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Sarah Auerswald Interview: Trellis Case Study
Miranda Wicker May 03, 2021
By now you may have heard us mention our WordPress theme framework Trellis a time or two, but we just can't help it! Our Trellis open beta is live to the public, we're just really excited!
But what gets us even more excited — always — is seeing the ways our Mediavine publishers find success for themselves and their websites with any of our products, like Create or Grow.
So today, we're thrilled to welcome Sarah Auerswald of MomsLA to the Mediavine Blog to share another Trellis case study with us.
Tell us a little bit about yourself, your family and your everyday life.
I moved to Los Angeles to work in the movie industry, fell in love with the place and the man who became my husband and have been here for 30 years. We live not too far from Venice Beach, although we don't get there as often as we should for being this close.
Our two sons are both seniors right now — one in college and one in high school.
When I became a Mom I wanted to work a more flexible job, and thank goodness someone invented the Internet and blogging because after working on a few other business ideas before that, I found the right fit for me and my family.
When I'm not working, I love to learn about how other people run businesses, so I spend a fair amount of time doing that. I have been known to over-volunteer and was PTA President at my kids' schools for way too many years. I founded and help run a local Chamber of Commerce because I think it's great to support local businesses.
My hobbies include sewing, watching food shows on Netflix, trying to get my 17-year-old to talk to me and, prior to 2020, I spent a lot of time talking to humans in person. I hope to do that again someday.
How long have you been blogging? How did you get started blogging?
I started blogging regularly in 2008 with my baby site MarVistaMom.com which is all about my neighborhood where I've lived for 24 years. (And is still going, FYI.) I was inspired to start by a friend who had started one while she was traveling. She opened my eyes to the possibilities and I was hooked.
Once I got my feet wet doing that site, I was asked to join a group site — the LA Moms Blog — which was part of a network of sites all across the country managed by Silicon Valley Moms Group, and it was off to the races. Mom Bloggers were HOT and we got a lot of perks.
They ceased operations of the group suddenly in 2010, and my partner and I decided on the spur of the moment to form a new Mom Blogger group for Los Angeles on our own. MomsLA was born. But just like before, we had to figure out what people really wanted, sometimes the hard way. We have published over 2000 blog posts over the years, but it turned out that most of them were essays about motherhood that, by 2015, were no longer resonating with readers. Parents in LA wanted lists of summer camps, things to do with kids this weekend, where to get kids' haircuts, or where the best playgrounds are, and other super-practical information — at least, that's what they wanted from MomsLA — so we've adapted our content to fit.
How long have you had Trellis?
Since June 2020.
What theme/website setup did you have before Trellis?
A custom child theme built by our coder.
Was it difficult to switch to Trellis?
I felt it went very smoothly. And every question I had was answered right away by the Support team. That was great!
What would you tell anyone who is moving to Trellis to help them have a smooth transition?
Get your ducks in a row ahead of time. Do a plugin audit. If you don't need any, get rid of them. And maybe hold off on publishing content for the couple of days prior to the switch.
Be sure you have site backups, and maybe go so far as to have backups of the last 10 posts in a Google doc or on your computer just in case.
Try not to have anything scheduled for publishing at a later date. Leave them all as drafts.
And keep trellis@mediavine.com ready in your address book!
What improvement have you seen in your pagespeed with Trellis?
Our pagespeed scores doubled immediately, going from 43 to 96. That was amazing! I will say a recent check has us not quite at that high point, so I need to dig in and find the reason.
Do you think Trellis has helped with your SEO? If so, how?
The pagespeed alone has had to have made a huge difference, but the font size and page layout is also important and they are so beautiful and easy to read now.
What excited you most about being part of the Trellis beta?
I really wanted to get in on the ground floor of the new theme for pagespeed improvements and ad optimization — and honestly, I'd forgotten I'd even applied (it had been so long)! So when I got the email saying we were in, I was thrilled!
Another big reason I wanted in was the site needed a facelift (we do live in Los Angeles, after all), and the Trellis theme gave us that. It's so pretty!
Clean lines, legible fonts and I love the homepage with the circular elements for featured images. Even though I know not as many people actually go to the homepage, I still love it!
Would you recommend Trellis to other bloggers? Why or why not?
Yes! It has been an overall positive experience for us — pagespeed improvements, ad optimization and for us, a pretty, new site.
What is your favorite feature of Trellis? What do you like about the Bamboo theme?
Pagespeed! (And it's pretty!)
Trellis is Award-Winning. Make it Yours This Holiday Season.
Eric Hochberger Nov 28, 2021
We're thrilled to announce that Mediavine won the Innovation Award for our work on Trellis and Core Web Vitals at the 2021 Google Certified Publishing Partner (GCPP) summit this month. …
Trellis Open Beta: It's Finally Here!
Eric Hochberger Aug 30, 2021
They say the best things in life are worth waiting for. I couldn't tell you who "they" are … or if they really do say that, honestly. But it sounds …
Trellis Update: Majority of Sites Pass Core Web Vitals
Eric Hochberger Jun 21, 2021
Updated: 8/30/2021 – Trellis Open Beta is Live! As we mentioned recently, the much-anticipated (or at least discussed) Google Page Experience algorithm update officially took effect on Wednesday, June 16. …


What Is Zinc And Why Do You Need It?
We all know about calcium, vitamin C, iron and vitamin D; however, a mineral that does not get enough attention is Zinc. A 2014 study conducted in Pakistan shows that approximately one third of the population does not receive adequate amounts of zinc.
Zinc is a mineral, or essential trace element that is absolutely necessary in maintaining the overall health of the human body. Although only a small amount of zinc is needed for optimal health, it needs to be consumed regularly as the body does not keep stores of this mineral. Therefore, our everyday diets need to include zinc rich foods.
Your hair fall may be due to a lack of the right vitamins.
Why do we need zinc?
Zinc deficiency can result in stunted growth, diarrhea, slow recovery of wounds, and Wilson's disease.
Better immunity: We readily turn to vitamin C to fight our colds, but zinc is known as an effective remedy to fight off colds and prevent them too.
Antioxidant properties: contains anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties that fight against many diseases. It is speculated to prevent cancer growth and support the growth of healthy brain cells.
Regulating blood sugar: since zinc is closely bound to insulin, it ensures that insulin is stored well, and released when required. This benefits diabetes patients greatly.
Balancing hormones: fertility in both men and women can benefit greatly from adequate amounts of zinc. Estrogen and progesterone production in women both need zinc; thus, decreasing problems with early menopause, mood swings and menstruation.
Fighting diarrhea: Zinc is known most commonly for its ability to improve digestive health, in particular as a diarrhea remedy.
Liver health and function: it can reduce inflammation in the liver and reduces the occurrence of infection.
Muscle health and repair: many athletes are particular about their intake of zinc as it maintains muscular strength and repair. The mineral is also essential for cell growth and the release of testosterone (which aids muscle mass).
Slowing the aging process: It aids the formation of new cells, therefore decreasing the symptoms of aging significantly. For example: improved brain function and memory, quicker healing of wounds, better eye health, etc.
First and foremost, you must visit a nutritionist or your doctor and relate the symptoms you are experiencing. If required, they will prescribe a supplement with the correct dosage.
Do not treat yourself (without doctor's advice) with supplements, as too much of the mineral is not good for you either.
Include zinc-rich foods in your regular diet. For e.g.: nuts, seeds, red meat and yogurt.
Make sure that other medication, minerals and vitamins are not effecting the absorption of zinc by your body.


The sun is shining – nice. Went to breakfast with my lovely wife today at Marie Catrib's. What a great restaurant. Had vegan stuffed French Toast with a side of sausage. Yum.
This entry was posted in Other on October 26, 2006 by Patrick.


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China calls Trudeau 'naive' for believing Trump asked Xi about Canadian detainees
In a meeting last month with Trudeau, Trump said he would raise the plight of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor to Xi
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chinese President Xi Jinping listen to opening remarks at a plenary session at the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan, on June 28, 2019.Adrian Wyld/CP
OTTAWA — The Chinese government is accusing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of being naive in assuming that President Donald Trump did him any favours by raising the case of two imprisoned Canadians with President Xi Jinping.
Geng Shuang, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, was talking Wednesday about Trudeau's comment a day earlier in Toronto, where he said he was "confident" Trump raised the matter with Xi at the G20 summit in Japan this past weekend.
In an Oval Office meeting last month with Trudeau, Trump said he would raise the plight of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in his planned meeting with Xi, as a favour to Canada.
In December, Canada detained Chinese high-tech scion Meng Wanzhou at the request of the U.S. government, which wants to extradite her to face fraud charges.
Kovrig and Spavor were arrested 10 days later and have been charged with violating China's national security, but many view their detentions as retaliation for Meng's arrest.
Louis Huang of Vancouver Freedom and Democracy for China holds photos of Canadians Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig, who are being detained by China, in Vancouver. Jason Redmond / AFP/Getty
Trump said before leaving the G20 in Japan that he hadn't discussed the Meng case with Xi, raising questions about whether he made good on his White House commitment to Trudeau to protest Kovrig's and Spavor's detentions.
"I would like to caution the Canadian side against being too naive," Geng told reporters after he was asked at a Beijing briefing whether Trump raised the matter with Xi.
"First, it shouldn't be so naive as to believe that asking its so-called ally to pressure China will work. China is a country with the rule of law and the judicial authorities handle cases independently. China's judicial sovereignty brooks no interference.
"Second, it shouldn't be so naive as to believe that its so-called ally will earnestly pursue a Canadian agenda. They will only pay a lip service, at best. The matter is, after all, between China and Canada."
Geng reiterated the Chinese view that Canada is solely responsible for the current degeneration of relations between the two countries. China has repeatedly called on Canada to release Meng.
Since then, Sino-Canadian relations have plunged to a new low.
