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Archive for January 31st, 2010

Interview – Paul Caister

Sunday, 31 January, 2010

Paul Caister is the Director of The Poor School established in 1986 which offers short term acting classes to the enthusiastic and long term training to the talented… interview with Wendy Thomson

Wendy Thomson (Fringe Report) attended Poor School’s four day acting course of which Paul Caister is the director.  Paul Caister is a charismatic and plain-spoken individual.  His interesting manner is matched by his attire – linen jacket and trousers in the height of winter, this is a man blessed with thick skin and warm blood.

Fringe Report (FR, Wendy Thomson): Thank you Paul for sparing the time to talk to Fringe Report and I’d like to say in advance, thank you for your honesty and openness with your answers.  I know you’ll be direct, as you were on the course.

Paul Caister:  I get myself into trouble speaking with journalists.

FR:  I’m not really a journalist.

Paul Caister: I’ve heard that one before.

FR:  [laughs]. Do you mind me asking how old you are?

Paul Caister: I’m 54 and I enjoy being older, this is better than being 24.

FR:  Why?

Paul Caister: Because I’ve found something to do.  I’m younger at heart now.  At 24 I was a very serious, intense person.  I’ve chilled out a bit and done some of the experiences and absurd obsessions that I wanted to and got them out of my system.  I’m more relaxed now.  I have libertarian sympathies.  I think there’s too much officialdom and meddling in personal lives.  I’m not a Tory economically.  I admire people like George Orwell and George Bernard Shaw who were individually minded.    But I’ve also got more realistic.

FR: Can you tell me about your background and where you grew up?

Paul Caister:  I was born in North London.  My parents were first generation, middle class teachers.  My grandparents were working class, one was a miner in South Wales and another was a shopkeeper in Kent. My parents were post war communists, this  wasn’t particularly unusual. There was a global landslide in 1945 and Churchill was voted out because of a huge surge of sympathy with communism.  There weren’t any opinion polls then.  There was a lot of sympathy with Old Labour.

FR: How did this affect your upbringing?

Paul Caister:  I wasn’t christened.  I went to grammar school, about 20% of kids did then.  I didn’t do very well at school and I left at 16 without any qualifications.  I assumed I would be an actor.

FR:  What were your first jobs?

Paul Caister:  They weren’t interesting, whatever I could pick up, mainly office work.  I counted cars for Camden council.  I went to Bristol Old Vic for a two year training but left after four terms in 1975.  I knew I didn’t want to act, I wanted to direct.

FR:  What made you change your mind?

Paul Caister: I’d done some directing prior to going to Bristol.  On a good day I felt like I knew what I was doing [with directing].

FR:  We’ve gotten up to 1975, but The Poor School wasn’t founded until 1986.  What happened in these 11 years?

Paul Caister:  I found Fringe venues and put on plays in London.  I didn’t make any money then.

FR:  How did you survive?

Paul Caister:  I don’t know – I always ate and had a cigarette when I wanted one – I’m not sure how I managed financially.  My parents got divorced.  I opened a pub theatre called The Grove in Hammersmith but I overworked and had to give it up.  It was an interesting experience but it was too much.

I had a girlfriend from New Zealand so I went to New Zealand for a year, specifically the North Island – Wellington and Auckland – then onto Australia for four years.  I directed and acted and got TV jobs there.  I wrote a play which I also directed and I put that on.  But I became ill and anxious and developed a tranquiliser addiction.  There was a great deal of drugs and sex.  Not all with the original girlfriend.

FR:  [At this point FR interrupts to check that Paul is happy for these personal details to go into the interview and he says yes its fine.]

Paul Caister: The difference with Australian girls is that that would pull the blokes rather than the other way round.  They were more forward.  Or less reserved.  That was a revelation to me.

FR: So why did you come back to Blighty?

Paul Caister:  There was a sense that I was playing truant.  Also, to get off the drugs.    I did some directing and teaching.

FR:  You set up the Poor School – why?

Paul Caister:  Because I could and I could do it better than other people. I had three staff at the start and I’ve got better teachers now.  I’m very happy with the teachers.    Some teachers have been with the Poor School for longer than others.  Clare Davidson [teaches voice] has been with us for 9 months.  Trudi Rees [who teaches Jazz] graduated as a student in 97 and came back later to teach and direct.  Grantley Buck [teaches musical theatre] since 2003.  Christopher Dunham [directs] has taught at the Poor School for about 9 years.  Toby Spearpoint [stage fighting] was a student and has been teaching since 2007.  Marcelle Davies [movement] has been with us for over twenty years.

With other companies what the drama student gets at the end is a piece of paper.

[FR note: The Poor School does not offer an academic qualification].

Drama training is a practical training.  It includes those who aren’t academically as bright, as those who are.  The important factor is how committed and imaginative is that individual.  The aim of The Poor School is to do our best to train an actor and bring them as close to their potential in a short period of time.

FR:  The Poor School has been running for 25 years. How has it changed or developed in that time?

Paul Caister:  There’s not been a fundamental change in what the school tries to do.    I’m wiser and better at it, having been through various ordeals and crises.  I still make mistakes.  That’s the nature of doing things.  I’ve got less energy than when the school started.  Last Wednesday I taught 9 classes in a day but I got through on adrenaline. I’m delighted to have something to do.  The Poor School has a good reputation now.  We have a few hundred graduates.

FR:  You mentioned crises; does any particular one stand out?

Paul Caister:  No one particular crisis – every day is a battle.  If you do anything worth doing you’re going to make enemies.  It can be vulnerable in this business if you receive negative word of mouth or press.  In running anything: to make a decent omelette you break some eggs. Regarding the acting classes, you cannot get more out of it than what you put in.  Some people drop out, those people tend to have flabby temperaments.

FR:  How do you juggle running the school with the demands of personal life?

Paul Caister:  I don’t cook or do housework.  I’m old fashioned that way.  I let my woman do all the work.  When I have to do things I do them, like looking after kids.   I’m no good at multi-tasking.

FR: How many children do you have?

Paul Caister:  I have six children.  The eldest is 21 and they’re at Sheffield Uni, my 18 year old daughter is about to go to university.  I have 15 and 12 year old daughters who live with their mum in Brighton.  A boy and girl of 6 and 2 with Trudi.

I was 34 when I started a family.  I never had a plan.

FR: The classes on the 4 day course were a mixture of stage fighting, voice, movement, Shakespeare, musicals, jazz, rehearsal of pieces – are there any different classes in the full time course?  Is the full time course a higher standard?

Paul Caister: The four days are not a dumbed down version of the full course, it includes the same classes.  There is a different atmosphere on the two year course.  Students have made a commitment to go through the six terms.  There is a difference between playing football at the weekend and being signed to a premiership team.  The Poor School is taught in the evenings on the two year course.  This enables students to work during the day and act in the evenings.

FR: Who are your heroes?

Paul Caister: That’s a good question.  I saw Alec Guinness on stage twice, both were modern plays.  He’s the only actor I’ve ever seen that can speak quietly and intimately but also reach the back of the theatre.  He is astonishing on stage.

FR: What does Shakespeare mean to you?

Paul Caister: Shakespeare is a very good playwright.  It’s depressing when people make a dogma of him or do it badly.  There are people who don’t have an insight into him and some teachers don’t understand Shakespeare.  I think there is a diminishing importance of words particularly expressive words.  Brevity is popular.  Texting.  I love words. In the last 450 years our heritage has developed.  In all that time except the last 30 years words have developed.  Language sets you free and the use of it feeds the soul.  It’s very sad that so few people have love for it or use it.  It’s partly me being an old fart.  It was different in my day.

FR:  How do you choose which students should be offered a place on the full time course?

Paul Caister:  I’m looking for evidence of an imagination which manifests dramatically.  It’s tangible but hard to define.  It exists in impressions and attitudes.    When most people act they look ill at ease, they look like a fish out of water.  Some people look at home.

FR:  How can someone learn to act?

Paul Caister:  Can acting be learnt?  Anyone who works hard at anything will get better at it but you need a natural aptitude as well e.g. you could run 100 metres but not get a great time.  Is it worth someone committing themselves to acting if they have no natural ability?  No.

FR:  What if people enjoy acting but don’t have natural ability are you saying they should they give it up?  What about amateur dramatics?

Paul Caister:  Acting can be enjoyed as a hobby and there is the whole social side to amateur dramatics.

FR:   For students and auditionees who aren’t chosen for the two year Poor School training, what advice would you give to them?

Paul Caister:  Try.  Prove us wrong.  Plenty of people do careers they don’t want to.  Most people come round to it in their own way.  They’re a square peg in a round hole.  If someone is convinced they can act they’ll have the motivation and drive to prove people wrong.

(c)Wendy Thomson 2010

Going Postal

Sunday, 31 January, 2010

A Discworld Drama

Reading – Progress Theatre – 28 January to 6 February 10 – 19:45 (3.00)

Going Postal the play is a thinly veiled satire on the closure of post offices and corruption within the Royal Mail and government officials.

Director Christine Moran keeps the story moving in a character-heavy production which includes a vampire, a zombie, wizards, golems and a pirate, through many scenes and much set changing, which distracts from the action and makes it confusing.  Those unfamiliar with Discworld could get a bit lost.

Moist Von Lipvig played by Owen Goode is a likeable anti-hero who manages to save the post office and win the heart of alpha female Adora Dearheart.  Zsuzsi Kingsnorth is the fearless strong willed Adora Dearheart with chain smoking ease.  Unfortunately the couple lacks chemistry with more heat emanating from the tip of Adora’s cigarette.

Lord Vetinari played by Dan Clarke forces Lipvig to become the Post Master as a punishment for forgeries.  Dan Clarke is dressed as a B movie villain with dark slicked back hair, goatee and a long black coat with buttons to his feet.  A suitably Hammer Horror menacing performance but licence for more ham and extra cheese.

