fiano bathes the clams; chunks of turbot with capers, marjoram and lemon emerge from the big orange wood oven that dominates the space; the sea bass is roasted with Italian spinach and artichokes 'alla Romagna', a pork leg in Chianti.
Other glorious accompaniments include Castelluccio lentils, Risina beans, roasted polenta, Swiss chard and peas under oil. It's enough to remind you that the River Café is one of its great high altars to that symbol of abundance and nourishment, the cornucopia, which is, appropriately, an Italian word.
I love the River Cafe.
I have 2 of their recipe books and every dish I make from them is superb!


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Revitalising Singapore's traditional music scene: local ensembles discuss their blueprints to reconnecting with a younger audience
Words by Terry Ng on 15 June 2021
Photography by TENG Ensemble, OMS Belia, Bhaskar's Arts Academy
'Traditional music' bears strong connotations of certain archetypes depending on who you're speaking with. For some it's traditional costumes, assorted wooden vintage instruments dowsed in heritage, and grand ensembles in cinematic harmony. Some breathe life back into its crevices, fervently championing its existence not just as homage, but living embodiments of their roots and ancestors.
Dissecting and contrasting its popularity from its distant cousin of pop music shines insight into its declining mainstream appeal. Indeed, studies like such briefly attest to a multitude of reasons, much of which includes 'catchiness' and repetitive verses aiding memory recall and hence, likability. It should come as no surprise then that the era of streaming fancies 'digestible' and mass adoption, eschewing much else that doesn't fit this equation.
Yet thanks to the efforts of some of Singapore's local ensembles, the traditional music scene has been set on an unstoppable path toward revitalisation in recent years, wooing many of the generations after their insurgence into a great revival of culture.
We had a chat with five musical ensembles who've been leading the charge in making traditional music great again, across the various ethnic groups in Singapore. In this article, The TENG Ensemble, Siong Leng Musical Association, Orkestra Melayu Singapura, Bhaskar's Arts Society, and Brahmastra share how they've adapted traditional music and instruments for a younger audience.
From creating exciting fusion pieces, to providing training and scholarship opportunities to groom the scene's future talents, read on to discover how these ensembles are winning the hearts of Singaporeans young and old with their music.
Tracing back to our roots
To truly appreciate the value of the different forms of traditional music that are present in our society, we ought to firstly understand how Singapore's identity has been shaped by them throughout history. Which begs the question — when and how did these various styles of music arrive at our shores?
"After World War II, migration of Indian workers, merchants and scholars to Singapore brought with it the customs and traditions practised by the new residents," shared Dr Ghanavenothan Retnam, Music Director at Bhaskar's Arts Academy.
Photo Credit: Siong Leng Musicial Association
Early migrants were a key vector of traditional music in the Chinese and Malay populations as well. "Nanyin arrived in Singapore during the late 1800s when Fujian immigrants started migrating to Singapore for work," explained Siong Leng's General Manager Seow Ming Xian, referring to the style of Chinese music that the association practices. "The music has always been a form of entertainment after work and gatherings, and is often used to reminisce about their hometown."
But for an entire music scene to develop over the years, surely it'd take more than just a few migrants who knew how to perform their traditional music. Government initiatives under the People's Association (PA) and media companies like the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) played a big role in spreading the music to the masses.
Photo Credit: Niranjan Pandian
"From 1950s to 1980s, radio stations gave locals the access to Carnatic and Hindustani music with performances from local and foreign artists," said Brahmastra's Creative Head Niranjan Pandian. "At this time, PA had formalised a framework to preserve and increase awareness about Indian traditional music through the formation of the Singapore Indian Orchestra and Choir."
The TENG Ensemble's Creative Director Dr Samuel Wong chimed in on how the creation of more traditional orchestras was pivotal. "During the '80s, there was a Chinese orchestra boom. A lot of Chinese music was televised and could be heard on radio. SBC had its own Chinese orchestra, and by the time it hit the '90s, even school orchestras had up to 500 people."
With so many Singaporeans having had their own experiences with traditional music — whether by playing in an orchestra in their school CCAs or listening to it on the airwaves — it's safe to say that traditional music has formed an integral part of our collective consciousness as a society over the years.
The case for traditional music's preservation
With that said, one might begin to see that traditional music isn't just some archaic art form that was imported from abroad by the first few settlers of the land. In fact, it's a precious piece of heritage that many Singaporeans have had personal interactions with. And in such interactions, the music has done much to instill in us a sense of community and belonging here in this country.
"The objective of OMS is to preserve Malay music, and traditional Malay music is a part of that. It is important for OMS to preserve it because it is a significant part of our identity and Malay culture," explained Orkestra Melayu Singapura.
