|Publication number||US4418375 A|
|Application number||US 06/291,069|
|Publication date||Nov 29, 1983|
|Filing date||Aug 7, 1981|
|Priority date||Aug 7, 1981|
|Publication number||06291069, 291069, US 4418375 A, US 4418375A, US-A-4418375, US4418375 A, US4418375A|
|Inventors||John W. Ober|
|Original Assignee||Hunter Investment Company|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (11), Referenced by (13), Classifications (6), Legal Events (8)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
This application pertains to the art of ignition systems and more particularly to multi-power ignition systems. The invention is particularly applicable to ignitions for mobile heaters and will be described with particular reference thereto. It is to be appreciated, however, that the invention has broader applications such as ignition systems for water heaters, internal or external combustion engines, and the like.
Heretofore, ignition circuits have commonly included a silicone controlled rectifier (SCR) or other solid state switching devices in series with the primary winding of an ignition transformer to control the flow of current therethrough. Commonly, an oscillator or alternating power source forward and reverse biased the switching device such that a series of current pulses or oscillating current flowed through the primary winding. The secondary winding of the ignition transformer was connected with an ignition device for producing a corresponding series of electric discharges to ignite an air-fuel mixture.
For some applications, it is desirable to change the amount of power across the ignition device automatically in response to a preselected condition. Heretofore, to change the amount of power, an appropriate condition sensor was commonly connected with the gate electrode of the SCR or other solid state switching device to adjust its threshold voltage.
In heaters, particularly mobile heates, the ignition circuit is often powered by a battery. For example, supplemental heaters for trucks are often connected with the truck's battery. When the engine is not running, the supplemental heater draws power from the battery discharging it. In very cold climates where supplemental heaters are most needed to keep the contents of the truck or the engine of the truck warm, the truck battery tends to become discharged more quickly.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved ignition system which overcomes the above problems and others. Yet, it reduces battery drain while maintaining the power in each spark substantially constant.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ignition system which includes an ignition transformer, a switching means, a current sensing means and a comparing means. A primary winding of the ignition transformer is adapted to be connected with the power supply and a secondary winding is adapted to be connected with an ignition device. The switching means has current blocking and permitting states for blocking and permitting a flow of electrical current through the primary winding. The current sensing means senses the magnitude of the primary winding current. The comparing means which compares the sensed current magnitude with a preselected current magnitude is operatively connected with the switching means to cause it to assume its current blocking state in response to the sensed current magnitude meeting or exceeding the preselected current magnitude.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, there is provided an ignition system which includes an ignition transformer, a switching means, a current regulating means, and an average current reducing means. The ignition transformer has a primary winding which is adapted to be connected with a power supply and a secondary winding is adapted to be connected with an ignition device. The switching means which has current flow blocking and permitting states selectively blocks and permits current to flow through the primary winding. The current regulating means alternately assumes a first state in which it causes the switching means to assume its blocking state and a second state in which it causes the switching means to assume its permitting state. The average current reducing means, which is adapted to be connected with an ignition condition sensing means, intermittently causes the switching means to assume its blocking state in response to the sensed ignition condition.
One of the advantages of the present invention is that it accurately controls the maximum primary winding current over a range of operating voltages.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it reduces its power consumption in response to a preselected ignition condition.
Other advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon reading and understanding the following detailed description.
The invention may take form in various parts and arrangements of parts. The figures are only to illustrate a preferred circuit for implementing the present invention and are not to be construed as limiting the invention.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of an ignition system in accordance with the present invention; and
FIGS. 2A, B, and C illustrate the electrical outputs of various components of the circuit of FIG. 1.
The ignition system includes a power supply A for supplying electrical potential to an ignition transformer B. A switching means C which has at least a conductive or current permitting state and a nonconductive or current blocking state selectively blocks and permits the flow of electric current through the ignition transformer. A current regulating means D controls the switching means C to regulate the current flowing through the ignition transformer B. An average current reducing means E selectively reduces the average current flowing through the ignition transformer. The current reducing means is responsive to a preselected ignition condition to cause the ignition current to be varied at least between a higher and a lower average ignition current.
The power supply A has a lead or jack 10 which is adapted to be connected with a positive terminal of a battery or other voltage source. A voltage regulator 12 regulates the voltage received on lead 10 such that the power supply produces a constant voltage output even if the voltage received on lead 10 varies. To be compatible with automotive batteries, the voltage supply A, in the preferred embodiment, produces an output potential of 10 volts DC. Other voltages may, of course, be selected, but care should be taken to select a voltage which is sufficiently high that the ignition system reliably produces an ignition spark. A diode 14 is connected between the lead 10 and the voltage regulator 12 to provide reverse polarity protection.
The ignition transformer B includes a primary winding 20 which is connected with the power supply A and a secondary winding 22 which is connected with an ignition device 24, such as an igniter, spark plug, or the like. In the preferred embodiment, the ignition transformer has a primary to secondary winding turn ratio of about 76:7000. It is to be appreciated, however, that other turn ratios may be selected to match the voltage output of the power supply A with the requirements of the particular ignition device which is selected.
The switching means C is connected in series with the primary winding 20, the voltage supply A, and ground. The switching means C is a solid state switching device which has at least a conductive, current flow permitting state and a nonconductive, flow blocking state which are assumed in response to being appropriately biased. Optionally, the switching means may have one or more intermediate states between its fully conductive and nonconductive states and may even be continuously variable. A satisfactory switching means is a 12 amp, 100 volt MPS A-13 Darlington transistor. However, other switching means which are capable of functioning under the current and voltage parameters of the ignition transformer, the selected power supply, and selected igniter may also be utilized.
The current regulating means D includes a current regulating oscillator means 30 for alternately assuming first and second states with a first frequency or periodicity. In the first state, the current regulating oscillator means 30 produces a first output which is appropriate to bias the switching means to its nonconductive or current blocking state and, in its second state, produces a second output which is appropriate to bias the switching means to its conductive or current permitting state. The oscillator means 30 includes a high gain amplifier 32 which is utilized as a free running oscillator, in the preferred embodiment, that has an on:off duty cycle of about 2:1 and a frequency of 4 kilohertz. The high gain amplifier 32 has a negative reference input 34, a positive reference input 36, and an output 38 which is connected with the base of the Darlington transistor by a resistor 39. When the magnitude of the potential received on the negative reference input 34 exceeds the potential received on the positive reference input 36, the signal produced on the amplifier output 38 is low, i.e., the current regulating oscillator means assumes its first state. When the potential received on the positive reference input 36 exceeds the potential received on the negative reference input 34, the signal on the amplifier output 38 is high, i.e., the current regulating oscillator means assumes its second state.
The potential received at the negative reference input 34 is controlled by capacitor 40. A negative feedback path 41 which includes a resistor 42 connected in parallel with a resistor 43 and diode 44 is connected between the amplifier output 38 and the capacitor 40. When the current regulating oscillator means is in its second state, a portion of the high output on amplifier output 38 is fed back by resistor 42 to raise the charge or potential across capacitor 40. When the potential on capacitor 40 exceeds the potential received by the positive reference input 36, the current regulating oscillator means 30 switches to its first state and its output goes low. The low output draws the charge from capacitor 40 through the negative feedback path 41. When the potential on capacitor 40 falls below the potential received at positive reference input 36, the current regulating oscillator means reverts to its second state. In this manner, the RC time constant of the capacitor 40 and the negative feedback path 41 determines the frequency of the current regulating oscillator means. The potential received by the positive reference input 36 is determined by a positive feedback resistor 45 connected between the amplifier output 38 and input 36 and by a voltage divider formed of resistors 46 and 48. When the current regulating oscillator means 30 switches between its first and second states, a portion of the low and high outputs is fed back by positive feedback resistor 45. This feedback changes the potential received by positive reference potential input 36 by a corresponding amount. This change in potential determines the change of potential which is required on capacitor 40 to cause the current regulating oscillator means 30 to switch states. In this manner, the positive feedback resistor 45 determines the rate of change of the current regulating oscillator means 30.
The current regulating means D further includes a current limiting means 50 for limiting the primary winding current to a preselected maximum. The current limiting means includes a current sensing means 52, a preselected reference current means 54, and a comparing means 56. The current sensing means 52 senses the actual primary winding current magnitude. In the preferred embodiment, the current sensing means is a resistor which is connected in series with the primary winding 20 such that the actual primary winding current also flows through the current sensing resistor. The current sensing means produces a current sensing means output which varies with the actual primary winding current and which is conveyed to the comparing means by a resistor 58. In the preferred embodiment, the current sensing resistor has 0.1 ohms of resistance to produce a readily observable voltage while drawing relatively little power.
The reference current means 54 indicates the magnitude of the preselected maximum current. In the preferred embodiment, the reference current means 54 is a voltage divider made up of a resistor 60 connected with a positive reference potential and a pair of Zenor diodes 62 and 64 connected in series with ground. In the preferred embodiment, the diodes 62 and 64 each have a junction voltage of 0.43 volts. In this manner, a reference potential of 0.86 volts is produced which corresponds to a preselected current magnitude of 8.6 amps flowing through the 0.1 ohm resistor 52. By varying the magnitude of this reference potential or the size of the resistor 52, other maximum primary winding current magnitudes can be selected.
The comparing means 56 compares the preselected current magnitude with the sensed primary winding current magnitude or, more specific to the preferred embodiment, compares the reference potential with the potential across resistor 52. When the preselected current magnitude exceeds the sensed current magnitude, the comparing means 56 assumes a first comparator state which allows the switching means C to assume either its conductive or nonconductive states. When the sensed current magnitude meets or exceeds the preselected current magnitude, the comparing means 56 assumes a second comparator state which causes the switching means C to assume its nonconductive state. In the preferred embodiment, the comparing means 56 is connected by a diode 66 and a resistor 68 with capacitor 40. In its first comparator state, the comparing means produces a high output which rapidly charges the capacitor 40 sufficiently that the current regulating oscillator means 30 is caused to assume its first state which biases the switching means C to its nonconductive state. In the second comparator state, the comparing means output is low. However, the diode 66 prevents the low output of the comparing means in its second state from drawing potential from the capacitor 40. Alternately, the comparing means 56 may be connected directly with the switching means. For example, if the first comparator output were sufficiently negative, the switching means C would be biased to its nonconductive state regardless of the output of the current regulating oscillator means 30. If the second comparator state produced a low output, the low output could be summed through diode 66 with the oscillator means output and the state of the current regulating oscillator means 30 alone would control the switching means.
With reference to FIGS. 2A, B, and C, the functioning of the current regulating means D is illustrated in greater detail. At a time denoted t0, the current regulating oscillator means 30 is depicted in FIG. 2A as switching from its first to its second state to commence producing its first or high output. This biases the switching means C to its conductive state which, as denoted in FIG. 2B, starts a flow of electrical current through the primary winding and the current sensing means C. The primary winding current magnitude increases linearly until it reaches the preselected current magnitude at t1. When the sensed primary winding current magnitude meets the preselected current magnitude, the comparing means 56 assumes its first comparator state and, as denoted in FIG. 2C, produces a high output. This high comparator output rapidly charges capacitor 40 causing the current regulating oscillator means 30 to assume its first state. When the current regulating oscillator means 30 assumes its first state, the switching means C is biased to its nonconductive state stopping the primary winding current flow. Termination of the primary winding current results in the preselected current magnitude exceeding the actual primary winding current which causes the comparing means to return quickly to its second state. If the actual primary winding current had not exceeded the preselected current magnitude, at a time t2 the current regulating oscillator means 30 would have returned to its second state on its own. At t3, the cycle is repeated.
The average current reducing means E in the preferred embodiment has two states, one which reduces the average current and one which does not reduce the average current. Optionally, the average current reducing means D may assume one or more intermediate states or a continuum of intermediate states in response to a plurality of combustion conditions or a plurality of levels of the same combustion condition. The average current reducing means E includes a jack or lead 80 which is adapted to be connected with a combustion condition sensing means such as a flame detector or other conventional combustion condition sensing device. The combustion condition sensing means is connected with a comparator 82 by a voltage divider 84, 86. The comparator 82 eliminates transients and low level signals by comparing the output of the combustion condition sensor with the reference potential from the current reference means 54. When the preselected combustion condition is met, the comparator 82 allows a current reducing oscillator 90 to oscillate with a second frequency.
The current reducing oscillator 90 is of the substantially same design as the current regulating oscillator means 30. However, the magnitude of the components in the current reducing oscillator 90 are selected such that the second frequency is 60 hertz and the on:off duty cycle of 1:3. The current reducing oscillator includes a high gain amplifier 92 having its negative reference input connected with a capacitor 100 and a negative feedback resistor 102. The positive reference input of the high gain amplifier 92 is connected with a positive feedback resistor 104 and a voltage divider made up of resistor 106 and resistor 108. The current reducing oscillator is connected through diode 112 with capacitor 40 of the current regulating oscillator means 30. Each high pulse produced by the current reducing oscillator in its current reducing state charges the capacitor 40 locking the current regulating oscillator means 30 in its first state with biases the switching means C to its nonconductive state. Between each of the 60 hertz pulses, the current regulating oscillator means 30 functions normally. In the non-reducing state, the current reducing oscillator 90 produces a low output which is prevented by diode 110 drawing charge from capacitor 40. Optionally, the current reducing oscillator 90 may have a variable frequency or duty cycle which is varied in response to the level of the sensed combustion condition.
Exemplary circuit components are as follows:
______________________________________Resistor Value (Ohms)______________________________________39 1K42 33K44 15K45 100K46 100K48 100K52 0.160 100K68 1K84 100K86 100K102 1M104 100K104 100106 47K108 100K110 1K______________________________________
______________________________________Capacitors Value (mf)______________________________________16 .00140 .01100 .01______________________________________
The invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment. Obviously, modifications and alterations will occur to others upon reading and understanding the preceding detailed description of the preferred embodiment. It is intended that the invention include all such modifications and alterations which come within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.
|Cited Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US3260299 *||Oct 20, 1964||Jul 12, 1966||Transistor ignition system|
|US3318358 *||Mar 4, 1966||May 9, 1967||Liberty Comb Corp||Burner igniter system|
|US3377998 *||Oct 29, 1965||Apr 16, 1968||Lucas Industries Ltd||Spark ignition systems|
|US3428823 *||Oct 25, 1967||Feb 18, 1969||Honeywell Inc||Spark igniter|
|US3463963 *||Dec 28, 1967||Aug 26, 1969||Controls Co Of America||Spark ignition circuit|
|US3718423 *||Sep 7, 1971||Feb 27, 1973||Johnson Service Co||Automatic fuel ignition system|
|US3877864 *||Jul 29, 1974||Apr 15, 1975||Itt||Spark igniter system for gas appliance pilot ignition|
|US4051827 *||Jan 12, 1976||Oct 4, 1977||Motorola, Inc.||Selective threshold ignition circuit|
|US4138977 *||May 19, 1977||Feb 13, 1979||Robert Bosch Gmbh||Ignition system for internal combustion engine|
|US4167767 *||Jul 13, 1977||Sep 11, 1979||Bicosa Societe De Recherches||Flame or spark detection system and combustible gas ignition device|
|US4327310 *||Feb 14, 1980||Apr 27, 1982||Joerg Manfred||Spark circuit|
|Citing Patent||Filing date||Publication date||Applicant||Title|
|US4652945 *||May 3, 1985||Mar 24, 1987||Eastman Kodak Company||Flux sensitive tracking|
|US4918569 *||Sep 25, 1989||Apr 17, 1990||Tdk Corporation||Regulated forward converter for generating repeating spark discharge pulses|
|US4983886 *||Sep 18, 1989||Jan 8, 1991||Labo Industrie||High-energy ignition generator especially for a gas-turbine|
|US5027073 *||Mar 1, 1990||Jun 25, 1991||Robert Bosch Gmbh||High voltage ignition system monitoring circuit|
|US5220156 *||Jul 23, 1991||Jun 15, 1993||Cox & Company, Inc.||Stable control system with positive feedback characteristic|
|US5473502 *||Feb 3, 1995||Dec 5, 1995||Simmonds Precision Engine Systems||Exciter with an output current multiplier|
|US5530617 *||May 12, 1994||Jun 25, 1996||Simmonds Precision Engine Systems, Inc.||Exciter circuit with oscillatory discharge and solid state switchiing device|
|US5548471 *||Jul 25, 1994||Aug 20, 1996||Webster Heating And Specialty Products, Inc.||Circuit and method for spark-igniting fuel|
|US6275017||May 25, 2000||Aug 14, 2001||Daimlerchrysler Corporation||Start-up circuit for voltage regulator with current foldback|
|CN101360953B||Dec 19, 2006||Sep 29, 2010||丹佛斯公司||Electronic ignition circuit and a method for operating said circuit|
|CN104682203A *||Mar 13, 2015||Jun 3, 2015||温州大学城市学院||Ignition circuit of separately-excited arc lighter|
|WO2007071247A2 *||Dec 19, 2006||Jun 28, 2007||Danfoss A/S||Electronic ignition circuit and a method for operating said circuit|
|WO2007071247A3 *||Dec 19, 2006||Aug 23, 2007||Danfoss As||Electronic ignition circuit and a method for operating said circuit|
|U.S. Classification||361/253, 315/209.00T, 315/219|
|Aug 7, 1981||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: HUNTER INVESTMENT COMPANY,
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST.;ASSIGNOR:OBER, JOHN W.;REEL/FRAME:003909/0534
Effective date: 19810728
Owner name: HUNTER INVESTMENT COMPANY,, UNITED STATES
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:OBER, JOHN W.;REEL/FRAME:003909/0534
Effective date: 19810728
|Aug 7, 1984||CC||Certificate of correction|
|May 4, 1987||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4
|Apr 22, 1991||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 8
|Apr 19, 1995||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 12
|Dec 1, 2000||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: HUNTER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OHIO
Free format text: MERGER;ASSIGNOR:HUNTER INVESTMENT COMPANY;REEL/FRAME:011347/0178
Effective date: 19891228
|Dec 6, 2000||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK, THE, OHIO
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:HUNTER MANUFACTURING COMPANY;REEL/FRAME:011347/0865
Effective date: 20001027
|Jan 12, 2004||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: HUNTER MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OHIO
Free format text: RELEASE OF SECURITY INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:THE HUNTINGTON NATIONAL BANK;REEL/FRAME:014250/0408
Effective date: 20031219


