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Laurence Aberhart (photographs) and Jock Phillips (essay)
Victoria University Press with Dunedin Public Art Gallery, $60.00,
What to make of all the hoopla surrounding the centenary of WWI? Is it just one thing we’re commemorating – say, honouring “the supreme sacrifice” – or is it a whole bunch of stuff to do with fostering “national identity” (that three-legged beast with its tail at the wrong end), or even to do with pursuing commercial opportunity? After all, the fallen fell not only to defend motherhood and democracy, but the freedom to engage in marketing, too.
It’s something of a British tradition to celebrate failure, the ultimate victory in 1918 masking the earlier disasters of Gallipoli, Passchendaele and the rest. The ultimate disaster was the war itself, that it happened at all, the European protagonists rushing into a conflict expecting an overnight Guy Fawkes display, but getting a drawn-out Hiroshima, albeit of a non-nuclear kind. (It took another world war to produce that particular horror.) Because of its strong emotional and economic ties to Britain, New Zealand was drawn into joining this fundamentally European response to a fated entanglement of political alliances, historical animosities, and fears of German colonial and economic expansion. For its engagement, this country paid a large price, not just financially – the loss of so many of its young men had a huge, incalculable social impact for generations.
The desolation of all this is echoed poignantly in Laurence Aberhart’s 70 images of war memorials thoughout New Zealand and Australia. For 40 years now, his roving eye and doughty camera have plumbed the shapes and spaces of public memory, and the forthcoming commemoration has been the occasion to draw together some of these images of WWI memorials for a touring exhibition and this accompanying publication. It’s a sobering project, and the book has an appropriately sober bearing in its layout and appearance. An avalanche of commemorative publications has begun stirring, many of those so far appearing opportunistic, lacking depth, with poor image reproduction and gimmicky presentation. With Aberhart’s weighty images, superbly reproduced, and Karina McLeod’s flawless design, ANZAC is very likely to remain one of the more enduring artefacts of this commemoration.
The title of the introductory essay by historian Jock Phillips, “The Lonely Soldier”, gives the only hint as to the criterion for the image selection. War memorials take many forms, but these Aberharts depict traditional monuments on which, at the top, stands a lone, sculpted soldier. There are only four exceptions: at Merewether in New South Wales, where, at either end of a wall, are portrayed from the waist up a soldier to the left and a sailor to the right, both with arms folded; again in New South Wales, at Lithgow, the memorial features two soldiers, the lower one hatless, fallen and apparently wounded; at Otahuhu, the soldier rides a horse; and the Te Arawa monument in Rotorua is surmounted not by a soldier, but by the reigning king, George V, perhaps referencing the special relationship between Maori and the monarchy, forged symbolically between queen and iwi in 1840.
Phillips is no stranger to this book’s topic, either. In 1990, with co-author Chris Maclean, he published, through Government Print Books, an account of New Zealand war memorials entitled The Sorrow and the Pride. The authors of this comprehensive survey pointed out that only about eight per cent of these memorials feature soldiers standing at their apex, and indicated that, while the majority of them were sculpted from marble at Italy’s Carrara, they’re mostly based on photographs of individual soldiers, so that, among the 70 depicted by Aberhart, and so apparently uniform in their representation, no two are the same. But, as Phillips observes here, there was never an intention to single out an individual soldier: the one stood for the many, just as each one had stood with the many. The monuments classically give form to public grief: the details of the standing figures revealing the sharper end of private anguish.
After WWII, as Phillips points out in his new essay, memorials took more practical form: halls, swimming pools, libraries and other civic amenities. Practically as well, lists of the recently fallen were added to WWI’s memorials, not new ones built. The grandsons of pioneers and the sons of this frontier culture probably died for practicality, too – the practical being a touchstone virtue when ideologies roam free – but the useless WWI memorials littering this land are more powerful – albeit mute – testaments to the need to remember, a need as central to freedom as the right to vote and habeas corpus. Just think of those Stalinists armed with airbrushes, pursuing their crimes against collective memory.
The commemorative aspect of the structures Aberhart has recorded so ably determined their placing. Sites were prominent and respectful, but the overriding requirement was for a civic space adequate for large gatherings on Anzac Day: main streets and parks being the most usual locations. This practical requirement had symbolic effects. The space around not only accentuated the loneliness of the lone soldier, but emphasised the distance between the dead and the living. As generations pass and the living no longer have any personal connection with the dead, there is no private anguish to be assuaged. The sadness has been harnessed to the construction of national identity, so that Gallipoli is not remembered as a site for wasteful death, but imagined as a foundation of something called “New Zealandness”.
In concentrating on images of lone soldiers, Aberhart’s work eschews the more idealised figures of other memorials: “Victory” and “Grief”, angels breaking swords of war, the mini Greek temples of sacrifice, and the gates at parks and schools echoing those triumphal Roman arches glorifying conquest and returning victors. Singly, these boys signed up, and singly they have returned in spirit to stand alone, silently bearing witness to their sacrifice and our loss. Times change, and perhaps today’s young are less susceptible to political calls for patriotism and self-sacrifice. We’ll never know if the “boys” of 1914 would have been so eager to volunteer, had they been aware of the consequences. The young in 1939 certainly had more pause for thought, based on their fathers’ experience of WWI. In the second decade of the 21st century, the rise of the “selfie” sits uneasily alongside any notion of selflessness. A recent New Yorker cartoon features two soldiers in conversation, one saying to the other: “I can defend this hill for another hour, but then I really need to get to the gym.”
Times change in other ways, too. In 1914, New Zealand’s population was more evenly spread over the whole country, with the rural/urban balance almost exactly 50-50 at that time, and, with the dominant industries being largely agricultural, the culture generally retained a rural cast for a further 30 years, even as urbanisation occurred ever more rapidly. The continuing kaupapa was Littledene, not Auckland. Since their erection, these scattered memorials have come to commemorate more than the fallen. As rural communities have contracted, and in many cases simply disappeared – first the cottage hospital, then the school, the post office, the general store and, finally, the petrol station – what’s left is a dilapidated memorial hall and, beside it, the lone soldier atop his plinth gazing over an empty landscape, the last person present, unable even to switch off the lights: Rongahere and Dunrobin-Edievale in Otago, Okaiawa in Taranaki, and Katea, Menzie’s Ferry, Brydone and Mataura Island, all in Southland. A melancholy roll-call of rural depopulation.
ANZAC’s sequence of images includes six pairings depicting the same subject: both our view of the soldier and the soldier’s “view” of the landscape. It’s a clever strategy to link the living with the land so many young men eagerly and generously gave their lives for. However much the living may query this sacrificial aim, it was a central element in the mix of motivation. Perhaps the most poignant pair relates to the monument at the edge of the hilltop urupa behind Tikitiki’s St Mary’s Church – Apirana Ngata’s Ngati Porou “cathedral”. Aberhart’s signature magic light here illuminates more than a standard war memorial in a remote rural settlement. It brings together strands of our history in such a cemented skein as to make the shonky construction of a national identity not only superfluous, but doomed to lie in the deepest shallows.
Peter Ireland is a Whanganui-based painter, curator and writer on photography.

domain: history


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No heads up, no cues, and surely, no suggestions—life unfolds in all forked up ways, and changes like variables on drugs. There is no fool-proof guidance on how to live, believe me, we are better off without one. Taking all the punches you can take, walking all the miles you can walk, and reaching for the stars as much as you can, you live your truth in your own way, only to find out that someone has gone through what you have been through with much less pain and much more grace. What then life is about, you think? Had I known—had we known that—why would any of us be here, darlings?
- Nandha Kriskar

domain: psychology


CINCINNATI (AP) -- The Bengals pulled off a rare move to pick a center who could start right away. They traded up 12 spots to select Russell Bodine from North Carolina in the fourth round on Saturday. They don't often move up in the draft. It had been 12 years since they did it. Offensive line coach Paul Alexander says Bodine will compete for the starting job this season. The Bengals...
Junior center Russell Bodine is headed to the NFL As I wrote about a few days ago North Carolina’s coaching staff will be reshuffled in the new year as Blake Anderson and Walt Bell have decided to head out from Chapel Hill. Well, yesterday the official UNC Athletic Site told us that the offensive line will be different in 2014 as well, with junior center Russell Bodine declaring...
The loss keeps the Victory Bell away from Chapel Hill for another year So far most of the UNC fan base is pretty happy with head coach Larry Fedora. The one asterisks could be that the second year head man has lost two times to Duke. Today, at Kenan Stadium, was the second time, as North Carolina (6 & 6 ~ 4-4 ACC) fell to #24 Duke (10 & 2 ~ 6-2 ACC) by the final of 27 to...
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(BEDFORD) - The North Lawrence Water Authority has lifted a boil order it issued on Friday 08/17/2007.
The areas of Peerless, Needmore, East Ooltic, Mount Pleasant, Breckenridge Rd. and Jackson St no longer need to boil their water for safety.
The North Lawrence Water Authority reported a crew having hit a water main and issued the order as a precaution.
Have a question or comment about a news story? Send it to firstname.lastname@example.org