Costume design by Tom Bradbrook and Aidan Moran is impressive from Moist Von Lipvig’s gold jacket, trousers and winged hat to Alex McCubbin’s Mr Pump who’s attired in an orangey red clay outfit with bright green LED eyes which shines when the lights go down.  The golems – there is another one – Anghammarad played by Carole Brown are modern day slaves who attempt to purchase their freedom from Adora Dearheart.  The sarcasm, futility and acceptance of their situation with the faint hope of self emancipation is well delivered.  Reacher Gilt played by Rik Eke is in charge of rival postal company The Trunk and dressed as a pirate, with an eye patch, red silk coat, white shirt, and white parrot on arm.  He has an authentic gravelly pirate voice which must be wearing on his throat over the run.

Liz Carroll as Junior Postman Groat is believable in a male role with fake gray hair and matching goatee.  A sweet silly character obsessed with rules, regulations and red tape rather than getting post delivered, but quickly won over by Lipwig’s new methods after getting promotion.  James Mould presents Apprentice Postman Stanley as a reasonably mixed up kid, obsessed with pins then stamps.

Fun portrayals and outfits from Louise Banks who played Wilkinson, Young Mrs Parker, Deaconess of Offler and Dan Clarke as Old Mr Parker, Robed Man with Boots, Mr Spools, Maitre D’ and Ponder Stibbons.  The wizards look suitably wizard-like and there is a very enjoyable magic window with a wizard stood at a jaunty angle.

Lizzy Nash played Sacharissa Cripstock the reporter for the Ankh-Morpork Times.  An accurate portrayal of an accurate reporter, it felt like looking into a mirror (one of those flattering ones) – hair tied back, glasses.  Sensible black dress.  Little notepad and pen.  Pertinent questions.

Set design by Aidan Moran and Martin Noble is not as successful as the costumes.  There were multiple set changes, nearly one for every change of scene, fifteen in the second half, which felt unnecessary for the story and broke up the action.  The walls are painted in a shade of dirty yellow which look – perhaps deliberately ugly – and induce a mild vomiting sensation.  Coloured lights are shone onto the stage when Lord Vetinari is in his chamber, the bright blue, red and green squares of light were a strong contrast with the yellow walls and aesthetically displeasing.  It was cold in the theatre and there was a bad smell.  The seats were comfortable.

The stage adapation of Going Postal by Steven Briggs retained the witty dialogue which Terry Prachett is renowned for, such as when the letters and parcels want Moist Von Lipvig to save the Post Office, they ask him to ‘Deliver Us’.

But the story became confused with the retention of too many characters, there were thirty nine speaking parts plus additional non speaking roles for a two and a half hour play plus interval, with upwards of thirty scenes.  It felt over complicated for the plot.  However tempting it is to retain all the wonderful funny silly characters from the Discworld universe, this production could have benefitted from a dispassionate cropping.

Cast Credits:  (alpha order):  Louise Banks – Wilkinson / Young Mrs Parker / Deaconess of Offler.  Karen Bird – Stowley.  Carole Brown – Anghammarad / Miss Maccalariat.  Ali Carroll – Nutmeg / Coachman Harry.  Liz Carroll – Junior Postman Groat.  Dan Clarke – Old Mr Parker / Robed Man with Boots / Mr Spools / Maitre D’ / Ponder Stibbons.  Trevor Dale – Mr Slant / Mr Pony. Matthew Drury – Igor / Devious Collabone.  Rik Eke – Reacher Gilt.  Owen Goode – Moist von Lipwig.  Jesse Harte – Drumknott.  Philip Herbst – Young Mr Parker / Gryle / Sane Alex.  Christopher Hoult – Trooper / Pin Customer / Senior Postman Aggy / Archchancellor Ridcully.  Mandy King – Greenyham.  Zsuzsi Kingsnorth – Adora Belle Dearheart.  Alex McCubbin – Mr Pump.  James Mould – Apprentice Postman Stanley.  Lizzy Nash – Sacharissa Cripstock.  Peter O’Sullivan – Big Dave / Voice of the Poet / Coachman Bill.  Dan Powell – Lord Vetinari

Company Credits:  Writer – Terry Pratchett. Adapated by – Steven Briggs. Director – Christine Moran. Artistic Director – Aidan Moran.  Assistant Director – Matt Wellard.  Lighting Designer and Operator – Martin Noble. Sound Designer – Aidan Moran. Sound Operator – Martin Noble.  Stage Manager – Laura Mills. Assistant Stage Managers – Laura Gavin / Tony Powell / Emily Proctor / Emma Walsh. Set Design – Aidan Moran / Martin Noble.  Set Construction and Painting – Louise Banks / Ali Carroll / Liz Carroll / Dan Clarke / Rik Eke / Jamie Gilmour / Christopher Hoult / Pete Hughes / Mandy King / Alex McCubbin / Christine Moran / Aidan Moran / Heather Noble / Martin Noble / Peter O’Sullivan / Naomi Sykes / Helen Udale-Clarke / Michael Udale-Clarke.  Costume Designers – Tom Bradbrook / Aidan Moran.  Costume Team Leader – Zsuzsi Kingsnorth.  Costume Team – Liz Carroll / Sandra Gough / Jo James / Fiona McNeil / Emma Walsh / Helen Wright.  Make-Up Design – Emma Thomlinson.  Props Team Leader – Laura Mills.  Props Team – Laura Gavin / Glen Mills / Aidan Moran / Tony Powell / Emma Walsh.  Publicity – Dan Clarke / Fiona Dempsey / Christine Moran / Heather Noble / Abby Salter / Emma Walsh.  Poster Design – Aidan Moran.  Photographs – Mandy King.  Programme Editor – Graham Mitchell.  Box Office, Bar, FoH Rotas – Heather Noble.  Rehearsal Space Co-ordinator – Dorothy Grugeon.  Production Manager – Heather Noblehttp://www.progresstheatre.co.uk

(c) Wendy Thomson 2010

reviewed on Saturday 30th January 2010


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If there is no humility

Bishop Joanikije on yesterday’s gospel reading (H/T here):

“Life experience teaches us that when man is in danger, in trouble, or in some sin, he needn’t fall into despair over his misfortunes, nor to lose hope, since many who have been in danger have been saved, many who have sinned have corrected their entire lives and from being sinners they have become righteous and Saints. Life experience teaches us this, but also the Church of God. If we would compare those two men of whom we heard in the Holy Gospel, the one who called himself righteous and the publican who repented – if we were to compare them to a ship coming to port we would be able to find some similarities.

“We assume, brothers and sisters, that that man (the Pharisee), was truly righteous and that he fulfilled all of God’s commandments, that he didn’t commit any sins, and kept himself from secrets. By our human reasoning we would say that this was a righteous man. But the Lord through His word confirms that this is not sufficient and that that man is lacking something important from his righteousnes1000joanikije_budimljansko-niksickis. This righteousness and this righteous man – who truly made an effort to fulfill God’s commandments – lacked humility, and repentance and this is the most important, he lacked compassion, philanthropy, true, human compassion for his neighbor.

“But this other man, was surely a sinner, but he sincerely repented. We can compare him to the man who is in danger and has found his salvation through repentance. He sincerely repented, from his heart, he didn’t judge anyone but himself. His true repentance was received by the Lord, his short prayer: Lord, have mercy upon me a sinner, was received by the Lord as if he had done an entire Vigil and more. What brought to such closeness to God, dear brothers and sisters? Repentance. For repentance is hope, repentance is faith, repentance is nobleness, readiness for change. That is what brings us to the closeness of God, and this shows us that God loves both the sinners and the righteous. God rejoices in the righteous who make an effort, but the righteous need to attain humility. Only then will their righteousness shine like the sun. If there is no humility then the greatest virtues are darkened, they lose their value, they are converted to their opposite.”

One thought on “If there is no humility

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Fighting the Fire of Breast Cancer with SlickForceGirl

Fighting the Fire of Breast Cancer with SlickForceGirl

Nick Saglimbeni is back and still fighting the war on breast cancer with his photo series known as SlickForceGirl. With every SlickForceGirl shoot a proceeds of the profits goes to aid The Breast Cancer Charities of America. Check out this behind the scenes video of the shoot in which Nick photographs the beautiful Kaitlynn Carter in a blazing fireman's uniform saving some adorable puppies.

If you want to learn more about how this series helps contribute to the ongoing fight against cancer check out their website over at

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Tam Nguyen's picture

I'll buy whatever she's selling.

She's got Farrah Fawcett hair, with other stunning attributes!

I would so date her

yeah as if....

sweet girl. Btw, are those real?

Btw, is that the new Hasselblad H5D that he is using?

love her boobs

Jonathon Harrington's picture

Check out this book that also supports the fight against breast cancer.

Bit of class would be nice gentlemen.

cool axe

christian lacasse's picture

1m54... the Axe's handle is bigger than her biceps. Come save me from the blaze... NOT ;-)

This is insulting, even as a guy. Most of the comments seem to reinforce the sexist portrayal seen here. Also insulted as a photographer - totally unconvincing image, awful Photoshopping.

Rebecca Britt's picture

I'll agree with some of the comments, but not with the editing of the image. I happen to like it.

Adam T's picture

"I have to act out the scene"

1.2.3. Boom - Emotionless model face "Classic"

I'm glade to see charity but this type of business with it's some proceeds from some items going to a cause, is just odd to me.

If you remove the slight charity from them, all your left with is horrible composites, a website that looks like a local hip hop scene promoter vomited canned photoshop filters while conning models into a cheap royalty rate poster structure to sell to their target market of Pervs and 14 year olds that are way into pro-wrestling and need to even out the man posters on their walls with risque photos so their friends wont think they are playing for the other team.

I think this type of business is the skinamax of photography, a step above PRN but not good enough quality to be top class.

-Rant End

Antonio Carrasco's picture

Reinforcing gender stereotypes and pinkwashing at the same time... Good job Nick Sambligebegni!