Photo Credit: OMS Belia Facebook
On the topic of culture, Dr Ghanavenothan agreed. "Traditional Indian music serves as one form of cultural grounding for the Indian community. Inculcating this intrinsic musical value to the present and future generations of Singapore therefore opens up their connection to their roots and at the same time broadens their horizons, complementing the education system in a secular state."
But for some, traditional music takes on a more philosophical approach. In the practice of these art forms, Singaporeans also stand to learn important moral values that have been passed down for generations. "The sociology of Nanyin highly suggests that it has been driven by the main teachings of Confucianism. I was exposed to the emphasis of RenAi (benevolence and love), Zhong (loyalty) and Xiao (filial piety) through my practice of Nanyin," said Ming Xian.
A modern, traditional sound
So how do these ensembles break out of their 'archaic' impressions and attract a fresh generation of Singaporeans toward the scene? The answer, it seems, is two-fold. Firstly: an ambitious reinvention of traditional music's sonic composition in order to give it a contemporary twist. That entails embarking on a fusion of genres, introducing sounds and instruments that a younger audience may be more familiar with.
Yang Ji Wei, executive director of The TENG Ensemble, which has clarifed that the ensemble is not a 'traditional Chinese ensemble' but rather one that simply uses traditional Chinese instruments, recalled one of their earliest performances at Singapore Night Festival.
Dr. Samuel Wong (Left) and Yang Ji Wei (Right). Photo Credit: The TENG Ensemble Facebook
"The brief given to us was that the Night Festival was attracting a very young crowd. We thought that if we were to play all classical stuff, nobody's going to listen to it because it's not 'hip' enough," chuckled Ji Wei.
"What we created was a merger of both East and West — we used both Eastern and Western instruments. I played the pipa, but I wasn't playing very traditional songs. I was working with electronica, for example. For a classical pipa player, that was very unheard of!" added Samuel. "Over the years, we had a lot of people telling us that they'd never imagine that Chinese music or instruments could sound like that. We could play music from Harry Potter, Michael Jackson and Billie Eilish [with Chinese instruments]."
For award-winning Indo-ASEAN contemporary ensemble Brahmastra, the amalgamation of genres plays a big part in its appeal to youths too. "We present re-arrangements of existing repertoires from the Indian classical music system, exploring genres such as pop, world music, blues and jazz with these re-arrangements," Niranjan explained.
Yet, the elephant in the room when it comes to fusing modern genres with the traditional is clear. How does one maintain the authenticity and essence of the tradition when the buzz of the contemporary threatens to eclipse the former?
Siong Leng's GM Ming Xian explained the conundrum: "Creating new works of Nanyin has always been a conflicting process. While we try to preserve and showcase the essence of Nanyin, audiences from the modern society may not be able to accept it. On the other hand, creating contemporary works of Nanyin reaches out to audiences easier but as artists, we might face problems such as diluting the art form. Hence, the company has been creating new Nanyin works with caution."
Still, the association has put up productions that incorporate both Mandopop and jazz such as 'An Evening of Nanyin Jazz' and 'When Will You Return'. Electronic music has also met nanyin in experimental performances like 'X SHIYAN' and 'Fantasia'.
Scene from 'An Evening of Nanyin Jazz'. Photo Credit: Siong Leng Musical Association
The solution to this issue doesn't come by easily. As tastes and preferences change, the tension between staying relevant and remaining true to one's style is something that every artist has to struggle with in their lifetime. To overcome this challenge, ensembles can only make small, calculated changes to their performances and pedagogies in order to strike the perfect balance.
"To capture attention and appeal to the younger audience, harmonisation is used in presentations and performances. The rigidness of some classical compositions is also toned down by giving them a [contemporary] twist to suit the present era of modernisation, without diffusing the musical value," said Bhaskar's Dr Ghanavenothan.
Pop culture meets traditional music
Aside from fusing genres, many traditional ensembles today are also bringing pop culture into their music. This is achieved through a myriad of ways — getting popular music icons to be featured in one's tracks, making covers of songs that have gained traction among youths, jumping onboard social media platforms like TikTok etc.
Orkestra Melayu Singapura recently released an EP with famed Singapore Idol alumnus Hady Mirza to celebrate its 30th anniversary. The song 'Ramadan yang Mulia, Syawal yang Indah' is upbeat, funky and a true earworm that could very well have the potential to be a chart-topping hit on the radio. Featuring Hady's distinctly powerful vocals, it almost misses us that the musicians behind the track were all maestros trained in traditional Malay music.
