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Richard WAGNER (1813-1883)
Meistersinger , an orchestral tribute - symphonic compilation (arr. 2005, Henk de Vlieger (b.1953)) [47:51]
Eine Faust-Ouvertüre (1840, rev. 1855) [11:03]
Deux Entr’actes Tragiques (orch. 1996, Henk de Vlieger after Wagner’s compositional sketches) (1832) [12:26]
Overture to Columbus (ed. Felix Mottl (1856-1911) as concert overture with the title Christopher Columbus) (1835) [8:05]
Royal Scottish National Orchestra/Neeme Järvi
rec. Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow; 17-19 August 2010. SACD
CHANDOS CHSA 5092 [79:54]
Suites of purely orchestral music from Wagner operas are hardly new. The Ring Without Words - orchestral highlights from The Ring Cycle (Lorin Maazel/Berliner Philharmoniker, Telarc CD 80154 (rec. 1987) or Euroarts 2057604) isprobably the best known and best appreciated.
This particular condensation is described as an ‘orchestral tribute’ to Meistersinger - notice that the words Die and von Nürnberg are omitted from Henk de Vlieger’s titling. From this CD’s booklet I noticed that Chandos had already recorded three more of Dutchman de Vlieger’s Wagner arrangements - The Ring: An Orchestral Adventure(CHSA5060); Parsifal: An Orchestral Quest (CHSA5077) and Tristan and Isolde: An Orchestral Passion (CHSA5087).
De Vlieger’s Meistersinger is arranged in eleven episodes, some clearly recognisable. The purely orchestral episodes like: the Overture, The Dance of the Apprentices and The Entry of the Masters are well known. In aggregate they would comprise a significant proportion of the 48 minutes that this arrangement spans. Chandos’s notes are not helpful. The titling of the eleven episodes is given in German only. There is no English translation so if you are not proficient in German it can prove a problem although the meaning of some episode titles are reasonably easy to guess. Also if you do not have a libretto handy, it can be difficult to ascertain where you are in the opera’s plot. This is especially if you are not too familiar with this huge work. If my memory serves me right it used to span some 10 or even 12 LP sides. Add to this that too little information to be of real help is given in the barely one-page allotted to this work about the episodes. Having said all this de Vlieger has assembled a seamless and reasonably satisfying whole. The work can be appreciated in its own right as a through-composed symphonic structure.
Listening to de Vlieger’s Meistersinger I felt curiously unmoved and uninvolved. I cannot remember listening to Wagner’s wonderful score without feeling uplifted. Usually I cannot sit still and there are yells of protest from my household about my arm-waving, the thudding of my desk, joyful humming or whistling. In this instance there was very little of any such happy manifestation. If I wasn’t moved by Walther’s Prize Song at the opera’s climax then there could be no hope. First I suspected that Chandos’s super sound might be intruding on my appreciation of the music, but I soon dismissed this notion and began to wonder about tempi, nuance, dynamics and the orchestration that de Vlieger might have overlaid to serve his vision.
Only after I had listened to the Tribute right through and written the above paragraphs did I work on the links to the other three Chandos de Vlieger Wagner treatments in paragraph two above. Only then - honest! - did I read through Dan Morgan’s review of de Vlieger’s The Ring: An Orchestral Adventure. I was struck by Dan’s remark “Try as I might I simply could not engage with this watered-down Wagner.” Which pretty well sums up my feelings about this Meistersinger - despite virtuoso playing from Järvi’s forces.
Henk de Vlieger also worked on an early Wagner composition, Deux Entr’actes Tragiques from compositional sketches made by the youthful composer in 1832. The two short pieces were thought to have been written as intermezzi for a play staged in that year. Wagner only orchestrated the opening of the first - de Vlieger completed this and fully orchestrated the second taking the style of Weber as his guide since it was known that Wagner was greatly influenced by Weber at that point in his life. The Deux Entr’actes demonstrate a wide gulf between early Wagner and the genius that would later shake the music world. If not especially memorable they make pleasant enough listening. The first, marked Allegro, bustles along cheerily and is mildly dramatic; the second an Allegro con brio - Adagio- Tempo I offers more punch and atmosphere.
More interesting are the two early and purely Wagner works. Wagner had been fascinated by the Faust legend and his exciting 1840 composition, Eine Faust-Ouvertüre has some splendid devilishly-wrought material. There is much more confidence here and it is interesting to compare this work with Liszt’s Faust Symphony and Two Episodes after Lenau’s Faust. Wagner’s Columbus Overture is another early work, salty and nicely evocative of heaving waves and jubilant exploration.
This Meistersinger is not a prize-winning song.
see also review by Brian Wilson
This Meistersinger is not a prize-winning song.


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THE LOCAL community gathered at Eccles Cross at 4pm on December 10 for a candle light vigil to mark Human Rights Day.
The ceremony was organised by local activist, Angie Tunstall, in partnership with Amnesty International and Eccles Town Team, an initiative to encourage more visitors to the town. Mrs Tunstall said: “We wanted to do something that would make a difference. Something about peace and inclusivity in the heart of Eccles and to invite the different communities together.”
Human rights is an important issue for the town of Eccles. In 2014, Alan Henning, a local taxi driver aged 47, was captured by ISIS during their occupation of the Syrian city of Al Dana, where he was volunteering as an aid worker. A video of his beheading was released and used as propaganda by ISIS.
Rebecca Long Bailey, Labour MP for Salford and Eccles said this “horrific atrocity” shocked the community. She added: “We felt the breach in human rights very strongly here in Eccles. We came together as a town and we’ve got a really strong community here.
“We support people who are in strife and difficult situations across the world. It’s about sending out the message that we need to look after our own people in Eccles but we also want to spread hope and solidarity to those people overseas who might be suffering.”
Eccles Councillor Lisa Stone also described the importance of human rights issues closer to home. She said: “We are seeing rising rates of homelessness and people at risk of becoming homeless. There are less and less services available to support people due to the government’s austerity agenda.”
The vigil began with the candle lighting ceremony and consisted of poems, songs and speeches from members of the community who were victims of injustice in Iran and Somalia and have now settled in Eccles.
Participants also wrote messages of solidarity, which Amnesty International will deliver to those who are imprisoned all around the world. The ceremony ended with a minute of silence standing in solidarity.
By Gerard Mannion

domain: news


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The Calling Hours Horror Podcast 2.28: Interview With Director / Producer / Writer Thomas J. Churchill (Air Date: 6.19.18)
ABOUT THIS EPISODE:
My guest this evening is the writer, producer, director of Nation’s Fire, The Rack Pack, Check Point, The Emerging Past, Lazarus:Apocalypse (aka Lazarus: Day of the Living Dead), Mr. Hush (producer only), Thomas J. Churchill. He’s a multi-award winning writer, producer, director, and radio host who founded Church Hill Productions. Thomas was seen by millions on the SyFy Network’s Monster Man, a reality show which showcased an episode of the director (episode 2, “The Forbidden Werewolf”).
In our Digital Dismemberment Spotlights this evening, we will be reviewing Scream Factory’s Blu-Ray release of Behind The Mask: The Rise Of Leslie Vernon as well as Gravy!
We will also be featuring 3 bands in our Metal Massacre Spotlights this evening, including Vulvectomy, Defleshed and Vomit Remnants!
Joe Castro wrote:
Thomas J. Churchill is a talented director who gave me one of my biggest breaks in the biz… I will forever be grateful.

domain: entertainment


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At least 10 people have been killed, and about 40 injured, by a huge fuel tanker explosion near a hospital east of Johannesburg, South Africa.
According to a report, the tanker appeared to have gotten stuck under a low bridge on Saturday morning in Boksburg city, about 100m from Tambo Memorial Hospital.
There are fears the death toll could rise, as 19 people are in critical condition and 15 others are stable but seriously hurt.
Firefighters tried to put out the blaze, there was a huge second explosion – captured on amateur video – that destroyed a fire engine and two motor vehicles.
Writing Hadiza Abdulrahman; editing by Abdullahi Lamino


Haryanvi singer and dancer Sapna Choudhary is known for her energetic stage performances. She has always managed to mesmerize her fans with her incredible and bindass dance moves. And since her appearance in Big Boss 11, she has gained even more popularity worldwide. Sapna is also active on social media and keeps treating her fans with her pictures and video.
She recently took to social networking site Instagram to share her pictures and videos from her stage show. In her latest picture, she can be seen dancing madly during her stage show.
Take a look here:
PC: Sapna’s Instagram story
She became a household name after participating in Salman Khan’s Bigg Boss 11. During her stay in the house, she performed well in the task. People loved her straightforward nature. In fact, she was also praised for her dancing skills. Sapna emerged as one of the toughest contestants of the show. However, she couldn’t win.
After coming out, she surprised everyone with her drastic makeover. Sapna featured in music videos like Chori 96, Superstar, Ram Ki Su, and Billori Akh that became huge hits. She is all set to make her Bollywood debut with Dosti Ke Side Effects.
From walking ramp for the first time to gearing up for her Marathi debut, Sapna is undoubtedly in the best phase of her career. The Haryanvi dancer has also ventured into Bhojpuri cinema. She featured in a song titled Mere Samne Aake for Ravi Kishan starrer Bairi Kangana 2.
Sapna has starred in Bollywood songs as well. She danced to the beats of Tere Thumkefrom Abhay Deol – Patralekhaa’s Nanu Ki Jaanu. She was also seen in Hatt Ja Tau from Pulkit Samrat starrer Veerey Ki Wedding.