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Colt Silvers – As We Walk (Himan’s Extended Rework Mix)

The Parisian producer Julien Lacroix aka Himan has released his latest rework “As We Walk” originally by Colt Silvers. Himan always adds his signature touch this time being a chilled out summer indie dance track to enjoy with friends on vacation with tropical weather. Grab a free copy and enjoy!

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Archive for January, 2013

All Due Respect

Posted in Uncategorized on January 8, 2013 by C. J. Edwards

All Due Respect Full Dark City Press is about to release our first publication, and I can’t be more excited about it. All Due Respect has made a name for itself as a hard hitting crime fiction publication. As the website says, these are not stories bemoaning crime or solving crime. They are about criminals doing bad things and boy does this e-zine get it right. ADR has blown me away every month with stories about people we all hope we never have to meet.

The anthology has pulled stories from the website as well as some original work that will be seen in this collection for the first time. The stories are dark, seedy, and populated by some pretty desperate and sick individuals. FDC Press is proud to publish this collection and share it with the world. The e-book will be available in the next couple of weeks, and a print edition will follow.

The cover was created for us by the very talented Eric Beetner, and below is the lineup of authors who splattered their guts onto the page to write these short stories for your enjoyment. It’s a pretty sick lineup, and we hope you’ll like it.

Joe Clifford, Tom Hoisington, Mike Toomey, Erin Cole, Stephen D. Rogers, Scotch Rutherford, Patricia Abbott, Nigel Bird, Andrez Bergen, Benedict J. Jones, Garnett Elliott, Alec Cizak, Christopher Grant, Gary Clifton, Jack Bates, Ryan Sayles, Tom Pitts, Pete Risley, CJ Edwards, Jim Wilsky, Chris Leek, Richard Godwin, Mark Joseph Kiewlak, Mike Monson, Tyler M. Mathis, Matthew C. Funk, Fiona Johnson, Ron T. Brown, David Cranmer


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Tag Archives: Доктрина холодной войны

NATO and Global Policy in Rambo Style

When is viewed from a world-wide perspective, America is such something as in the language of Hollywood producers is called an ”ham” or ”over-actor”. This means an actor, not very bright and talented, but possessing with very distinctive physical features who exaggerates all the techniques he knows, from gestures to his speech, trying to be noticeable or to mask obvious faults.

The typology of such a character could be found not only in action movies like Rambo, but also in the existential DNA of the big political and military strategy of the United States.

As Christofer Layne[1] wrote in his book ”The Peace of Illusion”, the US commitment to transforming the entire world is ill-founded and self-defeating. Layne argues that the history of powerful empires shows that in the end they all fall into the trap of overextension, unnecessary military entanglements, and excessive interventionism. That is exactly the kind of approach practiced by the US during the last 40 years, but especially noticeable in the last decade. Practically, it means the ”dissuasion” strategy that plans to surround other powers at their own homes with land- and sea-based nuclear missiles, submarines, and fighter jets.

But at the same time it’s the US that claim the breach of international treaties, because a foreign military division has been moved 5 km closer to the Sea of Japan. Surprisingly, the leaders in Washington seem not to understand that there is an approach that harms the US regarding its partners and public perception. One of the world’s leading economists, Professor Michael Hudson says that ”the US-led confrontational approach of NATO to Russia is driving European countries to consider disbanding or leaving the military alliance due to increased risks to security.” So, in whose interests is it to keep up this agressive rhetoric?

Prosperity of War Industry – a Constant of Great Powers

us-military-background-fullAt the end of the World War II, the US had a military presence in Europe of approximately 1,9 million of troops and more than two million vehicles ranging from tanks to dozers to Indian brand motorcycles. It’s not too difficult to see that at this ratio of forces and resources deployment, practically one third of them could not be used because there were really no one to control them. What does it mean? It means a huge business that has moved money from pockets of American tax payers into pockets of big manufacturers operating in that period. It means huge public contracts with the American state, and while they have been implemented, some food staples for the population were limited and could be bought only with ration cards (although, apparently, many still believe that ration cards were invented on the other side of the Iron Curtain).

Of all the countries involved, the United States has spent the biggest sum in wartime being surpassed only by Japan spending approximately 341 billion dollars, of which 50 billion went for resources. That’s to say nothing about loans granted to others countries. These 341 billion were at that time a huge figure for the American industry, which at the end of the conflict has fallen dramatically somewhere below 1%. So, the enemy had been defeated and it was necessary to invent a new one, equally fierce, otherwise the business had a risk to collapse and take the entire US economy along with it.

In the spring of 1948, President Truman and his administration held secret talks in Washington D.C., to discuss the impending enlargement of the Soviet power. That was the post-war context that made five members of the Western Europe (Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) to sign the Brussels Treaty, whereby they have decided to constitute a common system of defense. The decision seemed justified, the severe trauma left by the war persisted strongly in social mindset. And the rise of the Soviet power seemed unstoppable.

But Great Britain was at the low level of its economic strength, the rest of the countries were completely insignificant regarding their military force. Metaphorically speaking, it looked as if you were going to protect yourself against a dangerous animal attack by purchasing a rifle with pellets for starling. Evidently, something more than just the will was necessary. Thus the negotiations with the USA and Canada occured. At the same time other European countries, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, and surprisingly the ally of Nazi Germany, Italy were invited to participate in this process as well.

It was rather odd taking into account the fact that the majority of these states were on/under the ground from a military point of view and some of them, from the economic point of view also. France was a real loser since the times of Napoleon, Italy was ready to surrender at the first sign of troubles, and Iceland until this day does not have an army of its own. Great Britain had done some interesting moves in the North Africa, but that happened thanks to heroism of its soldiers; for its technical military equipment was disastrous (the Churchill and Matilda tanks, which did not sink together with the ships in the North Sea and were delivered to the USSR, were sent immediately to meltdown and recast into glorious Soviet T-34).

The US immediately felt the oppotunity and used the moment and opportunities for its own gain. That was an attitude fit to a power in the global rising. Washington accepted this new military alliance and took the role of its undisputed leader.

So, on April 4, 1949 in Washington the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – NATO[2] was established, an alliance with numerous principal discrepancies, disagreements that have brought much real harm since then until now. “To look big and to impress” seems to be quite logical basis when the leader, as I have already said, is an overplay.

According to the ”main goal of its creation”, NATO was meant to be a Meeting of NATO and Partner Chiefs of Defence - Opening of the 159th MC/CS Sessioncounter-force to the presence of the Soviet military forces in the Eastern Europe. The US had a real interest to quickly demonize the USSR thus getting the necessary and veridic enemy in the long term to support the alliance resilience. In the next few years Greece and Turkey have acceded and in 1955 Federal Germany itself joined this organization. On May 9, 1955 the decision of the governments of the United States and Western Europe to include West Germany into NATO generated a geo-political balance preserving move. The USSR decided to set up the Warsaw Pact in order to counterbalance the military force of NATO and the plan of the Western Europe military equipping worth over 6 billion dollars.

Warsaw Pact was designed to increase the international negotiating power of the Soviet Union. Another logic fact is that the Soviet Union has also used the Warsaw Pact as a way to develop new armies and train them under its military strategies. More to that, in the framework of the Warsaw Pact the USSR was the principal supplier of weapons and military equipment and technology for the member countries of the Warsaw Pact, except (for a period of time) for Romania. The great global powers have a similar constant: they have a military industrial complex which is one of the most effective businesses of the state.

The tensions between the two military blocks have led inevitably to the triggering of the Cold War and the expensive Arms Race. Both alliances were proposing ways to basically dominate the world and spread their beliefs of ideal governments. This is the context in which the US began to send a nuclear missiles all over the world. In 1947 the president Harry S. Truman authorized US aid (The Truman Doctrine) to anti-communist forces in Greece and Turkey. The policy was expanded to justify support for any nation that the US government considered to be threatened by Soviet expansionism. This policy, known as the George Kennan[3] doctrine, was aimed at holding back and restricting the spread of Communism worldwide. Containment quickly became the official US policy towards the USSR. The USSR began to be strangled from all sides. The constrictor rings of the Anaconda strategy started to tighten around the Soviet Union and the US nuclear missiles reached the neighborhood of Crimea and the Black Sea by means of placing outdated, but still dangerous PGM-19 Jupiter and PGM-17 Thor in Turkey sometime in 1960.

A move in return from the Soviet Block was predictable and justifiable. In response, the Caribbean (Cuban Missile) Crisis becomes a cold shower for the US. Americans, who until then had filled the planet with nuclear weapons knew Russia’s feeling very good and knew how it was when others come up with nuclear weapons near the borders that you thought were guarded by two huge oceans and thousands of kilometers of airspace. Both sides have learned from the Cuban Missile Crisis that risking nuclear war in pursuit of political goals is just too dangerous. It was the last time during the Cold War that either side would take this risk. After the Cuban Missile Crisis was over, the US and the USSR preferred to bring their competition onto local conflicts in other parts of the globe.

The Cold War has had a special feature: it reflected confrontation between the two blocks on the criterion of ideological purposes (Communism vs. Capitalism). Therefore, once the communist ideology was removed, a new similar confrontation in this part of the world seemed unlikely. But that was a miscalculation. Nowadays, the confrontation is more sharp, pragmatic and has a purpose of controlling the biggest part of resources of the planet. At the same time, the experts usually skip an important detail: the Cold War stopped due to the lack of a main combatant and not as a result of a bilateral agreement. Consequently, the claim of the United States and the Western block composed of allies/satellites to be the sole pole of power in the world and to establish a planetary way of life based exclusively on ideology and principles of their leadership has absolutely no grounds. The US strategy is to prevent neutrality. Europe’s economic interest is to achieve neutrality with Russia, and have economic unity so that there’s little chance of any confrontation with Russia. The result of such a rebellious is already visible and do not require detailed examples.