Similarly for Bhaskar's Arts Society, popular songs have been making frequent appearances in their repertoire. "Swathi (our youth orchestra) regularly performs pieces that fuse traditional pieces with trendy and familiar local songs such as Home, Rasa Sayang and Mo Lihua, which attract many younger audiences," said Dr Ghanavenothan.
The TENG Ensemble, too, has collaborated with many of Singapore music's biggest names — Benjamin Kheng, iNCH, Shabir, The Freshman 插班生 — just to name a few. They've also recently started TikTok, where their videos have already gained a whopping combined total of 29.3k likes.
"Alot of our work is measured by research. We are very data-driven. We figure out what our audience is and what they might like," explained Samuel. And it seems that of late, the data has pointed out to them that a Chinese instrument cover of popular online game Genshin Impact's soundtrack would fly well. The data most certainly did not disappoint.
@thetengensemble
Launching TOMORROW! 🤩 ##music ##thetengensemble ##musicians ##sg ##tiktoksg ##nowplaying # wolrdmusic ##genshinimpact ##genshin ##genshinimpactmusic
♬ original sound - The TENG Ensemble
Grooming fresh talent for the scene
For a sustainable plan on revitalisation, attracting young people's interests toward the traditional music scene is only the first half of the battle. Ensembles must now figure out how to develop the skills of these passionate youths, so that they can take the scene to greater heights after the current generation of maestros retire.
One way this is done is through setting up dedicated youth wings in the ensembles. Established in 2004, Orkestra Melayu Singapura's OMS Belia has garnered a steady membership over the years. It has reached out to numerous schools in Singapore with its 'Music Discovery Programme', where traditional gamelan is introduced to students as part of the curriculum.
"Students are usually captivated by the uniqueness of the musical instruments and music," the ensemble told us.
For ensembles that also work with the music education scene, talent-identification and grooming starts early from the classroom. One example is Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society, which is Bhaskar's dedicated education arm.
"Talents [that have been identified] audition to become part of Swathi (our youth orchestra). Members of Swathi are given more rigorous training so as to hone their skills. Some outstanding students of music are also given scholarships to further their music study," said Dr Ghanavenothan.
Scholarships are a big thing for The TENG Ensemble too. "Music is a very elitist thing. You need to well be able to afford lessons before you can learn an instrument," explained Ji Wei. "We believe music should be accessible for everyone. We look out for individuals 21 and below who really are passionate about Chinese instruments but can't afford lessons, and we pay for them."
When asked whether they've seen a tangible impact from the scholarships offered, Samuel revealed that five of their scholars, who were from financially-disadvantaged backgrounds, had been able to successfully enter prestigious schools through the Direct School Admissions on merit of their strengths in Chinese music. That's a testament to how these scholarships have improved social mobility and developed future talents for the scene.
Roadblocks to revitalisation
Yet, with all the amazing things ensembles have been doing to get young people excited about traditional music, challenges still abound. The biggest hindrance remains society's pre-conceived notions about the scene: that it is out-of-touch, irrelevant and 'uncool'.
"Perhaps the biggest obstacles are the bigger appeal of pop culture (both western and Asian) and that traditional music is not perceived as being 'hip'. With increasing global influences in Singapore, this is not surprising," shared Dr Ghanavenothan.
Photo Credit: Bhaskar's Arts Academy Facebook
So entrenched is this narrative about traditional music being less exciting than pop music, that some ensembles have even begun to speak about their own compositions in a deferential tone. "Younger audiences are more attracted to current music which is more groovy and trendy as compared to the sound of old-fashioned traditional music," relented Orkestra Melayu Singapura.
"I find that there tends to be this sense of biasness [against traditional Chinese music]. That it is old and antiquated, it's a stereotype that they have. If the mind is closed, it's very difficult to influence them," TENG Ensemble's Samuel shared, referring to Singaporeans within the age range of 20-40, in whom he believes such pre-conceived notions mostly lie.
Another challenge is the language barrier. When traditional music is taught and performed in dialects or languages that are unfamiliar to the younger generation, its appeal naturally dwindles. Nanyin, for example, is sung in the Minnan dialect, and much of traditional Indian music involves languages like Sanskrit and Telugu. "The younger audiences are often not comfortable with such languages and it becomes a barrier to learning the music," explained Niranjan.
COVID Complications
As if ensembles aren't already dealing with enough challenges, the current COVID-19 situation and its impact on live entertainment only makes matters worse. The pandemic has made it difficult for many of the programmes offered by these ensembles to continue in their usual capacities. Demand for live performers, in general, has also fallen to near zero.
"Nanyin has always been a niche art form and is best portrayed in an intimate setting. Being unable to put up live performances has made it challenging for the company to bring Nanyin to our audiences," said Ming Xian.