Joe Biden’s freedom-hating government is now reportedly working on artificial intelligence (AI) programs that can be used to censor free speech online according to documents revealing a government contract at the University of Washington.
The documents reveal that someone named Tatiana Korelsky (not too Russian, huh?) has been given a grant of $550,436 out of the inaptly-named “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,” to create AI that would “detect implicit social bias in written discourse and narrative text.”
Yes, the woke fascists are looking for yet more ways to delete wrong speak, stamp out wrong think, and destroy free speech, this time without any human intervention at all.
The grant was discovered by conservative writer Christopher F. Rufo who took to Twitter to warn his followers about this latest Orwellian fascism.
The federal government is now funding an initiative to train AI to censor social media content. The NSF-backed program promises to "detect and intervene" in cases of "gendered microaggressions," "dehumanizing metaphors," and "disguised toxicity."
Get ready: woke AI is coming. pic.twitter.com/BTV6gdKcvN
— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔ (@realchrisrufo) January 2, 2023
Of course, the problem with all computer programs is, they really can only “work” by what is put into them. And if the Russian researcher listed in the University of Washington database only puts in woke criteria, then the only outcome will be to server wokery.
So far, for all the hype around it, currently there is no such thing as “artificial intelligence.”
So, the only thing this Russian researcher at UofW will end up delivering is a simple word search program that will reach out and ban all the speech it sees based on the list of verboten words her woke buddies programed into it.
Free speech be damned.
It’s all just another fascist attempt to destroy anyone with whom they disagree.