The Cold War Doctrine in Use Again

 By eliminating competition with the Warsaw Pact, NATO should not be competing for world domination especially when the money people pay is being used for missiles, bombs, and tanks rather than education, housing, and healthcare. But it still is! Although the United States and the Soviet Union signed the Strategic Arms Reduction Act (July 1991), the Cold War was never over. Between the new planetary hegemon of the US and Russia, the heir to all good and bad things of the Soviet Union, the competition trend is always presented. In spite of the political statements, the US wanted a confirmation of being a unique worldwide leader. Russia wanted to get its revenge and return to the table of the global decision makers. The truce lasted for two decades, only as far as it has been necessary for Russia to regain strength.

nato_russia_flagsExhausted by the Arm and Space Race through the 1980s, the USSR gave to the North-Atlantic Alliance and the Euro-Atlantic community some signals that it intended to end up the Cold War on a unilateral basis. In other words, NATO remained without the „Enemy” which (for almost half a century) had been defining the Western politics as active confrontation to communism values. Based on the danger of the Soviet power, NATO created a geo-strategic plan of neutralization of the Soviet threat and its allies. Maybe surprised by the Soviet Union weekness, the West has got the message from Moscow as an unconditional capitulation. This was another misunderstanding.

Through the unilateral termination of the Cold War, the USSR did not mean its disadvantageous capitulation, but rather a truce through which it would get the time necessary either for lasting negotiations or for in-state reforms. It was a question of time before the „confrontation” would be restarted. Another error was that the West had not understood that the commitment, or the “deal” did not mean that the countries which were detached from the conglomerate and the sphere of the USSR influence, had no right to establish new alliances with former opponents, therefore, to integrate into structures of the Euro-Atlantic community.

 NATO – Preferred ”Weapon” of Advancing American Interests

On the one hand, NATO has pledged many times that expansion to the East will enhance security of Europe as a whole and not produce new dividing lines. On the other hand, the expansion of NATO to the East was accompanied by the colored revolutions in Ukraine and Georgia, the Arab Spring in North Africa and the conflicts triggered and supported by the US in the Middle East, deployment of troops and weapons in Romania and Poland, launch of the missile shield elements in Romania.

On the top of all that some economic sanctions against Russia were imposed. main-qimgEven at a quick glance we can observe that a set of policies and restrictive practices of the same type of is used, a new incarnation of the containment doctrine. Besides, it is clear that America is trying to force Russia to spend more as a part of its economic warfare.

The United States and its allies from NATO are trying not only to prevent Russia from its possible expansion and retrieval of its former sphere of influence. The actions of the past few years suggest a real siege, which is composed of multiple constricting rings, intended either to kneel the Russian Federation, or to induce it to react aggressively. With the same aim, the „challenges” have a huge part of mingled defiance and arrogance. Otherwise, one cannot explain how it is possible that the largest military exercises of NATO nearby the Russian borders are called „Anaconda 2016”. Especially so that the Pentagon is well known to have talented specialists with the ‚poetical’ sense when it comes to giving names for the US military operations abroad. In the 1990s, critics warned that the NATO expansion would cultivate a new cold war. It seems that they were right.

 And regarding declarations which outraged the opponents of the republican candidate for the US presidency, Donald Trump, related to the Baltic countries and Article 5[4] of the Treaty of the North Atlantic Alliance, it appears to have been right in accordance with the principles of assistance specified by Article 6 of the same Treaty:

“With the invocation of Article 5, Allies can provide any form of assistance they deem necessary to respond to a situation. This is an individual obligation on each Ally and each Ally is responsible for determining what it deems necessary in the particular circumstances. This assistance is taken forward in concert with other Allies. It is not necessarily military and depends on the material resources of each country. It is therefore left to the judgment of each individual member country to determine how it will contribute.”

It means that the North Atlantic Treaty does not impose to the US or to another state that it must defend the military attacked ally; each state which is deemed to have been under the military attack by another state shall be free to take the measures that are considered necessary.

Basically, if the United States or any other NATO member refuses to take military intervention in favor of the Baltic states and confines to assistance and provision with helmets and anti-bullet vests (as it was done in the case of Ukraine which is not NATO member), it would not breach the provisions of this Treaty. In addition, the USA has infringed enough international treaties which it had signed and ratified: the UN Charter, the Geneva Conventions, the Convention against Torture – there were breaches of the most scandalous nature, so it’s better remember the proverb about glass houses and stones.

 Article 5 has been invoked by the US and accepted by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on September 11, 2001. The US is not (at least theoretically) an exception to the rule, as the right shall apply to all parties according to international laws.

flickrBut it happens only when the US interests coincide with the interests of other governments (permanent members of the UN Security Council). If the US as NATO chief declares firmly that it will render military defence to any ally, it is not because a treaty was signed in 1949, but because such a position can best serve the US foreign policy and interests at the moment. In fact, the current strategy of the West of ensuring safety by limiting the “enemy” is by far the most inefficient approach when aiming at long-term peace. It is an option when the final aim is a military conflict.

 *** Epilogue

What would happen if Russia decides to invade a member of NATO as a reply to aggressive extension of the North Atlantic alliance up to its borders? Estonia, for example, which expresses its concern in the most explicit ways? Estonia will invoke Article 5 of the Treaty of NATO and the alliance will follow the standard procedures. And what will happens if a member of NATO – Turkey, for example, will refuse to attend confrontation ? It seems nothing. It can happens that many countries – members NATO were dissapointed. Most probably because the purpose of the start – defensive alliance – has been seriously misused and has become an instrument of (re)pression in the hands of a global Rambo.”

Original file published by ”New Defence Order. Strategy” / «Новый Оборонный Заказ. Стратегии»

2016, №4 (41), History of Defence Industry and Military History, Military and Technical Cooperation

[1] Christopher Layne is Associate Professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. He is the author of „The Peace of Illusions: American Grand Strategy from 1940 to the Present” (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2006).

[2] www.nato.int

[3] The author of the „Doctrines of Containment” was an American diplomat George Kennan, who defined the theoretical basis of this policy in 1947 for use in America’s geopolitics.

[4] www.nato.int


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This Home Depot initiative on the app provided a fun surprise and delight for customers in the month of January. I designed about 10 stickers (including racially diverse options where applicable) that people could use for selfies or photos within the app using our existing “See it in your home” technology. I also designed the hero to explain to people about the feature.

I wanted the stickers to be cute and fun, but also include our branding. Whenever people shared the stickers, a link to download the app was included.


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September 17, 2009

“How I Learned to Accept ‘Under God’ in the Pledge of Allegiance and Stop Losing Elections”

Posted in Uncategorized at 12:51 pm by etv10

“Sometimes people who favor separation of church and state resist this kind of candor and say that some Constitutional violations are “merely symbolic” or not worth fighting about. But if a ban on government-sponsored religious language is required by the Constitution, these are not minor violations, but go to the heart of the wall of separation. These violations, if such they are, must be fought. And, if they cannot be fought because of the political fallout, then maybe the underlying Constitutional interpretation is wrong.”

This is from Bruce Ledewitz’ report of a panel discussion held at the Netroots Convention in Pittsburgh. Click here to read his whole report and further the debate below.

September 14, 2009

Telegraph reports Darwin movie too controversial for Americans

Posted in News at 1:02 pm by etv10

Uncle-CharlesA British film about Charles Darwin has failed to find a US distributor because his theory of evolution is too controversial for American audiences, according to its producer.

Science is too controversial for Americans. Well, I don’t know where you go from here. But I’d have to say: “This empire is doomed. DOOMED I say.”

September 12, 2009

To Endorse or Not To Endorse

Posted in Uncategorized at 3:43 pm by etv10

Ellen Johnson with Congressman John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee

Ellen Johnson with Congressman John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee

From the Executive Director:

       A few years ago I attended a fundraiser for Senator Patrick Leahy. was then called the GAMPAC and Peter Nuhn and I took our GAMPAC donation check to the Washington DC event.  I spoke briefly with the Senator, and we took a photo and then Peter and I left.

       A week later our donation check was returned to us.  That was a shock to me.  I didn’t think that would ever happen to us, but it did.  The senator didn’t want people knowing about our donation, and that an Atheist political action committee (pac) was supporting him.

       Are we really that poisonous to politicians? Are we really that powerful, even if in a negative way?

       What should we do if a politician asks us NOT to endorse him/her at our site? Can we be an effective political action committee if those politicians who we want to support, don’t want it?

       In 2002, we launched our pac with a press conference at the National Press Club in Washington DC, and a reporter asked me what we would do if a politician did not want our endorsement?  I told the reporter that if the politician didn’t want our endorsement then the politician would not get our votes or money.  If we cannot endorse a candidate then we cannot drive votes and money their way.

       It’s not that some politicians don’t want our support – it’s more that they don’t want the backlash from the religious.  The religious are a better-organized and better-funded political machine than we are and that is what most politicians respond to.  If we were better organized than the religious, then politicians would be actively pursuing our support.  If we put a lot of money behind the candidates who we support, and if we work to elect them, then we will become the voting bloc that candidates will listen to.

       So back to my original question.  To support or not to support – that is the question.  The answer is that we should support as long as we can make it beneficial to candidates and we can do that if you vote for the candidates we endorse and if you contribute to  Our endorsement should benefit candidates.  When you contribute to we donate to candidates’ campaigns and they know that enlightened Americans are organized to support them.

       It is also important to donate your time to work on the campaigns of these candidates.  This is what the religious do.  In fact, there isn’t anything the religious won’t do to get their candidates elected to office.

       Without your donations to and your work for the campaigns we support, some politicians may continue to be wary of our endorsement.

       Atheists and other secular Americans are going political and we are going to be successful.

       We are gearing up for the 2010 elections now.  With your support we will elect politicians who support the separation of state and church and the noble words of the Establishment Clause, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.”  Please donate to today.  Please tell your friends about EV and help by spreading the word. Let’s not regret another election year.

       What do you think?  Leave us a comment.