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Sunday 2nd June
Over the next four days in Cornwall, we packed in a lot of sightseeing, together with various family occasions. Sunday revolved around a barbecue at my aunt and uncle's house, involving probably the biggest reunion of my mum's side of the family in at least a decade. I hadn't seen two of my cousins since about 1995; in some sense it was almost like we'd never met, but equally there was an instant family tie, with none of the awkwardness that sometimes comes with meeting new friends.
My aunt and uncle's house is set on the edge of a village in beautiful countryside. We'd picked the right week to come to Cornwall: not two days before I left, it was cold and miserable, but by Sunday afternoon it was hot and sunny, feeling genuinely like summer for the first time. We sat outside in the sun enjoying our hot dogs and our steaks (to say nothing of the wide variety of salads and side dishes laid on), soaking up the sun.
After a lovely afternoon spent reminiscing and swapping stories, rounded off with a walk down to the river just down from their house, we headed back to the hotel, stuffed full of food. Rather than go out for dinner, we eventually headed out for a picnic, making our own sandwiches and eating them in the car on the beautiful beach at Polzeath, just north of Padstow, on the north coast, before taking a walk out to the edge of the Atlantic.
Monday 3rd June
The next day my parents and I left my aunt and uncle and headed west, to the very edges of England. While Land's End is the more popular, it is only the westernmost point in England, not Britain (Ardnamurchan, in Scotland, is further west). On the other hand, the Lizard Point is the southernmost point in Britain, but is much less of a tourist trap.
We headed first to the Lizard, over an hour's drive west even from Bodmin. (Even Cornwall itself is big!) The Lizard is a beautiful peninsula: the land is covered in beautiful fields, while the coastline is rugged but well-worn, with easy access to the coastal paths. After a nice walk over to the next headland, we headed back into the village of Lizard for some lunch.
After a brief stop at Kynance Cove - a beautiful bay just north of the Lizard - we headed to Marazion, just east of Penzance and home of St Michael's Mount, a natural island just a few hundred metres off the coast which has acted as a natural fortification for nearly a millennium.
While we made it to the island, unfortunately by the time we got to the castle it was too late in the afternoon and we couldn't take a look around the inside. At low tide, one can walk across the causeway to the island; but when we got there the tide was well in, and so a little motorboat shuttled us to and from the island.
With the afternoon gone, but plenty of time before dinner, we headed to Land's End. While much more touristy, and geographically less relevant, it's easy to see why Land's End is so much more popular than the Lizard: the whole country seems to narrow about you as you drive west on the A30, until at last you arrive at the end of England, surrounded by nearly 270 degrees of sea.
Surrounding the point itself is a sprawling tourist complex, with multiple cafes and gift shops. But arriving as we did at 6pm it was mercifully quiet, with just a few visitors and none of the tourist hubbub. The one disadvantage was that the toilets were locked, but otherwise we got to look into the Atlantic on all sides in peace.
We had dinner in St Ives, about half an hour's drive from Land's End, in a lovely fish restaurant with a view over the old harbour. Our meal was delayed by a hold-up in the kitchen, but this meant that we exited the restaurant just as the sun was crossing the horizon in a fabulous orange sunset. The fading sunlight persisted, with a few faint rays staving off darkness for the whole hour-long drive home.
Tuesday 4th June
On Tuesday, blessed with even better weather than the previous couple of days, we headed to the north coast, to Tintagel Castle. Located on a rocky peninsula jutting into the sea, and making a perfect natural fortification, Tintagel Castle may have been used as early as the third century AD; but the first definite evidence points to a fortress in early medieval times. Legend has it that King Arthur himself was conceived here.
The castle itself is a nearly impregnable fortress perched right on the coast, with just one wooden bridge linking it to the mainland. After climbing up a staircase carved out of the stone, you find yourself on top of the main rock of the island, and wandering around you get superb views out to the sea and to the cliffs on the coastline.
The ruined buildings of the castle make for an interesting sight (and site!), with remnants of a great hall, a well, a chapel, and a tunnel possibly used for storing food. The island is surrounded by cliffs, in one of which lies Merlin's Cave. The whole thing takes the better part of two hours to fully explore, and is remarkably interesting, made all the nicer by the lovely sunny day.
After a very nice lunch in the visitors centre at the Castle, we headed back up the steep hill (which hadn't seemed half as bad on the way down!) to the village of Tintagel itself. We then paid a visit to the Old Post Office, a beautifully-preserved fourteenth-century stone house now in the hands of the National Trust, before relaxing in the sun with a nice scone.
In the evening, after a brief rest in the hotel, we headed to Padstow for dinner. Padstow, a pretty fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, is sometimes referred to as Padstein - a tongue-in-cheek reference to the number of eating establishments in the town run by Rick Stein. We managed to avoid them all, however, and had a very nice Italian meal in a restaurant overlooking the harbour.
Wednesday 5th June
Wednesday was the last full day of family - my parents and my aunt and uncle were headed home on Thursday. We were thus headed for one last family lunch in Fowey. Beforehand, though, we paid a flying visit to Wave 7 Gallery, run by my cousin in rural Cornwall just a few miles north of where we were staying. The gallery is filled with paintings, pottery, prints and assorted knick-knacks, and my mum couldn't resist the urge to buy a couple of things.
A quick drive over to the south coast brought us to Fowey Hall, a lavish country house hotel where my Cornish aunt and uncle treated the rest of us to a fabulous three-course meal, all the while swapping stories aplenty. After a long, lingering lunch, we left my Cornish aunt and uncle, and the five of us headed for a drive around the coast to Mevagissey, where we stopped to look round the little fishing village.
After that we headed for the nearby Dormer Point, or more accurately to the car park where you can walk to the point. Navigating there proved to be a challenge: we dispensed with the satnav and I used a proper old-fashioned Landranger to guide us to the car park, which was down a seemingly interminable series of lanes. Once there, we went for a short walk; while we didn't bother going all the way to the point we still got some lovely views round the coast; my dad, ever eager, continued on to the point proper at his usual brisk pace, and by the time the rest of us had dandered back to the car he had practically caught us up.
Having had such a big lunch we decided a picnic tea would suffice, so we grabbed some sandwiches and, once back at our hotel, sat outside in the fading sunlight to enjoy one last picnic as a family.

domain: geography


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domain: design


Hutch mob thug lifted as gardai close in on Lunney torture gang
This is the moment during dawn raids in the capital that gardai arrested one of the main suspects in the abduction and brutal torture of businessman Kevin Lunney.
Officers swooped on the 38-year-old man - an associate of the Hutch gang - at a property in the East Wall area of the north inner city area yesterday.
Another 38-year-old man, who is on bail on a murder charge, was also arrested yesterday morning.
Gardai had earlier this month raided properties linked to both men over the kidnapping and savage attack on the Quinn Industrial Holdings (QIH) director in September.
Sources told the Herald that both criminals were paid "big money" to abduct the businessman on behalf of a gang led by mob boss Cyril 'Dublin Jimmy' McGuinness.
It is understood both men may have been hired by McGuinness after meeting him in prison and that phone contact was made between them and McGuinness while the abduction and attack on Mr Lunney was taking place.
The mobster died from a heart attack when Derbyshire police raided his "safe house" two weeks ago after gardai gave them information about its location.
"They would have been brought in and paid for this because they have no problem using extreme levels of violence," one source said.
"They would need direction on what to do but would have no fear of getting their hands dirty."
The 38-year-old suspect who is facing a murder charge had been spotted out and about in the north inner city in recent days.
It is understood that the investigation team has obtained crucial forensic and electronic evidence from a small van which is believed to have been acquired for the operation.
Gardai located and seized the vehicle last month after McGuinness's associates failed to carry out his orders to have it destroyed.
There were a total of four arrests yesterday connected with the abduction.
Gardai announced last night that they had also picked up a 25-year-old man in the Dublin region and a 66-year-old man in Co Cavan.
All of the suspects were being held at separate garda stations including Ballymun, Irishtown, Monaghan and Finglas.
The Herald understands the 66-year-old suspect is a close associate of the 'paymaster' who is believed to have bankrolled the attack on Mr Lunney, and is linked to a man and woman arrested last week before they were released without charge.
The 25-year-old is a suspected armed robber and is also from inner-city Dublin.
He is closely linked to one of the other suspects and also suspected of involvement in an armed raid in Northern Ireland recently.
Mr Lunney was abducted outside his home near Derrylin, Co Fermanagh, and taken to a horsebox across the Border, where he was savagely beaten.
His attackers broke his leg, sliced his fingernails and face with a Stanley knife, carved QIH on his chest and doused the father-of-six in bleach.
Among those arrested and questioned last week were the wife and son of one of the prime suspects.
The son is believed to have been sent by the gang to buy bleach which was then used to douse Mr Lunney to destroy forensic evidence.
The son has been extremely distressed since the attack and is seen by the gang as the "weak link".
A statement from An Garda Siochana appealed for information on the attack.
"Gardai continue to appeal to any person who has any information, no matter how insignificant it appears, on this vicious criminal attack or any other criminal activities which have taken place in the Cavan/Fermanagh border area over recent years to contact An Garda Siochana at Cavan Garda Station on 049 4368800, the Garda Confidential Line, 1800 666 111, Crimestoppers on 1800 25 00 25 or any garda station," a spokesperson said.
Mr Lunney spoke publicly about his ordeal for the first time earlier this month in a powerful TV interview.
The attack on him, during which his assailants demanded his resignation, was the most serious in a five-year campaign of intimidation targeting the companies and directors that now control the business portfolio that was built up by fallen tycoon Sean Quinn, once Ireland's richest man.
The Quinn family has consistently condemned and distanced itself from those attacking the new owners.


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Thesis of the prince machiavelli
Niccolo Machiavelli’s “The Prince ,” Human Values This 5 page paper examines Machiavelli’s The Prince The thesis of this paper is that the author. Reflections on Machiavelli in the Changing Moral Context Machiavelli’s prince as an ignorant and comic character at a differing thesis. Help; phd thesis thesis of machiavelli's terza rima poems on machiavelli essay writing middle the prince machiavelli research paper on a sort of extended. Niccolo' Machiavelli Thesis (1969, December 31) In LotsofEssayscom Retrieved 18:07, December 26, 2016, from.
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If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Discussion on Machiavelli's The Prince. Do you agree with Machiavelli’s thesis that stability and power are the only and rhetoric of The Prince Does Machiavelli’s choice in this area. Various versions of this thesis have 1995, “Machiavelli's Via Moderna: Medieval and Renaissance Attitudes to History,” Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince:. The Prince literature Join Now Log in Home Literature Essays The Prince The Prince Essays Within his work The Prince, Machiavelli presents a.
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SparkNotes: The Prince: Study Questions & Essay Topics Perfect for students who have to write The Prince essays Do you agree with Machiavelli's thesis that. Niccolo’ Machiavelli occupies a unique place in the development of modern political philosophy with his attempt to Niccolo' Machiavelli Thesis (1969, December. The Prince By Niccolo Machiavelli Politics Machiavelli argues that a prince or ruler should "not depart (also known as a thesis or research.

domain: literature


Song of the day – 90: Kate Nash (again!)
I vowed not to repeat the same artist twice in this series, let alone two songs from the same album, but…
This song is so weird, I have to draw attention to it, however. Despite the comments from various fans on the ‘net (“she’s been listening to Huggy Bear, Lydia Lunch“) (“is Kate Nash trying to go all riot grrrl or something? Quite fitting that she’s in Seattle if that’s the case” – um, no. Seattle had nothing to do with Riot Grrrl), the band the recorded version of this song most reminds me of, easily, is Crass – particularly latter-day Crass, circa Penis Envy. And that’s just plain weird. Brilliant, don’t get me wrong, but plain weird.
Now will someone send me the damn album!!!


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Before Laurence Fishburne controlled the matrix, before he earned an Oscar nod for What’s Love Got to Do With It, and before his two 2017 Emmy nominations (one for Outstanding Narrator and one as an executive producer on black-ish, nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series), the actor worked in theatre.
Contrary to many other actors, Fishburne worked simultaneously onstage and on the small screen at the start of his career in the 1980s. He played in Second Stage’s Off-Broadway productions of Short Eyes and Loose Ends.
After starring in Boyz in the Hood, Fishburne made his Broadway debut (then known as Larry Fishburne) in August Wilson’s Two Trains Running, for which he won the 1992 Drama Desk and Tony Awards and a Theatre World Award. The Tony winner won an Emmy that same year for his guest appearance on an episode of TriBeCa.
Fishburne did try his hand at Shakespeare—albeit in the 1995 film version—with the title role in Othello. In 1999, he returned to Broadway in The Lion in Winter as Henry II opposite Stockard Channing and directed by Michael Mayer.
After nearly a decade, Fishburne made another appearance on the Great White Way as the title character in Thurgood, and original solo play written by George Stevens, Jr. The story of the first African-American Supreme Court justice and his role in the milestone Brown vs. Board of Education case. Fishburne was nominated for a Tony Award and won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance. HBO then screened a filmed version of the play and the White House hosted a separate screening in honor of Black History Month. Fishburne was nominated for an Emmy Award for his performance in the movie.
Fishburne has not stepped back onto the Broadway stage since, but has been earning laughs (and creating poignant moments) and the ABC comedy series, black-ish, as the patriarch of the Johnson family. Since the show’s premiere, Fishburne has been praised for his performance as Earl “Pops” Johnson and this year, he marks that acclaim with his first Emmy nomination for the role.
Tune in to the 69th Annual Emmy Awards September 17 on CBS.

domain: artistic


We are installing two video doorbell pro 2 X to ring one existing mechanical chime. Both doorbell locations are wired back to the same transformer. My question is do I need to install both Pro Power Kits at the mechanical chime since we are installing two doorbells or will the two doorbells be able to ring the mechanical chime with only one Pro power kit installed?
I tried yesterday to install a second Video Doorbell Pro 2 at the rear of the house and learned that my 16V doorbell transformer’s 10VA isn’t powerful enough to run both doorbells. I’ll have to replace the transformer and will do that this weekend. The diagrams Ring offers are very helpful in showing how to connect multiple power kits as well as transformer specs recommended.


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Alexa Porter wanted one last opportunity to gain cross-cultural experience before she graduated from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in May 2020. As a business administration student focusing on international business and strategy with a minor in public policy, Alexa was looking for a course that would advance these passions. Studying abroad had never been a good fit given her course schedules in previous semesters. Alexa was excited to find the Cross-Cultural Business course offered for the first time at the Ross School of Business. Cross-Cultural Business is part of the Business & Culture: A Virtual Practicum program (B&C), an action learning course on international business cultures that connects students from Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, and the U.S. This experiential course had a deep and lasting impact on Alexa even after she completed it and graduated — so much so that she still reflects on it today.
“I was interested in international business from the start and learning about other cultures, so it was a no-brainer to take a course like this,” Alexa said. “It gave me some useful insight into what it would be like to be involved with a global company and interact with clients from across the world.” Her view about culture has also evolved since completing the Business & Culture program. Alexa says that being able to virtually connect with faculty and students from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) throughout an entire semester to collaborate on assignments, including a final international consulting project, made the class a unique part of her degree program. “B&C definitely had an impact on my view about culture,” Alexa said. “Now, I’m more comfortable talking about culture. Not just talking or hearing about differences, but more so about acknowledging those differences and taking it a step further and trying to actually understand those differences.”


Valee releases surprise ‘Runnin’ Rich’ EP feat. G Herbo, King Louie & Vic Mensa
After appearing on YG‘s 4REAL 4REAL and attracting a lot of attention for dyeing his dog red over the past couple of weeks, Valee returns with his surprise Runnin’ Rich EP.
Comprised of seven concise tracks – only three of them reach beyond the two minute mark – the release is executive produced by Valee‘s dog, Ketchup, who also appears on the cover art.
The EP features guest appearances from fellow Chicago artists G Herbo, King Louie and Vic Mensa, with production from TYMadeIt, Narcowave, ChaseTheMoney, Young God, Rio Mac and Valee himself.
Valee is currently warming up towards the release of his debut album, and last month released his latest single ‘You & Me Both’.
Press play on Runnin’ Rich, which is currently only available on AudioMack, below…


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Just a week before open enrollment begins, the Obama administration made some grim announcements about how the Affordable Care Act is faring.
Already, American families have grappled with skyrocketing health insurance costs and limited health insurance choices. They can expect for these problems to worsen dramatically over the next year, the Obama administration revealed Monday.
The “Affordable” Care Act has drastically failed to deliver on its promises of cost-effective insurance, and the Obama administration conceded on Monday that pre-subsidy premiums will skyrocket by an average of 25 percent nationwide.
American families will feel the pain. After polling 20,000 consumers, Morning Consult reported in September that the top budget concern for Americans was the rising cost of health-insurance premiums. Likewise, an eHealth Survey found that the top priority for 54 percent of American families was a low-cost insurance premium.
Monday’s announcement also showed just how tough it will be to persuade millennials to buy insurance and pay into the common pot.
Average premiums for popular ACA plans rising 25 percent – The Washington Post https://t.co/hO61BG4h8O
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) October 25, 2016
In Arizona, a 27-year-old who paid $196 without subsidies this year for a benchmark plan will pay a $422 next year for the same coverage — a head-spinning 116 percent rate hike.
It’s tough to blame young adults who, seeing their premiums soar for overkill insurance, will choose instead to buy less comprehensive coverage off the exchanges, pay the fine, and still save money.
Despite news of these staggering premium increases, a spokesman for Health and Human Services insisted that health coverage would remain affordable, costing less than $75 a month for most people. Yet that statistic comes with some huge caveats.
For starters, it’s valid only after factoring in the subsidies — subsidies that will be financed, in large part, off the backs of the very millennials who are already being bullied into paying for more excessive, expensive health insurance than they need.
Second, to make the $75-for-70-percent statistic work, HHS had to concede that three-fourths of families could secure savings by downgrading their level of coverage, opting for a plan that offers less than what they’d initially selected.
But many of those who initially signed up for gold or silver coverage did so because they know they need more extensive coverage to meet their health needs. Being forced into skimpier coverage won’t really help those patients control their long-term health-care costs.
Moreover, part of the reason for the massive premium hike is that Obamacare enrollees have been considerably older and sicker than the federal government anticipated. Without young, healthy buyers to offset health-care costs, insurers can’t really get around consistent premium hikes.
In 2016 alone, the top four insurers reported at least $1.75 billion in projected losses. So untenable is this financial equation that many insurers have decided to sit out on Obamacare.
Monday’s announcement included the revelation that this year, 28 more insurers are dropping off of the exchanges, including United Health Group, Humana and Aetna. We’re feeling the attrition. The Affordable Care Act launched with 232 participants. It’s now down to a measly 167.
As the Wall Street Journal noted, this means that “an unprecedented number of consumers … are seeing their current plans cancelled”— so many, in fact, that the federal government took the desperate step of extending the deadline for families with cancelled health plans to shift to a viable Plan B.
Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that the Plan B will include patients’ preferred physicians or hospitals. In fact, one in five consumers will have only a single health-care provider to “choose” coverage from.
So much for President Obama’s claim:
“If you like the plan you have, you can keep it. If you like the doctor you have, you can keep your doctor, too. The only change you’ll see are falling costs as our reforms take hold.”
It gets worse.
In May, the Kaiser Family Foundation warned that 70 percent of counties likely to be left with just one insurer are rural, meaning their residents already face major obstacles to health access.
Even with multiple options, these patients often travel long distances to visit. Now, many Americans in Wyoming, Oklahoma and other largely rural states will have an even deeper dearth of options.
Critics of the health law have long warned of these predictable, harsh economic realities.
Regardless, the Obama administration has over-promised and under-delivered. Monday’s announcement provided more evidence that Obamacare is failing to provide Americans with affordable, accessible health coverage.
Melchior is a senior fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum.

domain: economics


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Pet of the Week: Nikki
This week’s Pet of the Week is Nikki.
Nikki was found by a good Samaritan and brought to the rescue.
She is most likely a Cairn Terrier and seems to be an older lady.
She is being vetted by Saving the Animals Together.
She will be available for adoption once she finishes her vetting and is given a clean bill of health.

domain: pet


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Challenging the Established Picture
Mark Sealy walks us through his ongoing project reimagining African political history through an intervention on the Magnum Photos archive, and exploring the work that images do in culture, in relation to race, as well as colonial and postcolonial African histories
The following article explores Mark Sealy’s recent curation of the Magnum Photos archive on Africa. The project aims to serve as inspiration for contemporary photographers to respond to with new work.
Four grants will be allocated to early-career South African photographers. Two of these grants will be available on application via an open submission process, and two of these grants have been awarded through Magnum’s ongoing relationship with the Of Soul and Joy project; a workshop and talent development program in Johannesburg, South Africa.
For full details on the grants available, and to apply, go here.
Archives capture history insomuch as they enshrine the perspectives of those who have been privileged enough to narrate and control how it is recorded. At the core of Mark Sealy’s work is a motivation to challenge the notion of archives as singular repositories of historical truth-telling, which he argues has influenced not just the history of photography, but our collective understanding of history itself. By being open to diverse perspectives, Sealy aims to broaden our understanding of history, and expose the power structures that have, and continue to, allow established narratives to dominate.
“I think once we get ourselves over the idea that photography is not this fantastic invention, the undisputed eye of the world, but is just another dominant tool used to narrate Eurocentric perspectives, then I think we’re in a place where we can begin to unpick photography’s social meanings through the prism of different ways of seeing… It’s a form of curatorial resistance work. It’s about understanding that things aren’t always the way that powerful cultural institutions tell us that they are.” The solution lies in locating “our silent history”, as he described it when speaking at a Magnum talk on archives at the Barbican.
"It’s a form of curatorial resistance work"
- Mark Sealy
In a new project, which sees him working within the Magnum archive, Sealy is unpacking various narratives of African culture in an attempt to reveal alternative, perhaps lesser-known, or lesser-seen moments of that continent’s history. The idea being that these stories will serve as a catalyst in a call-out to a new generation of photographers to respond with their own original work. Some of the stories he has extracted from the Magnum archive have been left out of western epistemes, slipping from collective, national, and international memory. Others were actively suppressed by colonial forces operating in a wider cultural context, while some new photo edits shine light and offer alternative perspectives on what might have previously been misunderstood, denied or buried.
The stories he has chosen to focus on are varied – spanning the French-Algerian War from 1954 -1962, the 1948 South African Election, the Mau Mau uprisings through the 1950s, the 1969 Pan-African Cultural Festival in Algiers, and The Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammad Ali and George Forman in 1974. Here Sealy explains a number of themes from his new curation of the archive.
What is not in the curation
What is important to note, explains Sealy, is what is absent from the curation. “One of the things that’s not in here is images of broken black bodies. When you look through photographic archives that concern the continent of Africa, or indeed Eurocentric archives that have a focus on the southern hemisphere, they are full of devastation – detailed images of broken black, brown, yellow bodies. I argued in an exhibition that I did in 2012 – titled Human Rights Human Wrongs – that this image of the broken black body is really prevalent in many Northern photographic archives; that the focus on the black subject in the past has been disproportionately caught up within the disasters of conflict. And that’s still very much the frame in which we reference the South today. And we don’t see the European body treated, photographically, in the same way – especially post World War II.
"Some stories in the curation shine a light on events about which little is known in the West"
Amplifying seldom-told stories
Some stories in the curation shine a light on events about which little is known in the West. Stories like the 1975 Green March in Morocco: a demonstration of some 350,000 Moroccans demanding that Spain hand over the disputed province of Spanish Sahara, or the treatment of Mau Mau resistance fighters in Kenya by the British authorities in the 1950s.
“It’s only recently that there was recognition by the British of the traumas that they put the Mau Mau resistance fighters through,” says Sealy. “When we think about World War II, concentration camps… These images invite us into a conversation on the nature of fascism and the application of international human rights agreements. Through images like these from the Mau Mau resistance movement we can ask what lessons – if any – have been learned from the experiences of the Nazi concentration camps and racial hatred… In terms of the history of Human Rights it’s quite clear that there’s a kind of duplicity involved concerning colonized people’s rights, especially those who continued post WWII to fight for the freedom and equality that was promised.”
"Through images like these from the Mau Mau resistance movement we can ask what lessons - if any - have been learned from the experiences of the Nazi concentration camps and racial hatred"
- Mark Sealey
A New Perspective on World Events
The curation draws attention also to unseen perspectives on well-known events. One such is the Algerian War of Independence, which ran from 1954 to 62, and saw Algeria eventually gain independence from its colonial ruler, France. Sealy’s curation includes a photo essay by Kryn Taconis, a photographer working for Magnum at the time, who had photographed a unit of Algerian freedom fighters.
When word got out that a photographer was documenting the everyday activities of such fighters – in theory giving them a more human face – the Magnum office in Paris became very concerned. There were fears that these images might be seen by the authorities as positive propaganda in favor of the Algerian Independence movement, and also that their publication might result in acts of violence against Magnum photographers, and indeed Magnum’s Paris office. Cartier-Bresson is reported as saying, in Russell Miller’s book, Magnum: Fifty Years at the Front Line of History, “It was not possible [to publish these images] because in those days one would have had a plastique [bomb] through the door…”.
As a result the essay was never syndicated. This collection of images, like many others, has been missing from the wider narrative for decades. By bringing it back into focus, Sealy hopes to add new knowledge to how this conflict is seen.
“[This work] reminds me of all those absences from narratives that surround the World Wars, and all those voices that get suppressed and silenced. Obviously of late there has been some adjustment work produced to argue for wider, more inclusive world history, but in general, if we go look back through time, the idea that African soldiers for example were fighting for the liberation of Europe and the rest of the world is not in the DNA of people’s consciousness. Being able to pull images like those of African soldiers out of the Magnum archives, simply reminds us that these men where there, and the evidence of their endeavor becomes visible.”
"Being able to pull images like those of African soldiers out of the Magnum archives, simply reminds us that these men where there, and the evidence of their endeavor becomes visible."
- Mark Sealy
The Power of Banal Images
What is interesting about Taconis’ Algerian work, argues Sealy, is that the images are what he describes as “a quiet story”. There is no combat, or captured French soldiers being tortured, but simply images of Algerian fighters going about the more banal aspects of their day, being comrades in arms. “In my view, there’s nothing really radical there when I look at the whole edit. There is nothing really offensive that could charge the photographs with being overtly propagandist in any form. It’s like, here is a small regiment of soldiers, sitting there going about their business, and that’s just what they look like: a bunch of men, human subjects, doing their everyday tasks.” The idea that they should not be seen opens the door to discussion on the inherent nature of colonial thought: The power – and perceived threat – of these images is in their ability to humanize their subjects.
The same can be said, explains Sealy, of photographs he found in the archive of Congolese politician Patrice Lumumba: “Lumumba was described in the West as a kind of wide-eyed devil, and I think the image of him standing there in the street with his child, just as this kind man with a family, is a fantastic moment in helping us understand him. It relocates him beyond the space of politics and into the realm of the family and home”
"It’s really important that we measure and care for those simple moments, which, if they're not reflected back on, if they're not there, we lose sight of them."
- Mark Sealy
“No one would really have been that interested in a photo of Lumumba in the street with this child. It’s not that interesting as a photograph, but it is interesting now that we know he was killed and assassinated and was fleeing with his family, so it’s again what was seemingly irrelevant at the time can have a huge charge if we allow images to escape from the archive and into the contemporary public realm. It’s really important that we measure and care for those simple moments, which, if they’re not reflected back on, if they’re not there, we lose sight of them.”
These moments, though pivotal to the reworking of the archive, are hard to come by. There are very few like this, and Sealy is quick to point out that this is not to say these moments were seldom, but they point to a bigger societal picture, indicating what photographers, and by extension the publications commissioning them were trying to produce and project onto the world.
A Document of Struggle
A curatorial project based on the idea of ‘Africa’ seen through the Magnum archives would not be complete without acknowledging South Africa’s apartheid years. Black South African photographer Ernest Cole’s astounding body of work “House of Bondage” provides a first-hand testament to the daily brutality experienced by Black South Africans under the regime.
1948 saw the Universal Declaration of Human rights adopted by the UN, however it was also that very year that the Apartheid regime was brought into power. “I think by bringing that work to the fore, it enables us to have a conversation around a post WWII story – the world had been devastated by, you could argue, racism, and the impact of Fascist ideology. Towards the end of 1945 you had the idea that the world should move into a more engaged, humanitarian period – no more disastrous wars, and the passing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Universal being the key word should have embraced all mankind. But somehow, in the case of South Africa, the UN allows this regime to emerge… So, the idea that the world stands behind these violent moments, lets these events occur, is quite important now to rethink how these political acts concerning race affect our present.”
"The idea that the world stands behind these violent moments, lets these events occur, is quite important now to rethink how these political changes affect our present."
- Mark Sealy
“Photographs for me offer the opportunity to examine our different temporalities in time and space. And we all live in different moments. A Black South African subject in time of apartheid is living in a totally different time and space from a White South African subject. They are in parallel but different temporalities.”
That Cole’s work recently came back under Magnum’s representation is also significant for Sealy: “For me it’s all about care for work, who advocates work, who manages work that’s very old fashioned viewpoint but I still support the underlying principle of curatorial work being locked into ideas of caring and its great that Cole’s work has been cared for in the past and will be cared for in the future.”
The First Pan-African Cultural Festival
Sealy’s curation focuses also upon moments of affirmation, including a comprehensive selection of images made during the first Pan-African Cultural Festival, a moment where Black Africans and those of the African diaspora came together in Algiers, in 1969, and asserted their cultural worth. Sealy likens this to contemporary international arts and culture events like the Venice Biennale. “Why did they need to do this?” asks Sealy, “Because historically they have been repressed, historically have been held back, historically they have been told that they are a-cultural, they have been told that they don’t have a history, and these moments are big celebrations, and they essentially provide people with a sense of human worth.”
“I like the idea of thinking about this material through inviting us to think about different cosmologies, different ways of looking up to African cultures, as bright stars in the cultural galaxy. Thinking about Africa for those in the diaspora as a place to look up to helps us begin to re-dream, re-imagine, repossess a sense of being. This is done through an identification with the deeply cultured spaces and histories that make up Africa and if you can’t imagine what freedom looks like, then it will never be.”
Sealy is keen to show how the African countries were in dialogue, working together as a collection of Pan-African states, “a place where the economies and their cultures could be discussed and where alliance could be made.”
"I like the idea of thinking about this material through inviting us to think about different cosmologies, different ways of looking up to African cultures"
- Mark Sealey
African Soft Power
In addition to the politics represented in the curation, Sealy includes important moments of what he calls African “soft power”, whether exerted by musicians like James Brown and Nina Simone, or by the famous Rumble in the Jungle – the boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, which took place under dictator Mobutu Sese Seko’s rule in Zaire in 1974, and was watched by an estimated billion viewers worldwide.
“Muhammad Ali, at the time the most important sportsman in the world, is fighting George Foreman, who is probably seen as a boxing version of Mobutu himself in the ring, crushing everyone in front of him,” explains Sealy, who argues that Ali’s victory represented something significant in terms of ideas of freedom and liberation. Ali, who rejected the draft to fight in Vietnam becomes representative of a wider, post-colonial or anti-imperialist narrative.
Tourism in Africa
Sealy chooses Martin Parr’s work documenting white tourists in Africa to explore “the European idea of tourism and the tragedy of those kinds of entanglements and the power relationships that are at play.” Parr, who has photographed tourists all over the world as part of his practice, captures these holidaymakers engaging with African culture at surface-level, while the inclusion of cameras around the necks of some are a tacit reminder of how vernacular holiday snaps also add to the propagation of a certain kind of understanding of African culture in the West.
Power and Consequences
The curation in this project aims to look beyond single, stand-out images and explore new narratives. “What I am not trying to do is find ‘decisive moments’ in these works, I am trying to find works that open up stories,” explains Sealy. But, what the curation really points to is what resonates outside of the frame. Though Sealy is able to draw out a different perspective on Africa than has traditionally been propagated, what his work on this project has highlighted is how few of these potentially alternative views were photographed, and what that says of the power structures that have directed the display and commissioning of photographic images.
“It’s interesting that if this is a snapshot of the world’s photographic archives in terms of trying to find a positive image of the continent, then there’s not that much there,” says Sealy, “Because what drove most people to the continent was its turbulence, rather than trying to find stories that are really celebratory. What this speaks of is the way photographers where conditioned to work and what they were commissioned to produce by publishers, what was designated as being of public interest at the time.”
More than the aesthetic value of an image, Sealy asks deeper questions around the effect the images have on culture; “I always ask a key question: what’s the work actually doing,” he says, stressing the seriousness of these real-life consequences. “[Photographers] produce ideology,” he explains, referencing the late African-American photojournalist Gordon Parks’ key text My Camera is a Weapon. “Images can kill and destroy lives, or they can celebrate them,” says Sealy.
Call-out for New Perspectives
Magnum Photos and Mark Sealy want this curation of images to serve as inspiration for contemporary photographers to respond to, and are asking photographers to submit their own work.
Four grants will be allocated to early-career South African photographers to respond to Mark Sealy’s curation of the Magnum Photos archive by making new photographic work in response to themes in the selection. Two of these grants will be available on application via an open submission process, and two of these grants have been awarded through Magnum’s ongoing relationship with the Of Soul and Joy project; a workshop and talent development program in Johannesburg, South Africa.
For full details on the grants available, and to apply, go here.


“Although his June 2 remarks at the Washington International Business Council focused primarily on India’s regional leadership, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Richard E. Hoagland had a number of things to say about Central Asia that are worth examining. While he certainly read from the Department of State’s standard book of lines in reference to the region, Hoagland notably omitted any reference to the Eurasian Economic Union, and had some kind works for China.
While Hoagland commented that “Central Asia is not a monolithic region – it’s a diverse group of states with diverse sets of national interests” his remarks nonetheless focused on the region as a whole. He said that the United States is “very focused on a regional strategy of greater connectivity, among the Central Asian states themselves, but also with their neighbors in South Asia, Europe, and East Asia.”
Noticeably absent from Hoagland’s remarks is any mention of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), which includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and most recently Kyrgyzstan. Certainly the Washington International Business Council–which is an “information and advisory service for American-based corporations”–would benefit from hearing how the EEU will impact American business interests across the region.
The closest Hoagland comes is noting the link between the economies of Central Asia and Russia: “They’re dealing with the impacts of Russia’s economic downturn right now, especially when it comes to falling remittances.” He still says that there’s “some real momentum” in the region–though recent World Bank economic outlooks for Kazakhstan and Tajikistan seem to disagree.
While the region’s relationship with Russia is cast only in a negative light, China’s increased interest in and engagement with Central Asia is viewed favorably by Washington. Hoagland said in his latest speech that Washington thinks “some of China’s efforts in Central Asia can be quite complementary to our own.” While China’s assertiveness in the South China Sea is viewed with a skeptical eye, its energy and economics push into Central Asia is seen in a rosier light.”(The Diplomat)


Phone future without openings and keys? – Techno Star
• 29. January 2019 at 6:43 pm
The names Vivo and Meizu do not mean much in Slovenia, but for the first time it has been a real pioneer in smartphones for some time. Last year, as the first built-in fingerprint reader on the phone, now with the Apex 2019, this recognition extends to almost all the display surfaces. But the phone is even more interesting due to the fact that there are almost no connections, openings and keys. Well, this is not the first time for which day it was taken over by Meizu Zero. Is it an attempt by the Chinese climbers to get the attention or the future, in which everyone else will imitate them and we won't have voting rights?
Meizu Zero. Photo: Meizu
Meizu Zero. Photo: Meizu
It seems to us that we all have an electronic device with a battery of some kind aperture into which the charging cable is plugged. But for some time, manufacturers have suggested that they have their USB and stay left in the road. They all strive for devices that will all be wireless. It can be said that the headphone output emission (3.5 mm) has started. This process has not yet been completed, some manufacturers still retain it, others in some models, but it is (Apple, Google, …) that completely abandoned it. For the "old-fashioned", they adapt or sell the adapter, and even more people are trying to get used to sending Bluetooth audio.
Vivo Apex 2019 has a magnetic connector instead of USB-C or other similar inputs at the back, "Cable for charging or transferring data. And when it comes to the prevailing such solution, it's likely that the wired options for connecting headphones or speakers will no longer be. The only thing is whether there is a docking station on the desk, where the phone sits. It may well be that even such a connection will not be as it was with the Meizu Zero phone, but the phone will only be charged wirelessly. Inductively, the data will be airborne. Lastly, charging Qi can now take place at 15 W, which is faster than this standard wired charging speed. Even Huawei's Mate 20 Pro, which supports both wireless charging speeds, despite high battery capacity, fills it with exemplary speed. Apple phones don't have any problems at all, although they only support half of the charging capacity (7.5 W), as the capacity of their batteries is actually lower than most of the inferior phones.
Also, the speaker hole may slowly disappear. We have seen more efforts in this direction lately. Xiaomi, at the first Mi Mix for the top speaker, the one to speak, completely missed and the sound created by vibrating the device, screen. Something similar to the A1 TVs is done by Sony. The result is not the best, but this technology does not have to be written off. With the mentioned Mate 20 Pro audio comes from the USB-C jack and now Vivo Apex 2019 and Meizu Zero, rumors that call other incoming phones, and mimic Xiaomi's solution by vibrating the screen for the keypad as well. So there are just a few microflips for microphones. Vivo Apex 2019. Photo: Vivo "style =" width: 391px; height: 361px; "/>
Vivo Apex 2019. Photo: Vivo
Vivo Apex 2019. Photo: Vivo
More importantly, the situation with the front camera is the extension of the screen to (almost) extreme boundaries of the casing encourages to think of different approaches that otherwise make the ergonomics of the tap on the screen keyboard can ignore, but the content is king, the larger the diagonals of the screen, the better the thinkers of the phones, the first and most obvious bypass in the pursuit of the ideal "screen to the edge" We know it from Essential Phon and iPhon X, and it broke down last year, in various forms and forms, but the principle was the same everywhere, this year it can replace the cut in the screen, in many phones, as it has the first 20, and as it is, one or even double Galaxy S Have 10 phones. They came back at least for a short while, also with diaphragms, but I don't expect it to be a trend again. Vivo and his associated Oppo (along with Oneplus are part of Chinese concern BBK Electronics) also experimented last year with the (motorized) spin mechanism that the camera was hidden during normal use and just looked at the aircraft when needed. And another idea was recently introduced to Viv. The Nex Dual Screen phone, which also has a rear screen, so the front camera is not needed at all. Apex 2019 left the narcissistic photo gallery. I don't mind, so I use it so rarely that I can easily spend it without someone else for a blind real catastrophe.
Eerskyk 20. Photo: Honor
Oppo Find X. Photo: Oppo
Vivo Nex Dual Screen. Photo: Vivo
The fact that we can no longer add a memory card to many of the devices has already been accepted (with compressed teeth). Increasing the basic storage capacity of 128 GB and more, basically far beyond the needs of most clients (my primary one has 64 GB, of which more than half is at the time of writing), is the argument about the additional card A little bit historical. Certainly (Mars) will get sick, so even the classic "sims" can no longer be used in the phone. As they say "Chinese" and what Apple wanted to do for a long time, it's a future based on e-SIM technology. The digital card chip means more control over the user.
And the last thing Vivo and Meizu also send to the history of history is the keys. There is no side to side or anywhere on the two phones mentioned. Not to turn it on, not for volume, even less for any unnecessary and useless virtual assistant.
Chinese companies recently recognized originality and boldness. Both are at much higher rates than the leading manufacturers of telephones, which are logical and in all industries. Those on top are always careful. It is preferable that zirconia be done so that they do not jump into something that cannot be verified too quickly. As long as it's not too late, and a jump jumps even faster (Nokia). What impact it will have, I hope not to predict. I won't be too quick to judge what such a mobile phone does without openings and most of the well-known elements. It can be a complete problem for use, it can be liberation, such as headphones without cables, or tap on the touch screen, which has for many years resisted. Even in cars it turned out that it was not the best thing to do everything on the screen, but what kind of button is still welcome and convenient. The same goes for many washing machines and another device. It is almost inevitable that we will stop connecting phones to cables once in the future, but not immediately.


Olivia Wilde was giving a presentation on stage in April when she was handed a tell-tale envelope by a mysterious attendee; she’d been served. Her custody battle with ex Jason Sudeikis was officially on.
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Once upon a time, Sudeikis and Wilde were a true Hollywood It couple. Wilde, the beautiful actress and Sudeikis, the charming comedian. A breakout star on Saturday Night Live, Sudeikis was already familiar face when he began dating Wilde in 2011. Since then, both their stars have risen.
Wilde is now an acclaimed director — and the girlfriend of pop sensation Harry Styles. And as that unlikely pairing makes for juicy tabloid fodder, her highly public breakup with Sudeikis has gotten increasingly messy.
Olivia Wilde married her first husband Italian filmmaker and aristocrat Tao Ruspoli in 2003. It was when she was just 19 years old. They divorced in 2011… right around the time she met met Jason Sudeikis at an SNL wrap party in 2011.
At that point, Sudeikis had been on the show for six years and was already major TV star. Wilde was just beginning to break through. After finding fame on House, she starred in five major films during 2011.
Two years later, the celebrity couple got engaged. And though they never tied the knot officially, they soon had two children together: a son, Otis, and a daughter, Daisy. The pair was born in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Since then, Sudeikis and Wilde have maintained a seemingly happy public presence; so it came as a shock to fans when they announced their split in 2020.
The timing was also particularly striking, as both actors were enjoying a sudden career upswing.
Recently, both Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis branched out from their usual performance fare — to massive success. A shade more serious than his standard comedy, Sudeikis now stars on Ted Lasso, the smash-hit, feel-good Apple TV+ show. Playing the titular soccer coach, Sudeikis won an Emmy for the role in 2021 and was nominated again in 2022.
Wilde, too, was making waves a first-time director. Booksmart, her directorial debut, premiered in 2019 and was hailed by critics who said it signaled a new era for female-driven, coming-of-age stories. After Booksmart, Wilde was chosen to direct the highly anticipated Don’t Worry Darling: a high-budget, star-studded thriller.
And that’s where the trouble really began.
A Public Serving
Along with basically the rest of the world, Olivia Wilde fell for Harry Styles last year. He stars as the male lead in Don’t Worry Darling, opposite Florence Pugh, a role that signifies his maturing image. Ten years Wilde’s junior, Styles first burst into the public eye as part of the boy band One Direction. Though he’s always churned out dependable pop hits, Styles is now heralded as a bona fide king of genre — as well as a style icon and, maybe, just maybe, a movie star.
That all depends on Don’t Worry Darling.
A peak era for both Styles and Wilde, their romance — and the upcoming film — is fascinating to a broad crossover of followers. So when Wilde was served custody papers while promoting the movie, the world took notice.
At a CinemaCon presentation in April, Olivia Wilde was delivering a presentation about Don’t Worry Darling when an audience member approached the stage, handing her a confidential envelope. Though Wilde seemed to maintain her composure and finish the talk, the reality was undeniable: she’d been served, by Jason Sudeikis, regarding the custody of her two children.
Since the ‘serving’ …
Since then, Wilde has been increasingly vocal about the event, condemning the tactics of Jason Sudeikis’ legal team. Back in April, an official statement from the Sudeikis camp stated that he personally had “no prior knowledge” of the plans to serve Wilde so publicly. But that hasn’t stopped Wilde from pushing her side of the story. After all, it was a polarizing move.
“He could have served me discreetly, but instead he chose to serve me in the most aggressive manner possible,” Wilde said in early August, according to the Daily Mail. “The fact that Jason would embarrass me professionally and put our personal conflict on public display in this manner is extremely contrary to our children’s best interests.”
In a new Variety profile, Wilde goes further to characterize her ex, apparently doubting whether he was truly ignorant about the CinemaCon ambush. “The hurdles that you had to jump through to get into that room with several badges, plus special COVID tests that had to be taken days in advance, which gave you wristbands that were necessary to gain access to the event — this was something that required forethought,” Wilde said.
Wilde also added that her kids were the real victims. “The victims were an 8- and 5-year-old, and that’s really sad. I chose to become an actress; I willingly walked into the spotlight. But it’s not something my children have asked for,” she said. “And when my kids are dragged into it, it’s deeply painful.”
Her statements have brought further attention on the whole incident… just as Don’t Worry Darling is about to hit theaters. But there’s even more controversy behind-the-scenes.
In the same Variety profile, Olivia Wilde uses her position to slam actor Shia LaBeouf. The actor was first slated to star in Don’t Worry Darling. “He has a process that, in some ways, seems to require a combative energy,” Wilde said, going on to say that, “With a movie like this, I knew that I was going to be asking Florence [Pugh] to be in very vulnerable situations, and my priority was making her feel safe and making her feel supported.”
Shia LeBeouf Situation
Around the time that filming was taking place, LaBeouf was sued by his ex FKA Twigs over claims of domestic abuse. Presumably, this is what Wilde is referring to when, in Variety, she says: “A lot came to light after this happened that really troubled me, in terms of [LaBeouf’s] behavior.”
And that’s a nice sentiment… if it were true. LeBouf insists that he was not fired from Don’t Worry Darling; he quit. And he has some pretty damning evidence to prove it.
The (admittedly volatile) actor shared videos online which show Wilde begging for him to return to the production. In the selfie recording, she even seems to throw Pugh under the bus in favor of retaining LeBeouf. Saying, “You know, I think this might be a bit of a wake-up call for Miss Flo… If she really commits, if she really puts her mind and heart into it at this point and if you guys can make peace… Is there hope?”
The desperate bid read as two-faced to most viewers, especially as Wilde continues on her outspoken press tour. The language, particularly “Miss Flo,” also alludes to some bad blood between Wilde and Pugh. Though Wilde has lauded Pugh’s latest performance, the actress has notably refrained from publicizing the venture on her active social media channels.
Don’t Worry Darling premieres officially on September 23… and is already earning lukewarm reviews. But even if the movie bombs, it’s worth its weight in pop culture sh*t-show spectacle.


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Millbury 3, Uxbridge 1
Thursday, September 6, 2012, at Millbury
Ben Letiecq scored 10 minutes in on a free kick from 25 yards out, giving the host Woolies an early 2-0 lead en route to a win in the season opener for both teams. Junior Jared Larose put Millbury ahead in the first minute and then assisted on a goal by Alfred Koroma midway through the second half. The Spartans drew it back to 2-1 at halftime after Brian MacDougall buried a feed from John Lamenuzzi roughly 30 minutes into the game.
Updated: Monday, June 3, 2013, 5:33 a.m.


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The election of President Mohammadu Buhari alias PMB in 2015 is what Nigerians have come to call the “mistake of 2015”. It was a blunder of unimaginable proportion that has put the nation in a state of topsy-turvy. The coming of the APC regime has unearthed a lot of things about the Nigerian people. One thing that has always been there about the Nigerian people but which was laid bare in this dispensation is the political behaviors of the various Nigerian people especially those that are said to be the major ethnic groups. The Fulani has been portrayed as people who cannot share power or co-habit with others and whose allegiance is not to the country but to the lost empire of their forefathers. Ndigbo may appear lethargic and naïve politically but are clearly ahead of others in terms of their electoral decisions.
The Yoruba of the South West have been exposed as people that play politics of grandstanding and exclusion, who pay lip-service to national unity. When (PMB) made his infamous 95:5 percent dichotomy statement many people castigated him but I pointed out to people around that it was not just PMB revanchist idea, it was the party’s crude policy of power sharing. The All Progressives Congress (APC) has the Yoruba dominated Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) as the main legacy group that formed the party and before the 2015 election all political offices in the party had been zoned out with the exclusion of the South East region because according to them, the party has no stronghold in the South-East. This was the reenactment of what the Yoruba dominated Social Democratic Party (SDP) did in 1992 when the Adekunle Ajasin led zoning committee zoned every party office to other regions with the exclusion of the South-East on the lame excuse that the party has no roots in the region, given that of the four governors in the region, only one Chukwuemeka Ezeife of Anambra State belonged to the party while the rest were members of National Republican Convention (NRC). And when Arthur Nzeribe protested against it, M. K. O. Abiola the party’s presidential candidate told him that he can do without the Igbo. And the rest is history.
In the build up to the 2019 General election Raji Fashola the former Lagos State governor and a serving minister in the current regime was quoted to have asked the people in his region to vote for the continuity of the present government so that by the year 2023 power will shift to their region. His appeal was not predicated on performance of the present regime, the party ideology or programs but on primordial consideration. And this time Bola Ahmed Tinubu reechoed the same sentiment when he averred recently that it is Yoruba turn to be produce the president of the country. In other words, there was an understanding or a pact between the Fulani and the Yoruba to share power to the exclusion of other ethnic nationalities.
In 1999, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu of All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) won the ticket for the presidential election but make the sacrifice by relinquishing his position when his party formed an alliance with the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in other to produce Yoruba-Yoruba ticket. Ndigbo voted overwhelmingly for PDP against APGA for the emergence of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ) even when his kinsfolk rejected him. And even when OBJ served his term and left, the party zoned the position of the Speaker House of Representatives to the South-West; first, to Patricia Etteh and then Dimeji Bankole when the former was impeached, despite the fact that the party has no roots in the South-West region.
But a look at APC will show a sharp contrast. APC has proved to be a sectional party of pretenders and unconscionable politicians that treats other parts of the country with disdain. The President and the president of Senate are from the same region and the same religion. The Vice-President and the Speaker House of Representatives are from the same South-West with the exclusion of the South-East. And now the South-West is leading the clamor for power shift to the South with the intention of grabbing it as well.
If the Yoruba South-West want power to rotate between North and South, they must also allow it to rotate between the political blocs in the South as well otherwise they should keep quiet and allow the democratic process to play out. It is hypocritical to talk about power rotation when you are not willing to practice it. The South has three political blocs—South-East, South-South and South-West—recognized by the constitution. Some states in the South notably, Anambra, Enugu, Delta, Abia among others have successfully and seamlessly demonstrated the rotation of the office of the governor among the three senatorial districts.
In the current democratic dispensation, the Yoruba have taken its own turn through OBJ and have also produced the Vice-PresidentP and House of Reps speakers. The South-South has produced Goodluck Jonathan as president. The office of the President should go to the South-East for equity, fairness and justice. Ndigbo has amply qualified people for the office of the presidency both within and outside the APC fold. Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu the first governor of Abia State, Dr. Chris Ngige, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi just to mention but a few are tested and competent. Outside the APC fold, you have capable individuals like Peter Obi, Okonjo-Iweala, Chukwuma Soludo…Do I hear you say: you fight for power? Yes, that is what you always hear when it comes to issues of South-East. They will put forward some superannuated political theories to justify their Mephistophelian policies against Ndigbo. You will hear theories of punitive retribution, and balance of power and all that just to retain the status quo.
Read also: OPINION: The disruptive Peter Obi
The play out in the current dispensation shows that the South-West has disdain for the Igbo. That is why every government that tends to identify with everybody including Ndigbo is branded a bad government by the Yoruba dominated press. It has been pointed out by informed commentators that the Yoruba drove out Jonathan for no other reason but to spite the Igbo. Since the commencement of the current electioneering campaign, Tinubu has toured the country including a visit to UK but has not visited South-East and instead invited South-East delegates to a meeting in Abuja. What impudence!
If the Yoruba has no intention of rotating power among the constituent units that make up the Southern Nigeria then, they have no justification, legal or moral to demand rotation of power from the North. It is like the Yoruba man conception of Southern Nigeria is the region between Lagos and Illorin and Abeokuta and Ondo. This narrow conception and disdain for other regions has worked against the unity of the South and the entire nation at large. It is difficult to reach a consensus and goal congruence. It breeds bitterness and mutual suspicion and recrimination. Democracy in a plural and multi-cultural entity like Nigeria should involve openness, robust engagement and inclusion for national unity and peaceful co-existence.
Clearly, the winner-takes-all mentality of the Yoruba man is a serious impediment to cooperation among the people of Southern Nigeria. The unity of Southern Nigeria will mean the unity of the entire country. We cannot lose sight of the obvious implication of the political behavior of the Yoruba nation. First, it portrays them as the late S. G. Ikokwu observed as a people that cannot rise beyond ethnic and regional politics. It appears all that matters to them is: the enthronement of ‘my people’ irrespective of performance or qualification. Secondly, it shows a people with do-or-die or power-at-all-costs mentality; a people with inordinate desire for power, who cannot do without the perks of office. Again, it may portray a people that have little consideration for others and who may substitute mediocrity for meritocracy for primordial sentiments. Furthermore, their political behavior shows people that have poor notion about politics and governance. This is exemplified in their celebrations of the failure that the APC government is. Osinbajo said that he wants to consolidate the good works of the regime that is a colossal failure in all ramifications. Moreover, it indicates that the people cannot learn from the past mistakes and political miscalculations. In all of these, we see politics without clear-cut ideology and philosophy other than ethnic irredentism and political grandstanding, hypocrisy and deceit.
AUTHOR: Gozie Irogboli
Articles published in our Graffiti section are strictly the opinion of the writers and do not represent the views of Ripples Nigeria or its editorial stand.
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FLEMINGTON — In an election defined in part by promoting economic growth and avoiding controversy in the sheriff's office, Hunterdon County voters elected GOP newcomers to two county freeholder seats and re-elected a Republican incumbent as the county's top cop.
A few months after defeating a Republican freeholder and his running mate in the GOP primary, newcomers John Lanza and Suzanne Lagay cruised to victory over Democrats Andrea Bonette and Robert Darmstadt for two three-year terms on the freeholders board.
County Sheriff Frederick Brown won a second three-year term over Democratic challenger Paul Carluccio. County Surrogate Susan Hoffman, who ran unopposed, also won re-election to a five-year term.
When they join the all-Republican freeholders board in January, Lanza and Lagay will fill the seats vacated by Republicans George Melick and Will Mennen. Melick opted to not seek re-election after more than 30 years on the board, and Mennen lost in the primary in his bid for a third term.
Calling themselves “conservative reformers,” Lanza and Lagay had campaigned on a message partly based on implementing long-term strategic planning, developing shared service opportunities and helping to revitalize local downtowns.
The election results mark the second consecutive loss for Bonette and Darmstadt, who lost the 2012 race for two freeholder seats to Republicans Matthew Holt and John King. Bonette also failed in her 2011 bid for a freeholder seat to Republican Robert Walton.
Even before polls closed in the June primary election, Bonette said this year’s election would be an “uphill battle” in the heavily-Republican county.
“There are just a huge number of Republicans in Hunterdon County, and a lot of people just pretty much vote the party line,” Bonette said at the time.
Reached by phone tonight, Carluccio said it was "business as usual" in Hunterdon County, and criticized the Republican control over county offices.
But Carluccio said he was happy to have the "opportunity to participate and put ... myself out in public."
Carluccio had argued he was prepared to be sheriff based on his background as a retired special education teacher for the state’s Juvenile Justice Commission. If elected, Carluccio said he would encourage sheriff officers to receive training in dealing with people who suffer from drug and alcohol addiction.
Making his case for re-election, Brown had pointed to what had been absent during his first term: controversy. The sheriff had said he followed through on his promise to not embarrass Hunterdon County in the media, and said there were no lawsuits filed against his department during his tenure.
In an interview tonight, Brown said he was very thankful that people "put their faith in me and...will allow me to do this for three more years."
For the people who didn't vote for him, Brown said "I have to try to win them over for next time."


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Charges Filed in Toppenish Murder
The couple accused of murdering a 23-year-old man and stuffing his body into the trunk of his girlfriend's car in late June were charged with second degree murder Monday in Yakima County Superior Court.
Yakima County Sheriff Deputies say tribal police found the body of 23-year-old Alberto Gabriel-Martinez in the trunk of his girlfriend's car in Toppenish on June 23 but deputies say she isn't a suspect.
Deputies arrested 20-year-old Guillermina Sanchez-Cardenas of Sunnyside, and her boyfriend, 22-year-old Elliot White of Toppenish. They're both in jail on $1 million bonds, facing second degree murder charges.

domain: law


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- Industry: Advertising
- Career: Mid Career
- Job Location: Dubai
- Salary: AED 5001-7000
- Experience: 2 – 5 Years
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- Street: JLT
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- Listed: December 15, 2017 2:42 pm
- Expires: 24 days, 23 hours
We are urgently looking for 2 Junior Graphic Designer & 1 Senior Graphic Designer for full time basis.
All the designers applying for Job, please share your portfolio & resume @ email@example.com
For Senior Designer, 4 plus years experience is preferred.
Designers on visit visa can also apply.
Knowledge of Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop with good communication skills.


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The Atheism Tapes is a 2004 BBC television documentary series presented by Jonathan Miller. The material that makes up the series was originally filmed in 2003 for another, more general series, Atheism: A Rough History of Disbelief, but was too lengthy for inclusion. Instead, the BBC agreed to create The Atheism Tapes as a supplementary series of six programmes, each consisting of an extended interview with one contributor.
Other articles related to "the atheism tapes":
... Next, he talks about his Christian upbringing and how he became an atheist ... He goes on to ask why it is thought rude to criticise religious belief, and suggests that it is due to the influential status of the religions in question ...
Famous quotes containing the words tapes and/or atheism:
“Everything our children hear, see, and feel is recorded onto a cassette. Guess who is the big star in their movie? You are. What you say and, more important, what you do, is recorded there for them to replay over and over again. We all have videocassettes. Adults just have larger libraries of tapes available.”
—Stephanie Martson (20th century)
“Nothing shall warp me from the belief that every man is a lover of truth. There is no pure lie, no pure malignity in nature. The entertainment of the proposition of depravity is the last profligacy and profanation. There is no scepticism, no atheism but that. Could it be received into common belief, suicide would unpeople the planet.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (18031882)

domain: library


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It is a well-known fact that a good night’s sleep keeps you energized and fresh for the next day. And of course your bed plays a major role in how well you sleep at night. Your bedroom is like a safe haven and where you expect to have comfort and privacy. You want your bed to look beautiful and inviting, as well as comfortable and luxurious. You want to choose the best bedding possible for your bed that will pamper you and make you feel royal. If you agree so far, then Nicole Miller bedding collections are perfect for you.
Nicole Miller’s designs, when launched, were an instant hit. Her designs are well known for their bright prints and patterns. Overflowing with freshness, her creations offer a rare mixture of classical and modern designs. Nicole Miller offers luxury bedding collections that are comfortable and they convey a warm tone. They ooze elegance and bring class to your bedroom.
Choosing from the vast range of Nicole Miller bedding options totally depends on your personal style. The extensive collection has ensured there is something for everyone. Nicole Miller luxury sheets come in the finest quality linen. They are a complete package of bright prints and intriguing designs coupled with the best materials. Apart from linen, they also come in Egyptian cotton, Cashmere, satin and combed cotton. Silk embroidery is used to create beautiful patterns for these sheets.
Comforter sets are for people who are looking to upgrade their bedroom, fashionably. A comforter set generally contains a sheet, a fitted sheet, a dust ruffle and pillow shams. Choose from a variety of materials, and buy what feels best to your skin. Nicole Miller sheets have a high thread count therefore they feel extra soft and extra smooth. These sets are not only comfortable but they are also pretty and chic. Choose whatever suits your style best. Nicole Miller’s Moon Dance comforter sets are one of the most popular products that come under her designer label.
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If you like living like a king, and don’t mind spending generously for your comfort and style, then Nicole Miller bedding collections are highly recommended to you.


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Fotospeed Platinum Matt 280
Mario Gerth (40) is a German documentary photographer and photojournalist – one who is esteemed by his peers for having the freedom and drive to travel to more than 80 countries across 5 continents in pursuit of his passion.
He’s been a witness of civil war, poverty, dictatorship and violence – but more often he was a guest in a world that is characterized by graceful beauty.
"I much prefer to visit places and people whose cultural grandeur and fortitude have imbued them with unique (cultural and social) traits."
To portray the nature and people and their lives, Gerth travelled through Africa across hundreds of miles by foot, by boat and jeep, in all four directions, sometimes alone and other times in the company with friends in search of all that is about Africa and this world.
His photography is a homage to Africa and the culmination of his passion, depicting a graceful world where natural dignity and elegance is etched on the faces of Africa’s people, from the archaic pride in the eyes of old men and young children, to the god-like harmony in the sweeping valleys of sand dunes and the bitter existence on the edge of the world.
It’s a collection of intimate portraits and vivid photographs of a great continent that breathes a diversity and naturalness that is missing in the (western) uniform and ordered society.
His images are a tribute to Africa and the African people. They document, inform, they question. Gerth’s photography has been shown in international exhibitions and published in numerous magazines to much fanfare. Time Magazine aptly named him a "world changer".
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BIG Gospel Choir are perfect for Weddings in UK and Europe. We spread joy, happiness and add our musical sparkle to your special day. You can book us to sing at your Church or Civil Wedding Ceremony and/or Drinks Reception.
You can also book us for a Wedding Flashmob, this is where we pose as guests or makes a special surprise entrance. A very different and unique entertainment on your wedding day which will delight and warm the hearts of you and your guests.
Do get in contact for more information and to make a booking enquiry.
We can provide any/all of the following:
A choir of 4 - 12 singers to sing at your Wedding ceremony (Church, Civil or same-sex ceremonies), Drinks reception, Wedding reception, or after party.
Accompanist for hymns at Church wedding ceremony and play background music as required during the service.
Singers to lead in singing any congregational songs.
Music to entertain your guests as they arrive at the venue.
A Gospel choir to entertain your guests during the drinks reception.
A flashmob-style surprise entrance (think "Love Actually")
A wide choice of songs from our repertoire. We will help with lyrics (If required) and provide advice and support regarding music choices if required.
We also have an outstanding live Band who can be booked for your wedding perfect for evening reception.
You may have other specific requirements or a special song request that is not in our repertoire. Please do drop us a line.
Additionally, and for your peace of mind, we have Public Liability Insurance and if we use musicians in the line up, their equipment is Portable Appliance Tested (PAT).