text:
Fabric eye-candy? Fabric art? Just beautiful – check out Maria’s show!!!
Last Friday was supposed to be the opening of my show Cut Stitch Press at the Bunnell Street Arts Center in Homer, Alaska; but weather got in the way, and things were postponed. You can see I’m telling the truth as it is right here on the front page of the Homer News.
Yesterday, Walt and I headed back down to Homer around noon. We had some serious white out conditions in the Turnagain Pass, but with Walt driving things were good. Walt got to listen to me practice my artist talk over and over.
Since 1992 the space has been a non-profit multi-disciplinary art space. If you want to learn more about what they do at the Bunnell, this video is a great introduction.
View original post 274 more words

domain: artistic


Mistral AI, an AI company based in France, is focused on enhancing publicly available models to achieve state-of-the-art performance. They specialize in developing fast and secure large language models (LLMs) that can be utilized for a variety of tasks, from chatbots to code generation.
We are excited to announce that two high-performing Mistral AI models, Mistral 7B and Mixtral 8x7B, will soon be accessible on Amazon Bedrock. AWS is introducing Mistral AI to Amazon Bedrock as our 7th foundation model provider, joining other leading AI companies like AI21 Labs, Anthropic, Cohere, Meta, Stability AI, and Amazon. With these two Mistral AI models, users will have the flexibility to select the optimal, high-performing LLM for their specific use case in order to develop and expand generative AI applications using Amazon Bedrock.
Overview of Mistral AI ModelsHere’s a brief overview of these highly anticipated Mistral AI models:
Mistral 7B is the initial foundation model from Mistral AI, designed to support English text generation tasks with natural coding capabilities. It is optimized for low latency with minimal memory requirements and high throughput for its size. This model is robust and accommodates various applications from text summarization and classification to text and code completion.
Mixtral 8x7B is a popular, high-quality sparse Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) model, ideal for tasks such as text summarization, question answering, text classification, text completion, and code generation.
Choosing the appropriate foundation model is crucial for successful application development. Let’s explore some key highlights that illustrate why Mistral AI models may be suitable for your use case:
Balance of cost and performance — Mistral AI’s models excel in achieving a balance between cost and performance. The utilization of sparse MoE makes these models efficient, cost-effective, and scalable while managing expenses.
Fast inference speed — Mistral AI models boast impressive inference speeds and are optimized for low latency. They also have minimal memory requirements and high throughput relative to their size, which is crucial for scaling production use cases.
Transparency and trust — Mistral AI models are transparent and customizable, enabling organizations to meet strict regulatory standards.
Accessible to a wide user base — Mistral AI models are accessible to all users, facilitating the integration of generative AI features into applications of any size.
Coming SoonMistral AI’s publicly available models will soon be accessible on Amazon Bedrock. Be sure to subscribe to this blog to be among the first to know when these models become available on Amazon Bedrock.
Stay tuned,— Donnie


MC系列金属模块, MC series
The Ultimate dry bath blocks are designed for the Ultimate dry bath incubators. The precisely-machined aluminum alloy blocks, which are suitable for microplate and different test tubes ranging from 0.2ml to 50ml centrifuge tubes, deliver efficientheating and cooling performance. In addition to the standard blocks, customized blocks are also available requirement. MC Blocks sre designed for Ultimate plus dry bath incubator to provide more efficient heating and cooling speed. Two standard block modes and customized blocks are available.
MS06_Dry Bath Block * Marketing video


text:
(No known c/n)
This photograph, from the Library of South
Australia collection, purports to show this aeroplane
"somewhere on an air strip in South
Australia" in 1922. Formerly registered in the 1919 U.K.
K-107, this was the machine which was used on an
attempt on the Cairo to Cape
Town record with a prize of £10,000 from the Daily Mail.
It was flown by Vickers pilots
Cockerell and Capt F.C.G. Broome, although crashed at Tabora,
February 19020. It was ostensibly written off. I say
ostensibly since, if it really did show
up in SA
in 1922 somebody (a) repaired it and (b) flew it out to
Oz! Comments, anyone?

domain: history


Celebrity Central / Top 25 Celebs
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No Jon Hamm? No problem! The actor's longtime love Jennifer Westfeldt hangs with Hollywood heavyweights Elizabeth Banks, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer during the Vanity Fair party.
Copyright © 2014 Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


text:
The Success Of Black Women Filmmakers Of Africa And The African Diaspora
It is indeed a wonderful revelation in the history of world cinema that immensely talented women filmmakers of Africa and the African Diaspora are making it really big in innovative filmmaking. Not only are they challenging old cinematic prescriptions, they are also using their superior art of cinema to create and establish new visions of their people and the world. The journey of black women filmmakers began as early as 1922 when Tressie Saunders, a black woman director made the exemplary film ‘A Woman’s Error’. It was the first attempt of its kind in that era to decolonize the gaze and to ground the film in the black female subjectivity. However, today even after a long history of evocative work, black women directors have had a long, slow path to the director’s chair, where only a handful of black woman filmmakers have been able to break through the racial barriers in Hollywood.
But apart from Hollywood, many of the black women from Africa and in the United States have been able to stand out in respect of world cinema. In fact, filmmakers like Julie Dash (originally from New York City) has long ago won the Best Cinematography Award with her much acclaimed film “Daughters of the Dust” at the 1991 Sundance Film Festival. On the other hand, Cheryl Denye from Liberia has received worldwide fame and accolade with her film The ‘Watermelon Woman’ (1996), which happens to be the first African American lesbian feature film in the history of world cinema. Another woman filmmaker, Safi Faye from Senegal has to her credit several ethnographic films that brought her international acclaim and earned her several awards at the Berlin International Film Festivals in 1976 and 1979. Besides, there are independent black women filmmakers like Salem Mekuria from Ethiopia who produces documentary films focusing on her native Ethiopia and on African American women in general. In 1989, Euzhan Palcy became the first black woman to direct a mainstream Hollywood film, ‘A Dry White Season’. In spite of all this success, it is still true that the state of things isn’t all that rosy for African American women filmmakers. A documentary named “Sisters in Cinema’ by Yvonne Welbon has tried to explore why and how the history of black women behind the camera has been made strangely obscure in all of Hollywood.
“Sisters in Cinema’ happens to be the first and a one-of-its-kind documentary in the history of world cinema that attempts to explore the lives and films of inspirational black women filmmakers. To commemorate the success and the colossal achievement of black women filmmakers throughout the ages, a 62-min documentary by Yvonne Welbon named “Sisters in Cinema” came up in 2003. The film attempted to trace the careers of inspiring African American women filmmakers from the early part of the 20th century to today. As the first documentary of its kind, ‘Sisters in Cinema’ has been regarded by critics as a strong visual history of the contributions of African American women to the film industry. “Sisters in Cinema”, they say, has been a seminal work that pays homage to African American women who made history against all racial, social barriers and odds.
While being interviewed, the filmmaker Yvonne Welbon admitted that when she set out to make this documentary, she had barely knew there were any black women filmmakers apart from the African-American director Julie Dash. However, in pursuit of seeking those inspirational directors, she set out to explore the fringes of Hollywood where she discovered a phenomenal film directed by an African American woman Darnell Martin. Apart from that film ‘I Like It Like That’, she discovered only a handful of films being produced and distributed by African Americans. Thus saying, the monopoly of Hollywood by white filmmakers, producers and distributors inspired her in a way to travel the path of independent filmmaking. Surprisingly, here she uncovers a wide range of really remarkable films directed by an African American woman outside of the Hollywood studio system and thus she found out her sisters in cinema.
Within the 62-hour documentary, the careers, lives and films of inspirational women filmmakers, like Euzhan Palcy, Julie Dash, Darnell Martin, Dianne Houston, Neema Barnette, Cheryl Dunye, Kasi Lemmons and Maya Angelou are showcased, along with rare, in-depth interviews interwoven with film clips, rare archival footage and photographs and production video of the filmmakers at work. Together these images give voice to African American women directors and serve to illuminate a history of the phenomenal success of black women filmmakers in world cinema that has remained hidden for too long.
In recent times, there has been the Eighth Annual African American Women In Cinema Film Festival in New York City in October 2005. It was another remarkable event that showcased exceptional feature and documentary films as well as short films made by African American women filmmakers like Aurora Sarabia, a fourth generation Chicana (Mexican-American) from Stockton, CA, Vera J. Brooks, a Chicago-based producer, Teri Burnette, a socialistic filmmaker, Stephannia F. Cleaton, an award-winning New York City newspaper journalist and the business editor at the Staten Island Advance, Adetoro Makinde, a first generation Nigerian-American director, screenwriter, producer, actress, among others. And in more recent times, from February 5 to March 5, 2007, there has been the celebration of the Black History Month by the Film Society of Lincoln Center & Separate Cinema Archive, in which the center presented “Black Women Behind the Lens”.
A seething documentary, “Black Women Behind the Lens” celebrates the uncompromising cinematic labors of love created by a group of brave African-American women. Gifted with rare determination and undaunted spirits, these black women filmmakers were committed to speaking truth to power while offering alternatives to the stereotypical images of black women found in mainstream media. They resorted to Guerilla filmmaking, an artistic rebellion in the face of the long established network of Hollywood and have challenged old cinematic perceptions, using their art to erect new visions of their people, their heritage and their world. Noted theoreticians, sociologists, women writers, directors are saying that it is good to know that women filmmakers of Africa and the African Diaspora are challenging old cinematic prescriptions and creating their own visions in the cinema they love to make.
However, while a significant number of women in Africa and here in the United States have been able to carve out successful careers in filmmaking, the hurdles are particularly daunting. The problem, says Elizabeth Hadley, the chair of Women Studies at Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., is not particularly about black women making films, but the issues of marketing, distribution and funding. As a result, the majority of these women are finding money independently and working on shoestring budgets. However, all said and done, it is enough encouraging to know that at least some of these women are daring to decolonize the gaze of Hollywood and to ground their films in black female subjectivity. Any attention or recognition that comes when these women desire to communicate their ideas about black people’s history, heritage, with an emphasis on women’s experience, must be welcome!