Thank you,
Ellen Johnson, Executive Director

August 13, 2009

The Liberty Counsel’s Declaration of Anti-American Values

Posted in News at 12:09 pm by etv10

The Liberty Counsel has produced a document called the Declaration of American Values that does not contain a single American value. First of all it declares allegiance to the security of human life, even inbred idiot bastards. They declare they will “extend the hand of loving compassion to care for those in poverty and distress.” This is belied by the last article that wants to do away with progressive taxation.

 After extending the hand of loving compassion in the first article, they then turn around in the second article and pull it right back again for anyone who doesn’t agree with their sexual orientation.

 The third gives white people the right to discriminate against minorities in education.

 The fourth article requires all of society to bow down to their God in schools, court houses, and legislatures.

 The fifth article is the anti-filth diatribe that wants morality laws passed to censure the people’s right to freedom of expression, i.e., book burning.

 Now comes the real religion of the Liberty Counsel. Private property is God to these people and the right to bear and use instruments of death to protect that property is their real religion.

 The next article expresses their distrust and hatred for the courts of our land because they uphold the rights of minorities from being trampled by these people, such as, stopping the government from forcing women to engage in compulsory pregnancy.

 The next article wants to “foster national unity” through the only government funding they will allow, i.e., a xenophobic war machine to kill foreigners.

 The anti-progressive tax article is last. I can fully understand why the millionaire’s club of fundy ministers wants to do away with progressive taxes, but why in the hell do their followers who will have to pay increased taxes?

May 7, 2009

Hawaii Institutionalizes Respect for Islam

Posted in Uncategorized at 4:52 pm by barrettbrown

The Hawaiian Senate on Wednesday passed a well-meaning but Constitutionally daft bill by which that state officially recognizes a particular religion – Islam, in this case – as holding certain positive philosophical and spiritual attributes, even going so far as to call on the citizenry to respect and emulate these particular attributes. This development should be of concern to all Americans of every creed or none.

HCR 100 proclaims September 24th to be “Islam Day,” citing this as the date when “the Prophet Mohammad” arrived on the outskirts of Madinah, “thereby marking the birth of Islam.” Not content with having thereby given itself the authority to proclaim particular historical figures to be religious prophets, the Hawaiian Senate went on to make further theological judgment calls by citing the “common teachings” Islam shares with Christianity and Judaism as further evidence of the religion’s overall grandeur. Thus it is that this bill violates both the letter and the spirit of the Constitution by implicitly stating that a particular religion is worthy of praise simply by virtue of its similarity to two other religions that happen to be popular among a great number of people. Hawaii’s newly-encoded preference for a set of particular religious creeds is further made plain a bit later in the bill’s text when it is asserted that “Islam, along with its monotheistic counterparts, holds that peace is a divine quality and necessary for collective human happiness.” The State of Hawaii has thereby gotten into the messy and blatantly unconstitutional business of characterizing the philosophical nature of particular religions – and by doing so, it has inevitably insulted all of the others by omission.

In defense of Hawaii, its senate is not the first such body in the U.S. to step on the toes of the Constitution in an effort to recognize Islam’s contributions to the world; as HCR 100 notes, the U.S. Congress passed a similar measure in 1979, which is to say there is precedent for such nonsense. And, of course, there is yet another national bid in the works to codify respect for religion in general and the Judeo-Christianity in particular by way of H. Res. 397, which would establish “American Spiritual Heritage Week” in service to historical revisionism of the sort that seeks to remake our secular government as a Christian institution. Hawaii is simply falling prey to a misguided trend that we have seen before in many other states and on the national level as well.

Of course, HRC 100 and H. Res. 397 are driven by very different motivations. The latter is yet another attempt by Christian legislators to elevate religion in general and Christianity in particular to a status that they simply do not merit within the context of American jurisprudence, which explicitly forbids the government to elevate anything of the sort to any level at all; the former is merely intended to assure American Muslims that they are included within the American family, which is to say that it is an attempt to elevate Islam to the same level as Christianity and Judaism in the eyes of the state. But this, too, is misguided; in matters of religion, the state should be blind.

If Hawaiians or anyone else feel the need to reassure Muslims at home or abroad that they are not automatically enemies of the United States, there is a better way to go about this, and one that has the added bonus of promoting knowledge of our national history and secular origins – they can pass a bill in commemoration of the Treaty of Tripoli, which was passed unanimously by Congress in 1797 and signed into law by President John Adams in the same year, and which plainly states not only that our nation “has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility of Mussulmen [Muslims],” but also that “the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion.”

Incidentally, the sponsors of the pro-Christian “American Spiritual Heritage Week” might want to read over the Treaty of Tripoli as well.

May 1, 2009

PEW Center’s New Survey: Majority of Evangelicals Support Torture

Posted in Uncategorized at 7:22 pm by etv10

The PEW Research Center survey asked: “Do you think the use of torture against suspected terrorists in order to gain important information can often be justified, sometimes be justified, rarely be justified, or never be justified?”

The answer for 62% of Evangelicals was sure. 55% of unaffiliated stated no way on the torture debate. Don’t you think it is interesting when people are asked whether it is justified or not to violate the law? Ask ex-Sheriff James Parker of San Jacinto County, TX. He and three deputies were sentenced to ten years for waterboarding a suspect.

1. Murder Conviction Overturned on Appeal (1922):
After being convicted of murder in the state of Mississippi and sentenced to death, defendant Gerrard White appealed his murder conviction based upon arguments that his original confession was coerced through the use of the “water cure.” White won his appeal.

Judge Holden wrote the following description of how the “water cure” was administered in the Supreme Court of Mississippi appeals court ruling: “[T]he hands of appellant were tied behind him, he was laid upon the floor upon his back, and while some of the men stood upon his feet…upon appellant’s breast and…upon his neck. While in that position what is described as the ‘water cure’ was administered to him in an effort to extort a confession…

Gerrard White had his murder conviction overturned because his confession was coerced through the use of the water cure. (White V. State)

The ‘water cure’ appears to have consisted of pouring water from a dipper into the nose of appellant, so as to strangle him, thus causing pain and horror, for the purpose of forcing a confession.”

– Apr. 7, 2008 e-mail to from Peter Miller, research assistant to Darius Rejali, author of Torture and Democracy.
– White v. State, 129 Miss. 182; 91 So. 903 (1922)

2. Murder Conviction Overturned on Appeal (1926):
In 1926, John Fisher, a man convicted of murder in Clarksdale Mississippi, had his murder conviction overturned on appeal due to the fact that his original confession had been coerced through the use of the “water cure.”

In the appellate court ruling, the Sheriff is referenced as testifying “that he was sent for one night to come and receive a confession of the appellant in the jail; that he went there for that purpose; that when he reached the jail he found a number of parties in the jail; that they had the appellant down upon the floor, tied, and were administering the water cure, a species of torture well known to the bench and bar of the country…Several persons were introduced by the appellant who testified as to the presence of the parties in the jail and the administering of the water cure to Fisher and others jointly charged with the offense with him.”

John Fisher had his murder conviction overturned because his confession was coerced through the use of the water cure. (Fisher v. State)

– Rejali, Darius. Torture and Democracy, Princeton University Press, 2007.
– Fisher v. State, 145 Miss. 116; 110 So. 361 (1926).

More recently, Texas Sheriff Convicted of Torture (1983):
In 1983, James Parker (Texas Sheriff for San Jacinto County) and three of his deputies were charged by the Department of Justice with committing torture because of their use of water torture on prisoners. The four were convicted of “water torture,” which was upheld on appeal. They were sentenced to 10 years each. The case name was United States v. Parker et al.

Sheriff Parker & three deputies were convicted of “water torture.” The conviction was upheld on appeal (United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Carl Lee, Defendant-Appellant).

In the indictment the officers were charged with subjecting prisoners to “a suffocating ‘water torture’ ordeal in order to coerce confessions. This generally included placement of a towel over the nose and mouth of the prisoner and the pouring of water in the towel until the prisoner began to move, jerk, or otherwise indicate that he was suffocating and/or drowning.”

– “Around The Nation; Texas Sheriff Is Guilty of Torturing Prisoners,” The New York Times, Mar. 20, 1983.
– Wallach, Evan. “Drop By Drop: Forgetting The History of Water Torture In U.S. Courts,” The Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, 2007.
– Wallach, Evan. “Waterboarding used to be a Crime,” Washington Post, Nov. 4, 2007.

And of course, all of these cases took place in South. So this only adds credence to the poll taken by the PEW Research Center.

April 27, 2009

Religious holding up HHS nomination during Swine flu epidemic

Posted in Uncategorized at 7:12 pm by etv10

Once again, religious organizations and their anti-science policies are working overtime to the extreme detriment of every citizen in the US. This time they are holding up the nomination of Gov. Sebelius to the post of Secretary of Health and Human Services and right at the time when Europe is telling its citizens not to travel to the Swine flu capital of the world, North America. The markets are falling because of the potential impact the pandemic flu could have on the world’s economic recovery.  Why? Because of the pro-woman political stance of the nominee who is in favor of a woman having control over her own body instead of religious wingnuts.

In addition, the anti-science religious bigots also succeeded in stopping funding for pandemic flu preparation in the recently passed stimulus funding. Just as they criticized volcano monitoring right before Anchorage’s volcano exploded, they also killed funding for the HHS to prepare for a pandemic flu right when a new pandemic strain of flu afflicts the North American continent.

Yea, it is real important for everyone reading this to go to our website and contribute to our efforts to ensure that the anti-science religious bigotted wingnuts are never elected in charge of our country ever again. They have to be stopped some how and this is the best way we can figure to elect secular and non-religious candidates to office.

Contribute today.

US loses out due to lack of science.

Posted in Uncategorized at 6:42 pm by etv10

The Sunday Times reports that British scientists have found a cure for the most common cause of blindness due to a new therapy found with the use of embryonic stem cells. The US with its Christian majority has lost out on making discoveries like this due to all the years of backward religious policy. How many other discoveries will be found in the future that we could have discovered earlier if only we lived in a nation that appreciated science and the advancements that come from it? How many people with die or suffer needlessly due to religious organizations control over the past several decades instead of rational leaders?