Who are they to say there is no value in Canada talking to its allies about issues that we have abroad in a multilateral system?
China has all but stopped importing several Canadian products. Its authorities claim shipments of Canadian canola — for which China is a major market — have been found to be ridden with pests.
Then, prior to the G20 summit, China announced a suspension of all imports of Canadian meat products because of claimed concerns over fraudulent inspection reports. Canada has acknowledged that at least one shipment of pork went to China with bogus information attached to it but has suggested the certification was so phoney that the shipment might not even have been Canadian. The RCMP and the Canadian Border Services Agency are investigating.
International Trade Minister Jim Carr scoffed at the suggestion Canada is naive in thinking its allies could help.
"Who are they to say there is no value in Canada talking to its allies about issues that we have abroad in a multilateral system?" he said to reporters following a meeting with Canadian pork- and-beef industry representatives in Montreal. "That's how we do diplomacy."
Carr added Canada has had "countless" conversations with allied countries around the world regarding what he described as the current difficult relations with China.
"We talk about those two detained Canadians, we talk of allegations that our canola somehow contains impurities. And our allies are agreeing with us. And in their own way and within their own comfort zones, there are many messages being sent to Chinese officials."
G20: China thinks we will yield on Huawei exec Meng Wanzhou, but that won't happen
John Ivison: Time for Canada to play the same strategic game China is playing against us
Trudeau leans on Trump to help Canadians detained in China at G20 summit
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau joined Carr in the meat meeting. She told reporters it was too early to talk about compensation for farmers hit by the closure of the Chinese market.
"Our first priority is to reopen the market," Bibeau said. "We have daily conversations with Chinese authorities, which gives me hope we can find a solution."
She said talks with China regarding meat exports are moving faster than those about canola.
Bibeau said China is dealing with a breakout of African swine fever affecting its domestic pork industry, "so they have a big demand for pork, in particular. They have a clear motivation to get our products.
"For canola, it's a little more difficult to exchange information. We still haven't received evidence of the alleged impurities."
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said Wednesday Trudeau has done "nothing" to help Kovrig and Spavor.
"He's relying on the charity now of Donald Trump and other world leaders to do for him what he's not willing to do for himself, and that's stand up for this country," Scheer said in the Yukon capital of Whitehorse.
Andrew Coyne: Reforming Canadian democracy starts by reforming candidate nomination process
John Ivison: Dominic LeBlanc's illness no excuse for taking advantage of his Irving connections

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Alumna Taylor Wilkinson (BA 01) is on her way to becoming a big name in the world of jewelry design, with stars like Miranda Lambert purchasing her designs.
Wilkinson graduated from Ole Miss in 2001, but her ties to the university go back several generations.
While attending the university, Wilkinson was a member of Chi Omega Fraternity and participated in the campus' social life. However, she devoted a majority of her time to pursuing a bachelor's degree in journalism, which she said was a full-time commitment.
In fact, during her time at Ole Miss, Wilkinson participated in a New York-based internship for "The Rosie O'Donnell Show," where she was able to shadow producers the day after Oprah launched O, The Oprah Magazine.
After completing the internship, Wilkinson finished her degree and moved to Birmingham where she first began to seriously think about starting her own jewelry brand. However, her interest in jewelry began at a young age.
Wilkinson said that her background in journalism at Ole Miss taught her how to better communicate with a person, which has helped her tremendously.
Wilkinson faced many obstacles when starting out, and one of the hardest challenges was finding the balance between designer and mother.
Wilkinson's children, along with other people in her life, have been a driving force behind her designs. For example, the "Venus" ring was inspired by an encouraging conversation with her daughter, and her grandmother inspired the "Wisdom" earrings.
Wilkinson described her jewelry as bold and geometrical.
"You know how, even if your house is not really clean, if it's straight it still creates visual peace," she said.
It is this visual peace that her designs strive for.
Wilkinson said young artists should not worry about planning or trying to follow someone else's process, because the challenging phases help a designer to grow the most.
Wilkinson said it is important to have a good support system when launching a business or starting a new endeavor. She advises young entrepreneurs to take their time and research.
Wilkinson will have a trunk show at Cicada on Oct. 27-28, 2017. Her designs can also be purchased online at taylorwilkinsondesigns.com.
Taylor Wilkinson is an active member of the Ole Miss Alumni Association.
Taylor, Ole Miss thanks you.
Do you have a suggestion for a future alumni spotlight? Let us know.


Consumer reviews on kitchen and bath products!
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Hi I am Christina, a designer with over 25 years of commercial and residential design experience under my belt. My husband and I have been fortunate enough to own our design showroom in Fort Myers Florida for the last ten years where we have worked on everything from small remodeling jobs from around $5,000 to the large million dollar mansion renovations. We have been successful only because in every job, we take the time to know the products that we use.


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Curated Arts, Culture and Entertainment
NIGHTLIFE & TRAVEL
Tag Archives: Jessica McMenamin
Le Baron's Baron Andre Saraiva Hangs Ten with Quiksilver
Posted on December 9, 2009 by BlackBook
André Saraiva probably has an absurdly high number of frequent flight miles racked up on Air France due to his Transatlantic flights back and forth from Charles de Gaulle to JFK. After all, he is the man responsible for creating the crème de la crème of Paris nightlife and for being a co-owner of Beatrice Inn on this side of the pond. In Paris, Le Baron is one of Saraiva's most famous lairs — complete with saucy red velvet walls — for coolest of the cool set. In addition, he also owns a spot in Tokyo, several outposts scattered about the City of Light and hosts "Le Baron Party" down at Art Basel Miami. And let's not forget his respected skills as graffiti artist.
Monsieur A, Saraiva's stick-figure character in hot neon pink, made a grand appearance in the United States for a Belvedere Vodka campaign. Recently however, he also linked up with Quiksilver — one of the biggest surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding apparel companies. Quiksilver turned 40 years old and in honor of the iconic brand's birthday, it held an all-out blockbuster bash at the Grand Palais. Yep, that Grand Palais in Paris built circa 1900, complete with a gothic-like glass dome. Saraiva was commissioned to paint all around the venue and created a handful of limited edition surfboards. We caught up with the impresario amidst the chaos of rampant skateboarders inside the historic local — also found out a bit more about why he and Quiksilver came together and his opinion of what's currently happening in the wee evening hours.
How did the collaboration with you and Quiksilver happen? I had met one of the guys from Quiksilver and had also been wanting for a long time to paint some surfboards and work with [surfboard] shapers. We had some friends in common and the guys from Quiksilver invited me to Biarritz, France — it's one of the best surf spots of all of Europe — they have their shapers and their workshop there. So one day, I worked with a few of their shapers there, stayed for a week working on the base of the boards…painting on the glass on the boards. So that's how it began, with me painting only a few unique pieces and boards for them. I spent time with them…we'd work in the morning and the afternoon and at the end of the day we'd go and surf together. It was really an amazing time.
What are you doing for Quik's 40th Anniversary in Paris? Quiksilver is doing this big event here at the Grand Palais. It's this really old school, amazing place, where normally big Chanel shows take place. It's really interesting and an amazing thing to have something that's more street culture being part of the Grand Palais. They asked me to paint a bit all over the walls, in the skatepark and on the ramps. It's fun to be part of this project.
Do you have any plans to do additional collaborations with Quiksilver on its clothing collections? No, it's more the unique pieces…that's the project that I really loved, working with the old school shapers where every board is unique. That's the beauty of the surfboards, they are all handmade. They are all special down to the size, the balance, everything is unique for each person. That's what I really like to do.
When did you first start to get involved in nightlife? Since I escaped from home when I was 12 years-old! I used to go out at night and go to clubs. I couldn't go home when I was kid, because when I used to go out, I would lie and say I was staying at some kid's place. So, I used to sleep in the clubs until the first subway was open and then go home and then say I was sleeping over at my friend's place. So yeah, since I was a kid! Nightlife was really a part of graffiti, so I would paint at night too….
It's synonymous…. Yeah, it goes together. The night is more than a time and place; it's where I always felt free. It's where and when people are more open minded.
When did you open your first club? I was organizing rave clubs in Paris at the end of the eighties and early nineties and was always organizing concerts and was always just into music. I had to organize them because I had to have a place to listen to the music I loved! Because, there weren't places in Paris where could I hear it. Then one day, with one of my best friends, we decided to build a place where we could go…where we could have our music, our club. My crew, my music and the people in bands that I love. So, we made our place for our people and that's how we started Le Baron.
What's the biggest difference with Parisian and New York nightlife? There is a simple difference between New York nightlife and Paris nightlife. In New York everything ends at 4am and in Paris everything just begins at 4am. We'll go until 7am.
When do things close down in Paris? We can go after hours…there are lots of places to go. Still tough, still dealing with noise and with neighbors, but there are still places to go.
You have a vested interest in Beatrice Inn. As we all know it's been closed now for quite some time. What's happening? Yeah, but Beatrice is coming back soon. We all want Beatrice back…it's going to happen.
In New York, it seems that places just get closed down left and right. Everything is controlled. Let's go back to the roots of New York. A place where artists can create and be in the city…where they can go and show their ideas.
Right now, how many spots do you have? Le Montana, Le Baron, Moon…a lesbian bar. Soon, Beatrice is coming back. I've been working on the Boom Boom Room with Andre Balazas — doing consulting on art direction. We have a club in Tokyo called, Le Baron Tokyo, a little bar with dirty French karaoke that I made with my friend Marc Newsome. A few restaurants, a few hotels…different little things.