domain: library


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STAFF REPORT | Nashville Voice
Nashville General Hospital (NGH) and Nashville General Hospital Foundation (NGHF) hosted the organization’s fifth annual Secret Santa Gift Exchange on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018.
NGH and the NGHF doctors, staff, and administration rewarded forty-one children who were chosen by teachers, faith leaders, or identified by family need with a pizza party, a visit with Santa and Christmas gifts to take home.
NGH Employees have provided gifts to more than 200 families through the Secret Santa Gift Exchange since their first party in 2013. Annually, the staff looks forward to bringing merriment and joy to deserving children in the community during this festive time of year.
NGH Foundation Board member and Pastor of Corinthian Baptist Church, Enoch Fuzz, said the foundation started the gift exchange because collectively they knew r many families in the neighborhood could benefit from assistance during the holidays.
Hospital staff knew it would be a great opportunity for them to make a positive impact in the community beyond their quality healthcare they deliver day-to-day.
“It offers a wonderful opportunity to recognize each child’s dedication to their own education and enables the employees of Nashville General a wonderful way to say how much we care about these children’s future success,” noted NGH Foundation Executive Director, Vernon Rose.

domain: sociology


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Regional Reviews: Phoenix
Also see Gil's recent review of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
The plot centers on Elyot and Amanda, who divorced five years ago after a volatile relationship. As the play begins, both have been remarried to younger spouses and are starting their honeymoons. However, when they discover they are in the same hotel in rooms next to each other that share an adjoining outdoor terrace, the embers of their relationship are rekindled. Can love overcome their constant bickering and fighting? And what's to become of their new spouses, Sibyl and Victor?
While the plot is fairly minimal, Coward's sparkling wit shines through in his smart and amusing dialogue and the many moments of madcap humor. However, for this production, the setting of the original play has been changed from France to Argentina and Uruguay, with act one set in Buenos Aires in 1931, and the characters are now South American instead of British, all of which work perfectly fine. However, what's a bit of a head scratcher is when act two, which is set in the play several days after act one and which the characters even refer to the short amount of time that has passed since the events of act one, here is set in modern times. The costumes and set shift from classic art deco designs, tuxedos, and gorgeous 1930s period evening gowns in act one to contemporary clothes, Apple watches, and a modern turntable in act two. If director KJ Sanchez is trying to show us that the theme and message of spouses who can't stand each other but also can't live without each other is timeless and still relevant today, we already get that from Coward's witty script; you don't have to hit us over the head with it by having act two set 92 years after act one, especially when the characters are the same and the references to time they state no longer make any sense.
With the exception of that somewhat odd distraction, the cast for this production excels in creating realistic characters and fully fleshed out portrayals under Sanchez's smart direction which, fortunately, also downplays the misogyny and somewhat dismissive attitude toward women in the script. Sanchez has staged the play very well, highlighting the burning romance of Amanda and Elyot with added moments of tango that the couples dance. Also, the violence in the piece is played more humorously than seriously.
Hugo E. Carbajal and Sarita Ocón are perfect as Elyot and Amanda, respectively. Volatile and on the brink of combusting at any moment, they create a believable, well-matched, and self-absorbed couple with plenty of chemistry who appear to love fighting with each other as much as they love making up. Carbajal excels in his ability to effortlessly depict Elyot's cavalier and flippant responses and his need to continually get under everyone's skin. Carbajal's physical comic abilities and facial expressions provide many pops of humor. Ocón is excellent as the sharp-witted and sharp-tongued Amanda. Her performance perfectly displays how Coward wrote Amanda as an unconventional woman, and her portrayal is infused with power and passion. She is also a skilled comical actor; the scene in which she serves coffee and brioche is a crowd-pleasing highlight.
Briana J. Resa and Brady Morales-Woolery also shine as the jilted lovers, Sibyl and Victor, who are each strangely preoccupied with their respective spouse's ex. Resa's humorous emotional tantrums are nicely balanced by Morales-Woolery's stuffiness and both create fully dimensional characters with solid stage presences that hold their own against the powerful ones by Carbajal and Ocón.
The creative elements are lovely. The scenic design from Tanya Orellana depicts a grand hotel terrace as well as a comfortable, modern living room. David Arevalo's costumes are smart and beautiful but also period and character appropriate. The lighting design by Brian J. Lilienthal evokes a gorgeous and romantic starry night in act one and warm touches in act two. Daniel Perelstein Jaquette's sound design complements the periods in the play as well as the romantic tango music, with passionate choreography that is danced well by the cast under the instruction of Kate Rosalik and Levi Anthony.
While it may have a thin plot, Noël Coward's Private Lives is a witty comedy that still resonates and shows how complex relationships are as mysterious today as they were almost 100 years ago.
Private Lives runs through May 28, 2023, at Arizona Theatre Company at the Herberger Theater Center, 222 E. Monroe Street, Phoenix AZ. For tickets and information, please visit www.arizonatheatre.org or call 602-2566995.
Written by Noël Coward
Cast: (In alphabetical order)
*Member, Actors' Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States


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Imagine a five-piece band that captivates your guests with an unmistakable acoustic show program!
A formation of young dynamic musicians who present a series of the most famous rock and pop songs of the last 40 years as well as selected hits from the current charts in a refreshingly modern acoustic form. Just as you know it from the popular "unplugged" concerts of a well-known music TV station. Experience once again the great hits of the bands that have written music history, indulge in old memories and enjoy a wonderful concert live.
KLANGBILD offers you this experience!
Starting with the unforgettable rock classics of the 80s, pop earwigs of the 90s and hits of different music styles from the turn of the millennium to selected songs from the current charts. Every generation finds their favourite hits here. For the 20 to 25-year-olds KLANGBILD plays the songs of the 2000s, for the older ones the hits from the 80s and 90s. With this production KLANGBILD offers a refreshing new concept, which is suitable for various events.