Does politics matter? Does your contribution to a political action committee dedicated to promoting secular rational leadership over the backward policies put in place like denial of embryonic stem cell research by the religious wrong? Only if your blind now. Who knows in the future.

March 24, 2009

New Testament Cigarettes

Posted in Uncategorized at 7:34 pm by gampac

Vodpod videos no longer available.

more about "New Testament Cigarettes", posted with vodpod

Another great concept “Religious Police” or as the Catholics call them, Jesuits

Posted in Uncategorized at 7:18 pm by gampac

Saudis awaiting change from religious police

The Associated Press
Monday, March 23, 2009

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Visitors to a women’s job training center heard terrified screams _ and rushed to see an agent of the religious police dragging a woman by her hair down the stairs of the building.

Read more.

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Posts Tagged ‘Kakashi

Naruto 430 – Predictions, Spoilers and everything under the sun!

————————————-Update on Spoiler 1: Confirmed —————————————–
Naruto 430
Naruto 430

Visual: Clothes like the 4th

Naruto goes back (looks shaded on a scroll, he has a cape thing like the 4th)

Naruto can’t recognize the place due to all the destruction

Iruka, Shikamaru (father son) Chouji (father son) Kiba (mother son) are alive

Kakashi…still not sure but he’s in 1 panel.

Hiashi was away from the town (or on patrol, not sure…)

Tsunade has used souzouzaisei and given all her chakra to Katsuya to help everyone (the mark on her forehead is gone)

Enma (told?) Animal Pain to summon all the others, Asura (bean) Pain who was all smashed up, was eaten by Enma, the he reappeared out of Enma’s mouth.

Gathering all the chakra in tendou was risky, Konan offers to treat him

Bean pain(Demon realm (the one that Kakashi destroyed, that with a lot of arms and faces)) goes after Tsunade but Naruto kills him instantly.

Naruto’s instant kill was when Bean pain said to Tsunade ‘I’m not interested in you’ while flying at her and firing (something?) from his hand, naruto says ‘It’s my you’re interested in, right!!’ punches Asura into peices. Like when Sakura smashed Sasori’s shell

Naruto then he tells ‘granny’ to go and drink some tea and relax

Tsunade doesn’t age. The mark on her forehead is gone. Anbu guys mumble (think) about the mark being gone and how all her chakra is going through Katsuya. Tsunade is not dying but very weak. If Naruto wasn’t there she would have been skewered

Naruto’s back is reminiscent of the Fourth Hokage and Jiraiya’s backs.

Final page is Naruto ‘Let’s FINISH this’

———————————— End of Update on Spoiler 1—————————————-

What do you think will happen next? Seriously I am tired of thinking what will happen next. We come up with all these cool predictions and suddenly Kishi just dropped a bombshell (literally!) on us. What can we say now? Although, I must say that I’ve been so-called disturbed by the image of this scroll:

Naruto Scroll

It could be that the toad’s summon comes in time to just save Konoha from total annihilation. Who knows….At the rate we’re going, I don’t even know what will happen next.

Do you?

Poll Results: Who will be the next to die in Naruto?

Seems like a lot of us want the Ramen guy to KO. Who’s going to serve Naruto his favorite food then?

Anyway, thanks for voting. Watch out for the next poll!

Naruto 428 Predictions

1. Kakashi will survive
2. Flashback on Pein’s history during Tsunade’s fight
3. Naruto learns to gather sage energy while moving
4. “The real one is not with them” <– does this mean all the Peins in Konoha are not the real one? Then we might see the “real” Pein in the next chapter
5. We see Hyuuga clan get some airtime

Naruto 427 now available!

Go get em’
Naruto 427
Onemanga – Naruto 427 online reader

Naruto 427 Spoiler

Naruto 427Naruto 427Naruto 427Naruto 427Naruto 427

pain vs konohamaru
‘if you wanted to become a hokage, youd have to beat me up. ‘
i promised him to fight with him someday
naruto is my rival so i wont take an escape route. if i did, i wouldnt see naruto

naruto’s training scene
he tried to get natural energy when he was running but he failed
anyways it seems like naruto got some ideas because of fukasakus words
(Basically, it would have Fukusaku saying something like “gathering nature energy while moving is like looking left while looking right.)

The katsuyu sent by Tsunade reach all of the wounded. This includes Kakashi, but he might be dead already. Tsunade senses Kakashi’s situation and punches a huge column in frustration.

Chouji arrives where Tsunade is. Tsunade tells him to take Chouza* to the hospital because he’s still alive. Chouji cries.

The other Pain arrives at the autopsy site and removes the black sticks from the dead body. At that point Kiba and his mom come in.

Aburame family arrive to the place where Konan is.

Team Guy finishes its mission and heads back to Konoha on a bad feeling.

Yahiko Pain arrives where Tsunade is.
It’s been quite a while, Tsunade sama. You’re the last remaining Sannin.

NEXT CHAPTER: The fate reunion

Naruto 426 Spoilers

Ok. Here they come.

——————— Start of Confirmed Spoiler ————————–
Version: 1

The chapter opens with an interrogation by Jigokudou Pain.
Two annonymous Konoha shinobis get extracted what look like their souls by a giant summon creature.

Konohamaru, who has been spying on the scene gets spotted by Pain
(and now in danger) but Ebisu sensei steps in to save him.

Scene switches to the Code Breakers.

Again, it switches to Naruto in training. He is having a tough time but
the scene ends with a frame in which he vows never to give up as the code
carried by Fukasaku is a message for him (from Jiraiya).

Ebisu is in trouble. (Pain orders him to tell him where Naruto is or else)
A quick flashback of him (Ebisu) and Naruto. Then he tells Pain that he will never
tell as Naruto is one of Konoha. Just as Pain delivers the final blow,
Konohamaru throws shurikens at Pain.
Looks like they (Konohamaru & Jigokudou Pain) will fight next week.

Version: 2
It starts with jigoku (hell) Pain interrogation. Two konohas ninjas are soul sucked into giant kuchiyose.
The Ebisu-sensei appears before Konohamaru.
Scene changes to decypher department.
Then changes to Naruto training. He’s trying hard not to fail, because of the code on fukasaku’s back.
Ebisu in a pinch. Pain asks him about Naruto. He’s flashbacking. And then says he’s never going to tell. Then Pain attacks but Konohamaru throws shurikens at him.
They are going to have a battle next week.

Ebisu-sensei isn’t dead.
Konoha’s shurikens and kunais are no good.
It ends with other party.[/quote]

Naruto 426Naruto 426
Naruto 426Naruto 426

———————- End of Confirmed Spoiler—————————————–

——————— Start of 1st Spoiler ——————————

Verification: Most likely fake

Where’s Naruto as Konoha narrows in on Pain’s Secret

(Scene Mount Myobokuzan)

“Are you kidding me? How come the Kyuubi is rejecting you,” asked
Naruto. “It has more to do with the chakra of the Kyuubi. When we fuse,
our chakra system combines together. Unlike you, my chakra can’t
suppress the Kyuubi’s chakra, thus my defenses are not as good as
yours,” said Fukasku.

(Fukasku sweats)

“So it is my chakra defense,” said Naruto. “Well you have been sharing
a chakra network with the beast for all your life. I assume since your
chakra was put under so much stress, your own ninja chakra adapted.

I’m not sure if any particular chakra network could co-exist for
too long as the Kyuubi’s chakra is channeling through you with an
exclusive link not present in my body. Only If there was a way that
could bypass strain the Kyuubi places on my network,” said Fukasku.

(Naruto remembers back to his fight with Gaara. He remembers communicating with Gamabunta during the combined transformation)

“Combining our bodies together… Combination Transformation jutsu. I mean it worked with Gamabunta,” said Naruto.

“Wait, maybe that could work. The technique allows us to merge our
bodies not our chakra networks, thus the Kyuubi’s chakra would not put
a strain on me and reject. From the inside I could draw chakra to your
body then you could take the energy, and apply it to yourself, while on
the outside, you take on the appearance as yourself. The enemy would
never know what hit him

(Naruto looks down as Fukasku jumps on his shoulder)

Um boy, that was a brilliant idea, you should be proud,” said Fukasku
“Yeah about that. I kind of forgot, how it was done,” said Naruto.
“Ehh, don’t worry, I’ll help with that. Worry about providing the
chakra for the jutsu. We’ll both concentrate on same image, you. I’ll
be able to communicate with you from the inside. Once the jutsu is in
affect, I’ll draw in the chakra, while you move. Then once you feel the
energy, immediately absorb it. You should go into Sage Mode instantly,”
smiled Fukasku.

“Combination Transformation,” yelled Naruto and Fukasku. (Naruto
appears from the smoke. He runs for a while) “I feel it,” said Naruto.
(He claps his hands to together, and his eyes change to reflect that
he’s in Sage Mode. The technique cancels and Naruto remains in Sage

“Heh, you’re training is just about complete. How about we go get some dinner,” said Fukasku. (Naruto covers his mouth)

Switch Scene: Tsunade’s location. (Ino’s father and Shizune arrive to Tsunade’s location)

“So, how’s everything going,” asked Tsunade. “We have all the
information we need,” said Ino’s father. “Good we’ll discuss it over
with Naruto when he gets back,” said Tsunade. “Naruto. What the hell’s
taking him so damn long. I know he likes to show up at the last moment,
but we can’t wait any longer for him. We’ll use plan B and take Pain
down by force,” said Shizune. “This is however strange. Could it be
that the message never reached Myobokuzan. Usually we would get an
immediate response from either Shima or Fukasku,” said Tsunade.
“Tsunade. Look who I found,” said Katsuyu (Kakashi falls out of the

(Everyone is shocked)

“There’s no time. Get Sakura to take over for me. I’ll get Naruto
myself,” said Tsuande. “But, you’ll never make it in time, and Sakura
does not have the chakra to deal with all these injuries, we can’t risk
losing you,” said Shizune. “Jiriaya left me with a scroll to the
mountain through a toad a long time ago, just in case I needed his help
during the time we were teammates in the war. I won’t be gone long,”
said Tsunade.