Posted in Nightlife	| Tagged Andre Saraiva, Beatrice Inn, Boom Boom Room, Jessica McMenamin, Le Montana, Nightlife, People	| Leave a comment
Ronnie Spector And The All-Stars
Posted on November 25, 2009 by BlackBook
Ronnie Spector has a voice. And not just any voice. She's got the voice that delivered us "Be My Baby" and "Baby I Love You," songs we all still sing along to (and that provided the soundtrack for Patrick Swayze's sexy dance moves in Dirty Dancing). Spector, who we first heard some 40 years ago with The Ronnettes, is still at it. The Last of the Rock Stars, Spector's latest full-length album, was released earlier this month and was recorded over 12 long years with the help of some of rock's biggest names. Keith Richards, Patti Smith, Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Ravonettes, The Greenhornes and Joey Ramone all collaborated on various tracks. Spector was kind enough to chat with us about how much everyone loves her and to share a few intimate stories about how the album took shape.
You must be so happy to finally have your album out stateside. I got goose pimples when you just said that, because I've been waiting so long to have it finally come out!
On the first and second tracks of the album, you have some of music's most sought after songwriters and artists performing alongside you. With Nick Zinner from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs on "Hey Sah Lo Ney" and Sharin and Sune of The Ravonettes playing on "Ode to L.A." How was working with them? Sune and Sharin were so good in the studio. The Ravonettes are really tall and I would have to look up at them when we were recording and they'd ask, 'Is that ok Ronnie?' And I'd say, 'You tell me if it's ok!' They were fabulous to work with.
And Nick? I love Nick! You know what happened? Three years ago, Nick came to my Christmas BB King show and after the show he came backstage and said, 'Oh my, you're fantastic, I love your voice!' So, when he heard about me doing this album, he called my management to come work on the album. And you know what? I would have called him anyway to come work on my album! Keith Richards also called me up and said, 'Ronnie, if you're doing an album, I'm going to be there.' And he was. And when we decided to record, he was at the studio. Early. And Keith is never on time! So it blew my mind that Keith was there so early! Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, all those guys, they were the opening act back when I was performing with The Ronnettes.
Is it true that you and Joey Ramone did most of the recordings in an apartment and not in a recording studio? Joey wasn't feeling good at that time. He was no longer able to go to the studio. So he would come to Daniel Ray's apartment – Daniel helped produce the album and he lived right across the street from Joey and had all the equipment. Joey said, 'I don't care, I'd walk a mile for you girl!' And I'll never forget that. I told Joey, 'You don't feel good! You shouldn't say you'll walk a mile.' But he did. He was so sweet. So sweet.
Patti Smith, another incredible and prolific artist, recorded a track with you. Patti has such an incredible voice. She knocked it out of the park. I said, 'Patti, this is too much!'
Along with Patti, Jack Lawrence from The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs and The Greenhornes, and Patrick Keeler also from The Raconateurs and The Greenhornes recorded "There is an End." And the guys worked on "Won't Stop Saying Goodbye". How'd you hook up with them? My guitar player who's been performing with me for 20 years said, "you gotta meet them." So they came to my show. That's where I met Nick from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs too. They said, 'Ronnie, you're so good, you're not like anyone else!' And that's how I met them and it made me feel like a million bucks. They came backstage after my show at BB Kings.
You were born and raised in New York. What are some of the newer spots you like to check out? Well, I really like the Mercer Kitchen. It used to be where Bottom Line was located. And Carnie Deli I love! And White Castle! Who doesn't like White Castle?!
What venues to do you like? Well of course I love to play BB King's every year. The reason why is because you get treated like a queen there. They bring your food backstage. Everything is so nice. They have great acoustics and I love the way it's seated.
Do you have plans to perform in New York on tour for the album? Of course we're touring! You know why, I have ants in my pants! I have to get up and show people what this is all about. I co-produced practically everything on the album so I'm excited for everyone to hear it.
Do you have plans to tour with any of the artists that contributed on the album? I hope they will be touring or doing something with me and if not touring at least coming back to the studio and doing something with me.
Posted in Music	| Tagged Jessica McMenamin, MUSIC, People, Ronnie Spector	| Leave a comment
Industry Insiders: Annie Mac, UK DJ du Jour
Posted on October 13, 2009 by BlackBook
As a BBC Radio 1 presenter and DJ, Annie Mac is definitely a household name within the UK. After all, across the pond she's considered the new voice of dance music due to her show Annie Mac's Mash Up. Annie recently took over the legendary reins of Pete Tong's famous Friday night slot on Radio 1 — traditionally kicking off the weekend for those Brits to let loose. This past month, she came over to North America for a small club tour, stopping through New York City, of course. We caught up with Annie at the Tribeca Grand before her 2am DJ gig downstairs in the hotel's subterranean dance den.
How does it feel to be the new voice of dance music for the UK? The grand plan wasn't to be the new voice of dance music. It just happened organically. Originally, I was given a late night Thursday show in 2004, and luckily, people liked the music I liked. Radio 1 has been really good and embraced me as a presenter and pushed me forward, and I guess I'm happy to be pushed! And now I've ended up in this new role. I haven't really thought about it until when there's been a lot of press around and during the change. For me it's not a change, because we just switched the show times around. I'm trying not to feel any pressure and to keep doing what I've always done. Trying not to compromise the show and keep playing the music we've played and stay true to what we're about. It's a bit silly and a bit fun-loving, a bit chaotic in a good way. Obviously the music is the important thing.
Your new Friday night slot from 7-9pm opens you up to a whole new group of fans that have been listening to Pete Tong for years. How have you shifted gears? We had a cult following on Thursday night and when we moved to Friday, we wanted to keep our Thursday-night fans happy, yet know that we're also broadcasting to people who don't necessarily buy music or care about labels or producers. It's to entertain as well as educate. It's about programming the show and working with the team to make sure that when we play two records that are quite challenging and then after, we play something that everyone knows. It's all about the flow of the music. Our guests as well — the presentation of being inclusive and trying not to be intimidating — talking about the lifestyle around the music more than the actual music itself. The clubbing, texting your mates, and all the fun bits around the music.
It sounds like you're carving out a nice balance of both worlds within your programming. Mainstream and more underground music … We, the team, have to keep ourselves interested as well. We could play all the big tunes, but then you want to also something that you're really excited about. Play it and explain why you're excited about it. That's why I love my job.
As a club DJ, you're an artist, but you're also a journalist. How do you wear both hats? When I started to be a club DJ, I found it very hard because I felt that I wasn't really prepared for that transition from being a journalist to being an artist. When I'm doing my radio show, it's been mostly girls, and fun and a bit silly, so you don't really think about the fact that thousands of people are listening. You're just having fun playing records. When I started playing records in a club professionally, all of the sudden I had 500 people staring at me … I found that really difficult. I wasn't ready to be physically on display while performing. It took me a full year to become confident and comfortable onstage. That transition took awhile, yet I think both complement each other. When you play a track in a club, it's really interesting to see the reaction you get on the dance floor — because you know when you play it on the radio, it'll also be really good.
People here in the US definitely seek out your programming. Did you have any expectations when coming across the pond? There's nothing like BBC Radio in the US, so it's made me re-evaluate and appreciate what the BBC lets us do as a service. Not only does it give us complete freedom with what we do, but it also really nurtures its DJs and lets us be personalities. The most overriding thing about my recent club tour in America is that I genuinely didn't know what to expect when coming here. Because I didn't know if anyone would be at the clubs. You get emails every week when you broadcast, and seeing those emails from Canada and here in the US saying they're coming, and then seeing that manifest into a crowd of people physically there at the club was amazing. What they've also said is how much they love Radio 1 and the show because they don't have anything like that here. The internet is amazing.
Who are some interesting artists that have come into Radio 1's studio for an interview? There's been a few that have stuck out. We had a mini-mix from a guy named Cajmere of Green Velvet. We did a phone interview with him and he was incredibly gracious and charismatic. He was everything and everyone you want them to be in an interviewee. Someone who came in to do an in person were the two guys from Chromeo. P-Thugg does a voice-box for Chromeo and does this funky 80s thing. He did the whole interview that way. It was just hilarious and really good fun. There's a guy called Rex the Dog who is a producer from back home. He did the whole interview as a dog with a bark sound effect. One bark for yes, two barks for no. There has been some really really funny ones. Dizzee Rascal … I did a whole interview with him that was great. Radiohead as well with Thom Yorke — that was the most nervous I'd ever been, but also the most rewarding. Thom Yorke was just wigging out! He was playing techno behind the board, and I kept saying, "Calm down, Annie, calm down!"
While in New York City, you broadcast your Friday night show remotely. How'd that go? It was wicked! It was on the 36th floor of Sirius. Seeing radio in a different country like here and how it's done and how the studio works is interesting. Seeing pictures of Howard Stern and Oprah Winfrey, all these proper iconic people. It was a bit weird doing it in the afternoon, but I think we were really happy with the show and how it went. I think we brought back a nice flavor of New York back home in the UK. I'm really happy with it.
You DJed with Mark Ronson too? Yes, It was brilliant. I did his East Village Radio with him. It's incredible … such an amazing way to do a radio show right on the street in the East Village, seeing everyone outside through the glass. He had all sorts of people drop in.
Posted in Nightlife	| Tagged Annie Mac, Industry Insiders, Jessica McMenamin, People, Tribeca Grand Hotel	| Leave a comment
Omar Doom: Basterd Out of Catalina
Posted on August 5, 2009 by BlackBook
Omar Doom is a real basterd. As Pfc. Omar Ulmer in this summer's highly anticipated World War II bloodbath Inglourious Basterds, he's one of eight American men sent to terrorize Hitler's army in Nazi-occupied France — specifically to hunt and kill German soldiers, not capture them. So yeah, Doom gets a little bloody; it is, after all, a Quentin Tarantino film. Doom is two for two with Tarantino now down the red carpet at Cannes. He also acted in Grindhouse — which premiered at Cannes two years ago — the Robert Rodriguez-Tarantino double feature, with Doom in Tarantino's half of Death Proof. Doom's now part of that special actor club alongside Uma Thurman, Samuel Jackson, and another basterd, Hostel director Eli Roth. We chatted with Doom about writing his own music, scalping Nazis, drinking beer with the biggest movie star in the world, and playing with fire to the point where it put him in the hospital. Rather than stay exclusively dark, we also enjoyed a day o' Doom on Catalina Island in Southern California (see full gallery) before he popped away to the London premiere of Inglourious Basterds. See the clip above for a demo of Doom's slick golf-cart-racing skills, peruse the full gallery of his sartorially chic island time, and check out the full interview after the jump.