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Your dog's food requirements vary depending upon breed, size, age, level of activity and environment. Use the chart below as a guideline and adjust as needed.
Provide plenty of fresh water at all times.
*Based on a standard 8 oz. measuring cup Add ½ cup per every 10 lb of body weight over 100 lbs.
For puppies, pregnant and nursing dogs, feed Nature's Recipe® Puppy Lamb Meal & Rice Recipe.

domain: pet


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FORT WORTH CELTIC TRIOS
Bring the sounds of the Celtic culture to life at your event by booking a Celtic Trio to perform live: weddings, birthday parties, festivals, and more. Choose from our database of talented singers and musicians here on GigMasters.
Please note these Celtic Trios
will also travel to Blue Mound, Haltom City, Watauga, North Richland Hills, Saginaw, Forest Hill, Lakeside, Lake Worth, Hurst, Kennedale, Pantego, Bedford, Crowley, Haslet, Arlington, Colleyville, Euless, Keller, Burleson, Azle, Mansfield, Southlake, Grapevine, Aledo, Grand Prairie, Roanoke, Westlake, Lillian, Newark, Joshua


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(For those who live with anxiety, even talking or reading about anxiety can be a trigger, so please proceed with caution before watching the video below.)
You may remember the “We Can Do This” video from this past April, in which five people who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as adults shared their diagnosis stories, lessons learned and advice for others who may be going through the same thing.
Keeping in line with that format, Vol. 2 gives a glimpse into the life of people who live with both anxiety and diabetes (or care for someone with diabetes). People already living with diabetes are about 20 percent more likely than those without diabetes to have an anxiety condition at some point in their lifetime, and it’s a topic that many are uncomfortable talking about.


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Style Melodic Rock/AOR
Band Members Mike Allegri – Bass,Vocals, Ross Rutledge – Percussion,Vocals, Mikey Les Taylor – Guitar,Vocals
Tracks 01.Fine Line, 02. House Full of People, 03. Dogs 10,Humans 0, 04. Lisa’s Song, 05. That’s Kool, 06. Extreme Well Being, 07. Crush, 08. What was Right, 09. Why?, 10. Last Day of Perfection, 11. Simple Staccato, 12. You Can’t Hurt me, 13. Te Salad Bar, 14. Ribs, 15. Pants of Fire
Profile A Pacific Northwest Power Rock/Blues trio that is from the Olympia area. They have thick powerful and tasteful sound. They released this lesser known gem in 2000. 15 tracks of stripped down rock n roll. It’s got a couple ballads, as well as a couple instrumentals. It was really refreshing to hear some straight ahead rock n roll, when the rock being released at that time was girly and lame. The band performs their own music and they are working on several new songs for their next album.


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The official Pokemon YouTube channel debuted a short teaser for something that fans have been clamoring for for years and has finally happened: we can revisit the Hoenn region.
Ever since Soul Silver and Heart Gold debuted on the Nintendo DS in March of 2010, fans have been speculating about when Generation 3 (Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald) would get some kind of makeover. Well, the speculation is over. The games will be called Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
Are you guys excited? Is this just what Nintendo needs to get a grip on gaming again? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

domain: hobby


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Sleep is the single largest use of your time. The amount of rest you get influences the performance of your memory and ability to focus on tasks. Increasing sleep by an average of one hour may increase wages by 16%. This is equivalent to more than one year of schooling.
Improper rest can have costly effects not only on your pocket book, but your productivity and quality of life. 15% of US population gets less than 5 hours of sleep each night. Sleep has numerous important physiological and cognitive functions that are important. Compromised sleep also influences learning, memory, pain perception, the immune system and inflammation.
Recently I read several Professional Journals regarding this very issue. I have also suffered from compromised sleep most of my life. I’ve been to doctors, completed a number of sleep tests, have been issued medication, mouth guards, and machines. What I have found in my own experience is that we are usually the source of our problems and we can tell ourselves we are the victim of circumstances. Through a healthy lifestyle and few small changes, your quality of life improves.
We are the primary source of our sleeplessness.
Lifestyle and our choices contribute 100% to compromised sleep and loss in productivity.
- We go to the doctor looking for quick fixes such as medication.
- Late night lifestyle has become the norm.
- Alcohol adds to the equation and magnifies the problem.
- What we put off during the day ends up getting done during our rest periods.
- Prime time is not 7pm.
- It gets worse on the east coast at 9pm.
- Maybe you don’t get in bed until midnight.
- Many are going to school at night.
- Late night television and internet usage happens during these hours.
You could save $10,000 from just sleeping.
The effects of 6 hours of sleep per night for 4 nights in a row reduces productivity and alters your mood. This finding is what has led to the 8 hour universal recommendation. People who are sleepless and spend less time in the dark create less melatonin which causes drowsiness and reduces the body temperature for optimal sleep.
- Impact of sleep is about $3,700 dollars a year in losses per person. That’s an average of 6% loss in productivity per year.
- The increase in health care cost is about $6,000 annually.
- Sleep loss directly contributes to the causation of 11 health risks.
- Number of adult office visits about sleeplessness increased 100%.
- Insomnia diagnoses are up 700%.
- Numbers indicate significant increases in the use of sleep hygiene coaches who provide general guidelines about diet and exercise.
Grapple with sleep and your routine like it’s an enemy.
Developing a healthy routine will lead to more productivity and a better quality of life.
- Begin downloading a few hours before bed.
- Don’t spend the last few hours watching television or slaving over work.
- Dim the lights and burn some candles.
- Eliminate caffeinated beverages and consider some herbal tea that induces sleep.
- A warm shower or bath before bed increases the body temperature and then gradually declines making your body think it’s time for bed.
- If your thoughts are racing, you have anxiety, or your mind is wondering, sit and write it out. Writing is therapy for the mind.
- Manage your energy with yoga, meditation, prayer or stretching. I try to do some soft tissue work in the evenings so my muscles begin to relax.
Burning the candle at both ends of the stick like many do is dangerous. You may be getting more done in the short term, but that’s debatable. You are also doing more damage and shortening the life span of the candle. Our bodies will eventually wear out. If you neglect maintenance on a machine it begins to break down and wear out faster. Lengthen and strengthen the span of your life by adding an an hour of sleep to your day.

domain: health


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Beginn des Obergermanisch-Raetischen Limes
Hauptstraße 84, 53557 Bad Hönningen
The Upper Germanic-Rhaetian Limes, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005, is an outstanding place of archaeological interest, covering a total distance 550 kilometres.
Around 2,000 years ago its forts, watchtowers, walls and palisades protected the mighty Roman Empire from independent Germania. It is the longest and one of the most impressive archaeological monuments in Europe, marking the frontier where the highly developed civilization of ancient Rome met 'barbaric' Germania. The Limes runs from Bad Hönningen/Rheinbrohl on the River Rhine to the Regensburg area on the River Danube.
The Roman historian Tacitus referred to the beginning of the Limes Romanus as "Caput Limitis” – head of the limes. So here we are at the Caput Limitis – the beginning of the Limes. Seize the opportunity to experience Roman history. On the Rhine you will find watchtower No. I marking the beginning of the Limes. Watch tower No. IX, has been reconstructed in the forest near Rheinbrohl. Walk along the Limes Trail and get your fill of culture and nature. Discover the remains of the wall and climb the tower, just as the Roman soldiers did a long time ago - in your case of course not to protect a whole empire, but merely to take in the magnificent view of the foothills of the Westerwald and the Rhine valley.
Visit our museum in the RömerWelt and enter the Roman World at the Caput Limitis. And then, your thirst for knowledge satisfied, taste our Limes wine, have a slice of the delicious Limes cake or even a lavish Roman meal at a nearby restaurant.
And if all this has whetted your appetite for more, follow the German Limes Road or the Limes Cycling Route which start in the spa park in Bad Hönningen and run over 550 km to Regensburg.

domain: travel


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Payne is concerned about this street grime and air pollution because it’s all destined to become water pollution when the snow melts in the spring. According to Payne, meltwater from snowbanks and the city’s various glaciers has become one of the city’s most toxic — and least regulated — threats to Casco Bay’s ecosystems.
Of course, all of this pollution still exists when it doesn’t snow. Rainstorms also transport air pollution and street grime into the bay, but they do so invisibly, through Portland’s underground sewers.
Suppress your gag reflex for a moment and imagine a few million gallons of bathwater, feces, and kitchen garbage mixed in with all the rest of the glaciers’ frozen filth. If you then imagine these hypothetical glaciers washing away in a rainstorm and floating around Casco Bay like enormous toilet icebergs, you’ll begin to have an idea of Portland’s combined-sewer overflow problems.
Like many older cities, Portland has a combined sewer system: stormwater runoff from the city’s streets goes into the same pipes that handle the more polluted sewage from all of the indoor drains in Portland’s homes and businesses. During dry weather, this works well enough: everything that goes down your drain gets sent to the sewage-treatment plant on the Eastern Prom.
The treatment plant is designed to handle a peak load of 80 million gallons of sewage per day, and Portland residents and businesses typically generate about 20 million gallons of sewage per day, according to fact sheets from the Portland Water District, which operates the plant.
But a rainstorm can quickly overwhelm the sewers’ capacity. An inch of rain falling on the entire three square miles of the Portland peninsula can generate about 50 million gallons of rainwater. If that water falls on city parks or forests, it will slowly sink into the soil. But much of that rain falls on rooftops, streets, and parking lots, from where it takes a short trip to the nearest storm drain and into the city’s combined sewers. Along its way, it picks up the same sort of street grime and garbage that’s currently frozen inside the glaciers.
Millions of gallons of raw residential and commercial sewage mixing with tens of millions of gallons of stormwater runoff can quickly overtax the capacity of the sewer pipes. When this happens, the sewers are designed to overflow the toxic mixture of excrement and runoff into the nearest body of water — which could be Capisic Brook, Back Cove, or under the wharves on the waterfront — before the sewage begins to back up into bathtubs and streets.These “combined-sewer overflow” sites act as relief valves for Portland’s sewers. They’re marked by small green signs (and sometimes, by foul smells as well) at various points along Commercial Street, Baxter Boulevard, and the Fore River.
Even when sewage manages to make it to the East End, the treatment plant is sometimes forced to dump semi-treated wastewater into the Bay if the pipes are delivering more than the plant can handle. These overflows, which usually occur during or after sustained periods of wet weather, can sometimes cause the city to shut down the East End Beach due to dangerous levels of fecal coliform bacteria (see “What If ...” by Alex Irvine, January 9, 2004).