Next Chapter: Is Kakashi alive? Will Tsunade bring Naruto back in time

——————– End of 1st Spoiler ———————–

———————-Start of Spoiler 2——————————

Verification: Most likely fake as well

Flashback of Rin, Kakashi and Obito first introduction.
Kakashi is not interested in Obito’s clan which he brags about.
This attitude of Kakashi irritates Obito.
Then he flashbacking about his father.

Konohamaru was watching Danzou from the very begining to end.
He runs to tell what he saw.
Naruto’s training is at hiatus.
Then the scroll-frog Jiraiya sent appears.
Fukasaku says that no one knew what happened to her.
Konohamaru runs onto tendou (deva) Pain.
He asks – where is Naruto.
Konohamaru not going to tell.
Then Ebisu appears.
Konohamaru can’t die! The end

——————— End of Spoiler 2 ———————–

Naruto 426 Predictions

 Naruto vs Sasuke

425 came and gone and now we are left high and dry…….. AGAIN! When is Kishi going give us what we want for AT LEAST ONE chapter? I am longing for that one chapter when he reveals a load of stuff. As of now, it seems that we have more questions than answers.

Here are some questions first before we go over to predict what’s going to happen in Naruto 426.

1. What in the world was Konohamaru doing at the end of chapter 425? (I think this one is driving everybody nuts)
2. For the 3rd week now…Is Kakashi dead or alive?!?!?
3. What is next for Naruto? Will he or will he not learn the sage technique? How is he going to learn the sage technique? Will we ever see Naruto perform something using Sage techniques? Probably NOT!
4. What is Danzou’s plan?
5. So now…. is the cloaked guy with one Sharingan Madara or Tobi?
6. What is Pain’s secret?
7. Where is Raikage and friends and what are they up to?
8. Will Naruto learn to unlock the power of his 9-tails?
9. Sasuke! Sasuke! Where are you?????????

1. We still don’t know where Konohamaru is exactly at. My guess is that he actually stumbled into the REAL Pain and is scared shitless not knowing what to do.

2. Kakashi is………………………………alive. Compared to Jiraiya, Kishi is currently giving Kakashi a cliffhanging turn of events in Naruto. I’d be surprised if Kakashi were to die.

3. Naruto WILL NOT learn sage technique. Instead, Naruto will learn to unlock the power of the 9-tails because Fukusaku realized that without sage technique, he can’t beat Pain. So the only way to fight Pain is to take the risk of releasing the 9-tails seal and teach Naruto the way to handle the Kyuubi. I am still waiting to see a bunch of new jutsus from Naruto instead of the usual stuff (you know what I mean)

4. Danzou will gather a couple of the rogue Anbu’s to infiltrate Konoha from the inside. Sai on the other hand will go against Danzou and instead play a significant role in containing Danzou’s plans.

5. Cloaked guy with Sharingan is Uchiha Obito. He could be the one to rescue Kakashi as they are still bonded by their childhood link. Kakashi will battle Tobi due to a clash in idealogy. Tobi wants Kakashi to join him but Kakashi wont….the start of an epic battle.

6. Konohamaru has discovered Pain’s secret. The REAL Pain needs to be completely undisturbed when he’s using the six paths of pain. Konan is generally the one guarding him when he’s in his Pain Mode. There is NO WAY that Pain has no weaknesses.

7. Raikage will arrive at Konoha. Danzou will provide false information to Raikage about Konoha trying to capture Killerbee. In the end, There will be a huge fight between both countries.

8. Naruto will learn to unlock his 9-tails’ chakra. Not sure what capabilities he’ll get as of now.

9. *Here’s a crazy prediction* Once Naruto becomes ultra powerful, Kishi will turn him into a villain. Naruto becomes the ultimate enemy of Konoha while Sasuke and his team will instead save Konoha from Naruto and the Kyuubi’s destruction. After a massive battle with countless number of shinobis sacrificed, Sasuke manages to suppress the Kyuubi and Naruto while saving Konoha. After that, we shall see the beginning of a new era with an Uchiha finally becoming Hokage of Konoha.


text:
How Potatoes Grow

By National Gardening Association Editors

Potatoes are usually grown from other potatoes. You plant a whole, small potato, or a piece of a larger one for a new plant. The whole potato or cut piece has several slightly recessed, dormant buds or "eyes" on the surface. When conditions are right, these buds will sprout, whether the potatoes are in the ground or in a kitchen cupboard. The sprouts then develop into independent plants.

Starting From Seed

The cut potato piece or "seed" piece provides the new sprout or seedling with nourishment from its supply of stored starch.

After you've planted a seed piece, it usually takes one to two weeks for the main stem and first leaves to appear above ground. The root system develops quickly and begins to absorb nutrients as the food supply in the seed piece is used up.

Top Growth

The top, leafy part of the plant puts on a lot of growth in the first four to five weeks after planting. Then the main stem of the plant stops growing and produces a flower bud. When that happens, the plant will have as many leaves as it will ever have.

With proper sunshine, the leaves eventually produce more food than the plant needs, and the excess energy is channeled downward to be stored in the "tubers" -- thick, short, underground stems -- which we simply call potatoes. Irish potato tubers develop above the original seed piece, rather than below it like many other underground vegetables.

In general, the storage process starts five to seven weeks after planting, often when the plants have flowered. Some varieties will produce great potatoes with no flowering at all, but usually flowering is a sign that something is definitely happening underground.

Incidentally, potato flowers don't produce any nectar, so they're not visited much by bees or insects. The flowers are self-fertilized, and many potato plants produce small green seed balls about 1-inch in diameter, which contain up to 300 seeds. These seeds are mostly used by potato breeders.

When the tubers start forming, cooler temperatures are a plus. Years ago, research showed that fewer and fewer tubers were formed on the plants as the temperature went from 68° to 84°F. In fact, none formed at 84° F.

Best Weather

The best potato crops are produced when the daytime temperature is in the 60° to 65° F range, and when night temperatures are below 57° F. When the weather is hot, the top part of the plant respires heavily, reducing the amount of food material that can otherwise be put into storage in the tubers below ground. This helps to explain that while potatoes may be a summer crop up North, they're a late winter, spring or fall crop in the South.

In a big potato-producing state like Idaho, for example, cool summer days and nights keep energy losses to a minimum. Plenty of starch is stored in the tubers, helping to make the Idaho potatoes terrific, big, mealy bakers.

Best Spuds

As potatoes enlarge underground, the outside layer of the tuber gets tougher and tougher, keeping moisture within the potato and protecting it from outside attacks by organisms that can cause rot.

This toughening of the skin continues even as the plant tops die, the signal to the gardener that the harvest is at hand. Potatoes can remain underground for a little while after the tops die, so that the last energy in the tops can be transferred to the tubers. If the outer skins can't be rubbed off after the potatoes have been dug, they'll store well

Other articles in this series:
1. Getting Started With Potatoes
2. A Brief History of the Potato
3. How Potatoes Grow ← you're on this article right now
4. Irish Potato Varieties
5. Potato Rotations and pH
6. Soil Preparation for Potatoes
7. Sweet Potato Basics
8. Sweet Potato Varieties
9. Potato Essentials
10. Sweet Potato Essentials

This article is a part of our Vegetable Gardening Guide for Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes / Getting Started.

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text:
Birds and Blooms

The old cherry tree is in full bloom, and, as it turns out, is host to a pair of chickadees.  For weeks the two birds diligently drilled out the base of a limb that had been cut several years ago.  I could hear them working away as I passed below the main branch.  Since I hadn’t seen them for at least a week, I thought they had perhaps abandoned that attempt.  I know chickadees tend to do that because they work on multiple nesting sites at a time, opting for the best one in which to lay their eggs.  But it seems the old cherry is their home after all.  I’ve been watching them enter and leave the hole all morning. Alas, I’m not patient enough to camp out under their nest to get a picture.  So, you’ll just have to settle for a picture of the entrance.

Chickadee Nest Entrance

I have set up multiple bird feeders this spring, hoping to attract some of the birds that flock to my neighbor’s feeders.  In the past, I’ve simply spread bird seed out on the ground and would get a nice collection of sparrows, mourning doves, cardinals, and blue jays.  The hanging feeders are now attracting rose breasted grosbeaks.  And, white crowned sparrows, who, in the past, only passed through, have stayed for several weeks.  Perhaps they will be permanent guests.

This morning two male grosbeaks and a female came to the large feeder to feast on the black oil sunflower seeds.  A tufted titmouse seems to like the peanuts that I put out.  Goldfinches, of course, like the thistle and seed blend.

The grosbeaks, though, have been the stars today.  They are related to cardinals and have a large powerful beak that dispatches a sunflower seed very quickly.  Males sport the bright red patch.  Females look more like large sparrows and have no red on them at all.

The old cherry tree is letting its fragrant petals fall in a lovely shower of white.  Perhaps I should sit out there in the moonlight!

Old Cherry Tree
Male Rose Breasted Grosbeak

One thought on “Birds and Blooms

  1. I’m completely smitten with the idea of sitting in the moonlight under the cherry tree while soft petals float to the earth…I hope you do this and write about the experience.

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Posts Tagged ‘Master Data Services’

Master Data Services 2012

January 18, 2012

As I mentioned in a pervious post Master Data Services for SQL 2012 is a huge improvement over the SQL Server 2008 R2 version. The biggest difference is the ability for users to manage entities directly in Excel!

This is important because now Data Stewards can perform most of their Master Data Management activities in excel.