Did you know much about your role in Inglourious Basterds while Tarantino was writing the script? No, I got a call from Quentin about three weeks before shooting started. Eli Roth and I both kind of auditioned while filming Death Proof. Quentin basically broke it down for me over the phone for a while, and then finished up by saying, I want you to come to Berlin and be a Basterd! I was just like, Quentin, I've been preparing for that role my whole life!
You've been on two Tarantino film sets now. What's the vibe like? Death Proof was a little more laid back than Inglourious Basterds. Basterds was more focused due to it being a bigger production and on such a tight deadline. Quentin definitely knows how to have a good time though.
What kind of good time? He always has cool music playing between takes and creates this very intimate environment for the entire cast and crew. It just really feels like a party where everyone is having a great time, and it doesn't really feel like work. It's a bit surreal as well because when you're working on a Tarantino film, you're working on film history. So yeah, it feels surreal to go down in history.
Kind of like "Quentin's World" … Yeah, basically you're in "Quentin's World" during his shoots, and his world is a lot of fun. And within that world he has his actors he uses time and time again. I am very lucky enough to say I am now one of those actors.
What's up with the Omar Doom vs. Pfc. Omar Ulmer? In every little detail in his films there's some sort of reference point — it occurs in all his films and film buffs go nuts over it. He definitely had something in mind when he named my character Omar Ulmer, but it's up to the audience to figure all that stuff out.
So who is Pfc. Ulmer? He is a Basterd! There are eight Basterds lead by Lt. Aldo Raine (played by Brad Pitt) to wreak havoc upon the Nazis, and Omar is one of them.
How was it working with the biggest movie star in the business? Brad Pitt is one of the coolest guys I've ever met. There are actors that roll up to a movie set flanked by an entourage of men in suits, and they offer up only a handshake and a fake smile to their fellow actors. Brad walks onto the set, solo, without an entourage of friends, publicists, or whatever around him, with just a six-pack of beer in his hands, like "Hey guys! Want a beer?" He's just a straight-up cool dude.
In the trailer, Brad Pitt's character says to each of the Basterds, "You each owe me 100 scalps and I want my scalps!" Did Pfc. Ulmer fulfill the request? I like to think so. Scalping those Nazis was the most fun I had on set. We even had to go through "scalping training."
No way. Yeah, we were taken and shown how to properly scalp a human head by special effects guru Greg Nicotero. Quentin made sure to have us filmed during the scalp-training process to see who was, indeed, the best scalper. It turned out that person was me. Who would've of thought?
How does one scalp a human head? You basically get started by getting a good grip on the victim's hair and make a small incision along the top of the forehead. Then as you're slicing through, the rest of the scalp pretty much peels off of the head like a banana. Finally give the skin a good yank and rip it off. Once you're done, you either put it your bag or on your belt, and move on to the next victim.
Given that you were both in Death Proof, did you have any memorable moments on-set with Eli Roth? There's a scene where Eli and I are surrounded by flames in a burning building. Quentin insisted on not using CGI. All of the fire you see in the trailer is real. It's all real! During the shoot, Quentin was up on a crane draped in a fire blanket, and there Eli and I were slathered in fire gel, blasting our machine guns in front of a gigantic wall of flames. There was a bunch of rehearsals, which were basically fire drills, because as soon as Quentin blew the horn, everyone had to leave the building. They did everything they could to make sure nothing would go wrong. Something did go wrong. The fire ended up being 1000 degrees where Eli and I were standing. We saw what was going down and just knew we had to soldier through until Quentin got the shot. I ended up being rushed to the emergency room and treated for burns on my head, hands, and the right side of my face. I heard that the fire marshal said if Eli and I were in there for only seconds more, we'd be in far worse condition.
I'd say Quentin definitely owes you one. I did only what was expected from a Basterd!
Aside from your acting duties, you're also a musician. What's in the works right now? I'm working on a solo album at the moment. It should be done in a couple of months and released in the fall. I actually wrote half of the songs in my off time while shooting Inglourious Basterds in Berlin, which lasted six months.
Since you're part of the Tarantino actor family, anything in the works toward the future? There's talk of a possible Inglourious Basterds prequel right now. Quentin has a lot of material to work with, and if all goes well we'll be shooting again.
Posted in Film	| Tagged Brad Pitt, eli roth, Interviews, Jessica McMenamin, Movies, Omar Doom, photos, Pop Culture, Quentin Tarantino, video	| Leave a comment
Keeping Up with Paul Oakenfold
Posted on July 31, 2009 by BlackBook
Paul Oakenfold could make anyone shake their booty. The world-class DJ and producer has been at it for almost 20 years, and he isn't stopping anytime soon. In fact, he's busier and busier. This month, he released Perfecto Vegas — which includes a double CD of 21 exclusive tracks — to commemorate the success of his residency at The Palms casino in Las Vegas. Perfecto Vegas is just one aspect of his recent body of work. Over the past year, he scored British film The Heavy, worked in the studio on Jerry Bruckheimer's new film G-Force, and he's on this "little" ride with that woman they call "M." Take a guess who? That would be Madonna — Oakenfold is currently DJing on her "Sticky & Sweet" global tour. Madonna also asked him to produce her latest single, "Celebration," slated to come out August 3. Fortunately, I was able to catch up with Oakenfold in Oslo, Norway — one of his tour stops with Madge — and have a quick chat.
Tell me about Perfecto Vegas. The Perfecto CD represents my residency at The Palms in Las Vegas, which I'm really proud of. We've worked extremely hard as a venue, as a club, especially in this time which is tough for everyone. It's been a big team effort. We have a lot of performance art in the club — we certainly gave Vegas something they've never experienced. We have around 3,000 people on a Saturday night, and we're going to step it up and go into the second year through 2010. I'm very very happy and wanted to put out this CD that represented what we do — more the underground side of what we do — to give people a taste and an idea. Even down to looking at the artwork on the CD, they can see pictures of the club. They can go online to my website or to the club's website and see photos there as well.
What's going on with your upcoming original studio album, Pop Killer? That's kind of a working title — there's nothing official for the record right now. I've done a bunch of recordings with some new artists and some artists that you're familiar with in terms of their names. That release will probably be toward next year. I've been road-testing some of the tracks: I did a track with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, one with Ryan Tedder (who's the lead singer of One Republic) and one with an underground band called Infected Mushrooms. It's been going well. Hopefully, once it's finished people will dig it.
You have so much going on — how do you balance everything? Realistically, it's what you choose and what you do which are the most important things. Sometimes it just all comes out all at once. Like right now, I'm on Madonna's tour DJing, I produced her new single, I worked in the studio on Jerry Bruckheimer's G-Force — and well, they're all out and going on at the same time. So it seems like it's a lot, but if you look into it, I did the Madonna record in May, I've been doing the Bruckheimer thing for awhile, so everything is clear and done. And then the Madonna tour — that's the only thing I'm focusing on right now — I'm only DJing. There's only one thing. It just seems like there's a lot more at once. For instance, I scored The Heavy back in December, and it's going to come out this September. If your time is organized well, you can do everything, and I have a great team who helps me.
How's Madonna's global tour been treating you? The show as you can imagine have been going really really well. My sets are a lot different. Obviously I'm warming up for "M" — it's a lot more commercial and focused. I'm getting the crowd going and ready for the big act. We did a show yesterday for Madonna. Tonight I'm going to play my own underground show to 1,000 people — last night, at Madonna's show, was 55,000 people.
55,000 people!? Yes, 55,000 people. I'm very lucky because I get to play both kinds of music — the commercial and the underground tracks. It's quite daunting when you walk in front of that amount of people. Back in December while in Brazil, it was like 95,000 people. You just channel your energy and focus on what you're doing, and it can be great.
Tell me about Madonna's new single you produced. The new single I produced is called "Celebration" — it's cutting edge in terms of instrumentation and also brings back some of the old flavor in terms of Madonna with "Lucky Star" and "Holiday," with melody and song. It's that kind of vibe. The whole idea is for people to go out, have a good time, and enjoy themselves in a time that's difficult for all of us. Try to put a smile on people's faces in a time when they need it. Hopefully, you'll dance around your room, sing in the mirror, and smile at the end of it.
Didn't you recently debut the single? I was very lucky because Madonna and Warner Bros. allowed me to play and debut it in Ibiza as the last record of the night at Pacha, which was the perfect setting to hear the new Madonna song. It's uplifting, clubby, and very strong in terms of a melodic feel. It's a "Celebration" — come enjoy yourself. It was a perfect place to have the world premier last Friday night.
Posted in Music	| Tagged Interviews, Jessica McMenamin, Las Vegas, Madonna, MUSIC, Paul Oakenfold, People, The Palms	| Leave a comment
Kemado Records' New Digs
Kemado Records and its sister label, Mexican Summer, are quite busy to say the least. Over the past six months, both labels moved offices from Manhattan out to Greenpoint, Brooklyn, while simultaneously building a commercial recording studio within the vast new space. They're also opening up a destination brick-and-mortar record store, organizing a music festival out in Big Sur, California, and of course producing a constant stream of new releases from their roster of artists. I sat down with label owner Andres Santo Domingo and label head Keith Abrahamsson to get the latest and check out their new pad.
When did you decide to make the move to Greenpoint? We just needed more space. We looked all over Manhattan and found a couple of spaces — we looked everywhere. But when we came out to Brooklyn and saw the spaces out here in Greenpoint, we knew we could do a commercial recording studio. We're going to rent it out a great deal. We'll keep it busy a lot by ourselves as well, but we want to have it as full as possible.
What's the square footage of your building? Andres Santo Domingo: It's about 4,000 square feet on each floor, and the recording studio is 2,000 square feet with 30-foot ceilings in the live recording room. We made the space very functional for everyone to hang out and make it accommodating for anyone that's recording.
Are you going to have a retail space on the first floor? ASD: Yes. It's a platform for Mexican Summer and for our belief in limited-edition vinyl — a resurgence that is going on right now. About three other record labels are going to be involved in the beginning, and we'll sell all of their product there too. One of them is Captured Tracks; another is Sacred Bones, which does limited-edition vinyl releases; and Minimal Wave. We're also going to have Woodsist's limited-edition vinyl too. It's a vinyl co-op store essentially. We're not going to carry a bunch different labels, nor is the store going to be open every day. It's a destination where you can go and pick up new releases on vinyl. A lot of things we'd like to do and are thinking of doing with the store: our bands and the other labels will have live shows in the recording studio, record the session, and then press out on a seven-inch. We're also going to have "store releases" where you can only purchase that release at the store.
Similar to what Jack White's Third Man Records is doing in Nashville, and the recent pop up store in New York? ASD: Yes, it's similar, but one thing that Jack White has that we don't have — and what we'd love to have — is a vinyl pressing plant. You need a big space for that! We have a couple places in Brooklyn though that press vinyl for us though.
Tell me about the festival you're putting on — Party in the Pines. ASD: It's going to be at Henry Miller Library out in Big Sur on August 29. There are a lot of awesome bands — a lot we work with, but also bands in the same family as us. Dungen, Ariel Pink, Gang Gang Dance … Vietnam is doing a reunion show. Saviours, Farmer Dave Scher. It's going to be awesome.
Where did the concept come from? Keith Abrahamsson: This is really the brainchild of Jeff Kaye, who also works at Kemado. He knew the guys of Folk Yeah, who are promoters that put on these shows out at the Henry Miller Library. We're hoping this will end up being a yearly event. ASD: It's a one-day festival. It's only $30, and people can camp there. It's sort of a reaction to these big three-day festivals. This festival is on a much smaller scale. We can only sell 500 tickets due to the capacity of the venue.
What releases do you have coming up? ASD: Farmer Dave, which we're really excited about. That comes out in August. A new Langhorne Slim record — we're getting that project rolling right now. A new Saviours record due out in the fall. Also, we signed a new band on Kemado: The Soft Pack from San Diego. They're recording their album right now. That will come out in the new year, as will the The Sword's new record. Between all that, we have a slew of new Mexican Summer releases too. So we're going to be busy!
Posted in Music	| Tagged Andres Santo Domingo, Jessica McMenamin, Keith Abrahamsson, MUSIC, New York, People	| Leave a comment
Kings of Leon: Possible 'Today Show' Stampede?
It's a mad dash for Rockefeller Plaza! Run! Run! Come this Friday, one of the biggest names in rock 'n' roll, Kings of Leon, will be performing live on NBC's Today summer concert series. Those Southern boys from Nashville certainly put on a good show, and I know Friday's gig will not disappoint. They are telling fans to show up at the wee hour of 6am to guarantee a good view. I'm predicting sleepovers within the confines of Rock Plaza. Matt Lauer, Meredith Vieira, and Al Roker should be prepared for legions screaming girls. Of course, they're probably used to that kind of chaos by now.
One of the main reasons why I think it's going to be a tad more crazy than usual is a recent Rolling Stone story about KOL's upcoming Lollapalooza performance at Grant Park on August 7 in Chicago. I mean, I know KOL is big-time, but Lollapalooza's new online fest-attendance feature (which tracks "how many people have added an artist on the lineup to their personal schedule, giving festival-goers an early indicator of how packed the fest's most popular shows might be") says 15,000 fans have added KOL. Hopefully Roker won't be steamrolled.
Posted in Music	| Tagged Jessica McMenamin, Kings of Leon, MUSIC, New York, Pop Culture, TV	| Leave a comment
Q-Tip & Mark Ronson Pay Tribute to Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson's funerary festival isn't stopping anytime soon. It just keeps going on … and on … and on … Don't get me wrong, I love MJ; Thriller was my very first album for god's sake. Yet the media spectacle since his recent death has just been too much sensationalism for my taste. (This is probably the reason why I haven't written one story or commented about his death until now.) I believe however there are those who genuinely want to honor the King of Pop and do so without ulterior motives. Case in point: come August 29 — what would have been the Michael Jackson's 51st birthday — Q-Tip will present a tribute, "Long Live the King! A Birthday Celebration for Michael Jackson" at the NOKIA Theatre Times Square in New York.
Q-Tip is bringing in Grammy-man buddy Mark Ronson and DJ Spinna to assist inside the DJ both. They'll be playing a slew of never before-heard remixes of Michael Jackson's hits, as well as rare video footage from the Motown and Sony vaults. Q-Tip says, "Michael Jackson was a huge influence on my music and was an inspiration to me and so many others. I want to bring people together to celebrate the man, his music, and his legacy that will undoubtedly live on forever!" Tickets go on sale this Friday, July 31, for the 2,100-person venue.
Posted in Music	| Tagged Jessica McMenamin, mark ronson, Michael Jackson, MUSIC, New York, Pop Culture, Q-Tip	| Leave a comment
Amy Winehouse & Blake Fielder-Civil: Divorce Stories
Over the weekend, I kept hearing radio DJs comment on Amy Winehouse's very recent and public divorce from Blake Fielder-Civil while playing the former's tunes on heavy rotation. So I decided to search around and see what's been said across the pond about the hot-off-the press split. Lo and behold, I found a headlining story from British tabloid The Sun. Apparently, Blakeie-poo decided to have an official chat and "tell-all" about Amy. I can't help but think how much The Sun paid Fielder-Civil for his words? The guy probably needed a few extra pounds due to the divorce, or perhaps he just wanted to take a stab at his ex. Regardless, it's in bad taste. But what would one expect from the addict who admitted to introducing Winehouse to crack and heroin?
Among lots of other salaciously degrading detail, Fielder-Civil shared an incident about Winehouse passing out after a three-day party binge. Blake had to resuscitate her and worried if she was about to die in his arms. All of this is quite sad and disturbing to hear about Winehouse; she's such a talent with an incredible career ahead of her. Let's hope that with Fielder-Civil no longer in the picture, she'll stay off the drugs and get on the straight and narrow path, with music as her catalyst. Mark Ronson, please come to the rescue.
Posted in Music	| Tagged Amy Winehouse, Blake Fielder-Civil, Jessica McMenamin, MUSIC, Pop Culture	| Leave a comment
Design Legend Vaughan Oliver Has Died: These Are Six of His Greatest Album Artworks + Playlist
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In Mumbai, MSF has been providing not just medical treatment but holistic care to people living with DR-TB.
A course developed to provide affordable, global access to high-quality education in tropical medicine.
Because medicines shouldn't be a luxury!
It is estimated that 71 million people have chronic#HepatitisC infection globally and#India accounts for approximately 17% of the total number of cases recorded. Once in the body, the Hepatitis C virus attacks the#liver and if left untreated, it can lead to organ failure, cancer, or even death. This#WorldLiverDay, learn why is Hepatitis C an 'invisible emergency' in India?
"These migrants are thinking - I'm sad and depressed and I have nothing to do. It looks like I will be stuck here for a long time." In this interview with Asiaville News,#MSF psychologist Pooja Iyer shares her experiences on her last mission in#Serbia and#Bosnia, where she worked with migrant populations making their way to Western Europe.
▶ What are the main concerns during a natural disaster? ▶ How do you implement an emergency response? Monica Rull, Deputy Director of Operations answers five questions on MSF#CycloneIdai response in#Mozambique .
#Iraq | When we opened our post-operative care facility in#Mosul, in April 2018, Anas was one of the first patients to be admitted. He spent most of the year at our hospital, but this month, he was finally discharged.


text:
Accepted Manuscript: Speech Enhancement Using Forked Generative Adversarial Networks with Spectral Subtraction
Title: Speech Enhancement Using Forked Generative Adversarial Networks with Spectral Subtraction
Speech enhancement techniques that use a generative adversarial network (GAN) can effectively suppress noise while allowing models to be trained end-to-end. However, such techniques directly operate on time-domain waveforms, which are often highly-dimensional and require extensive computation. This paper proposes a novel GAN-based speech enhancement method, referred to as S-ForkGAN, that operates on log-power spectra rather than on time-domain speech waveforms, and uses a forked GAN structure to extract both speech and noise information. By operating on log-power spectra, one can seamlessly include conventional spectral subtraction techniques, and the parameter space typically has a lower dimension. The performance of S-ForkGAN is assessed for automatic speech recognition (ASR) using the TIMIT data set and a wide range of noise conditions. It is shown that S-ForkGAN outperforms existing GAN-based techniques and that it has a lower complexity.
Lin, Ju; Niu, Sufeng; Wei, Zice; Lan, Xiang; Wijngaarden, Adriaan J.; Smith, Melissa C.; Wang, Kuang-Ching
Proceedings of Interspeech 2019
Improved Speech Enhancement Using a Time-Domain GAN with Mask Learning
https://doi.org/10.21437/Interspeech.2020-1946
Lin, Ju ; Niu, Sufeng ; Wijngaarden, Adriaan J. ; McClendon, Jerome L. ; Smith, Melissa C. ; Wang, Kuang-Ching ( October 2020 , Proceedings of Interspeech 2020)
Speech enhancement is an essential component in robust automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems. Most speech enhancement methods are nowadays based on neural networks that use feature-mapping or mask-learning. This paper proposes a novel speech enhancement method that integrates time-domain feature mapping and mask learning into a unified framework using a Generative Adversarial Network (GAN). The proposed framework processes the received waveform and decouples speech and noise signals, which are fed into two short-time Fourier transform (STFT) convolution 1-D layers that map the waveforms to spectrograms in the complex domain. These speech and noise spectrograms are then used to compute the speech mask loss. The proposed method is evaluated using the TIMIT data set for seen and unseen signal-to-noise ratio conditions. It is shown that the proposed method outperforms the speech enhancement methods that use Deep Neural Network (DNN) based speech enhancement or a Speech Enhancement Generative Adversarial Network (SEGAN).
High-performance and scalable on-chip digital Fourier transform spectroscopy
Kita, Derek M. ; Miranda, Brando ; Favela, David ; Bono, David ; Michon, Jérôme ; Lin, Hongtao ; Gu, Tian ; Hu, Juejun ( October 2018 , Nature Communications)
On-chip spectrometers have the potential to offer dramatic size, weight, and power advantages over conventional benchtop instruments for many applications such as spectroscopic sensing, optical network performance monitoring, hyperspectral imaging, and radio-frequency spectrum analysis. Existing on-chip spectrometer designs, however, are limited in spectral channel count and signal-to-noise ratio. Here we demonstrate a transformative on-chip digital Fourier transform spectrometer that acquires high-resolution spectra via time-domain modulation of a reconfigurable Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The device, fabricated and packaged using industry-standard silicon photonics technology, claims the multiplex advantage to dramatically boost the signal-to-noise ratio and unprecedented scalability capable of addressing exponentially increasing numbers of spectral channels. We further explore and implement machine learning regularization techniques to spectrum reconstruction. Using an 'elastic-D1' regularized regression method that we develop, we achieved significant noise suppression for both broad (>600 GHz) and narrow (<25 GHz) spectral features, as well as spectral resolution enhancement beyond the classical Rayleigh criterion.
A Deep Learning-Based Real-time Seizure Detection System
https://doi.org/10.1109/SPMB50085.2020.9353623
Shawki, N. ; Elseify, T. ; Cap, T. ; Shah, V. ; Obeid, I. ; Picone, J. ( December 2020 , Proceedings of the IEEE Signal Processing in Medicine and Biology Symposium (SPMB))
Obeid, Iyad Selesnick (Ed.)
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a popular clinical monitoring tool used for diagnosing brain-related disorders such as epilepsy [1]. As monitoring EEGs in a critical-care setting is an expensive and tedious task, there is a great interest in developing real-time EEG monitoring tools to improve patient care quality and efficiency [2]. However, clinicians require automatic seizure detection tools that provide decisions with at least 75% sensitivity and less than 1 false alarm (FA) per 24 hours [3]. Some commercial tools recently claim to reach such performance levels, including the Olympic Brainz Monitor [4] and Persyst 14 [5]. In this abstract, we describe our efforts to transform a high-performance offline seizure detection system [3] into a low latency real-time or online seizure detection system. An overview of the system is shown in Figure 1. The main difference between an online versus offline system is that an online system should always be causal and has minimum latency which is often defined by domain experts. The offline system, shown in Figure 2, uses two phases of deep learning models with postprocessing [3]. The channel-based long short term memory (LSTM) model (Phase 1 or P1) processes linear frequency cepstral coefficients (LFCC) [6] features from each EEGmore »channel separately. We use the hypotheses generated by the P1 model and create additional features that carry information about the detected events and their confidence. The P2 model uses these additional features and the LFCC features to learn the temporal and spatial aspects of the EEG signals using a hybrid convolutional neural network (CNN) and LSTM model. Finally, Phase 3 aggregates the results from both P1 and P2 before applying a final postprocessing step. The online system implements Phase 1 by taking advantage of the Linux piping mechanism, multithreading techniques, and multi-core processors. To convert Phase 1 into an online system, we divide the system into five major modules: signal preprocessor, feature extractor, event decoder, postprocessor, and visualizer. The system reads 0.1-second frames from each EEG channel and sends them to the feature extractor and the visualizer. The feature extractor generates LFCC features in real time from the streaming EEG signal. Next, the system computes seizure and background probabilities using a channel-based LSTM model and applies a postprocessor to aggregate the detected events across channels. The system then displays the EEG signal and the decisions simultaneously using a visualization module. The online system uses C++, Python, TensorFlow, and PyQtGraph in its implementation. The online system accepts streamed EEG data sampled at 250 Hz as input. The system begins processing the EEG signal by applying a TCP montage [8]. Depending on the type of the montage, the EEG signal can have either 22 or 20 channels. To enable the online operation, we send 0.1-second (25 samples) length frames from each channel of the streamed EEG signal to the feature extractor and the visualizer. Feature extraction is performed sequentially on each channel. The signal preprocessor writes the sample frames into two streams to facilitate these modules. In the first stream, the feature extractor receives the signals using stdin. In parallel, as a second stream, the visualizer shares a user-defined file with the signal preprocessor. This user-defined file holds raw signal information as a buffer for the visualizer. The signal preprocessor writes into the file while the visualizer reads from it. Reading and writing into the same file poses a challenge. The visualizer can start reading while the signal preprocessor is writing into it. To resolve this issue, we utilize a file locking mechanism in the signal preprocessor and visualizer. Each of the processes temporarily locks the file, performs its operation, releases the lock, and tries to obtain the lock after a waiting period. The file locking mechanism ensures that only one process can access the file by prohibiting other processes from reading or writing while one process is modifying the file [9]. The feature extractor uses circular buffers to save 0.3 seconds or 75 samples from each channel for extracting 0.2-second or 50-sample long center-aligned windows. The module generates 8 absolute LFCC features where the zeroth cepstral coefficient is replaced by a temporal domain energy term. For extracting the rest of the features, three pipelines are used. The differential energy feature is calculated in a 0.9-second absolute feature window with a frame size of 0.1 seconds. The difference between the maximum and minimum temporal energy terms is calculated in this range. Then, the first derivative or the delta features are calculated using another 0.9-second window. Finally, the second derivative or delta-delta features are calculated using a 0.3-second window [6]. The differential energy for the delta-delta features is not included. In total, we extract 26 features from the raw sample windows which add 1.1 seconds of delay to the system. We used the Temple University Hospital Seizure Database (TUSZ) v1.2.1 for developing the online system [10]. The statistics for this dataset are shown in Table 1. A channel-based LSTM model was trained using the features derived from the train set using the online feature extractor module. A window-based normalization technique was applied to those features. In the offline model, we scale features by normalizing using the maximum absolute value of a channel [11] before applying a sliding window approach. Since the online system has access to a limited amount of data, we normalize based on the observed window. The model uses the feature vectors with a frame size of 1 second and a window size of 7 seconds. We evaluated the model using the offline P1 postprocessor to determine the efficacy of the delayed features and the window-based normalization technique. As shown by the results of experiments 1 and 4 in Table 2, these changes give us a comparable performance to the offline model. The online event decoder module utilizes this trained model for computing probabilities for the seizure and background classes. These posteriors are then postprocessed to remove spurious detections. The online postprocessor receives and saves 8 seconds of class posteriors in a buffer for further processing. It applies multiple heuristic filters (e.g., probability threshold) to make an overall decision by combining events across the channels. These filters evaluate the average confidence, the duration of a seizure, and the channels where the seizures were observed. The postprocessor delivers the label and confidence to the visualizer. The visualizer starts to display the signal as soon as it gets access to the signal file, as shown in Figure 1 using the "Signal File" and "Visualizer" blocks. Once the visualizer receives the label and confidence for the latest epoch from the postprocessor, it overlays the decision and color codes that epoch. The visualizer uses red for seizure with the label SEIZ and green for the background class with the label BCKG. Once the streaming finishes, the system saves three files: a signal file in which the sample frames are saved in the order they were streamed, a time segmented event (TSE) file with the overall decisions and confidences, and a hypotheses (HYP) file that saves the label and confidence for each epoch. The user can plot the signal and decisions using the signal and HYP files with only the visualizer by enabling appropriate options. For comparing the performance of different stages of development, we used the test set of TUSZ v1.2.1 database. It contains 1015 EEG records of varying duration. The any-overlap performance [12] of the overall system shown in Figure 2 is 40.29% sensitivity with 5.77 FAs per 24 hours. For comparison, the previous state-of-the-art model developed on this database performed at 30.71% sensitivity with 6.77 FAs per 24 hours [3]. The individual performances of the deep learning phases are as follows: Phase 1's (P1) performance is 39.46% sensitivity and 11.62 FAs per 24 hours, and Phase 2 detects seizures with 41.16% sensitivity and 11.69 FAs per 24 hours. We trained an LSTM model with the delayed features and the window-based normalization technique for developing the online system. Using the offline decoder and postprocessor, the model performed at 36.23% sensitivity with 9.52 FAs per 24 hours. The trained model was then evaluated with the online modules. The current performance of the overall online system is 45.80% sensitivity with 28.14 FAs per 24 hours. Table 2 summarizes the performances of these systems. The performance of the online system deviates from the offline P1 model because the online postprocessor fails to combine the events as the seizure probability fluctuates during an event. The modules in the online system add a total of 11.1 seconds of delay for processing each second of the data, as shown in Figure 3. In practice, we also count the time for loading the model and starting the visualizer block. When we consider these facts, the system consumes 15 seconds to display the first hypothesis. The system detects seizure onsets with an average latency of 15 seconds. Implementing an automatic seizure detection model in real time is not trivial. We used a variety of techniques such as the file locking mechanism, multithreading, circular buffers, real-time event decoding, and signal-decision plotting to realize the system. A video demonstrating the system is available at: https://www.isip.piconepress.com/projects/nsf_pfi_tt/resources/videos/realtime_eeg_analysis/v2.5.1/video_2.5.1.mp4. The final conference submission will include a more detailed analysis of the online performance of each module. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Research reported in this publication was most recently supported by the National Science Foundation Partnership for Innovation award number IIP-1827565 and the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Universal Research Enhancement Program (PA CURE). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official views of any of these organizations. REFERENCES [1] A. Craik, Y. He, and J. L. Contreras-Vidal, "Deep learning for electroencephalogram (EEG) classification tasks: a review," J. Neural Eng., vol. 16, no. 3, p. 031001, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1088/1741-2552/ab0ab5. [2] A. C. Bridi, T. Q. Louro, and R. C. L. Da Silva, "Clinical Alarms in intensive care: implications of alarm fatigue for the safety of patients," Rev. Lat. Am. Enfermagem, vol. 22, no. 6, p. 1034, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1590/0104-1169.3488.2513. [3] M. Golmohammadi, V. Shah, I. Obeid, and J. Picone, "Deep Learning Approaches for Automatic Seizure Detection from Scalp Electroencephalograms," in Signal Processing in Medicine and Biology: Emerging Trends in Research and Applications, 1st ed., I. Obeid, I. Selesnick, and J. Picone, Eds. New York, New York, USA: Springer, 2020, pp. 233–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-36844-9_8. [4] "CFM Olympic Brainz Monitor." [Online]. Available: https://newborncare.natus.com/products-services/newborn-care-products/newborn-brain-injury/cfm-olympic-brainz-monitor. [Accessed: 17-Jul-2020]. [5] M. L. Scheuer, S. B. Wilson, A. Antony, G. Ghearing, A. Urban, and A. I. Bagic, "Seizure Detection: Interreader Agreement and Detection Algorithm Assessments Using a Large Dataset," J. Clin. Neurophysiol., 2020. https://doi.org/10.1097/WNP.0000000000000709. [6] A. Harati, M. Golmohammadi, S. Lopez, I. Obeid, and J. Picone, "Improved EEG Event Classification Using Differential Energy," in Proceedings of the IEEE Signal Processing in Medicine and Biology Symposium, 2015, pp. 1–4. https://doi.org/10.1109/SPMB.2015.7405421. [7] V. Shah, C. Campbell, I. Obeid, and J. Picone, "Improved Spatio-Temporal Modeling in Automated Seizure Detection using Channel-Dependent Posteriors," Neurocomputing, 2021. [8] W. Tatum, A. Husain, S. Benbadis, and P. Kaplan, Handbook of EEG Interpretation. New York City, New York, USA: Demos Medical Publishing, 2007. [9] D. P. Bovet and C. Marco, Understanding the Linux Kernel, 3rd ed. O'Reilly Media, Inc., 2005. https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/understanding-the-linux/0596005652/. [10] V. Shah et al., "The Temple University Hospital Seizure Detection Corpus," Front. Neuroinform., vol. 12, pp. 1–6, 2018. https://doi.org/10.3389/fninf.2018.00083. [11] F. Pedregosa et al., "Scikit-learn: Machine Learning in Python," J. Mach. Learn. Res., vol. 12, pp. 2825–2830, 2011. https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/1953048.2078195. [12] J. Gotman, D. Flanagan, J. Zhang, and B. Rosenblatt, "Automatic seizure detection in the newborn: Methods and initial evaluation," Electroencephalogr. Clin. Neurophysiol., vol. 103, no. 3, pp. 356–362, 1997. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0013-4694(97)00003-9.« less
The White-Box Adversarial Data Stream Model
Ajtai, M. ; Braverman, V. ; Jayram, T.S. ; Silwal, S. ; Sun, A. ; Woodruff, D.P. ; Zhou, S. ( January 2022 , Proceedings of the 41st ACM SIGMOD-SIGACT-SIGAI Symposium on Principles of Database Systems (PODS 2022))
There has been a flurry of recent literature studying streaming algorithms for which the input stream is chosen adaptively by a black-box adversary who observes the output of the streaming algorithm at each time step. However, these algorithms fail when the adversary has access to the internal state of the algorithm, rather than just the output of the algorithm. We study streaming algorithms in the white-box adversarial model, where the stream is chosen adaptively by an adversary who observes the entire internal state of the algorithm at each time step. We show that nontrivial algorithms are still possible. We first give a randomized algorithm for the L1-heavy hitters problem that outperforms the optimal deterministic Misra-Gries algorithm on long streams. If the white-box adversary is computationally bounded, we use cryptographic techniques to reduce the memory of our L1-heavy hitters algorithm even further and to design a number of additional algorithms for graph, string, and linear algebra problems. The existence of such algorithms is surprising, as the streaming algorithm does not even have a secret key in this model, i.e., its state is entirely known to the adversary. One algorithm we design is for estimating the number of distinct elements in amore »stream with insertions and deletions achieving a multiplicative approximation and sublinear space; such an algorithm is impossible for deterministic algorithms. We also give a general technique that translates any two-player deterministic communication lower bound to a lower bound for randomized algorithms robust to a white-box adversary. In particular, our results show that for all p ≥ 0, there exists a constant Cp > 1 such that any Cp-approximation algorithm for Fp moment estimation in insertion-only streams with a white-box adversary requires Ω(n) space for a universe of size n. Similarly, there is a constant C > 1 such that any C-approximation algorithm in an insertion-only stream for matrix rank requires Ω(n) space with a white-box adversary. These results do not contradict our upper bounds since they assume the adversary has unbounded computational power. Our algorithmic results based on cryptography thus show a separation between computationally bounded and unbounded adversaries. Finally, we prove a lower bound of Ω(log n) bits for the fundamental problem of deterministic approximate counting in a stream of 0's and 1's, which holds even if we know how many total stream updates we have seen so far at each point in the stream. Such a lower bound for approximate counting with additional information was previously unknown, and in our context, it shows a separation between multiplayer deterministic maximum communication and the white-box space complexity of a streaming algorithm« less
Partitioning local seismogram wavefields using continuous wavelet transform methods for IRIS wavefield experiment arrays
https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggac476
Bolarinwa, Oluwaseyi J. ; Langston, Charles A. ( December 2022 , Geophysical Journal International)
We applied nonlinear thresholding and scale–time gating in the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) domain to denoise, identify and characterize seismic phases contained in gradiometer and phased array waveforms of four seismic events recorded during the 2016 Incorporated Research Institutions of Seismology Wavefields Experiment in northern Oklahoma. A dense, 80-element three component phased array was subset from the linear array deployments to examine background noise, waveform coherence and seismic wave composition for local explosion and earthquake waveforms. CWT techniques were also used to significantly improve gradiometery analyses for data recorded by the geodetic array subexperiment. We observed as much as two orders of magnitude gain in the data signal-to-noise ratio. We also saw improvement in array beam quality after denoising the seismic data. Using the signal partitioning technique, we were able to extract and identify many phases based on their positions on the scale–time plane. CWT denoising and wavefield decomposition techniques also improved gradiometry analysis results from the 112-element geodetic array (also called the gradiometer) since waves could be separated before the computation of wave attributes. The operations of removing noise and gating out signal phases improved signal coherence across array records and provided clear P wave onsets on horizontalmore »records, which can mitigate phase picking error and resulting event location uncertainty.
Lin, Ju, Niu, Sufeng, Wei, Zice, Lan, Xiang, Wijngaarden, Adriaan J., Smith, Melissa C., and Wang, Kuang-Ching. Speech Enhancement Using Forked Generative Adversarial Networks with Spectral Subtraction. Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10203595. Proceedings of Interspeech 2019 . Web. doi:10.21437/Interspeech.2019-2954.
Lin, Ju, Niu, Sufeng, Wei, Zice, Lan, Xiang, Wijngaarden, Adriaan J., Smith, Melissa C., & Wang, Kuang-Ching. Speech Enhancement Using Forked Generative Adversarial Networks with Spectral Subtraction. Proceedings of Interspeech 2019, (). Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10203595. https://doi.org/10.21437/Interspeech.2019-2954
Lin, Ju, Niu, Sufeng, Wei, Zice, Lan, Xiang, Wijngaarden, Adriaan J., Smith, Melissa C., and Wang, Kuang-Ching. "Speech Enhancement Using Forked Generative Adversarial Networks with Spectral Subtraction". Proceedings of Interspeech 2019 (). Country unknown/Code not available. https://doi.org/10.21437/Interspeech.2019-2954. https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10203595.
place = {Country unknown/Code not available}, title = {Speech Enhancement Using Forked Generative Adversarial Networks with Spectral Subtraction}, url = {https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10203595}, DOI = {10.21437/Interspeech.2019-2954}, abstractNote = {Speech enhancement techniques that use a generative adversarial network (GAN) can effectively suppress noise while allowing models to be trained end-to-end. However, such techniques directly operate on time-domain waveforms, which are often highly-dimensional and require extensive computation. This paper proposes a novel GAN-based speech enhancement method, referred to as S-ForkGAN, that operates on log-power spectra rather than on time-domain speech waveforms, and uses a forked GAN structure to extract both speech and noise information. By operating on log-power spectra, one can seamlessly include conventional spectral subtraction techniques, and the parameter space typically has a lower dimension. The performance of S-ForkGAN is assessed for automatic speech recognition (ASR) using the TIMIT data set and a wide range of noise conditions. It is shown that S-ForkGAN outperforms existing GAN-based techniques and that it has a lower complexity.}, journal = {Proceedings of Interspeech 2019}, author = {Lin, Ju and Niu, Sufeng and Wei, Zice and Lan, Xiang and Wijngaarden, Adriaan J. and Smith, Melissa C. and Wang, Kuang-Ching}, }


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> Uncategorized > Neighbourhood plan gets vote of approval
Neighbourhood plan gets vote of approval
Published on: 11th December 2018 | By: Alex Pearson | Category: Uncategorized
Thousands of residents voted to have their say on future developments in Croxley Green in the parish council's Neighbourhood Plan on Thursday, 6th December.
Over 3,000 residents voted in the referendum so councillors could decide where new housing developments could be built on.
The turnout of Croxley Green was at 25 per cent and of that figure, 93 per cent of residents voted in favour of the Neighbourhood Plan.
Now the plan is approved the council has control over the heritage of the village. They will be able to conserve the local character and protect it from unsustainable developments. The plan will also support and retain the use of the community building and other facilities.
Chairman, Mark Saxon, said in a Tweet: "My heartfelt thanks to all involved in this project. To our councillors, ex councillors, council staff and all our community groups and of course the voters of Croxley. Over 25 per cent turn out is a fantastic result."
Councillor Emily Benner said on Twitter: "Absolutely fantastic news to start the weekend! Excited for an incredible future for #CroxleyGreen and pleased to have had such a majority vote. Well done to all involved over the last five years to get to this stage #proud"
Boy accused of Watford stabbing death is said to be kind caring and honest
Appeal following assault in St Albans
Man arrested as altercation turns ugly


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Eudistoma costai is een zakpijpensoort uit de familie van de Polycitoridae. De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1877 door Della Valle.

Polycitoridae

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


This is to inform you that all the pierogi you ate at Tattooed Mom are still alive in your body.
Also, the steel furnace meeting from that letter is being pre-gamed in style with Philadelphia's hottest art freaks.
That's scheduled is to come to the motherfucking gig.
Of course, we will also be raising money for Project HOME.
There will b a show at Tattooed Mom on April 25th at 8 o'clock in the evening on the subject of the letter and its many mysteries.
What we need is an audience that's ready for a molten metal odyssey.
When it becomes real to you, you can share the event and invite a lot of friends.
Join the Facebook Event and Do attend.


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▼Do and See (37)
▼Areas (13)
Rain Oculus
Rain Oculus is a large whirlpool fountain by Ned Kahn, that sits just outside MBS shopping centre. Water in the 22m diameter acrylic bowl is turned on for about 15min every hour throughout the day, flushing water two stories below to the canal inside the mall. People have taken to the installation as a wishing fountain, attempting to roll or throw coins through the hole at the base of the bowl.
As a result of its design, sound easily carries across the bowl (when water is not flowing), meaning you can speak normally and someone standing directly opposite can hear you clearly, give it a try!
Bayfront MRT at MBS
Marina Bay, Sights
do and see, fountain, marina bay, MBS, rain oculus, sights, singapore, toilet bowl, tornado, water, whirlpool
Esplanade Theatres on the Bay
Esplanade is a huge performing arts centre at Marina Bay. Housed in two large domes with a spikey exterior that resemble durian, they have become known as "the durians". There is a Concert Hall and Theatre for Performing arts with a capacity of about 1,600 & 2,000 people respectively. There are often free performances in the foyer, and in the amphitheatre outside during festivals. Throughout the year, the Esplanade presents over 14 festivals and 20 on-going series.
You can take a 45min walking tour of the Concert Hall (S$10) to find out about the buildings, how all the acoustics work and can be adjusted for each show, how the design of the outer structure blocks out glare and limits outside noise etc.
Tue – Fri @ 09:00, 12:30, 14:00
Sat – Sun @ 09:00
See their events page for what's on currently and purchasing tickets.
Esplanade or City Hall MRT
Entertainment, Marina Bay
do and see, durian building, entertainment, esplanade, marina bay, shows, singapore, theatre
This enormous high-tech garden started with an international design competition in 2006, and opened to the public in 20011. At just over 100ha, the gardens feature the two World's Largest climate-controlled Greenhouses, a group of "Supertrees", and 3 waterfront gardens.
Of the two domes, I preferred the Cloud Forest. You get a cool mist from the waterfall as soon you enter, perfect after walking around on a hot day. Inside you go up the levels that simulate different altitudes and habitats around the world, with information on the plants and wildlife that live there. The Flower Dome is a little dull unless you are really in to plants and flowers, but still is laid out well and features species from around the globe.
The Supertrees are quite a sight and you can take the Skywalk (a bridge running between a few of the Supertrees) for a view over the park. There's also a light show at night.
The entire park was designed to be eco-friendly, despite the amount of power required to run the two dome's climates and the light show. For example, the shape of the domes maximize light, catch rain water, collect excess heat and disperse it via the Supertrees that also generate electricity through solar power. Water is filtered via plants within the park, and there's even an on-site biomass boiler!
There is a branch of Indochine up the main Supertree with a good view and a decent range of vegan options, but is a little pricey. There are other restaurants in the park but not as vegan friendly, so its a good idea to bring your own food and have a picnic!
Light Shows on the Super Trees are at 19:45 and 20:45 and last about 10min.
General entry to the park is free, Skywalk is S$5.
For the conservatories, tourist visitors can only buy tickets to both domes at S$28, while residents (including EP holders) can buy one dome at S$12 or both for $20.
Bayfront MRT station has an exit right into the park, or walk from Marina Bay through MBS.
Outdoor Areas 05:00 ~ 02:00
Skywalk 09:00 ~ 21:00
Conservatories 09:00 ~ 21:00
Marina Bay, Parks
biomass, climate, do and see, domes, eco, flowers, gardens, gardens by the bay, gbtb, greenhouse, parks, singapore, skywalk, solar, super trees, viewing point, visit
ArtScience Museum
The ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay hosts major touring exhibitions (like Harry Potter, Art of Brick, Secrets of the Tomb) in a new designer building modelled after a lotus flower. There is a small permanent exhibition but its not really worth seeing, just keep an eye out for current exhibitions. Usually there are two on at one time, and you can pay to see either or both at a discounted price.
Tickets are usually S$12-20 depending but varies on the exhibition(s). Discounts for locals and EP holders.
Bayfront or Promenade MRT station
Daily 10:00 ~ 22:00 (check website for closures)
Marina Bay, Museums
art, artscience, do and see, marina bay, museum, science, singapore
This bar is famous in Singapore for one reason, its on top of MBS.
While there is a restaurant (with bad reports on the food) most people come here for the outside bar and view. This area however is fairly small, and the bar itself takes up half of that, so it can be quite crammed and hard to get a table. Also, because it looks down on to the Skypark, you can't actually get to the edge for a really nice view.
The staff here aren't exactly friendly either. They get very uptight in controlling who is going to the bar, the Skypark and the restaurant. One rolled eyes at me simply for ordering a non-alcoholic drink (even though we ordered 3 other drinks that were). This put me right off the place. Save your money on the drinks and spend it on the Skypark for a better view, more space, and no pressure for time.
Bayfront MRT
Club Lounge 11am till late, cover charge applies from 9pm on Fridays, Saturdays and eve of Public Holidays
Dress code: Stylish chic from 6pm onwards in the restaurant, skybar and club lounge (no shorts, slippers, singlets and tank tops)
Drink, Marina Bay
drink, ku de ta, lookout, marina bay, MBS, singapore, sky bar, viewpoint
MBS SkyPark Observation Deck
The MBS Observation Deck is arguably the best view in Singapore. It is expensive at $20, and all you really get is the view (This does NOT let you swim in the famous infinity pool. If you join the free guided tour then you can gain access to view the pool only), but what a view it is. Its not quite 360°, but you can see all of Marina Bay, the city area, Gardens by The Bay, Singapore Flyer and beyond.
The deck has high glass walls, but no roof, so there is no shelter from rain or sun. There is no time limit here either, just one visit only. So if you like you can go in the afternoon, stay for sunset, and then see the lights.
Alternatively, you can visit Ku De Ta, a bar just above, but you will spend $20 on a drink, the view isn't as nice as you can't get to the edge, its cramped, and the staff are quite rude. If you're after a rooftop bar, 1-Altitude is on the 61st-63rd floor with a full 360° view.
S$20 for adults, S$14 for children. You can buy online, through the hotline, or at the SkyPark Box Office (B1, Tower 3)
Mon – Thurs – 09:30 ~ 22:00
Fri – Sun – 09:30 ~ 23:00
Tours Daily @ 10:00, 14:00, 21:00
Lookout Points, Marina Bay
do and see, lookout, marina bay sands, MBS, observation deck, singapore, skypark, viewpoint
Merlion @ Marina Bay
The 8.6m, 70 tonne, half-lion-half-fish Merlion statue is a symbol of Singapore and hugely popular. The fish tail symbolises Singapore's origins as a fishing village called "Temasek", meaning "sea town" in Javanese, by which Singapore was known before Prince Sang Nila Utama re-discovered and re-named it "Singapura", meaning "lion city" in Sanskrit, hence the head of a lion.
At the edge of Marina bay, with the Fullerton Hotel and CBD on one side, and MBS Hotel on the other, the statue is a prime photo spot. The statue also spurts water into the bay and is lit up at night. There is a smaller Merlion "cub" a few meters behind the main statue, inside Merlion Park.
Raffles Place or Esplanade MRT, walkable from Clarke Quay also.
do and see, fountain, lion city, marina bay, merlion, sights, singapore, statue, temasek
Wonder Full – Light & Water show
Marina Bay's "Wonder Full" is Asia's biggest Light & Water show. In front of MBS Hotel and set in the bay itself, fountains work to music and create walls of water for light projections. The video content of the projections is actually quite dull (basically propaganda), but overall the show is worth watching and takes about 15min. Its a little bit like the Bellagio fountains of Asia. Take a seat on the board walk steps, but don't sit too close to the water or you may get a little wet from water spray.
Bayfront MRT, in front of MBS and the whirlpool fountain.
Sun – Thurs – 20:00, 21:30
Fri – Sat – 20:00, 21:30, 23:00
do and see, fountain, light and water spectacular, marina bay, MBS, show, sights, singapore, wonder full