domain: geography


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9 August 2016
This Friday, August 12, Clare will participate in a panel discussion exploring living in design as part of Melbourne Indesign 2016. Joining Clare on the panel is Monique Woodward (WOWOWA), Katy Svalbe (Amber Road Design), and moderator, Assemble Papers editor Sara Savage.
‘Disrupting Design Living: The New Commune’ is the first seminar in Habitus magazine's LiveLife Design Hunter Series.
Tickets available here.

domain: news


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Founded in 1997, BookFinder.com has become a leading book price comparison site:
Find and compare hundreds of millions of new books, used books, rare books and out of print books from over 100,000 booksellers and 60+ websites worldwide.
Tracing Your Irish Ancestors
by John Grenham
ISBN 0717127966 / 9780717127962 / 0-7171-2796-6
Publisher Gill & Macmillan Ltd
› Find signed collectible books: 'Tracing Your Irish Ancestors'
The new edition has been revised to include more broadly relevant material, such as a listing of copies of Roman Catholic records, covering dates, locations and formats. This edition also includes details of the Family History Centres of the Mormon Church, one of the world's richest genealogical archives. [via]


December 20, 2010
Successful Hollywood films have an overwhelmingly ballsy, brassy and over the top obsession with the hero’s journey. While many people point to the cheap and easy way Disney films use the same formulaic music scores and elements of “imagination” from one film to the next, less has been said to criticize this same pattern in Hollywood movies aimed at adults. Perhaps this is because we are pretty comfortable with this motif. When The Social Network was first released, many critics marveled at how the director was able to make a film that was ostensibly about computer programming interesting and fun. In reality, this was done using the same formula used for any successful Hollywood movie. We were given booze and boobs, and a bunch of geeky college students suddenly transform into warring tribes, both on campus and in the courtroom.
Who do these kinds of films appeal to? Critics oftentimes argue, “everyone”, which in and of itself is an interesting concept to think about. How do certain types of films get relegated to niche markets, while others are lauded as being “universally appealing”?I am interested less in evaluating the merits or flaws of The Social Network in particular (I felt it had both) than our collective refusal to acknowledge films that operate outside this particular formulaic strategy. One of the main reasons I think critics relished The Social Network and were more likely to dismiss Catfish as problematic stems precisely from the fact that Catfish resists and complicates this model.
Catfish is a documentary film which deals with some of the same themes that The Social Network does- how identity and the way in which we relate to one another has changed since the inception of social networking sites, and ways in which it has remained exactly the same. But while The Social Network follows a very traditional Hollywood model to get that point across, Catfish uses a more unusual framework. I’m not referring to the fact that Catfish is a documentary- there are plenty of documentaries that rely on the same heroic tropes, where we follow a protagonist through his highs and lows, or where the filmmaker himself is a stand-in for the hero, and we follow the filmmaker on his/her journey as they come to terms with their subject matter. Catfish allows instead for a portrayal of victimhood which is normally relegated to Lifetime or Oxygen Networks- the kind of wallow-y melodrama we tend to view as too feminine and weak-willed to be meaty, contemplative art.
Catfish plays with our conventional way of thinking about gender in a way which is not safe and which has left many critics calling the filmmakers out as being exploitative. This particular view of the film- that Nev Schulman, the New York based photographer who is the subject for most of the documentary, is the exploiter, and Angela Wesselman, the woman who manipulated Nev into believing in the several identities she constructed, is the victim- is partially shaped by how we perceive gender roles. If Nev was a female protagonist and Angela was a male one, my guess is that most people would assess that Nev was taken advantage of, led on by a lecherous old man, and that this film was a way of dealing with the trauma of learning that the person you thought you loved was part of a complicated lie. I stand by my belief that most viewers would interpret the film this way, even if it was revealed that the male Angela was mentally ill or unstable. It is precisely because Nev is male that many viewers don’t see this to be the case.Many viewers argue he is cocky or foolish, and that, therefore, he basically deserved what he got.
The most boggling aspect of Catfish is how it tears apart our idea of how genders act in romantic relationships and the way it illustrates female desire as complex and worthy of study. By the end of the film it becomes clear that Angela, who is middle-aged and unglamorous, is the artist and Nev is her subject. It’s clear that one of the primary motivations for her reaching out to Nev is sexual and Nev’s uncomfortable smiles throughout the scene in which he confronts her (which are lambasted by some critics as being insensitive) seemed to me to convey the flattered and embarrassed sense we get when we are being watched. Nev knows that as Angela draws his portrait she is objectifying him and that she desires him since a major aspect of this entire charade was to lure him into having a long distance sexual relationship with her.
Many critics hated Nev, were disgusted by his vulnerable, arty presence on camera, which they claimed was disingenuous.Craig D. Lindsey of The News Observer states, “…I should tell you that I don’t trust dudes who unironically wear red jockey shorts or have lower-back tattoos.” Debbie Schlussel agrees, “He’s a “smarter-than-thou” big city guy with a stupid tramp-stamp tattoo on his lower back, who’s been bested by a far more clever, overweight small-town woman with a very sad life.” On several IMDB message boards, viewers explain how Nev’s nudity and tramp stamp must be a wink to the audience that Nev is actually gay. Innocent, vulnerable women who walk around half naked in films are a dime a dozen. Men simply aren’t allowed to play that role, at least without having their authenticity or sexuality called into question.
Catfish isn’t a glossy or beautiful film. It doesn’t claim to represent an entire generation or cut through the more complicated and uncomfortable ramifications of the lives it captures. It pushes viewers outside the boundaries of safe archetypal images we are familiar with and the result is a film which actually challenges us to face an outcome which does not have a simple moral- that greed corrupts, that sexism is bad, that men are one way and women are another. By destabilizing motifs viewers normally take for granted,Catfish ends up being a much more subversive film than many viewers are prepared to deal with, a love story which has a woman acting as a primary agent, rather than an object, and a film where our male hero is presented as brave, but also, vulnerable, open to the world around him and also willing to make mistakes on the road to finding love. Nev plays the role of heroine, rather than hero, and it’s interesting why in 2010 we still find this role shift unsettling.


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The theme today is BARNS. Oh gosh, there are a number of them I stumble upon in these parts.
I had the thought that I could go driving around to find one of my favorites and capture it with snow drifted around it.
Wouldn't that have been pretty?
But life in the tundra has left too many days that are so unbearable with below zero temperatures and horrific wind chills.
Instead I happened to remember this one I had sitting in my computer:
I took this one in the fall on the way to my brother's house driving down the gravel road out in the country. While it's not really a good shot of just a barn, it's a photo of a barn, a farm and pretty much exhibits rural MN in the fall with the cornstalks in the field.
I can almost smell the country, feel the fall breeze and fall in love with MN.
And on a day like today that's a very good memory to hold on to and the reminder that this winter will one day pass.
Head on over to Cari's for more BARNS today.


I just read in the paper the theater owners are taking on the state over this archaic law that you can’t have an alcoholic beverage while watching a show. Oh, did I say this law applies only if the show depicts someone’s breast or buttocks are touched. Mercy me, they have been allowing this at some of our theaters. It’s a wonder we haven’t experienced a rash of sexual crimes. OK, I hope I’ve sounded as ridiculous as hearing our State Police are waging a full-scale assault to wipe out this horrendous activity. I didn’t realize their budget has an abundance of money to spend on frivolous expenditures such as this. Maybe they are trying to do a favor for Gov. Butch Otter . He so enjoys wasting taxpayers’ money fighting to keep frivolous laws that common sense would tell most people it should not be law and should have been removed a long time ago. I’m anxious to see how much money he wastes fighting to keep this one on the books. Maybe we’ll be lucky and he’ll be too busy still fighting to keep the Ag-Gag enforceable.
Val Morse, Boise


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'Tis Mariah Carey's favorite season.
The pop diva's Lambily (her fans) filed into the Beacon Theatre Wednesday night to catch the second show of the "All I Want for Christmas Is You" concert series.
"I love the holidays and I am happy to be home," said the Long Island, NY native as she took the stage.
The mom of two brought all the bells and whistles in a week's wardrobe of bedazzled crimson, slate and ivory gowns in Carey's go-to hourglass silhouette.
She also didn't do it alone. Carey employed an army of tap-dancing, back-flipping kids and a gospel choir who stunned in white robes.
The powerhouse's voice appeared in tip-top form as she ran through a string of her most beloved holiday hits including "Silent Night" and "Jesus What a Wonderful Child" from 1994's "Merry Christmas" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and "Charlie Brown Christmas" from the 2010 follow-up.
Carey topped the tree with non-Christmas songs "Hero" and "We Belong Together" and closed out with the ubiquitous "All I Want for Christmas."
The mini tour runs through Dec. 18, and will be reproduced on the Hallmark Channel as "Mariah Carey's Merriest Christmas," which airs on Dec. 19 at 10 P.M.