Master Data Services (MDS) is the SQL Server solution for master data management. Master data management (MDM) describes the efforts made by an organization to discover and define non-transactional lists of data, with the goal of compiling maintainable master lists. An MDM project generally includes an evaluation and restructuring of internal business processes along with the implementation of MDM technology. The result of a successful MDM solution is reliable, centralized data that can be analyzed, resulting in better business decisions.

With the right training, most business users should be able to implement a Master Data Services solution. In addition, you can use MDS to manage any domain; it’s not specific to managing lists of customers, products, or accounts. When MDS is first installed, it does not include the structure for any domains—you define the domains you need by creating models for them.

Other Master Data Services features include hierarchies, granular security, transactions, data versioning, and business rules.

Master Data Services includes the following components and tools:

  • Master Data Services Configuration Manager, a tool you use to create and configure Master Data Services databases and web applications.
  • Master Data Manager, a web application you use to perform administrative tasks (like creating a model or business rule), and that users access to update data.
  • MDSModelDeploy.exe, a tool you use to create packages of your model objects and data so you can deploy them to other environments.
  • Master Data Services web service, which developers can use to extend or develop custom solutions for Master Data Services.
  • Master Data Services Add-in for Excel, which you use to manage data and create new entities and attributes.

For a summary of MDS resources, see the SQL Server Master Data Services Portal.

**Note: You can upgrade to MDS 2012 without upgrading the SQL Server 2008 R2 instance.

To install MDS follow the MSDN product information

MDS Samples Installation

**To Deploy the Sample packages you will need to use MDSModelDeploy.exe

3. List the MDS web services to connect to if you are unsure of the service name. The default being MDS1 as shown by this command.

MDSModelDeploy.exe listservices

4. Deploy the package by pointing to the package file, and connecting to that service listed from step #3. Provide a model name for the model that you want to deploy.

MDSModelDeploy.exe deploynew -package “C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Master Data Services\Samples\Packages\customer_en.pkg” -model CustomerSample -service MDS1

MDSModelDeploy.exe deploynew -package “C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Master Data Services\Samples\Packages\chartofaccounts_en.pkg” -model ChartOfAccountsSample -service MDS1

MDSModelDeploy.exe deploynew -package “C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\110\Master Data Services\Samples\Packages\product_en.pkg” -model ProductsSample -service MDS1

Once the samples are installed then install the Excel plug-in and enjoy

Tech-Ed: Managing Master Data with MDS and Microsoft Excel

Master Data Management with SQL Master Data Services

September 22, 2011

Master Data Services (MDS) is a Master Data Management tool that was introduced with SQL Server 2008R2. I recently used MDS as part of DW solution. It allowed data stewards to manage various attributes that controlled financial calculations in a Parent/Child Hierarchy.

I recently took some of the lessons learned presented them to my local SQL Server User Group. The demonstration  (MDS Demo.zip) that I put together came mostly from ‘Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Master Data Services’ which was written by the Microsoft Master Data Services team (http://sqlblog.com/blogs/mds_team/default.aspx). It provides 1 hour long introduction to MDS  and some example scripts that  I put together. All the examples come from the book.

  • MDS is separate install to SQL Server 2008R2
  •  Don’t install MDS with the .msi that came with your R2 CD. Download the latest CU instead
  • Have a service account ready and pay careful attention to all the installation steps. I am not an IIS guru so it took me a few tries to get it right 😉

***’Denali’s improvements —

“After you set up and configure MDS, make sure you install the MDS Add-in for Excel. This will change the way you work with your data, and at the same time, it won’t change a thing. What I mean by that is this: If you have a slew of people at your company working in separate Excel sheets, now is your chance to start putting that stuff into MDS and getting your users to all work with the same data. The magic is that they can all keep working in Excel, and you won’t have to train anyone on any new tools. Well, they still have to click some new buttons, but really all they have to do is get data, edit data, and publish that data back to the database. That way, they can share data with all of their friends, spend less time trying to reconcile mismatched data, and have more time to head to the pub early” http://www.mdsuser.com/index.html

This is HUGE because, to be honest, the current MDS UI can get a little cumbersome when preforming some tasks. Additionally, most really innovative analysis in an organization occurs when a BA dumps report data into his own excel which has some custom attributes that are not present in any source system. He then manipulates the data and presents it to mangers. With Denali you can conform those attributes to the enterprise level by adding them to the Data Warehouse Dimensions through MDS and Excel.

You can tell when you doing Data Warehousing correctly when you realize that you need a MDM solution!


text:
Quadrophenia at Tamworth Assembly Rooms is previewed by Director Simon Quinn

Quad tam

With Quadrophenia only just over a month away now, playing at Tamworth Assembly Rooms on Friday 24th and Sat 25th May, I spoke to Director Simon Quinn about his preparations.

Q. What attracted you to Quadrophenia in the first place?

1. I remember as a kid listening to The Who playing the whole album on John Peel’s late night show in ’73, then some weeks later in Wolverhampton I bought the album for less than a quid from a ‘record’ store that was closing down, so they must have been in a position where everything had to go. It was always a visual thing with me, the gatefold sleeve, the thick book insert and the fact the imagery was in black and white, it was all very theatrical and threatening; as of course the themes of subculture, mental illness and drugs etc were/are.

Q. Quadrophenia was released as an album in 1973. Four decades later how well do you think it has worn?

2. I’ve always believed that rock music concepts circa 1960’s and 1970’s have that capacity to hold the retention of their original audiences as well as the ability to attract new ones. The quality of the music aside, the themes within resonate with groups and individuals and somehow creates a personal significance that allows the mind to create and reminisce. With Quadrophenia the visual and ideological narrative surrounding the mod subculture is obviously appealing for young people today because of the never ending contemporary issues surrounding the movement itself; yet equally it holds memories for the 2013 older generation that of course was the pro-active generation of the times that Quadrophenia represents.

Q. Is there any new material in the production? How rigid were the demands of the Rights Holders?

3. The script is original-as was the script with last year’s project, The Wall. We have a greater emphasis on drama and poetry this time around, so it really is a rock music concept in every sense. As with The Wall we have devised a script that looks at the life and accompanying pressures of a central character who in many ways represents each and everyone of us. The Wall has Pink and Quadrophenia has ‘Jimmy’ and his problems with drugs, parental discourse, anti-social behaviour, mental ill health etc are exposed throughout through a variety of theatrical conventions. We had a tougher examination this time around in terms of acquiring permission to perform Quadrophenia-we had to send a proposal of how we intend to deliver this project as well as the evidence of what we achieved from The Wall before we were granted the rights to deliver. Paul Curran and Eel Pie publishing then ran the proposal past Pete Townshend for final approval.

Q. What influence did the film version of 1979 have on this production?

4. It would be true to say that the film was a crucial factor in stimulating interest from those who auditioned for the project because that medium was more widely known than the album. But we made it known from the start that we were working from the studio album and offering original conceptions and perceptions rather than just a total reproduction of the film-that is a work in its own right.

Q. Who is performing the music and what challenges did recreating The Who’s sound create?

5. The Pinch are performing the music-arguably one of the finest mod/rock bands in the West Midlands. We are also exploring the use of a solo guitarist to underscore some of the acting when The Pinch are not playing. I think you would need to ask The Pinch themselves regarding the difficulty in creating the sound.

Q. The Who have a fan base dating back to the 1960’s, how have the younger members of the cast responded to the material?

6. It is not a question of whether the younger people like or dislike The Who-it is more important that they like the concept of the project-although once hearing the album I think their appreciation of the music and the ideas has grown-also we have encouraged old and young alike to contribute their ideas throughout the rehearsal process.

Q. Quadrophenia is one of the great concept albums, what were the challenges of producing it for theatre rather than rock arena?

7. As with The Wall, a project of this magnitude presents a mixture of problems. We have a bigger cast this year so proximity and spatial awareness is problematic, when and where the music should slot in with the projection and the music, authentic costume is problematic. Yet these are integral components in qualifying the production as a piece of rock music theatre, rather than a rock concert.

Q. What audience are you aiming for, is this a nostalgia show?

8. It is a show that explores issues of the counter culture, subculture, attitudes to mental health, intergenerational behaviour, anti-social behaviour, drug misuse in a contemporary manner as well as trying to pay respect to the era it was original written for and about; so nostalgia or elements of nostalgia will rear up in someone’s psyche.

Q. The album is the most substantial and enduring testament to the Mod era. Paul Weller and latterly Bradley Wiggins have all championed the Mod cause. What resonance does Mod have in the 21st century?

9. It is a movement that still holds strong in today’s society , not because of the negativity in terms of its associated violence in the 1960’s, but more because of its intrinsic artistic and creative value through music, drama and literacy. The movement –similarly to that of punk and the new romantics-are creative forces that still impact upon today’s cultural landscape.

Q. Many contemporary musicians have aspired to write a rock opera, few have succeeded. The album only has one hit single, “5:15”, what is the secret of the albums’ success?

10. The longevity of The Who is obviously a key factor, the mod movement, the music and lyrics are both generic and personal, the theatricality, the texture of the 1960’s coming through the sound that paradoxically is anthemic for any era.

Watch out for another interview with poet and writer Mal Dewhirst about his role in contributing original material to this production. For more information on The Pinch who are performing live for the show visit their website on:

For ticket information:

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6 Responses to Quadrophenia at Tamworth Assembly Rooms is previewed by Director Simon Quinn

  1. Eugene Egan says:

    Good luck to them. I recall, as a youngster growing up in Balsall Heath, going with friends to watch the films ‘Tommy’ and ‘Quadrophenia’ at the Kingsway Cinema in Kings Heath.

  2. Pingback: Quadrophenia at Tamworth Assembly Rooms is previewed by … | The Mod Generation

  3. Ina says:

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  4. Pingback: DOUBLE BOOKED IN A FORTY YEAR OLD LIBRARY. | pollysworda

  5. Pingback: Quadrophenia at Tamworth Assembly Rooms – The Pinch Interview | Garyswordz

  6. Pingback: May 2013- What’s On, Midlands Spoken Word | Garyswordz

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