domain: news


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Regardless of the headlines and what you see in the news, Alaskans take care of each other. Even with differences of opinion on masking and other measures, the vast majority of Alaskans know that the enemy is the COVID-19 virus, not each other.
So why does Gov. Mike Dunleavy keep speaking out of both sides of his mouth, and why does he keep fanning the flames of these fights? In one moment, he stands silently next to Dr. Anne Zink as she pleads with Alaskans to mitigate spread by vaccinating, masking and keeping social circles small, and in the next moment, he taunts those who wear masks as “virtue signaling” and compares stronger vaccination efforts to the Holocaust.
A recent example of such behavior shows that this is not part of any logical leadership strategy to help our state through the pandemic, but rather it’s simply an effort to dog-whistle to his base of supporters and continue dividing Alaskans.
Last week, Gov. Dunleavy broadcast a social media message actually applauding law enforcement officers in the Lower 48 who have been fired for disobeying orders to get vaccinated. Further, he encouraged these officers to relocate to Alaska. There are so many things wrong with the message, it’s difficult to know where to begin.
First, assuming this is more than a mere stunt by the governor, does he intend to have these unvaccinated officers join the Alaska State Troopers? Recruiting a high number of unvaccinated troopers and then deploying them to rural Alaska -- areas where health care facilities are often sparse -- seems like a recipe for disaster. Dunleavy’s idea would endanger rural Alaskans.
Second, by any math, the vast majority of law enforcement officers around the country are choosing to do the right thing for their communities by vaccinating. Well more than 90% of those in law enforcement organizations requiring vaccination have complied. The real question here is how do the vast majority of public safety officers who did the right thing feel about seeing those who disobey their superiors’ orders and endanger the public elevated and venerated by “leaders” like Dunleavy?
Finally, although Dunleavy claims to “back the blue,” his cynically opportunistic message shows the opposite to be true. There is currently no greater threat to the lives of law enforcement officers than COVID-19. A report from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund contains some heartbreaking statistics. In 2020, the organization reported a nearly 150% increase in law enforcement Line of Duty Deaths (“LODDs”), to a total of 371. Of those deaths, 242 (or 65%) were COVID-related. And so far in 2021, we are on a similar trajectory, with 255 LODDs so far, and 144 of those deaths caused by COVID-19. In short, COVID-19 is far and away the biggest current cause of death for law enforcement officers. Yet Gov. Dunleavy is actively praising and uplifting those who oppose vaccination, which is the single most effective tool to protect their lives. Would Dunleavy similarly praise depriving law enforcement officers of ballistic vests? Of course not.
So, why does Gov. Dunleavy continue to send messages that are contrary to the advice of Dr. Zink? Why does he continue to communicate in ways that only serve to divide Alaskans and make them less safe? Pure politics. COVID-19 is simply one example. Another is the Permanent Fund dividend. He doesn’t try to reach common ground by negotiating with legislators or bring Alaskans together to discuss the tradeoffs required by our current fiscal situation. Instead, he does things like lie about the actual numbers and refer to legislators who disagree with him as “thieves,” even running publicly funded political ads against them (such as the ones currently running against Sen. Bert Stedman).
Gov. Dunleavy has no vision to lead Alaska, so he knows the only way he can hang on is to turn us against one another, then capitalize on the anger he’s created. Vaccines are not a real controversy -- we’ve required them for decades for diseases such as smallpox and polio, and the result is millions of lives saved and largely the eradication of those diseases. Whether or not to vaccinate is a manufactured controversy that Gov. Dunleavy wants us to fight over rather than work together.
Don’t take the bait. Alaskans are strongest when we work together. We can disagree without being disagreeable. But we must not fall into the trap of rewarding the bad behavior of those so-called “leaders” who continue to put their political fortunes above the safety and well-being of their constituents.
Scott Kendall served as chief of staff under Gov. Bill Walker. He is now an attorney in private practice.
The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to firstname.lastname@example.org or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.


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• Year Built: 1990
6400 Carolina Beach Road is aretail property for lease in Wilmington, NC.
Masonboro Commons, is located in the growing area of Southern New Hanover County. The Center Features Food Lion and Planet Fitness as its Anchors. The Center is located at the intersection of Hwy 421 and Golden Road, near the New Hanover County Public Schools Administration build and Educational Complex.
End Cap on the left side of center has drive through. 2400 square foot unit at main entry has great visibility for shoppers entering the center.
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domain: geography


The rate at which water flows out of a pipe, in gallons per hour, is given by a differentiable function R of time t. The table above shows the rate as measured every 3 hours for a 24-hour period.
a) Use a midpoint Riemann sum with 4 subdivision sof equal length to approximate. Using correct units, explain the meaning of your answer in terms of water flow.
b) Is there some time t, 0 < t < 24, such that R'(t) = 0? Justify your answer.
c) The rate of water flow R(t) can be approximated by . Use Q(t) ti approximate the average rate of water flow during the 24-hour time period. Indicate units of measure.


ALSIA is an instrumental body of the Basilicata Region for the research and transfer of innovations in agriculture and agri-food. ALSIA participates in projects of community regional, and national interest in agricultural biodiversity, multifunctionality, training, and enhancement of agricultural production. Is currently involved in participatory and evolutionary breeding programs on local beans and their mixtures as well as in bread and durum wheat local varieties and their mixtures. Bean mixtures have already been successfully commercialized.
It is the most important regional center for biodiversity characterization and conservation.
Global Bean projects we are involved in:
Participatory and Evolutionary plant breeding using a wide farmers’ network, a functional gene bank and expertise in experimental designs and statistical analysis for adaptation to organic conditions.
To extend the use of bean and cereal mixtures in contrasting microenvironments of the regions to enhance the cultivated agrobiodiversity of the region and to benefit consumers.


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VENICE, Italy, July 4 (UPI) --
"Gravity," a science-fiction film starring George Clooney
and Sandra Bullock
, is to open Italy's 70th Venice International Film, organizers announced.
The 3D movie was directed by Alfonso Cuaron and features the stars as astronauts lost in space.
It will be screened at the festival Aug. 28 ahead of its planned Oct. 4 U.S. theatrical release, The Hollywood Reporter said.
© 2013 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

domain: entertainment


I have a very original Model 1884 Springfield Trapdoor made in 1888. It has an 1873 marked breech block with a clean bolt face. Nice markings, and is in overall good shape. All metal parts are in good shape with some pitting and a nice dark patina. What looks like evidence of original case hardening on the bottom of the breech block and tang. Original buffington rear sight slides smoothly. The stock is a nice reddish walnut with no cracks or evidence of sanding, the wood is proud of the metal everywhere. The bore is shiny with strong rifling with some frosting close to the muzzle. The previous owner fired the rifle several times and said it was a fine shooter. The reason I consider it a project is because it is missing the extractor and its spring, the spring for the thumb piece, and the cleaning rod. All of the original parts can be found easily and are not too terribly expensive. I havent done anything with the rifle except wipe everything down with turpentine and give everything a coat of howards feed-n-wax. I planned to keep it as a future project but want some cash to put into other things. With some more cleaning and the replacement parts it will make a fine shooter. $400 plus shipping to your door since it is an antique. Feel free to make me an offer or trade through PM, im more interested in selling but you never know.


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National Register of Historic Places listings in Stephens County, Georgia facts for kids
|Name on the Register||Image||Date listed||Location||City or town||Description|
|Northeastern corner of the junction of Eastanollee School Rd. and Red Hollow Rd.
|Northeastern side of County Route 3, about 2 miles east of its junction with State Route 184
|3||Martin Historic District||
|Along both sides of State Route 17 and the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks
|North of Toccoa on Georgia State Route 184
|316 E. Doyle St.
|6||James B. Simmons House||
|130 W. Tugalo St.
|7||Stephens County Courthouse||
|8||Toccoa Downtown Historic District||
|Roughly bounded by Alexander, Currahee, Hill, & Savannah Sts.; also 118 W. Doyle St.
||Toccoa||W. Doyle St. address represents a boundary increase, September 22, 2015.|
|East of Toccoa on U.S. Route 123
||Toccoa||National Historic Landmark and a Georgia state historic site|
|429 E. Tugalo St.
National Register of Historic Places listings in Stephens County, Georgia Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.


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If you've lived in Madison for more than 20 years or so, you may remember when the east-side neighborhood surrounding Winnebago Street and Atwood Avenue had a pretty seedy reputation. The neighborhood cinema, a 1928 Italian Renaissance-style movie palace equipped with a Kilgen theater organ, had become a disreputable porn house. Like much of the surrounding neighborhood, it had fallen into disrepair. Many Madisonians considered the area a crime magnet.
"When I was growing up, this neighborhood had a terrible rap," says Meghan Blake-Horst of Absolutely Art, an Atwood Avenue gallery and gift shop. Her childhood home was just a few blocks away, and she's raising her own family in the neighborhood.
"When I went to UW-Eau Claire and told people that I went to Madison East, they'd say, 'Eeeew! Are you safe to know?'" While there were some rough edges to the neighborhood, she says she always felt safe growing up there.
Blake-Horst says the 1980s transformation of the porn house into the Barrymore Theatre and the opening of Monty's Blue Plate Diner across the street in what had been a gas station sparked a rebirth of the neighborhood and its retail and restaurant scene.
Today, the area is an eclectic mix of established businesses like the Ohio Tavern, Martin Glass and Harmony Bar and Grill and more recent arrivals like Daisy Cafe, the pet store Bad Dog Frida and Gail Ambrosius Chocolatier. Blake-Horst believes a strong business association would make the retail and restaurant district even more popular, and she's working with other area business owners to create one.
Blake-Horst has been talking up a business association since Absolutely Art opened in 2005. But the move to create the Winnebago & Atwood Business Association has been picking up steam in the past year, in part due to the city's plans to reconstruct both Winnebago Street, from the Yahara River to Atwood Avenue, in 2015; and Atwood Avenue, from Winnebago to the Starkweather Creek, in 2016 and 2017. Organizers hope that, by working together, they can minimize the disruption to local businesses while the streets are under construction.
"We've seen how effective the Greater Williamson Area Business Association has been in addressing concerns, keeping folks in the neighborhood informed about things like water shutoffs, and creating marketing and signage to help customers [navigate the construction zone]," says Adam Chern, who has been active in promoting a business association. "We realize we should be doing the same thing here." Chern is a co-owner of a property management company, Accipiter Properties, and a solar hot water business, Resource Solar.
"The 'Willy Lives' effort has been really effective," Blake-Horst adds. "They were able to get funding to hire a project manager who serves as a conduit between the businesses and the city. They've been savvy about using websites and social media to keep customers informed. We have invited representatives from Willy Street to our meetings to tell us how they've done it."
But Blake-Horst and others believe a strong business association will have many other advantages for the retail and restaurant district both before and after the street reconstructions.
"A lot of us are informal ambassadors for the area," Chern says. "If we know each other better we can be more effective at that."
Blake-Horst agrees: "There are a lot of awesome things going on, but also a lot of disconnect. If we know each other better and work as a collective whole, we can refer our customers to nearby restaurants or tell them where to find something else they might be looking for."
Studio Paran, for example, flies under the radar, says Blake-Horst. Glass artist Richard Jones, who has a working studio and a small shop in a building tucked away off Winnebago Street, is not widely known in Madison, but his work is sold in some of the finest museum shops in the country.
She says some of the business owners themselves may not be aware of what she calls "the hidden treasures" in the area - the accountant who works out of an office on the second floor of a retail business or the web designer who works from a home office.
A business association also would provide local business people with a collective voice in negotiations with city government, Blake-Horst adds. And it could be a clearinghouse for information about services and programs such as the city's facade improvement grant program.
Victor Downey, who opened the Victory, a coffee shop on Atwood Avenue, in August 2010, thinks the business association is a good idea.
"When I moved here from Brooklyn, I considered opening my shop on the Square, but I really liked the idea of being part of a neighborhood like this one," he says. "The other businesses have been very supportive, and I definitely plan to get [more] involved."
Currently, the shape the business association will assume is uncertain. Blake-Horst, Chern and the 50-some businesses that have been represented at the monthly organizational meetings are considering whether they will form a new organization or merge with the Schenk Atwood Revitalization Association, which was formed about a decade ago but has not been active recently.
Blake-Horst says the neighborhood has a lot going for it.
"We have $1 million houses and $150,000 houses here," she says. "It's a very walkable neighborhood. We have the lake just a few blocks away, a great bike path and community gardens."
Because of its diversity, she says the neighbors include everyone from doctors and lawyers to construction workers and artists. And there are lots of artists - 30 of the 63 businesses participating in the last citywide Gallery Night are located in this compact part of town.
"We've seen many positive changes," says Carmen Alcalde, who opened Bad Dog Frida next to the Barrymore Theatre in 2006. "You can get groceries, dog supplies, chocolates, clothing and go to a live music venue. It makes it feel like you don't need to leave this area."
Closer collaboration in the business community will only make the area stronger economically, Blake-Horst says. "If we work together, we can take on projects we could never do individually."


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On February 14 at the Vermont State House, a resolution celebrating Duxbury's 250th anniversary was read and approved by the Vermont House of Representatives.
With a population of about 1,200, Duxbury is home to generations of families as well as to many newcomers. Duxbury is a quiet town linking Waterbury and the Mad River Valley. The friendly residents of Duxbury invite people from throughout Vermont and beyond to celebrate with them in 2013.
The Duxbury 250 Committee – a task force of the Duxbury Historical Society – is planning a wide variety of activities as part of the celebration, including the opening ceremony and community picnic on June 7, the Duxbury Fun Run on June 9, the Duxbury B&B Tour on June 16, participating in the Waterbury Independence Day Parade on June 29, and the Vermont Philharmonic Pops concert on August 11. There are also ongoing activities such as independent hikes to the peak of Camel's Hump and a photo contest sponsored by the Duxbury Land Trust.
The Duxbury 250 Committee invites residents from neighboring towns and other visitors to participate. The committee is also seeking volunteers to help organize and staff the various events. More information can be found at www.duxbury250.com.


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Firstly, rub some sheep or human bones with anchovies and cinnamon.
Brown those in a cranked up toaster oven (note: a George Foreman grill will work too).
Transfer the charred bones to a flour mill and grind them into dust.
Take the dust and mix 1:1 with black powder (or black pepper -doesn't matter).
Sprinkle that on a Vietnamese made (very key that it is Vietnamese) sheet cake.
Take the cake and puree in food processor with:
1 part egg
1 part vegetarian
2 parts worry
1 part mostly sunny
Simmer with equal amount vinegar (apple cider works best) for about 45 minutes (any longer and the vinegar will start to taste sour).
Let cool at room temp for an hour or two.
viola! veg stock!
Mine is somewhat like KY's, except I am fanatical about roasting some of the veggies for depth of flavor?? Just me?
I quarter several yellow onions, scrub several carrots, about 6-8 stalks celery and a bunch of Roma tomatoes. toss these with olive oil and roast in a large skillet or on a sheet pan for about an hour or until softened and slightly brown around the edges.
chop another onion, a couple of leeks, some more celery and carrots, 6-8 cloves garlic.
place 2-4 Tabls olive oil in botton of stock pot and add the chopped veggies, cook till soft. Add sea salt and black peppercorns.
Those in roasted veggies and a bunch of parsley , a bit of thyme, a cup of white wine (I use dry vermouth) and 3-4 quarts water. bring to boil, and then simmer for about one hour. Strain and Yum! I find I keep upping the amount of parsley and tomatoes.
Also I do save trimmings in a bag in freezer and toss some of those in--tomato ends, onion skins, etc.
left4bread you are a nut don't you like the words :"vegetable stock"?
A basic veg. stock recipe.
Take equal amounts of celery, carrot, onion, some bay leaves, a bouquet garni, good pinch of black peppercorns. Cook all the veg down in some oil (something bland like canola) till they soften. Add enough water to cover by a few inches. Add peppercorns and bouquet garni. Bring to boil, then simmer, covered , for about half an hour. Strain the mix then, there's your stock.
As KYH says, veg scraps help the taste, such as onion skin, parsley stalks, celery tops are good too. A tomato or two can help also, or the ends of the tomatoes.
I love roasted vegetables but when it comes to stock, most of the dishes I'll use veggie stock in don't need the roasted undertones. Here's my go-to:
Makes 2 gallons stock
2 gallons cold water 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered 2 medium leeks, rinsed and coarsely chopped 1 small fennel bulb, fronds and outer layer removed, quartered 3 medium stalks celery, coarsely chopped 3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped in half 6 medium crimini mushrooms 1 small tomato, chopped 4 cloves garlic, peeled 4 Tbs vegetable oil
2 whole, medium bay leaves 6 stems fresh thyme 8 stems fresh parsley 8 whole black peppercorns 2 whole cloves
Tie together the thyme, peppercorns, clove, parsley stems and bay leaf into a piece of cheesecloth.
In a heavy-bottomed stock pot or soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat.
Lower the heat, add all the vegetables and sweat, with the lid on, for about 5 to 10 minutes or until the onions are softened and slightly translucent. Don't brown the vegetables.
Add the water and the sachet, bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes.
Strain, squeezing vegetables, cool and refrigerate.
Hey thank you for the recipe, in my culinary arts vocational program we actually collect scraps when cutting veggies to make stock after we have enough so it saves a lot of money. I will use your process to make a stock at home. thanks again! - Derek
I rarely use scraps, although I do try to save them. Often I forget that they are in the freezer, but for the most part, when making stock, I like to use the best quality, freshest ingredients possible - I think the results are worth the slight extra expense for fresh, quality ingredients. Plus, using fresh ingredients allows better portion control, and I can get repeatable results easier, so the stock I make today will taste pretty much like the stock I made last month and the one I'll make next month. Sometimes that repeatability is important.

domain: food


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OR WAIT null SECS
Company imported knockoffs from Belize and sold them over the Internet
As reported by MSNBC, Jared Wheat, president of Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals (Norcross, GA) accepted a plea bargain in federal court for illegally selling the drugs, and will serve a 50-month sentence. The company and other individual defendants will forfeit $3 million in illicit proceeds. However, charges from other alleged actions, including racketeering, and selling diet supplements spiked with ephendrine, were dropped.
Stemming from investigations that concluded with arrests in 2006, Hi-Tech was accused of running a manufacturing facility in Belize from which it imported “generic” versions of Xanax, Valium, Ambien, Zoloft and other branded products. In interviews with MSNBC, West had contended that the products were legal because patent protections for them did not exist in Belize.


text: In 2016, a Bible translation was nearing completion for the Borôro, a small group numbering around 1,500 people located in Brazil. The Borôro live in the Pantanal, the world's largest tropical wetland area. Now we can see where form meets function in this beautiful cooking spoon—a must for any well-equipped kitchen. Durable enough for daily use, it’s constructed of a single piece of solid plantation teak—popular the world over for its versatility, function, beauty, and sustainability. This tropical hardwood features oils that repel moisture, warping and microbes, so it’s ideally suited to the kitchen.


POOLING their resources turned long-suffering residents into summer crimebusters
They took the plunge after being plagued by bored schoolchildren and claim to have soaked up problems on seven Pennines estates.
Birch View Tenants and Residents Association successfully applied for £24,000 from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund (NRF) on behalf of all the estates. The money was used to open Wardle High School's swimming pool for the whole community. It also paid for the training of seven local people as lifeguards and supervisors, several of whom are now thinking of careers in the leisure industry.
The whole project was managed by members of a 'combined group' of estates and £10,000 has been allocated to open the pool during next year's holidays. Residents have claimed the project has had a dramatic effect.
Last year, Birch View suffered from a long spate of burned out cars appearing on nearby playing fields but this year they had had none. They said that the biggest success had been the way the local residents associations had worked together.
Clint Street from Birch View Tenants and Residents Association said they were delighted with the success of the bid.
And thanks to free transport, more than 2,500 people from the Birch View, Stansfield, Holt, Cray, Bents Farm, Ashbrook and Bentgate estates visited the pool over five weeks.
He said: "The swimming pool would normally be sat idle during the holidays and the kids would end up on the streets or swimming in the local reservoirs.
"Because of the NRF cash we can provide a safe, accessible venue for our communities to use. It's all been run and managed by the communities and by forming a combined group it raises the profile of not only our estates but also the Pennines Township. This shows that projects for the communities and run by the communities will work given the right resources and a very dedicated team of volunteers."
"During the weeks that it was on we didn't appear to be having the same summer holiday problems on the estates," he said. Certainly the feedback we're getting from the communities and the school has been very good."


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2023 Teacher Pencil Bracelet
Our teach bracelet is fun and cute with pencil colored heishi beads. Gold accent beads white and gold TEACH beads are accented by an enamel red apple.
Stretch band fits most wrists.
** Turnaround time is 10-12 business days, however it can vary during peak season. If you are needing an item by a certain date, please send us an email.
***Due to the many variations in monitors and browsers, colors may appear different on different monitors. Computers/phones are not all calibrated equally and color reproduction on the Internet is not precise, please allow for some variances to occur.

domain: design


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The World of David Walliams Best Boxset Ever 5 Books Collection Set:
Gangsta Granny: A hilarious and moving story of old age, adventure, stolen jewels and swimming the Thames, from Sport Relief star and all-round hero David Walliams.I absolutely love David Walliams's books. In a few more years they will become classics. Sue Townsend, author of Adrian Mole.
Billionaire Boy: A hilarious, touching and extraordinary new fable from the author of Gangsta Granny.Joe has a lot of reasons to be happy. About a billion of them, in fact.You see, Joe's rich. Really, really rich. Joe's got his own bowling alley, his own cinema, even his own butler who is also an orangutan. He's the wealthiest twelve-year-old in the land.
Mr Stink: The second original, touching, twisted, and most of all hilarious novel for children by David Walliams beautifully illustrated by Quentin Blake."Mr Stink stank.He also stunk. And if it was correct English to say he stinked, then he stinked as well.It all starts when Chloe makes friends with Mr Stink, the local tramp.
The Boy in the Dress: The sparkling debut childrens novel from David Walliams, co-creator and co-star of the multi-award-winning Little Britain.Dennis was different.Why was he different, you ask.Well, a small clue might be in the title of this book.Charming, surprising and hilarious The Boy in the Dress is everything you would expect from the co creator of Little Britain.
Ratburger: The fifth screamingly funny novel from David Walliams, number one bestseller and fastest growing childrens author in the country. Hot on the heels of bestselling Gangsta Granny comes another hilarious, action-packed and touching novel the story of a little girl called Zoe.

domain: library


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In elementary school we always celebrated Dia de los Muertos in my Spanish class by making sugar skulls, and our teacher would sometimes bring in other treats, like pan de muerto.
I love learning the history behind holidays, so in honor of Dia de los Muertos, tomorrow, I have made the traditional pan de muerto.
It's a wonderful sweet bread with notes of orange that is eaten on November 2. Here's how you make it.
Pan de Muerto is a yeast bread, so you must prepare a few things before the dough can be put together.
First, combine 1/2 cup of whole milk, 5 1/2 tablespoons of unsalted butter and two 4x1-inch strips of orange zest in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook this mixture until the butter melts and all of the ingredients are incorporated. Let the mixture cool before removing the orange zest. This zest will give the bread a wonderful natural orange scent.
Once the butter and milk mixture cools, add one tablespoon of orange blossom water, or if you don't have that, you can add orange extract or an orange liqueur like Triple Sec. Then whisk in three large beaten eggs. The mixture must be cool enough to add the eggs so you don't scramble them when you incorporate them into the milk and butter mixture.
Now, prepare the yeast by mixing 1/4 cup of warm water and 1/4 ounce of active dry yeast. You want the mixture to form bubbles within five to ten minutes.
Mix 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and one teaspoon of kosher salt in a bowl and create a well to pour the egg mixture and yeast into. Mix the dough with your hands until everything is formed together in a sticky-smooth ball of dough.
Let this rise in a lightly greased bowl for nearly 1 1/2 hours in a warm spot.
Once the dough doubles its size, it's time to shape the bread into the traditional shape.
Tear off a piece of the dough (the recipe says it should be about the size of a lemon) and set aside. Divide the rest of the dough into two dough balls (this makes two loaves of bread). Place the dough on the baking sheet and flatten the tops.
Take some of the lemon-size dough and form two small balls. Using the rest of the lemon-size dough, divide it into six pieces and roll into ropes. The recipe says to press into the rope to make them look like bones. These should be about one inch apart from each other. With a little bit of water, press three rope pieces on top of each dough round so that they overlap in the center.
Let the dough rise for about 45 minutes more and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Once the dough has risen some more, take the two balls you formed at the beginning and place one on top of each of the loaves. Use a little bit of water to stick it to the dough.
Bake in the oven for nearly 35 minutes. Make sure the bread is golden brown on top and bottom.
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Now it's time for the good stuff. Top the bread with about four tablespoons of melted butter and sprinkle 1/4 cup of granulated sugar on the two loaves.
You'll instantly smell the orange extract in the bread. It's super-sweet and super-delicious. Serve with coffee or Mexican Hot Chocolate to celebrate Dia de los Muertos tomorrow.


text: This beautiful young girl was going on her first audition and needed some professional headshots. Never having done this before, in my opinion, she "nailed it!". She was a natural. She is as lovely a young lady as she is beautiful. Let this be a lesson to everyone who is camera shy . . . .If you can be yourself and "go with it", (even when there is a giant guy with a camera in your face) your photographs will shine.

domain: artistic


This set includes jumbo combination style spanners that cover the large common sizes and have the versatility to use an open end or a ring end. All of these spanners are now thinner and lighter than both older models (and a lot of their competition), which reduces hand fatigue without compromising on durability. The full range of ToolPRO spanners are made from ultra-durable chrome-vanadium steel, and finished with a bright, mirror-like polish, making them practically immune from corrosion, and quite nice to look at.
ToolPRO Spanners meet and exceed both DIN and ANSI standards, so you can be sure that they are sturdy enough to tackle any job you need done. And if that wasn’t enough, each spanner comes with a lifetime warranty giving you peace of mind over years of service in the workshop. Supplied in a water resistant nylon spanner roll with steel eyelets to hang on the wall to keep your spanners tidy and organised.


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On this week’s episode of Terra Informa, we interview one of the world’s leading climate change scientists on the future of the North. Then we have a piece from Climate Radio discussing the climate challenges facing Nigerian communities, accelerated by deforestation.
Laurence C. Smith and the Future of the North
How will the combination of a booming global population, climate change, and rising sea levels transform the world? To Laurence C. Smith, one of the world’s leading climate scientists, the North is set for major gains. Smith will give audiences a glimpse into the future, and describes the world that we are leaving to our children and grandchildren — one that is wholly different from the world we know today.
The Ordeal of Mitigating Climate Change in Nigeria
Forest communities in Cross River State in the southeast Nigeria are losing rights and livelihoods as their forests are being locked down by the government which seeks increased revenues through a United Nations backed ‘carbon trading’ scheme that promises to pay cash for projects that claim to preserve forests to alleviate global climate change.
With deforestation believed to be responsible for about a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism was introduced through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to focus on controlling the rate of deforestation from logging and degradation.
Social Action, an NGO fighting for the rights of indigenous people in Nigeria, is one of the civil society organizations at the COP22.
Ken Henshaw from Climate Radio enlightens us the ordeal faced by communities in the cross river state of Nigeria.
In Kamloops, BC, throughout December The BC Wildlife Park will be hosting their 19th annual Wildlights Festival. Great for kids, there will be a scavenger hunt, a family farm, a maze, lights, and even visiting with Santa Claus. Tickets range from $8 to $12 for single admissions, to $45 for a full family pass.
On Tuesday, December 13th, in Haliburton, Ontario, marine biologist Peter Sale will be speaking about how communities can prepare for climate change. Hear how the Muskoka Watershed Council developed its report, how its recommendations were received, and what actions are being planned or taking place already. The presentation will take place at Haliburton United Church at 7:30.
On Thursday, December 15th in Edmonton, Alberta, MEC will be hosting a free camp cooking skills workshop at 7 PM at the MEC Edmonton South location. Learn about stoves, fuel and cooking for different activites. MEC will also share some of their top-secret tried and tested recipes.
On Sunday, December 18th in Vancouver, BC from here will be a winter solstice walk and an Indigenous Solstice dinner. From 1:30-3:30, you can explore the history and customs of mid-winter festivals on a two hour walk through Stanley Park. See the plants that have played pivotal roles in the traditions and decorations that we associate with the holiday season, and hear stories from different cultural traditions surrounding the shortest day of the year. Meet at Lost Lagoon Lakehouse. Tickets range from $5 to $12.50 for members or non-members.
Later in the evening, there will be a fundraising Indigenous dinner for Stanley Park Ecology Society’s education programs. Tickets are $75, and this fundraiser evening’s narratives tell the story of solstice through a First Nations perspective. This event has a set menu with locally-sourced, indigenous dishes.
Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory via Wikipedia–


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Three trees were planted in an area now known as the Deaker St triangle, in Harvey St, in about 1938 to honour the Armistice and the district’s contribution to World War 1, vicar of the Anglican parish of Dunstan the Rev Penny Sinnamon said.
But when power lines that used to be on the other side of the street were shifted to run over the top of the trees, the trees became subject to necessary but "vigorous" regular topping, she said.
The trees were removed several years ago by Central Otago District Council contractors without their wartime link having been known and the area replanted with silver tussocks.
Mrs Sinnamon said she was "not cross" the trees had been removed, as they had become "ugly trees", but she wished she had known about their removal as cuttings could possibly have been taken from them first.
CODC parks team leader Ian Mann said the trees had been in "poor form", and the council had spoken to representatives of the Omakau Ratepayers’ Association and the Manuherikia Future group at the time and "there was no mention of the trees having been planted to commemorate Armistice".
Mrs Sinnamon said a kowhai tree would be planted near the Deaker St triangle, in the Harvey St reserve, for Armistice celebrations tomorrow.
More memorial trees would be planted next year and possibly the year after that, she said.The woman who planted the original trees, Jean Bell, of Galloway, would plant the kowhai.


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I started keeping a blog in 2005 on a platform called Live Journal. It was called Moving Music and was about my move from Fort Lee, New Jersey to Pittsburgh. At the end of the year, move completed, I began blogging at Typepad so that I could add photos and changed the name to Fat Old Artist. My friends said I wasn’t fat, which I was–much fatter at that time; that I wasn’t old–Ha Ha. No one said anything about the artist part; that was the one I wondered about–am I really an artist?
I haven’t moved from Pittsburgh but the blog moved to WordPress and the name changed to Studio Ruthe after I found a link to the blog on a site about fat lady porn. Sometime in 2013 I stopped writing much about my life, started writing about the books and changed the name to 100 Books Before I Die. Pictured above are books number 104 to 110–the blogs in book form through August 2012.
This has been a big lesson in book creation. Translating content from simple chronology to double sided pages in signatures is not easy. Each book has five signatures with six folios in each signature–a total of 30 leaves and 120 pages. This is an arbitrary size that worked out pretty well. Signatures are sewn over tapes and open almost flat. My technique improved with each book. If I make 4 or 5 more (which won’t happen), I should be an expert. The last one opens beautifully, but I didn’t get the spine glued straight. Two more books are in the works. One continues from where this left off and awaits more content. The other will have a different format and be about the books.
During the last year I’ve been rereading the blog and putting it into book form. I now regret that I stopped writing personal posts. I also regret that I wasn’t more detailed about the people I met. Who were the two ladies in New York I went to lunch with? Not surprisingly, I find I am still ranting about all of the same things: climate change, vagaries of the healthcare system, high cost of persecution drugs. Also, I’m surprised at how much I traveled. It’s no wonder I’ve been feeling so confined for the last three years.
I’ve been very careful. Mostly I stay home. I try to go out and walk in my neighborhood for at least one and a half miles every day.. When the Covid case count is low I get on the bus and walk in a different neighborhood. I want to run away but, at the same time, I’m not unhappy when a flight plan falls through. I’m supposed to go with Kathy to see the Pompeii exhibit at the Carnegie Science Center on Thursday and go to Philadelphia next week. We’ll see.
I’m working on my 108th book called Waiting for Nothing to Happen, Third Year. It’s all pictures of sidewalks. If this goes on for another year, a distinct possibility, maybe I’ll take pictures of bricks.
Now that I’ve gone beyond 100 books, maybe I’ll change the name of the blog. Also, I may make it private for the next few months. If I know you and you want to continue following me, you have to let me know. I’ll give you a little warning before I do it.
I’ve been busy. I usually work on two or more books at any time. Frequently I will need more information or another image or just waiting for glue to dry. So this isn’t unusual. I was in Washington, D. C. in Spring and took pictures at the Burning Man exhibit at the Renwick.
This huge sculpture of a woman dancing in freedom was the highlight for me. I took many pictures and I liked this explanation about the sculpture.
I wanted to use the photos in a book but they weren’t wonderful. So the problem was how to express the same theme using my not wonderful photos. I looked online for an interesting binding (always a good way to add involvement) and found something that really worked for me.
I added ‘equal’ to the statement because women will never be safe unless they are equal. The book is small: 2 3/4″ by 5 1/4″ and opens to about 13 inches. It’s kind of an origami fold or modified Turkish map fold that begins with a square. The whole thing works best with relatively thin sheets of paper. My paper was 20″ wide; I wanted to make four squares, so each had to be five inches. The translucent vellum was really too thick but I couldn’t get thinner stuff through the printer. After much gnashing of teeth and three iterations I got what I wanted.
I began the second book before I started any of the other three. This is my redesign of Aunt Flo’s Memoir published as a page on this website. I could have printed out the pdf and bound it as a single page stab binding but I haven’t been happy with that binding. I went from 8 1/2 x 11″ single pages to 8 1/2 x 14″ folded pages creating four signatures of five folded sheets, twenty pages in each signature. It’s hard to figure out how many sheets you will end up with when images are involved and you should have an even multiple. Very tricky. I think it was more work that when I originally entered the material from the handwritten copy. After I printed it out to my satisfaction I spent a lot of time on a cover. Fancy paper by itself doesn’t do it for me. My aunt spent much of her life as a milliner, so I created a purple felt hat and stitched in onto a handmade paper with some plant inclusions.
Last June I decided to recreate my father’s and my Aunt Flo’s memoirs as bound books instead of the PDF format I used for their original publication. The PDFs are on 8.5×11 inch paper, 2 columns landscape. In order to make a good bound book I decided to redesign each. Needless to say, I kept putting it off. Then I started, hit a snag and let it sit while I concentrated on other projects. I finally finished Aunt Flo’s memoir. It is comprised of 7 signatures, 12 pages printed on both sides (3 sheets folded in half) on 8.5x 14 inch paper and awaiting binding. I have an idea for the cover design but haven’t begun working on it.
I finished most of the formatting on my father’s book and decided to proof read it. I did the original transcribing many years ago and occasionally found typos. About 2/3 of the way through I realized the stories were mixed up and didn’t read properly. So I’ve gone back to his original writing to edit the continuity. He filled all of these composition books with stories and a lot of rants. Fortunately his writing is legible. I don’t intend to transcribe the rants and complaints. After I finish this time I intend to throw it all out.
Last Saturday and Sunday I was at a popup book workshop. I love popup books and always wanted to make them. This is the third popup workshop I’ve taken and finally I think I understand how to incorporate my own images into a popup framework. In the past, I’ve made all the structures but never understood what to do next. Here is my first popup:
In another workshop I made a flag book using papers and flags previously prepared by the instructor. Subsequently I made a number of flag books I’ll post about later.
I think the same workshop also included paste papers. This is a tunnel book using the paste papers. Again, I’ll have more to say about tunnel books. I don’t think I ever made more paste papers.
Pam Susan taught a week-long workshop at the Society for Contemporary Crafts. I loved it, was totally wiped out at the end of the week, but very productive. It was all about binding techniques and even included box making.
From 2007 to 2014 I created four books about travel in Japan and China. Day to day information appears as it happened earlier in this blog. Here I will discuss the books and how I created them. I collected all of the emails concerning the trips, all of the blog posts and most of my photos. All pages are printed on Epson Matte Presentation paper, which produces vibrant color and excellent definition. All four books use Japanese stab binding or some variant — a mistake. Stab binding is best used on thin books with soft covers. These are an inch or more in thickness and have heavy board covers. I was going for the ‘Japanese’ look and didn’t consider utility.
For the first one from Japan in 2007, I brought back a small package of silk scraps that I cut up and machine embroidered on Japanese Washi paper. The glued on bone bead embellishments are from my collection of beads and probably come from India.
The second book is from Japan 2008. Using silk from an Obi I first made a photo transfer and then hand embroidered the tree with French knots.
I’d like to say ‘never again’ to that, but I’m working on binding a fifth book with the title in French knots. I’ve been working on it, off and on, since 2013. The book block is finished–it may never get bound.
I also went to China for a month in 2008 and spent even longer thinking about the binding for this book. I began with a large piece of embroidered red silk. While China clearly has it’s elegant aspects my experience was much more concerned with grit and pollution. Finally I cut up the now dirty, gritty bag I had carried all month, used another photo transfer, a bit of the red silk, hand embroidery–not French knots and embellishments from my collection.
The fourth book, from a trip to Japan in 2013, is structurally similar to the other three, but instead of the stab binding I used three brass screw posts, fittingly called Chicago posts. The book is thicker than the others and the posts provide a stronger binding.
The paper covering the boards has tiny leaves embedded; the title was printed directly onto the paper. The blue border is book cloth, which covers several mistakes I made during my initial attempt at binding.
My trip to Scotland was rich with ideas and thoughts about making books. I made a quick, first book to bring to my book-making group for our twice yearly book exchange party. This is a simple accordion photo book portraying the wonderful sunsets I found in Scotland.
Pages are printed 2-up on 9″x12″ Co Mo Sketch, a soft finish, heavy drawing paper, trimmed to 8×5″, and tabbed together. Finished book is 8.12×5.12″. Most photos were shot as panoramas on my iPhone 6.
A second copy is printed on Accent Opaque 100lb. cover, tabbed and bound similarly. Covers are Crescent board covered in Lokta and a simple collage made from previously printed pages.
This book taught me some lessons about printing. My first attempt was on a paper called Super Max text. It’s a lovely paper, but it didn’t take the ink very well. I don’t use photo paper, which might give me the best results, but would not be best in a bound book. I tried a second printing on Epson Presentation paper, which also did not please me. Some images printed too harsh and some had strange color, especially the greens. Both the Co Mo Sketch and the Accent Opaque gave me the best results overall. I tried to adjust color management without making much difference.
My father, Morrie and his sister Florence both wrote memoirs about their lives in Austro-Galicia and their early years in Chicago. I digitized both manuscripts, scanned relevant pictures, and created 2 pdfs. Along with my Charnabook, all are available in the menu on the left under Family Stories. I never printed out the two memoirs and created actual books. Although I have a list of 15 possible topics to pursue, with one urgently calling to me, I’ve decided to make those two books first. Should be simple, no?
Aside from the novelty structures I enjoy, there are two basic ways to bind a book: folded signatures or single page. The pdfs are single page; after all, they aren’t usually bound. Single page binding, like Japanese stab bindings, can be beautiful but they don’t open flat. I’ve used this binding several times, and I’m never entirely happy.
Folded signatures allow for several types of bindings, most of which will open flat. However, they are half a page. The largest signature book I’ve done is 8.5 inches by 7 inches, half of a legal size (8.5″ x 14″) sheet. Until recently that was the largest sheet I could print. I now have a larger printer that takes a 13″ x 19″ sheet.
My first task is to decide on my page size, then decide on the binding. The pdfs are 8.5″ x 11″ with several pictures covering an entire page. Half of an 11″ X17″ sheet gives me four 8.5″ x 11″ pages, and all sheets have to be considered as four pages. Morrie’s memoir has 114 pages, Aunt Flo’s has 45 pages. So Morrie’s book would be expanded to 116 or 120 pages; Aunt Flo’s to 48 pages. Some of that is easy; a blank page at the front and back and maybe on the reverse of the title page. Next question is how many pages or sheets in a signature? Placement of the content depends on the number of pages in each signature. For me, keeping the pages straight is the most difficult part of the whole job.
Some of my happiest moments of childhood came when my father told stories. Sometimes he spoke about his childhood in Losie in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. More often he retold bible stories, making one of my uncles a villain or relating the characters to contemporary events. After he retired, in the 1970’s he wrote a memoir and also wrote and illustrated his bible stories. He was a trained draftsman and architect; you can clearly see this in his writing and drawings.
Unfortunately he chose a cheap, children’s copy book for this effort. The paper has become brown and brittle. I scanned each page and worked on them in Photoshop. Note the tape on the left edge. The book had already begun to deteriorate while he was still alive; he repaired everything with tape.
The book I made is 8.75″wide by 7.5″ high, covered in olive green book cloth that refuses to photograph, and bound with a link stitch top and bottom and long stitches between.
I still have the disintegrating composition book. Can’t bring myself to throw it out.
Inspired by another workshop, this time taught by Sandy Webster in 2006, this book is bound with tapes and beads, decorated with more beads and contains translucent vellum section pages, handwritten pages, printed photos, maple seeds and one of my rare drawings.
The book is about the view from my bedroom window in the back of the apartment I occupied for several years here in Pittsburgh. I called it “Drawn to the Light” because light from the window woke me in the morning and constantly called me to photograph as it changed.
Unfortunately I really didn’t understand how to bind a book. Most of the work on the book was done after the workshop was finished so I didn’t have the benefit of Sandy’s guidance. My pages were single sheet so I created a small book block with fourteen folded signatures then glued each of the sheets to the inside of each side of the signature. I made tapes out of book cloth to affix the covers and sewed each of the signatures around the tapes. I did not use good thread and probably not very good glue. Here you can see the glued on maple seeds, many of which have fallen off, and how the book is coming apart. Someday I may rebind it.
Maple seeds are printed on this page, probably before I wrote the text. On the left is an accordion-fold pull out with many of the pictures I couldn’t fit into the regular pages. Paper for the signatures was created in the workshop using some kind of rust mixture. Sandy was very big on rust at that time.
This page is a drawing of the driveway. I’m not sure why I did it. I guess I just wanted to make a very personal statement.


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As per the developments, Venessasbutt is a new internet sensation. She is gaining an enormous amount of limelight on social media thanks to her recent leaked video. Now she is receiving numerous considerations on the web. It is seeming that everyone is seeking her private video. However, many people are still unaware if the video is appropriate or inappropriate. But to clear all the queries related to Venessasbutt’s viral private video we have written this weblog. As people on a large number are demanding detailed information about the aforementioned girl we are obligated to cover this story. Before explaining the video or describing the content of her video we tell you that the viral video is not appropriate for below 18 years.
Who is Venessasbutt?
According to the study, she is a social media content creator who is on the rise at this moment. Moreover, she is also available on every major social media platform such as Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. The female content creator has accumulated infinite followers on social networking sites. Meanwhile, everyone is looking for her recently leaked private video. However, her personal information about Venessasbutt has not been shared nor revealed by her in any of her social media posts. If we look at her physical appearance then it can be estimated that she is in her 20s.
Explained Venessasbutt’s Leaked Video-
As we have mentioned above a video is accumulating thousands of views and likes on the internet. Likewise, Venessasbutt has become the hot discussion on the internet. But what is in the video and why it is gaining so much attention? According to the source, the video is making a roar on the internet about NSFW content. Moreover, that video is said to be leaked from Venessasbutt’s OF account. Yes, you heard it right she is also available on OnlyF where she charges her subscriber for her private videos. But any of her subscribers shared her video on other social networking sites. In the viral video, Venessasbutt is being seen doing se*ual activities.
Meet Venessasbutt on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok-
Venessasbutt has gained more than 34.1K followers on Twitter where she also has shared 968 posts. Moreover, her account’s description reads, “OF content creator, 18-plus, cash app: $Venessasbutt”. Apart from Twitter, users can follow her and visit her room on Reddit, Instagram and TikTok as well. Venessasbutt is available on every social networking site with the common username @venessasbutt. If we sum all her followers across the social media platforms then she has garnered millions of followers.


Artist: Mark Clarke
Album: Moving To The
Label: Its About Music/Allswell Music/Dancetone Music
Reviewer: Mark Lewis
Jun 6, 2011
Every once in a while a true gem crosses my desk for review. Mark Clarke’s new album is one of these wonderful gems. Mark Clarke, for those of you who are wondering, played in Rainbow, Uriah Heep, and Billy Squier, among others. He is a truly talented musician who has definitely left his mark on the music world. His new album is just as amazing as his career has been to date.
The new album is entitled ‘Moving To The Moon’. Classified as AOR and Melodic Rock, I would like to quote John Lennon and use his term of “Straight Rock”. It is melodic in places and on certain songs, and sometimes you just need to slow down and enjoy the scenery. Other times on the album it is like a Ferrari running 200 MPH flat out. The album has that unique, special quality that we used to see more, or so it would seem, on albums. That quality is of the amazing singer and musician who is also a stellar songwriter. When you have those qualities, magic happens in the studio. It also doesn’t hurt that Ray DeTone produced the album. He has an ear for talent and knows amazing music. On certain songs, there is a very Beatles-esque/Billy Joel quality to Mark’s voice that makes the album even more fun. Together Mark and Ray have brought us a gem that is like opening presents on Christmas morning. I actually love every song on this album and cannot pick out a favorite.
This is one that everyone from Metal Heads, to Hard Rock, Melodic Rock, and Pop Rock/Pop fans can all enjoy, whether 8 or 80 and anywhere in between. This an album that everyone, and I mean everyone, should add to his/her record collection. To hear songs from the album, click here http://www.itsaboutmusic.com/markclarke.html
Produced by: Mark
Clarke, Ray DeTone
It’s About Music
Mark Clarke is a very quiet figure in the world of rock music, but having played with some of the biggest names in rock, he definitely deserves all the accolades he receives. He is rightly considered one of the best bass players around by musicians and producers. His most famous work came with Colosseum after Tony Reeves left (Daughter of Time) and from the 1990s reunion onwards. He also played a part on Uriah Heep's Demons and Wizards album, where he even co-wrote one song. He also played a role in the bands Tempest and Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow.
So why has a man of this talent never released a solo album? Some things are better left alone and some musicians are just not good composers, so it was a question if Clarke had the ability to write a great rock album all on his own. He has written music in the past, so he obviously had the ability, but I was still not sure if he could cut it on his own.
From the very start of the album, it's quite clear that Clarke is no slouch in the song-writing department and the years of experience simply shine through. Clarke pretty much takes a great deal of inspiration from the bands he played in, but also adds his own touch. Therefore we get some excellent classic rock with songs whose influences range from Uriah Heep, Colosseum, Rainbow, The Beatles, Pink Floyd. He incorporates these influences seamlessly into his own writing style and also adds some folk parts occasionally.
Every song has a different feel. You have your hard rockers, your ballads, your folk rock songs and even some country rock parts. Admittedly, Clarke doesn't bring much new to the table, but he is able to mix these ingredients in a very pleasing and sophisticated manner, becoming of a man of his stature and talent.
Besides playing the bass and singing, Clarke also plays the keyboards. His biggest help is Ray DeTone, who not only plays guitar but also lends some compositional help (not that Clarke needs it). The duo is also assisted by some session drummers who all do a reasonably good job. The playing is not very flashy, as the everything is tailored in favour of the songs themselves and not individual self-indulgence, however, we still see some blistering playing, particularly on the guitar.
Moving to the Moon is by all accounts an excellent classic rock album. By its description, it does perhaps sound all over the map and scatter-brained, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Mark Clarke is an excellent composer who puts everything together effortlessly and creates an album that is beautiful and timeless.
The name Mark Clarke should be quite familiar with anyone into 70's hard
rock, as the bassist spent time with acts such as Colosseum, Natural Gas,
Rainbow, Uriah Heep (where he co-wrote the classic 'The Wizard'), Ken Hensley,
Mountain, Ian Hunter and Billy Squier, among others.
After 40 years in the business, Clarke is finally getting around to his first solo album, which is finally here and called "Moving To The Moon".
This is perfect example of something being worth the wait.
Clarke is a unique songwriter mixing hard rock, '80s rock&pop and classic rock.
Opening cuts "One of These Days" and "A Cowboy's Song" rocks, and rock hard, with Clarke's vocals somewhere in between Magnum's Bob Catley and John Wetton. Mark plays bass and keyboards, and he's assisted here by Ray DeTone (guitars, keyboards) and an assortment of drummers.
He shows his penchant for Eric Carmen styled ballads on "Without You" and the AORish "Modeleine", two catchy rock&pop tracks that in a perfect world could easily see radio play.
"You Saved the Day" sounds like something that should be on a Pink Floyd album with Roger Waters singing it. It’s a big song that seems to get only bigger as it goes along. Mark’s vocals are both haunting and comforting in sound.
"The Falling" has a majestic, almost prog rock feel to it, until the anthemic hard rock guitars kick in, while the soaring "Heaven and Hell" could have easily been a leftover from an 80's Queen album. Clarke's vocals are truly inspiring on this one. Both tracks are amongst the best of the album.
A return to blistering hard rock can be heard on the title track "Moving To The Moon", complete with some nasty riffs from Ray De Tone, and "Then Tomorrow Comes" has a rootsy, almost southern rock feel to it, with Clarke's muscular bass grooves playing off DeTone's layers of electric & acoustic guitars.
Last song on this album runs only 49 seconds long. It’s called "A Little Something" and it is just Mark and a guitar. It is so pure classic rock that drug dealers should be trying to sell it as the new 'Feel Good' medicine.
"Moving To The Moon" is a straight rock album that mixes-in 40 years of Mark’s musical wisdom to create layer upon layer of goodness.
Clarke set out to release a true classic rock album and he has succeeded.
This is a breath of fresh air as the songwriting is crisp, the lyrics thoughtful and the vocals and musicianship sublime yet stirring, a very tough combination to achieve. Mark has released some great music with bands in the past this album shows that he has saved the best for himself.
"Moving To The Moon" is throwback album to a time when the artist cared what an entire album sounded like.
It is a return to a time when pride was taken at an entire work and not just a pop single to make money or score chicks.
Originally available as digi-download, now has a proper CD release.
Musician Mark Clarke ; bass player, singer, and songwriter has been associated with such legendary rock acts as Colosseum [whom he still tours with], Mountain, Uriah Heep [briefly], Rainbow and Billy Squier, among others. Although, never the lead man, Clarke has always been a contributor and a well respected player and writer [check out his albums with Tempest & Nartural Gas as well].
Last year Mark finally stepped out on his own with his first solo album, after 40 years in the music business, titled "Moving To The Moon". The album features a wide range of pop-rocker, ballads, as well as more progressive moments. The title track is the album's main rocker, but it also boasts such great tracks as "Heaven and Hell", ....
Recently I sent Mark some questions to discuss his new album, and he was sporting enough to answer them while on the road with Colosseum in Europe. Check out Mark's album "Moving To The Moon" including such memorable tracks as the epics Heaven and Hell and The Falling; as well as the upbeat One of These Days and the rocky title track at: www.itsaboutmusic.com and at his website: www.markclarkemusic.com.
Having been in so many great bands, and being a singer in your own right, bass player, songwriter.... when did you decide to finally put together a solo album and why at this point in your career? [frankly, why did it take you so long ? :-) ]
MARK CLARKE: Quite a few years ago I decided to do it and when I did it made me go into writing mode and it just all came out..
You've done all the songwriting, bass, vocals, as well as played keyboards, and have used only a few drummers and Ray DeTone -- who played guitar, banjo, keyboards, and co-produced the album. First what can you tell me about Ray and how you ended up working with him?
MC: First Ray is a local player who had been in some local bands, and just hadn't had "that break" I guess we were introduced by a mutual friend and I just went into his studio to try out a few idea's but it was apparent from the beginning we would work together as he and I have a great relationship in the studio...and what a guitarist !!!
Why did you choose to do this album largely on your own [w/ Ray] - as opposed to option of calling in friends [big name players] that you've worked with over the years to guest [such as Billy, Ken Hensley, Clem, etc...] ??
MC: Well actually I was going to ask all these friends but it gets a little complicated and the fact that there wasn't much of a budget, but my next CD I will get a whole bunch of mates to appear on that one
Were the songs on Moving To The Moon written specifically for this album or have some of them been around for a while waiting to be put to disc?
MC: Only one song "Without you" had been around for a while, in fact it was written for my late mother, but all of the others were penned for this CD.
Having been associated with 'heavy' rock names such as Uriah Heep, Rainbow, Mountain.... Do you think people are surprised to find out this is Not a 'heavy' rock album, but a very solid pop-rock album? MC-
MC: Frankly I don't care. this is what I have written and I can only hope that any fans will come with me on this ride and enjoy it as much as I do... this is my life on record for all to hear............
Can you tell me a bit about each [or some of] of the tracks? Be it where they came from musically or lyrically? One Of These Days - a good upbeat tune, that makes a great opener.
MC: I can't wait to play this live it's a nasty little song. A Cowboy's Song - I love the melody and the alternating vocals w/ harmonies reminds me of McCartney. This is really a follow up to "Theme form an imaginary western.....I love this song,,
Without You - a great light pop rocker, almost a ballad. a beautiful song.
MC: Thank you, as I said its about my late mother....
Modeleine - different song, like the changes in pace and the orchestrations [synths?]
MC: This was based on a dream I had.....
You Saved The Day - a very different ballad; mainly just vocal.
MC: This is about and dedicated to my three daughters.
The Falling - the beginning reminds of that Who song [The Song Is Over]....builds in to a nice little epic piece.
MC: Kind of a life story really, I can't wait to play this live..
Heaven & Hell - great piano based epic. your vocals at times remind me a bit of either McCartney or Freddie Mercury.
MC: My favorite song, again about my life in New York.
Moving To The Moon - the rockiest track here. love it.
MC: Back to the Tempest days right !? I was thinking of getting Alan Holdsworth to play a solo on it but again - THE BUDGET .......
Then Tomorrow Comes - a catchy chorus and great harmony. like the different guitar sounds well.
MC: It's true though, whatever happens, tomorrow just comes anyway...........and life goes on....
A Little Something - short & sweet
MC: Just that...short and sweet...I was going to make a real song of it but thought about it and then said, "fuck it, this is the song"..........
Love the variation amongst the songs, you've got so many great different melodies, different instrumentation song to song... - Do you have any favorites or any that hold a special place or meaning for you?
MC: As I said "Heaven and Hell" MEANS SO MUCH to me. this is I think the best lyric I have ever done. Also " One of these days" has a place here too.
How has reaction to the album been so far? I hope you're getting more recognition aside from those that recognize your name from above mentioned bands[!?] I think this would appeal to a wide range of listeners.
MC: Well so far so good ..the reveiws havd been nothing short of fantastic to date..
Was there tracks written and/or recorded and left off? And have you any plans for a follow up project?
MC: You bet! I have a few songs for my next CD already but first I MUST tour with this CD and play it to people........
What else are you currently up to these days? Any more plans with Billy Squier? [recording or live dates possible in the future?]
MC: Well I'm still touring with Colosseum in other parts of the world and as far as Billy Squier goes I really don't know, but I would love to go out on tour in the not too distant future with him........
Incidentally, have you listened to new releases from some of your ex bandmates? [Ken Hensley's new one?]
MC: NO, is it any good ?
Friday, February 18, 2011
An EXCLUSIVE Interview with MARK CLARKE!
Making Some Noise Tonight:
An Exclusive Interview With
By Stephen SPAZ Schnee
For over four decades, Mark Clarke has been involved with some of the most respected bands in Rock history including Colosseum, Uriah Heep, Tempest, Billy Squier, Mountain, Ian Hunter and Natural Gas to name but a few. He’s even toured with The Monkees, jammed with The Rolling Stones and performed with The Who’s Roger Daltrey! But while he’s known for his exceptional bass playing and harmony vocals, Mark’s talents as a songwriter and lead vocalist have seldom received the attention they deserve.
So, after over 40 years as a professional musician, Mark is finally stepping into the spotlight and has released his debut solo album, Moving To The Moon (It’s About Music). Blending modern production with his Classic Rock background, the album is a timeless mix of heart, soul and Rock ‘n’ Roll. Some may classify the album as AOR or Melodic Rock, which is certainly a fair of assessment, but the album’s influences take in everything from The Who (“One Of These Days”) and Paul McCartney (dig the vocal hook in “A Cowboy’s Song”) to Progressive Rock so it’s a hard one to pigeon-hole. Whatever you prefer to label it as, Moving To The Moon is nothing less than wonderful.
Stephen SPAZ Schnee was able to catch up with Mark to discuss his amazing career and his brand new solo album…
SPAZ: Now that Moving To The Moon has been released, how are you feeling about the album and your career in general at this point in time?
MARK CLARKE: Well, about the album: this is the first record I’ve done, been on or whatever, that I can listen to, almost daily, and enjoy. I am so very proud of this album. It’s really all of my playing and personal experiences written down and recorded for all to see…and there’s more to come. I’m not finished yet, there’s still more inside that has to come out…..maybe next year, although I am writing at the moment so I will start to record again pretty soon I guess. But as far as this record goes, dare I say it, I truly like it… love it, in fact, and a lot of that has to do with Ray Detone’s work on it. He fully heard what I was trying to do and where I was trying to get to with these songs and in some cases showed ME.
Now, my career… Well, that’s a lot different because I’m not really happy with where I am at this point in time. You see, years ago when the record biz was about music and not solely about the bottom line, I think this record would have already been on the radio getting heard, and hopefully selling. But nowadays with the internet, people have so many choices that it’s really hard for someone like me to get their attention with plain old Classic Rock, and that really is what this record is: CLASSIC ROCK! Hopefully, you agree! It’s been 40 years and I’m still on the road, I love live shows, as that’s what it’s all about for me. But the other reason I’m still on the road is that I have to be: because without it, I couldn't support my kids! That’s how much it’s changed. Everyone seems to be making money. but the musicians have, over the last 10 years or so, been getting less and less and no one seems to think this is true, but it’s VERY true, I don’t want to moan about it, but why should some of us put in 40 years of our lives and then end up with nothing to show for it? Sometimes, I think that we should stop writing music and see how the world would be. Can you imagine waking up and your alarm radio goes off and there’s just talking and no music? And then you get in your car and turn on the radio and there’s no music? And so on and so on…..sad, huh? So, something has to change. Songwriters have to get paid properly again and not get ripped off from pirating and download companies. In some ways, the internet has killed off a certain part of the music business yet it has made it so easy for people to access anything they want to hear. But the trouble is, it’s the internet companies that make all the money now, and the poor guys who spend days, weeks, months, writing creating and putting there souls out there, who are now losing a way to make a living. I mean, even live shows are taking a hit. People like Clear Channel and the rest of those guys have made ticket prices so high, and many of us are still wondering why, as the money that a start up band gets paid hasn’t gone up for about 20 years, and in a lot of cases, some don’t even get paid! So, why does a ticket for MSG sometimes cost $500 + because the bands don’t come away with that money… People seem to forget that it’s MUSIC and the enjoyment of music that got us up to this point and it should get back to that….just good music……
SPAZ: You’ve been a professional musician for over four decades. Why did it take so long to release your first solo album?
MC: Ask God! I honestly can’t explain why: just that it was only now that these songs started coming to me… and now I seem to be writing more than ever. But I wish I could have done it years ago! And, by the way, my heart has gone into this record, and we still call them records because that’s what they are…a record to be kept forever… we hope.
SPAZ: Were the songs on the album written at different times for different projects, or is this a collection of tracks that you wrote specifically for a solo release?
MC: Only one song was written a while ago, and that was “Without You”. which is about my late mother. The rest of the songs have all been written for this album and every song has a story and an influence from my past. For instance, “Cowboy Song”: when I played with Mountain, “Theme From An Imaginary Western” (written by Jack Bruce and Pete Brown) was one of the BIG songs; when I play with Colosseum, ‘The Western” (as we call it) was a hit for them, too, and I always thought about a follow up to it. Well, I came up with “Cowboy Song”. I like to think that Bruce/Brown approve. Actually, Pete Brown who wrote the lyrics to “The Western” and all of the big Cream songs does like my new song. In fact, we are working together on the new Colosseum CD. So yes, all of the tracks were written for this project. At the beginning of recording it, I was going to ask everybody that I’ve ever worked or recorded with to do one track each. I mean, couldn’t you hear Leslie West playing on “Cowboy Song” to name but one? I’m sure you see what I mean. But as it went on, I just kept on going on my own with Ray and came up with what I think is a great album. On the next one, though, I am going to get a few guests and that should be quite interesting, don’t you agree?
SPAZ: What were your chief influences during the recording of Moving To The Moon? It seems to be the perfect mixture of classic and modern sounds…..
MC: Everybody I have ever worked with: from Colosseum, Uriah Heep, Mountain, Ian Hunter. Billy Squier, The Monkees, Michael Bolton…and even Alan Holdsworth, who inspired the track “Moving To The Moon”… plus all the others not named, helped me write this album. It’s hard not to draw on your influences when you’ve worked for all these years with all these people. But in the end, it’s ME: this is a Mark Clarke CD and I wonder if I’ll influence anybody? I know I have fans out there and I hope they like what they hear when they play it. And I’m sorry they had to wait so long… Oh, I must not forget Ritchie Blackmore; he’s in there somewhere, too!
SPAZ: The album is filled with plenty of memorable melodies and great musicianship, yet it is your voice that holds the whole project together. Do you feel that your talent has a vocalist has been overlooked in favor of your in-demand bass expertise?
MC: Thanks for the compliment about the melodies. I get new ones in my head each and every day and sometimes it can drive you mad. Yes, I do feel that I could have contributed more as a vocalist to many of the projects I’ve worked on over the years. You know, one true story about this issue, was when I got a call from The Rolling Stones (when Wyman left). I went down to S.I.R. in New York city and played with them for a few hours and when I was talking to Mick later on, I told him I was a bit of a singer. He said “Oh, great!”, but that was all and I wasn’t asked to sing the whole night. There have been many bands, though, that asked me to use my vocal talent: Ian Hunter, Colosseum, Uriah Heep… In fact, on the song “The Wizard” (co-written by me), that’s me singing the bridge, NOT David Byron: he couldn’t reach the notes. Over the years, your voice does change and mine has. I never liked to listen to me singing on anything years ago, but now, I actually quite like it! Many years ago, in the Liverpool paper, there was a review of a gig I did at the Cavern Club and the reviewer called me the “Joe Cocker of Liverpool”, which, at the time, was quite a compliment. Harmonies are where I shine, though. That’s something that comes very natural to me, and many sessions over the years that I’ve done were not for my bass playing but to do vocal tracks. There is one particular song: “Bluebirds” by Ian Hunter. I did about 30 parts of harmony, and that and three other tracks helped him get a million dollar record deal! Not me …him! But when this record gets heard I hope my vocal talents won’t go unnoticed anymore.
SPAZ: While the album would certainly fit in the popular AOR genre, at its heart, it’s simply a great Rock ‘n’ Roll album. Do you see the album as an easy one to categorize?
MC: Yes, I do. It’s a real NEW CLASSIC ROCK album, as it draws from all of my history and, let’s face it, everything I’ve done over the years has become classic rock, just because it’s old I guess? But maybe it’s time for a new genre of radio: NEW CLASSIC ROCK?
SPAZ: You’ve been involved in a lot of projects over the years, from Colosseum to Billy Squier. Are there any moments in your long career that stands out above the rest?
MC: Well, being asked to audition for The Stones… and only a handful of people on earth can say they played with Rolling Stones! Colosseum playing to 400.000 people in Turku. Finland: that was just breathtaking. Being on stage with all four of The Monkees at the Greek theatre in L.A. Colosseum and Jimi Hendrix traveled together for the last few days before his death, and that I’ll never forget! Singing “You Better You Bet” (my favorite Who song ever) with Roger Daltry at the Olympic stadium in Sydney. Australia…that whole stadium was bouncing up and down. And still. to this day, playing some of the Billy Squier hits on stage with Billy, I can still get goose bumps. Natural Gas was invited as special guests on Frampton Comes Alive and that was the biggest tour that had ever been… until Michael Jackson, I think? And one moment I’m still waiting for is hearing one of my new songs on the radio! Then I’ll know that people do like my voice…
SPAZ: Your stint with Uriah Heep was short, yet that musical liaison is mentioned in almost every feature I’ve read about you on the internet. Is it strange to have some people overlook the rest of your varied career and label you as ‘ex-Uriah Heep’?
MC: I think the people who label me just as ex-Heep do that just because they are Heep fans, that’s all. And that’s fine. I think anyone who knows about me, knows all of my history and come to think of it, it’s only history after all, and has no real meaning. does it? Except I’d like to be known for everything I’ve done, as it’s been quite an interesting career, don’t you agree? I do want people, in the end, to know me as just Mark Clarke the bass player and singer, who happened to play with everyone from Heep to Roger Daltry and everyone in between. And the funny thing is: I am still a good friend with Ken Hensley, whom, by the way. I did many solo projects with and my name is always coming up in interviews he and Mick Box do… so that’s why, maybe, I will always be known as ex- Heep, but that’s O.K.
SPAZ: Natural Gas was one of the most overlooked ‘super groups’ in music history. There was Joey Molland (Badfinger), Jerry Shirley (Humble Pie), Peter Wood and you. The album is chock full of great Rock ‘n’ Roll and Pop tunes (written by both you and Joey). Do you remember much about the recording of the album?
MC: I remember the whole thing, actually. One thing nobody knows is that Natural Gas came about because I was about to start to embark on my first solo album… and that was in 1975, so it took from then to now for me to start and get it finished.. What happened was, as I was starting to write songs, my friend, Joey Molland, was quitting Badfinger. We started to talk about what we were both going to do, and then a light bulb went off! While all this was going on, my dear friend Clem Clemson (Humble Pie) had introduced me to Jerry Shirley and we became friends. I just asked Jerry, ”So, want to make an album then?”… and that’s how Natural Gas was formed. As far as the making of the record goes, it was a bit of a strange time, really. We had moved from England to America and there’s a lot of culture shock involved when you know your not just here to tour, as we all had been doing. It’s still, to this day, easy to remember that it was quite a shock for all of us to cope with… but we did. The record was made at Crystal Sound in L.A. and we were sharing the studio time with Stevie Wonder. He was making Songs In The Key Of Life and he had the studio all day and we took over from him at 8 in the evening for about a month. We had all kind of guests down there: Pete Townshend showed up one night with Jerry and Cozy Powell, and during that night we all ended up at The Rainbow with John Bonham and got quite drunk, actually! But other than that, it was just ‘get in there and make the album’ as we had a deadline to get it done so we could join Peter Frampton and do that Frampton Comes Alive tour. For anyone who has or gets that LP, in the middle there are four guys driving at 95 mph across the desert. Well, that’s me driving!
SPAZ: How did you get Felix Pappalardi to produce the album? I’ve read that Mal Evans was scheduled to produce the album originally. Do you think that if Mal had produced the album, the band would forever be dogged by Beatles-related questions, which Joey has unfortunately had to deal with since he first joined Badfinger?
MC: We got Felix through Larry Utal (Bell Records). Felix and I had a bass battle one night in the rehearsal studios. It was real fun, and he was so much louder than me! But it was great to work with him. Unfortunately, within a few months, he was shot dead by Gail (his wife). In fact, they both came to the house we were staying at in L.A. and she was showing my ex-wife what Felix had bought her for Christmas: a Derringer pistol! IDIOT! Now Mal… this is such a sad story as Mal was such a great guy. For the people who don’t know his history. Mal was with The Beatles from start to finish as their roadie. After they broke up, Mal was living in L.A. and not quite sure what he was going to do with the rest of his life. We all kind of just slowly got the idea of getting him to produce our record. We knew then that there would have been the inevitable questions, Beatle-related, of course, just because of Joey and me both being from Liverpool. But who knows: it might have helped, not hindered? Mal was such a wonderful, gentle man. I was in such shock when I was back in New York and the phone rang . It was Joey to tell me Mal had been shot by the L.A. police and he was dead. That’s when Felix was asked to produce.
SPAZ: You were playing with Billy Squier during the height of his popularity. How did you get involved with him?
MC: Quite simple, really. Billy came over to my apartment in NYC. We sat down and talked for an hour or so. He knew what and who I’d worked with and asked me to join, and, apart from a couple of years apart, we have been together for 30 years and I’ll tour with him again whenever he goes out. Billy is now a dear friend, an old friend.
SPAZ: How did The Monkees gig come about? And do you still work with Davy Jones?
MC: David Fishoff, the same guy who now does Rock Fantasy camp, managed The Monkees from 1985 till about 2002. I went to see him. I don’t remember who it was that called me, but after meeting with him, I ended up as the bass player on one of the biggest tours that had ever been on the road! I think the smallest gig we did was Madison Square Garden: the rest of the tour was baseball parks and the like. But out of that came a friendship with Davy Jones that lasted 20 years and, in that time, I co-produced, led his band and he even recorded a couple of my songs. It’s a bit of a shame as we now don’t work together, but who knows? Hopefully, we may again in the near future. I, for one, would love to.
SPAZ: Are there any musicians out there right now, young or old, that you’d like to work with?
MC: If you can think of some, let me know as I must have worked with everyone up to this point! But one thing I would love to try would be me, Keith Emerson and Jon Hiseman as a three piece. I think it could kill! Let me know what you think and if you agree, get in touch with Keith and see what he says? And, just as I’m answering this question, I was called and told that one of the great guitarists Gary Moore had died. Gary, Jon Hiseman and myself were rehearsing as a three piece right before I left England and I always thought we would work together again…..
SPAZ: What’s next for Mark Clarke?
MC: Well, first, it’s getting a new Colosseum CD done in London and then we start touring at the end of May until August. Then, Clem Clempson, Gary Husband and I have been talking of doing something, so we will see!
SPAZ: What is currently spinning on our CD, DVD and record players?
MC: Moving To The Moon