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Mayfield Canyon Battleground
California State Historic Landmark 211
No plaque exists for this site.
Mayfield Canyon; 0.2 mi N of Farmer Wells Meadow Ranger Station, 1.5 mi NW of intersection of Pine Creek and N Round Valley Rd, then 1.5 mi N on Ranger Station Rd
Return to other landmarks in Inyo county.
Please note: I have no connection to any organizations mentioned on this site.
Site contents copyright 1996-2000 by Donald Laird - all rights reserved
Send comments to:


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American Music Theater in Lancaster, PA
The American Music Theater is a great place in which to attend a variety of performing arts events. Popular acts include Country Classics, Josh Turner, The Temptations & Four Tops, and more. With state-of-the-art amenities, you will have a truly comfortable and unique experience, no matter which show you choose to see.
The lobby area itself is three stories with a beautiful chandelier as well as comfortable furniture and lovely staircases. It is a perfect backdrop for fundraising events, corporate parties, functions and more. The orchestra seating is plentiful with many upscale amenities for the performers and relaxing seats for the patrons.
Located on Route 30 East, this gorgeous facility resides on more than seven acres of land and houses a 55,000 square-foot performing arts theater. Surrounded by a number of dining options as well as shopping venues, the American Music Theater is a great place to catch a show and also makes for a great date-night. Within a mile of the hotel, you will find hotels such as Comfort Suites Amish Country, Days Inn Lancaster/ Ronks Pa Dutch Country, and Rodeway Inn Amish Country. The Amish Experience Theater & Country Homestead Combo Tour, the Lancaster County Hout Air Balloon Ride, and the Sight and Sound Millennium Theatre are all within two miles, as well.
Seating Capacity: 1,600
Gift Shop: There is a gift shop on site.
Concessions & Dining: Purchases can be made at the theater's concession stand.
Living Waters Theatre
The Sight and Sound Millennium Theatre


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Helen Lear (text) and Katya Swan (illustrator), Frankie Pants and Mr Fox, Little Steps Publishing, February 2020, 28 pp., RRP $14.95 (pbk), ISBN 9781925839654
Frankie the cat likes to do, well, not much. He lazes about in the sun, stretches, then lazes some more. It’s a tough life. But something amazing happens when the clock strikes midnight…
This is when the transformation takes place and Frankie goes from sloth-like house cat to… Frankie Pants! And good thing because Frankie Pants has important work to do. See, Mr Fox is out lurking the neighborhood again, and has his sights set on a coop full of helpless chickens. Help, Frankie Pants!
Frankie Pants is the unlikely superhero, or should I say Super Cat, that we all need. But can he really save the neighborhood? How do those pants help, exactly?
Helen Lear’s tale of a fluffy-tailed feline is inspired by her own kitty, Frankie, and she has written an easy to follow, simple rhyming story sure to capture younger readers of preschool age. Katya Swan’s illustrations are fun and appealing, complementing the story seamlessly. There is much to follow on from this story, from learning about animal habits, introducing nocturnal behaviours of cats and other animals.
I expect this to be the first instalment of the terribly brave tales of Frankie Pants. That is, so long as he wakes from his slumber at the stroke of midnight. Come on Frankie, we need you!
Reviewed by Belinda Raposo


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SANTA FE, NM – Americans for Prosperity-New Mexico (AFP-NM) issued a Key Vote Alert to state representatives urging them to support HB 74, a bill that would restore voting rights to people with felony records.
View the Key Vote Alert here.
In the Key Vote Alert to lawmakers, AFP-NM State Director Burly Cain writes:
“Denying someone the right to vote who has paid their debt to society and served their sentence is unjust and immoral. We should be removing barriers for people who are coming back into society and treating them like full citizens, so they have a better chance of succeeding and making our communities stronger. Restoring voting rights will help make our criminal justice system more just, improve public safety, and give real second chances to New Mexicans who have earned them.”
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I haven't used this technique for years but when one of the challenges for this month's WMS Pyjama Party was Texturise it, I was reminded of it. Basically you cut shapes from the same colour card stock and adhere them. It's easier to line up the shapes and works when you want the same shape(s) repeated multiple times. Here I've used the the beautiful new WMS SnowFlakes 1 and 2.
The sentiment, from WMS Alpine Christmas was heat embossed with Persian Sea Aurora Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder and mounted on a WMS Stitched Tag.
I'm actually entering this in Challenge 2 of the WMS Pyjama Party - Snow is Falling.
Thanks for stopping by


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Though I can’t exactly claim to have pretended to be him when I played with my friends as a young boy, I was still a very early reader of the “Iron Man” comic book. This continued for decades and while has slowed down a little bit I am very adverse to a new launch and that is what I am here to discuss with you today. Check out the details about this brand-new title and some artwork from Marvel Comics publicity.
The Press Release:
New creative teams. New series. New directions. New beginnings. It all kicks off this June with TONY STARK: IRON MAN #1!
“As a futurist, Tony Stark thought he had all the answers. But since coming back from the dead, he now sees the Marvel Universe in a whole new light!” teased editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski. “How does Iron Man continually evolve and stay relevant in a world where technology advances on a daily basis? Well, Dan Slott, Valerio Schiti, and Edgar Delgado are here to answer those questions as they take our Armored Avenger on adventures that push the boundaries comic storytelling and visuals! And Dan writes Tony with such heart…pun intended…we had to put his name in the title.”
For more information on TONY STARK: IRON MAN #1, including exclusive interviews, visit Nerdist.com. For up-to-date information on all new #1 titles, visit http://marvel.com/marvel2018comics.
TONY STARK: IRON MAN #1: Written by DAN SLOTT; Art and Cover by VALERIO SCHITI
Cover by ALEXANDER LOZANO; On Sale 6/20/18
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PiercingMetal Thoughts: I remember the adventures of “The Invincible Iron Man” as being some of my very first comics being purchased when I was a kid and I’ve followed the armored Avenger for years since. Since I have faith in the storytelling abilities and art of this creative team I cannot wait to peruse a copy in my eager hands when I see it on the racks of my local comic book store. Let’s see where they take this now legendary character together shall we? You can chime in down below in the comments section if you have something topical to add to the mix. See you next time.
Official Website: http://www.marvel.com


Wild nature and suggestive views
Lake of Tovel and nearby
For lovers of wild nature and suggestive views, characterized by unique and unexpected colors, the stop we recommend is the Tovel Valley, with its homonymous lake, and the Parco Naturale Adamello Brenta.
Trekking, fishing, running barefoot in the meadows and picnics admiring the blue-green waters of the lake are just some of the activities that you can carve out during the day in this fairytale landscape.
Do not miss also Santa Giustina Lake, Tavon and Coredo Lakes, Smeraldo Lake – Fondo, Tret Lake and Tret Waterfall, Santa Giustina Lake, starting point with activities such as canoeing and kayaking.


This volume deals with manufacturing processes for preparing very thin polymer products.
Many professionals working on polymer films have requested that a newer version of Film Processing be published that includes more recent technologies and addresses the latest literature. Film Processing Advances provides a timely response to these requests. This edition is still a technically oriented book to be used by film processing professionals, graduate students, and researchers and it covers recent technologies of film extrusion, extruder screw design, die design, film structure, film temperature, crystallization dynamics, and film properties. Furthermore, Film Processing Advances focuses on multilayered films and recent developments relating to high performance films. The chapters in this edition are all essentially new and were designed to complement the materials found in Film Processing, which remains a relevant and important information resource.
Toshitaka Kanai is Principal Researcher at the Performance Materials Laboratories of Idemitsu Kosan Co., where he has worked since 1976. He is President of the Japan Society of Polymer Processing, International Representative of the Polymer Processing Society, and a Visiting Professor at Kanazawa University.
Gregory A. Campbell is Professor Emeritus at Clarkson University, NY. He formerly directed a research group at GM Research and managed polymer fabrication at Mobil Chemical Research.