The obvious remedy to the whole pandemic shake-up for the arts scene is digitalisation. All the ensembles who are part of this interview have, in some shape or form, pivoted their live offerings to the online space.
But as with every digitalisation drive, some inertia does exist before mindsets can be changed to adapt to the new practices.
"Before the pandemic, there was good demand for traditional group performances at weddings and receptions. The challenge now is for the current practitioners to learn and embrace the science of the digital world and of streaming performances. We hope that the government and NAC can provide the necessary support for them to make the switch," says Orkestra Melayu Singapura.
Yet, some recognise the silver lining in this whole crisis. Dr Ghanavenothan from Bhaskar's shared: "One positive outcome in all this is that the online productions are available to be viewed by a much larger audience that is not restricted to Singapore. So perhaps in that sense, the COVID-19 situation has helped bring traditional Indian music to a broader audience."
All in all, it's safe to say that the music landscape has been irreversibly changed due to COVID-19. And whether these changes are for better or worse remains something only time can tell.
"At the end of the day, there's no going back anymore. Even if the pandemic is over in the next couple of years, the consumer patterns for the arts have changed. There's no way to head back to just live performances, I think it'll always be a hybrid model in the future. Arts will never be the same anymore," lamented Ji Wei from The TENG Ensemble.
What more should be done?
When asked what else could be done to strengthen the traditional music scene in Singapore, ensembles put forth two main suggestions — more showcase platforms and greater education efforts.
"More programmes on national television can incorporate elements of traditional Indian music — be they educational programmes, variety shows or even local serials. There could also be more 'mobile programmes' to the heartlands organised on a national level, much like the Aneka Ragam Ra'ayat of yesteryears," suggested Dr Ghanavenothan, referring to a series of free concerts organised in the early '60s that showcased arts from the various ethnic groups.
Scene of Aneka Ragam Ra'ayat 1959. Photo Credit: The People's Association Facebook
Some ensembles are also looking to arts education institutions to step up with more traditional offerings. "Institutions like SOTA, LASALLE, Yong Siew Toh and MOE should introduce interesting electives and appeciation programme in their music curriculum," said Orkestra Melayu Singapura.
Siong Leng's Ming Xian further emphasised on the importance of traditional arts education, declaring that it is equally as important as being good in one's craft. "For the art form to flourish, it does not just require the creation of good works, but also audience appreciation and support. I feel that there should be better efforts to cultivate and educate local audiences' appreciation and understanding of the arts," he said.
Hope and a future for Singapore's traditional music scene
At the crossroads of a great revival, traditional ensembles remain largely optimistic about the trajectory of the scene. Even with COVID-19 and the ever-present struggle of competing with contemporary music ahead, many stakeholders are already seeing the fruits of their labour. Young people are slowly, but surely, starting to flock toward the traditional arts and take an interest in learning them.
"We see a trend of more youths performing traditional music now than, say, 20 years ago. And with the growth in numbers of students taking music in arts schools, it will be easier for them to understand the basics of traditional music and henceforth, become more appreciative and creative when performing it," shared Orkestra Melayu Singapura.
Reinvention of the scene, coupled with the benefits of modern-day technological advancements are two other reasons to be excited for traditional music's future here.
"Nanyin in Singapore is undergoing a transition where it is currently being explored with other genres of music and disciplines. At the moment, new nanyin (Singapore nanyin) is well received after having gone through rounds of experimentation," said Ming Xian.
Brahmastra's Niranjan pointed us to how the wealth of information available online today would be considered a paradisiacal luxury to musicians a few decades ago. "I am optimistic about the future of traditional Indian music in Singapore. We are in this digital realm and we have access to records, performances and teachings by vidwans and gurus which were only aurally dictated or in written form in the past," he added.
As the traditional music scene gears up for revitalisation, perhaps the only missing ingredient left in its comprehensive blueprint is the support of fellow Singaporeans.
When we choose to open up our minds to the world of traditional music, we will definitely get a glimpse of its timeless beauty. We might even begin to see why millions have dedicated their lives to practicing the art form over the centuries, having been enraptured by its mysterious and charming qualities.
And if more Singaporeans were willing to do that today, perhaps traditional ensembles can finally lose their 'underdog' statuses in our music scene. Only then, will traditional music be regarded as an equally exuberant and appealing form of creative work that deserves as much attention as Billboard chart-toppers. As it rightfully is.
Find out more about the ensembles featured in this article by visiting the links below:
The TENG Ensemble
Siong Leng Musical Association
Orkestra Melayu Singapura
Bhaskar's Arts Academy
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NEW FOLK/AMERICANA MUSIC THAT DELIGHTS AUDIENCES FROM DESERT CROWDS TO CITY SLICKERS
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