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Published on: 08/10/2020
IRC, Espace Culturel Gambidi (ECG) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the WASH actors working in Banfora district for universal access to drinking water, hygiene and sanitation, have just reiterated their commitment to support the commune's efforts in the fight against COVID-19. For this reason, on Tuesday, September 22, 2020 an official ceremony was held to hand over sanitary materials and products to health centres, schools, public spaces and the population. This ceremony was presided over by the Governor of the Cascades Region, Mrs. Kouara Apiou/Kaboré, in the presence of the second deputy mayor of Banfora, Siaka Soulama and representatives of donors and beneficiaries.
From left to right, Siaka Soulama, Second Vice-Mayor of Banfora, Kouara Apiou/Kabore, Governor of the Cascade Region, and Patricia Sanou, CRS representative
Taking the opportunity of this ceremony, Siaka Soulama first reminded everyone present of the partnership that exists between the commune and its partners such as IRC, ECG and CRS. IRC has supported the commune in the development of its communal strategic plan for public water supply and sanitation services and also supports in the implementation of this plan. Above all, the First Deputy Mayor of Banfora expressed the council's satisfaction and gratitude for their actions and their determination to make the municipality the benchmark for drinking water supply and sanitation. He also underlined the honour that these partners bestow on the municipality by supporting them in the development and implementation of a communal plan to fight the coronavirus.
Mrs. Apiou/Kaboré noted that following the emergence of COVID-19, the first case of which was discovered in Burkina on March 9, 2020, measures were taken by the government at the national level and by the district of Banfora. Among the communal measures taken, she cited, the development of this project to fight the coronavirus pandemic at a total cost of 95 147 062 FCFA. "It is necessary to all work together as a team in the region to establish a real barrier against this disease. I am asking everyone to be more careful and to always observe preventive measures and practice barrier gestures," she insisted.
The technical services receiving the materials from the regional and district authorities
300 packs of 40 surgical masks, 150 packs of 20 FFP2 masks, 350 boxes of 100 examination gloves, 190 gowns, 51 infrared thermometers, 115 boxes of 200 chlorine tablets, 150 boxes of 100 medical hygiene caps, 300 medical goggles, 804 1 kg sachets of soap powder, 804 1-litre cans of bleach with 0.5% active chlorine and 400 5-litre cans of hydroalcoholic gel. This is the batch of equipment acquired by the Banfora district with the support of its partners (IRC, CRS, ECG), for the benefit of the 17 health centres in the commune to aid the efforts in the response to COVID-19. In addition, 186 boxes of 40 soap balls were distributed to 93 schools in the commune for the same cause. The project also plans to renovate the wash basins in the commune's health centres, raise public awareness about coronavirus preventive measures, and provide handwashing facilities in public places. With a total cost of about 95 million FCFA, this financial support from the Conrad N. Hilton and OneDrop foundations aims to help the commune of Banfora in the implementation of its response plan to combat the pandemic. Through this acquisition, the partners want to show their solidarity and make their contribution to this fight led by the Burkinabè nation. A fight for which they could not remain on the sidelines.
According to Ibrahima Teguera, the representative of the Regional Health Directorate, the directorate primarily concerned, "it remains important to always respect the barrier measures against the coronavirus. The number of confirmed cases in the Cascade Region has increased from 4 to 19, including 9 active cases and two deaths. We would like to thank the municipality for its support in the fight against this pandemic". Before finishing his speech, he reassured the partners that the materials received will reach the various beneficiaries.
At the end of the meeting, the representative of the mayor of Banfora thanked the Hilton and OneDrop foundations and its implementing partners (IRC, ECG and CRS) for their continued support in the development of the commune, in the areas of drinking water, hygiene and sanitation and hailed the success of this partnership. Now that the equipment is in the hands of the beneficiaries, it is their responsibility to ensure its durability and sustainability.


22-year old Atlanta-based producer Gravez has teamed up with Sydney beatmaker Nehzuil on a remix of Kehlani’s smash hit featuring BJ The Chicago Kid, ‘Down For You’.
What’s intriguing is each of them bring their own strengths to the table: Nezhuil gives the remix a soulful touch, providing keys, guitar, bass, and synths, whilst Graves dives in with drums, organ, synths and strings to give it a bit of a kick, with the collaboration perfectly harmonising with both Kehlani and BJ’s voices.
The result is simply stunning, and will surely have you playing the song on loop for days. I know I will be. Swoon. <3


The proposals cover Methley Bridge Chandlery and Boat Yard and, if approved, would mean changes that would improve the waterfront, developer DMU Designs said.
The current clubhouse would be demolished, and a new clubhouse, boater facilities, workshop and causeway along the riverbank would be constructed. In a design and access statement submitted as part of the planning application, DMU Designs said: “The proposal provides something unique to the area, a fantastic leisure activity addition and would really put Castleford on the map.”
It said the clubhouse redevelopment “could have varied uses for both boaters and the local community taking part in leisure activities making this a key asset to the development.”
The area falls within green belt land but the developer said it would not impact the openness or damage the character of the landscape. The statement added: “The proposals would result in clear benefits to the local economy, social objectives and the local environment.
“It would improve the openness of this Green Belt location, would consolidate the site’s existing built form, would preserve the character and visual amenity of the locality.”


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Squarepusher – “Terminal Slam”
This Friday, Tom Jenkinson is releasing Be Up A Hello, his first Squarepusher album in five years. He’s already blasted our ears and minds with early tracks “Vortrack” and “Nervelevers.” And now he’s back with another frenetic electronic jam, “Terminal Slam,” WHICH comes along with a video from artist Daito Manabe that imagines a futuristic Tokyo where augmented reality glasses can transform and corrupt ads.
“The concept began with the idea of implementing the near future, not the distant future, using modern technology,” Manabe explains. “In the near future, it would be exciting to be able to rewrite ads as freely as is depicted in this music video while wearing such a device and wandering around the city.” The video premiered at midnight on a screen in Shibuya Crossing today, and you can watch it below.
Be Up A Hello is out 1/31 on Warp. Pre-order it here.


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THE SYNERGIST GROUP, LLC
Focused On Quality and Quantity
Welcome to The Synergist Group, LLC. We are primarily an
e-commerce retail supplier based in Atlanta, Georgia. Our primary objective is to provide not only top quality products but also top quality service. Our focus is to offer a wide selection of merchandise at competitive pricing, while at the same time ensuring orders placed are delivered promptly. Our goal is to continue to expand on our existing inventory and acquire new accounts on a continuous basis. This will translate into more options for our customers in terms of merchandise selection and availability.
How We Help
E COMMERCE FULFILLMENT
On time product delivery
On time shipping
ABOUT THE SYNERGIST GROUP, LLC
The Synergist Group, LLC has been dedicated to providing products with the highest quality and lowest price possible.
Our primary focus is eCommerce. We believe in exceptional customer service. Our goal is for continued growth and maintaining an expansive inventory of a wide variety of products.
What We Offer
We are currently focused on establishing solid relationships with reliable wholesalers, which will allow us to further solidify the distribution and continued expansion of a wide variety of merchandise such as electronics, toys/games, household goods, sports and outdoors, etc;

domain: economics


MIL OSI Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
The crews of the large amphibious assault ships (BDK) of the Pacific Fleet “Nikolay Vilkov”, “Peresvet” and “Admiral Nevelskoy”, together with the units of the Primorsky Marine Corps of the Pacific Fleet, worked out the tasks of amphibious training with the practical loading of military equipment and personnel on the BDK in a point-blank manner …
The training took place at the tactical training range of the Pacific Fleet of the Pacific Fleet of Cape Klerk, Peter the Great Bay. During the training, the BDK took on board the BTR-82A armored personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery installations and the personnel of the marine battalion.
At sea, the crews of the large landing craft as part of the tactical group worked out elements of joint maneuvering and conducted communications training.
At the loading point, interaction with hydrographic crews was worked out, ensuring the safety of ships approaching the shore, the communication system, the effectiveness of security were checked, and air defense was organized in the area of training events.
The event was attended by over 200 military personnel and about 30 pieces of equipment.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and / or sentence structure not be perfect.


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Chris Howland's "Way Up" (feat. CASS and Sajan Nauriyal) this week achieved No. 1 on the Hot CHR chart. The single, which is currently also No. 21 on the Billboard Hot AC/CHR cart, features fellow artists CASS and Sajan Nauriyal and is a fresh electronic Hip Hop track that merges rhythmic sounds with thought-provoking Hip Hop lyrics.
"Way Up," released on the Dröm record label, has also been featured on Spotify's official New Music Friday Christian and Rapzilla.com's Christian Rap playlists, in addition to being picked up by local radio stations such as Boost 101.9 in St. Louis, Mo..
Howland says about his track, "'Way Up' is about celebrating what God has done and continues to do in our lives. It's about encouraging ourselves and others to reflect on His faithfulness and remember that our help comes from above!"
VGM Records, who represent Nauriyal, wrote on their Facebook page upon the song's release, "We are so excited about this collab by Chris Howland / Audicid CASS & our very own Sajan Nauriyal. 'WAY UP' is already being played on multiple radio stations. The song is straight [fire]!"
Showing great musical interest at the young age of 10, Howland released his first EP titled Listen Up. Finding inspiration in house, electro, and many other scenes, he has become a new artist to watch in the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) world. His latest single, "Slide" (feat. Joey Jewish) released on Feb. 23 via the Amen Collective .
"Way Up (feat. CASS & Sajan Nauriyal) is available for stream and download now here. You can also listen to the track below: