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Saturday, October 31, 2015

October 31. Day 304. Stage fright

Can I let you in on a little secret? I used to suffer  from paralysing stage fright by which I mean the abject of either having to make - or worse pay for - all the costumes required by an aspiring musical theatre buff. I got lucky on two counts - we chose a theatre company that provides the costumes (I love you Fame) and half the time we already own what is required. The thing about my boy is that his theatrical steak doesn't disappear at the stage door.  That Willy Wonka costume all his apart from the hat. Doesn't he look gorgeous? Now I'm his mother so I would think he had talent to match but I must say he owned he part. He owned all the parts required of him in the Senior Musical. Now here's the thing. As I see it, the theatre training is not just about being able to hold an audience when you are in a dramatic performance. The real benefit is having the confidence to get up and "perform" when you are not in costume in whatever role life presents. Funnily enough the louder and more outrageous the costume the more I think you can "hide" beneath it if that's your want. But it's not my boy's want. He loves and audience and well he might. He has a natural charm which genetics can not possibly explain. And he has a love of the stage. Frankly with all those gorgeous girls and not that many straight males around, why wouldn't you? I would still suffer from stage fright if I bothered to add up what 13 years of theatre training had cost me but I know it's a wise investment (especially if he remembers his mum when he makes it big).

Friday, October 30, 2015

October 30. Day 303. A Starr is born

The universe has expanded by one Starr. Well, my universe at least. I am just a tinsy, tiny bit obsessed with the work of Brisbane artist Starr. My walls are adorned with Story Bridge in Aqua, The Chrysler Building and now Celestial Eiffel Tower. I just love the vibrancy and the colour, the energy and the sense of fun of the works. They are bright and bold and cheery. When I woke up this morning the shopping list included avocados, sparkling mineral water and bread. I don't recall it saying a new piece of original art but I'm sure that was just an oversight.
I mean is it my fault the art gallery around the corner from work is the Brisbane home of Starr?
Is it my fault they are holding a Pop Up Starr show this weekend?
Can I be blamed for just calling in because the artitst is in residence?
And when all those Starrs line up it would be quite discourteous not to come away with a small something wouldn't it? I wouldn't want to be considered rude (Starry-eyed, yes. Rude no). Anyway my Starr universe now has Brisbane, New York and Paris covered. Where in the world will I go next? It's written in the Starrs.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

October 29. Day 302. Duck off

Some days you just want to tell the world to go take a flying duck. This is one of those days. The get up and go got up and went. Now if it would only take the general feeling of  blah with it, I'd be most appreciative. But it doesn't work like that, does it? There was a mountain of things to do but with no energy to do any of them I decided to take the fur friend for a walk, a very long walk. We ended up at the University of Queensland lakes. Watching the birds is remarkably soothing. I enjoy photographing birds even if my technique is slightly unconventional. I would hazard a guess that I am the only wildlife photographer who works with a canine photographic assistant. There may be others, but their canines probably don't perch on their shoulders. Even on days like today when it all feels a bit bleak it's hard not to have a small smile at the look on people's faces when they realise that is, in fact, a dog sitting on your shoulder. And what's more a fur friend who wants to be right by your side is the friend you need on days like today.
So it was a dog of a day but the dog made it better. Now if the blues could just duck off ...

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

October 28. Day 301. Drip

See that big drip, the one that looks like it is just about to drop?
It's hanging on despite all the forces of nature trying to drag it down.
There's a beauty in that, a quiet determination despite the fact that it's all kind of pear shaped.
Yes, it's analogy time. Assessment fatigue is trying its hardest to make me lose my grip. But I'm hanging in there. And oddly the rain drops on flowers are part of the solution. Getting out and finding something else to focus on other than words on a page helps even though the time it takes can feel like a "waste". Raindrops on roses and all that. Yes, these are a few of m favourite things.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

October 27. Day 300. Music to my ears

Things to make me smile on a bleak Tuesday afternoon
1) Musicals
2) New musicals
3) The decision of our State's premier theatre company to stage a musical after a very long absence
4) The fact that musical stars a huge line up of extremely talented women
5) The fact I was in the same room as those women, up close and personal and they sang
6) The fact the musical has music and lyrics by Tim Finn
7) The fact that I was in the same room as the Split Enz and Crowded House legend.
There is so much to go all fan girl about over Ladies in Black which opens at QPAC next month. Just the sneak peak today was enough to have me swoon.

Monday, October 26, 2015

October 26. Day 299. The big picture

I'm clearly detail orientated and not a big picture type of person. Actually, I'm not sure that describes me at all - until you put a camera in my hand. At that point my focus (pun intended) is on the minute. I carry two lenses - a zoom and a wide angle. I'd say about 95 per cent of all the photos I take are with the zoom. If I could eat only one meal for the rest of my life it would be some pasta dish. If I could use only one lens forever it would be the zoom. This detail focus was brought home to me today at Roma Street Parklands. I took a brief walk through the gardens at lunch time today. Shortly after my arrival I noticed a woman with a similar camera also taking photos. At several places in the parklands we ended up at the same spot. I was watching her because I didn't want to accidentally walk into her shot or be seen to be copying her. Turns out there wasn't much danger of that. When she took a photo of a flower garden, I took a photo of a butterfly. She snapped the lilly pond. I focused on the dragonfly. She lined up the fountain pool and I zoomed in on the water as it spurted from one dome. Just once in the whole place did I pull back from the big close up. I rather liked the mist created by the fine sprinklers in the fern gully. I'd be really curious to look at her album from today. My bet is you wouldn't even know we were at the same place. I'm okay with that. The Parklands are a delight and her album, while very different from mine, is quite likely to be amazing. I know I would benefit from trying to get the big picture but I just don't have it in me. Either you are a big picture person or not.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

October 25. Day 298. Derby day

People riding down the street in a bath tub. A roller blader in a superhero outfir with fishnets. A bloke with a turban made of bubble wrap. Someone ski-ing down the bitumen. The truth is on just about any day in West End these things wouldn't seem out of place. But even for West End all of them at once is a little out of the ordinary. It must be Derby Day. Once a year Boundary Street is closed off and anyone on wheels or on foot is invited to ride down the road. Costumes are highly encouraged. The Kurilpa Derby kicks off the annual West End Festival and it's a parade of colourful insanity.  With so much on show - literally - it would be wrong not to take a look so Drama Teen and I joined the crowds lining the street to cheer on the parade. If I happen to find a bathtub on wheels some time between now and next year I might take part.

Saturday, October 24, 2015

October 24. Day 297. The end of the line

It would be wrong to suggest it was the end of the line but certainly one of those mornings where I was at the end of my rope (defined by some highly authoritative online source as "the limit of one's patience, when one is so frustrated or annoyed that one can no longer take it"). A weekend jam filled with the excitement of marking and a teen with a vast pile of Year 12 final assessment might be enough to do it. Throw in a husband heading off to Sri Lanka "for work" and the stakes rise. And then the deal breaker, the flat tyre on the way to the airport. Yee haa. The happy in this Happy Little Vegemite starts to be spread very, very thin. Given that all work and no play will give both Susan and Drama Teen dull brains, it was decided in the late afternoon to get out of the house and walk to Woolloongabba for a festival. Given that the festival is called The End of the Line Festival is seemed only fitting. OK, it's not exactly elephants in Colombo but it sure beats assessment in any form. Certainly it was just the fun and colour needed on a grey dull afternoon.

Friday, October 23, 2015

October 23. Day 296. Breathe ....

Walking is not such an unusual way to relax after a long and tiring week. In fact, I'm pretty sure health experts recommend it. Walking with a dog on your shoulder is, however, something uniquely mine. Indeed people look at the Susan and Rumple walk team with something between amusement and disbelief. One woman we walked by today was concerned the poor puppy was ill. I assured her he was fine, just fine. I probably should have added that the one she should have been concerned about was the crazy human with the living fur on her back. I consider it weight training. Besides if you are going to try wildlife photography while accompanied by a dog you are less likely to be perceived as a threat and more likely to get the shot when the canine assistant is securely perched out of the way. It works for us. And how many people get to walk and cuddle their beloved fur friend at the same time? It might not take off any time soon especially if your dog is a Great Dane but it works for us. Now all I have to remember to breathe ...

Thursday, October 22, 2015

October 22. Day 295. I bet you've seen a cockatoo

 Even before  comedian Austen Tayshus' 1983 Australiana routine shone a spotlight on it, you'd have to admit there is a certain schoolboy humour in the name cockatoo.
It does sound just a bit naughty, as I have to say does the cockatoo bird cry. When nature was giving out the bird sounds, the cockatoo really didn't get the pick of the bunch.
For such a beautiful looking bird, it's call really is singulalry unattractive. Honestly, it's like the person you've only ever heard on the phone or on radio and then you get a look and the voice in no way matches the appearance.
Still it was that raucous call that alerted me to the fact a small flock of cockatoos were sheltering in a tree above me as the last of the afternoon storms faded out.  And thus I saw a cockatoo. Actually I saw three of them ...

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

October 21. Day 294. Going to the dogs

Can someone please explain why the phrase "going to the dogs" is a negative thing? Dogs are smart and loyal. Dogs exhibit unconditional love. They provide eyes for those who can not see, companionship for the lonely, help find lost people and detect drugs and bring smiles to sick kids in hospital. With a wag of the tail, a dog can make everything feel so much better. All of which makes me think that if something is going to the dogs it just took a very distinct turn for the better. If you can ignore the bum sniffing, shoe chewing and occasional leg humping, humans could learn a lot from dogs.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

October 20. Day 293. The Odd Couple

Which couple, exactly, isn't odd when you think about it? Sure Felix and Oscar of the famous Neil Simon play are a particularly strange pairing but sometimes that what makes relationships (of both the romantic and platonic type) work. There is no explaining chemistry (you can tell I didn't do all that well at high school chemistry if I have reached that conclusion). Still sometimes people you think should get along don't and others who on the surface would seem like tight shoes on a blister manage not to rub each other the wrong way at all. It either works or it doesn't. It's that simple and that complicated. Stage relationships are pretty much the same. Actors are paid to act but the chemistry between some pairs in unmistakable. This is why I have high hopes for Queensland Theatre Company's version of the play. I've seen Jason Klarwein and Tama Matheson in stage before in Design for Living and they work together. Nothing I saw in the media preview today gave me any reason to doubt it will be the same here. Plus it's an awesome set and I'm a sucker for a good set. If you need any other reason to go, throw into the mix that this will be Wesley Enoch's last production with QTC before he heads off to Sydney Theatre Company. Let's just say on this production the chemistry is right.

Monday, October 19, 2015

October 19. Day 292. Purple patch

They say better late than never. Yeah right. When it comes to the jacaranda blooming I'll take never. Sure they are most attractive. And my objection in no way relates to the fact they are an introduced species. The jacaranda, as anyone is Queensland knows, represents final exams. This year the blooming was later than normal which may have lulled people (by which I mean me) into a false sense of security. But the purple rain has begun and so to has the reign of exam terror in my house. Five weeks of high school to go and it's starting to show. Right now there are criteria sheets lurking relating to assignments on the global economic reach of Coca Cola, the comparison of poverty porn in Slumdog Millionaire and Struggle Street and international law as it relates to Assisted Reproductive Technology. Part of me says "I wish we had assessment tasks as real as this when I was at school". The other part of me says "what's so wrong with rote learning for an exam for God's sake?". All parts of me say "just hang in there and it will be over soon". That's another thing we know. One big Queensland storm and all those beautiful purple blooms become a soggy brown mass.

Sunday, October 18, 2015

October 18. Day 291. Let's go fly a kite

I'm not sure whether to cue the violins or call the lawyers, but either way I can not recall ever having a kite or being taken kite flying as a child. Clearly it sucks to be me. Perhaps this is a case of very selective memory but I am absolutely certain that if there was kite flying it did not involve the type of kites seen at the Brisbane Kite Festival this afternoon. It is at the time of semester where it is very possible for most of my household to spend the weekend buried in assessment. But in the interests of trying to maintain some degree of sanity, I ordered everyone into the car after lunch and we headed out. First stop was the kite festival where the array of flying machines on strings was something to behold. Organisers would have been delighted with the conditions the wind gods put on for the day.The Murrarie Recreation Ground was alive with families both watching and having a go. Having taken in the festival we piled back into the car and headed to Kedron Brook to indulge the canine family member in a walk and a swim. And then it was home to the inevitable. Sure a couple of hours was lost but clearer heads doubtless led ti greater efficiency - well that's my story and I'm sticking to it (although I fully admit my head might be in the clouds).

Saturday, October 17, 2015

October 17. Day 290. Dress code

 The whole idea of a dress code is to make life easier. I admit, some are more straight forward than others. Black tie everyone understands. But one man's casual is another man's beachwear. And just how smart is smart casual? Still blue jeans and a white T shirt should be straight forward enough as a code. But when it was decided that would be the dress for the cousin photo you'd swear in some corners it was a Code Blue or hospital emergency. Such a code was, according to which of the dissenting voices you listened to, stupid,  unreasonable or a unprecedented attack on personal style and individuality. Still with a little bit of reasoning, sweet taking, guilt tripping, bribery or appeals to the greater good every one of the kids eventually stepped up to the mark and arrived  at the photo shoot dressed and ready to go. And despite all the misgivings it has to be said things seemed to go pretty well (by which I mean more smoothly than previous attempts to get a grandchild photo for Grandma). But the real fun started after the professional photographer had left. With a whole parkland at their disposal the jeans and t shirt clad brigade decided to find that individuality and style not restricted by clothing. There was much craziness and laughter and in the unlikely event that none of the professional photos turn out there's still a fine collection of memories for the day. Anyway there has to be far worse ways to kill a couple of hours on a Saturday than mucking around in the park with your cousins even if you have to wear blue jeans and a white T shirt while doing it.


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My Millbank Experience (UPDATED)

Wednesday, 10 November 2010

I've now been up for 13 hours. 13 hours of coaches, fast food and one hell of a protest.
A/N: By the time I got home to edit this it was 17 hours and counting. Disorientated doesn't even cover it. I'm not good at this not-getting-sleep malarky.

52,000 people attended the protest in Westminster but the rioting that was all over the news was a tiny minority of people. Don't get me started on how many of those were actually students. Probably about 1000 people were assaulting Millbank Tower. And how do I know? I was bloody well there. Right in the middle of it. Purely as a journalist of course.

When I heard about the riot at Millbank the journo in my heart only wanted to be in one place. I headed straight to the building.

The rioting itself was in the centre of the courtyard, the outer area of the courtyard and the road was populated with non-violent protesters.

With a lot of ducking and diving I managed to make my way near the front, around 2 metres from the entrance. Next to the entrance was a huge glass door/window thing that was completely destroyed by the rioters. They got into the lobby and caused huge amounts of damage. It didn't take long after the entrance was breached for a few renegades to make their way to the roof of the building. The chaos continued on the ground floor though. A bonfire burned away in the middle of the courtyard and police were swarming through the crowds to reach the violence.

It was so exhilarating to be right in the centre of such a massive news story as a journalist. I got brilliant footage an images and saw things I'd only ever seen on the news before.

Now I'm back home (finally) I've had chance to watch the news. Some of the pictures are incredible. I find it strange that the crowd was so chaotic that though I was in the middle of it all I didn't see any of it. I just heard it. The sound of that glass breaking really chilled me to the bone. But more importantly than any of that I want to know... did it make a difference? Or did a few bad apples ruin the whole barrel. I think the news coverage kinda tells that story.

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Wednesday, September 2, 2015

G623 No Poverty Between the Sheets a Memoir

Title of the book: No Poverty Between the Sheets a Memoir

Author: Pauline Kiely

Publisher: A passionate pen

Publishing Date: 2012

ISBN: 978-1-927396-00-1

"If you were so poor why did you have ten children?" "To be certain, there was no poverty between the sheets!" This book flows like a river, spanning four generations. It shares characters, voices, & hilarious stories of a large half Irish and half French Canadian family. It is full of gems. A horse theme and song lyrics are nicely woven throughout. It is straight from the hip aimed at the heart.

Author Info:
(From iRead Book Tours)

Buy the book:   Amazon
Pauline Kiely author pic
Meet the Author:

Pauline Kiely has been an avid student of Creative Writing her entire life. This author has consistently taken various courses and workshops offered at University of Toronto and Trent Universities. A year long memoir course with Susan Reynolds brought out this witty honest voice that shoots straight from the hip aiming for the heart.

Connect with the author:   Website  ~  Twitter  ~  Facebook
Personal Opinion:

Okay, there are things I liked about the book, and there are things that I wasn't very fond of. What I enjoyed about the book is learning about the author's family, and how much attention she pays to her Irish father. Considering the modern day culture that I grew up in where distant relatives aren't connected to one another and rarely help, at least in my family, it was an eye opening experience of how close and well established the relationships between various family members are. I also enjoyed learning about life in Canada, in Qubec in particular and learning about how the culture functioned. What I didn't enjoy about the book is that the story seemed to lack a single narrative or focus. One minute the author is discussing something that I think would be important to the story, then the next minute she is talking about something that doesn't seem relevant. Also, while including a lot of focus on the closeness of the family members and neighbors, the author neglected to detail how these experiences shaped her personality for better or worse. I feel that I barely got to know the author throughout the book. I think if you're interested in Canadian life or culture, or else are seeking nostalgia of how things are better, or are part of the author's family, then the story will be enjoyable. If you're looking for a single narrative story, or are hoping to see a character grow up, then its not the right book or story.

This is for iRead Book Tours

Tour Schedule:

Aug 10 - Library of Clean Reads - review / giveaway
Aug 11 - Life as Leels - book spotlight / giveaway
Aug 12 - I'd Rather Be at the Beach - review / giveaway
Aug 13 - 100 Pages a Day - review / giveaway
Aug 14 - Book and Ink - review / author interview / giveaway
Aug 17 - - review / giveaway
Aug 18 - Just One More Chapter - review / giveaway
Aug 19 - The World As I See It - review / giveaway
Aug 20 - One Frugal Girl - review / giveaway
Aug 21 - Deal Sharing Aunt - review / giveaway
Aug 24 - Svetlana's Reads and Views - review
Aug 25 - 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! - book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Aug 26 - Cheryl's Book Nook - book spotlight / giveaway
Aug 27 -prettypandareads - review
Aug 31 - Laura Fabiani - Top 500 Reviewer - review\

3 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)

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Friday, January 14, 2011

Raw Heels

It is a good thing that Skinky is calling a cease-run until spring, because I have ripped a 1" square, very thick layer of skin off the back of my right heel, rendering me fairly incapable of even putting on shoes. So even with 4 inch snow outside, I am doomed to flip flops for the next week. The only up side is that it makes my mom and sister almost puke just looking at it. I could have fun with this.

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Mason Jar Meal 2: Miso Pasta Soup

*squeals* Can you spot my Hello Kitty pasta? 😍

Continuing my Mason Jar Meal today. Cause I wasn't really satisfied with the Kimchi one.
Well, turns out to be quite nice! 😆 😂
This only takes 30 minutes.

How to:
  1. Soup base: A spoonful of miso paste, some soya sauce and sesame seeds.
  2. Meat: Shredded chicken meat (boiled with the pasta)
  3. Egg tofu
  4. Vege: One Japanese Cucumber (Shredded without the seeds)
  5. Pasta (boiled with a little olive oil and salt)
  6. 5 minutes egg! (be extra gentle with it! and continue reading to learn how to do it)

*tears of joy*

I don't have to savour every single of bite of it when I order outside anymore, because I can do it myself.

How to do the 5 minutes egg:
  1. Boil a pot of water.
  2. Lower the fire to simmer when it boils.
  3. Set your phone timer to 5 minutes.
  4. Place egg into the water and start timer.
  5. Remove the egg and place it in a bowl of cold water.
So easy right?

Ps: Midweek madness. Dead tired.

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Monday, May 24, 2010

Pollycraft Monday Challenge - 45 Buttons and Butterflies

Hi Everyone!
Here's a card I made for Pollycraft Monday Challenge 45 - Buttons and Butterflies.
Initially, I wanted to make something cutsie...but this DP was calling to me to be used today {I heart these colors}, hehe. I glossy accented the big bloom, inked it up with Distress Ink, and added an antique-looking button. I added some cool fiber I got over the weekend along with two epoxy butterfly stickers and some BG alphas.
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you like it!
*hugs* and Much aloha~!

.:♥MMDesigns♥:. said...

gorgeous card! Love the DP and the butterflies are so cute! Thanks for joining us at Pollycraft this week!
Hugs, Marit.

Tracy said...

How cute Steph! The big flower makes me think of Rina. Very pretty and yummy colors. Hugs!

~amy~ said...

Oh this is soooooo pretty!!!!! Love the colors!!!

Ira said...

Oh Steph, I love how the flower has turned out with the glossy brim! Great colours, too!
Hugs, Ira

Mona L. Pendleton said...

Oh so pretty in pink :)

Kirsty Vittetoe said...

Very pretty! I love how you outlined the flower. Thanks for stopping by and leave sweet comment. : )

Denise said...

Love this card!! The colors are pretty together & I love the buttons, that's one of my favorite embellishments to use, next to flowers...LOL
Have a great day my friend. :)

Audrey Pettit said...

How bright and pretty this is, Steph! Love the glossy accents and the epoxy embellies on here. Always, always love flowers and butterflies!


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A Review of the Nigerian Energy Industry

How Deregulation‘ll Curb Corruption in Downstream – Alison Madueke

*As NNPC Moves to Sign TAM with original builders

10 January 2012, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke on Tuesday explained how the removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government will help curb the widely reported incidence of corruption in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry.

Speaking in an interactive forum with journalists in Abuja, Mrs. Alison-Madueke noted that apart from providing the leeway for the re-investment of key funds to the provision of some social infrastructure, the removal of subsidy on premium motor spirit would help erase the issue of corruption wrought by the unending episodes of controversial subsidy claims and counter claims.

“It is not possible to have petrol at N65 per litre at the pump in Nigeria, in Chad as much as N200, in Ghana at N175 and in Niger at N190 and yet you expect people not to move the product across our borders? It is simple economics especially when you consider the nature of our international borders. So in the last 16 months, while we have fought so hard to keep the country wet with petroleum products despite some level of disparity in prices, some people have taken the products to other neighbouring countries where they can sell it for as much as three times the price in Nigeria,’’ the Minister noted.

“It is a matter of simple economics that when you have this massive differential in price between you and neighbouring countries, nothing can stop the smuggling of the product.”

Mrs. Alison-Madueke noted that it is impracticable for anybody to expect government to stop the incidence of corruption in the downstream sector which is largely due to the subsidy regime and yet expect government to do so without removing the incidence of subsidy which is the biggest incentive for corruption in the sub-sector in the first instance.

Mrs. Alison-Madueke revealed that in the bid to sustain the gains of the fuel subsidy removal, a massive transformation and reorganization is taking place in the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, and Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, to ensure uniformity of prices of petroleum products in the downstream sector.

“We have put in place a much more robust and aggressive transformation in the regulatory agencies of the downstream sector. PPPRA and DPR are being reformed as we speak. Sweeping changes are beginning to go across them as we speak. We have done this so as to tighten the regulatory indices in the oil and gas sector,” she said.

The Minister sued for understanding from Nigerians and called on the organized labour to reconsider its decision on the strike and return back to work. “In fact, the policy is a transfer of negativity to positivity in such a way that funds will be put to better use. The subsidy transfer as i choose to call it will lead to a situation where international trunk a roads will be built for Nigerians. Major roads such as Abuja-Abaji,Benin-Ore- Shagamu roads have already being earmarked, major rail way lines that will help in the freighting of petroleum products and irrigations projects that will help to supply water to Nigerians have already being pencilled down.”

On the planned turn around maintenance, TAM, of Refineries, Mrs. Alison-Madueke disclosed that the formal contract or agreement for the TAM of all the traditional refineries will be signed this week by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and the original builders of the refineries adding that other Chinese investors have indicated interest to build more refineries in the country.

“In order to ensure that we get our refineries to 90 percent utilization and to show Nigerians that we are serious this time around, we actually went back and brought the original contractors that built our traditional refineries of Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna. Already they have given us an aggressive timetable and they have assured us that within 24 months all three major refineries will be producing up to 90 percent capacity utilisation.”

She assured Nigerians that within the next 24 months Nigeria will become a net exporter of petroleum products adding that with the removal of fuel subsidy several investors are ready to invest in the nation’s economy.

“With this policy in place, millions of jobs will be created and the economy will become very viable for investment,” Mrs. Alison-Madueke stated.

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This listing is for 1 complete set of 8 cars of the brand new, Hot Wheels 100 years of Chevrolet trucks.  These are very limited and hard to put together because of the very poor assorting of the cars.  All cars, cards and bubbles are in excellent condition.

Shipping is free in the U.S.

Please ask any questions before you purchase.

Thanks for looking.


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04 August 2010

Kihei, Maui

One year ago I was flying first class on Alaska Airlines for a week with my little sister Maria and Olive's family for a pre-school break to Maui.  Olive's dad's boss owns a condo right off South Kihei Road, with easy access to Kamaole Beach II.  I had previously spent three Christmas holidays on Maui, but always in Lahaina.  Kihei is located on the south side of Maui, with hardly any precipitation being on the leeward side of the Haleakalā summit.

Condo pool, Kihei, Maui
Click photo to enlarge.

It was a bit windy, but humid and hot enough to enjoy the closing of our summer.  Having a local swimming pool was also fantastic, as it was easy to bring along a towel to lay out on and snorkel gear to practice for the ocean.

As you can see, I was pleased.  Also, a little bit special.  Must have been the rum.

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Planning to send your baby/infant for swimming lessons? Our instructors are certified either with STA, ASCTA or Austswim, specializing in teaching babies and infants. They have spent days and time some even flew out of the country to learn the right technique to handle, teach and impart this valuable skills to the babies and the parents. The babies and infants swimming program that these associations provide are widely recognised all over the world and is deem safe and fun.

Swimming classes were also held in public pools like ours, having chlorine in the pool as chlorine kills bacteria just like how it does in our drinking water. The level of chlorine in these pools are safe and will never harm one self. The ph level are test everyday and they also need to send water samples to the various governing body to have it check. As babies and infants tends to poop and often their faeces are watery like substance, it tends to diffuse into the water resulting in germs and bacteria growing overtime. Mineral pools contain copper and other heavy metal pool ionizers which are slow acting. It requires several hours to pass before the heavy metals may have any effect on bacteria and other pathogens.

Below is an article that you can find out more about the different type of pools and their uses:

Pool water must be sanitized to help control the germs introduced by swimmers. Researchers report that on average each swimmer introduces 0.14 grams of fecal matter to the pool; for children the amount is likely higher. (That little statistic should encourage swimmers to shower before swimming.)

Recreational water illnesses that can be contracted by exposure to even low levels of fecal matter in the water include diarrhea, swimmer’s ear and various skin infections. Swimming in a pool of water without sanitizer is comparable to immersing oneself into a large communal bath tub with the neighbors. Need more be said about the need to treat pool water by sanitizing it?

Pool Sanitizers

Destroying waterborne germs that can make swimmers sick is the goal of swimming pool sanitation. Sanitation can be carried out by adding chemicals or by subjecting pool water to ultra-violet (UV) light. Common sanitizing chemicals include the traditional chlorine-based sanitizers, chlorine generated from salt in saltwater pools, bromine-based sanitizers, copper and silver ions, and ozone gas. The following table provides information on these options.

Common Swimming Pool Sanitizers

Pool Sanitizer Common Name EPA Registered? Form Sanitizing Agent Provides Residual Protection? Sensitive to UV Radiation in Sunlight?1
Stabilized Chlorine2 Trichlor and Dichlor Yes Solid Chlorine Yes No
Unstabilized Chlorine Cal-hypo, Bleach, Chlorine Yes Solid (Cal-hypo); Liquid (Bleach); Gas (Chlorine) Chlorine Yes Yes
Halohydantoins and Sodium Bromide Yes Solid Bromine Yes Yes
Salt Water Pool Salt pools No Chlorine generated by applying electricity to salt water Chlorine Yes Yes
Ozone Ozone Yes Gas Ozone Very short lived. Yes
Copper and Silver Ions Copper, Silver No Ions from electrolytic erosion of metal Copper- Silver ions Yes, but slow acting. No
UV UV Yes Radiation UV Light No No

All of the sanitizers in the table destroy germs, but only chlorine- and bromine-based sanitizers have staying power, meaning the provision of a reliable fast acting residual that results in continuous, efficient germ control lasting past the time of application. This is of utmost importance because the swimmers themselves introduce an unpredictable load of germs and impurities into the water. When pools are properly maintained—and this includes not only chemical but physical treatment such as filtration—chlorine- and bromine-based sanitizers provide a residual level of protection against the incursion of unwanted substances that can reduce pool water quality and make people sick. That is why many “alternative” pool sanitizers—including ozone, metal ions (minerals) and UV—still require a secondary level of protection, most often provided by chlorine-based sanitizers.

In conclusion, in order to maintain swimming pools as healthful recreational environments, they cannot go completely “chemical treatment free.” To claim otherwise is simply inaccurate.

Fred Reiff, P.E., is a retired official from both the U.S. Public Health Service and the Pan American Health Organization, and lives in the Reno, Nevada area.

1Sanitizers that are sensitive to UV radiation in sunlight lose their effectiveness more rapidly than those that are stabilized.
2Stabilized chlorine is chlorine chemically bonded to cyanuric acid; stabilized chlorine helps preserve chlorine from the destructive effects of UV radiation in sunlight.

– See more at:

Have fun, splash safe.

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The premier nylon putting surface. Used by David Leadbetter at all his teaching facilities, this putting surface will take you game to the next level. The turf will need 2 – 2.5 pounds of infill when installed on an aggregate base. Can also be used for indoor golf facilities (no infill required indoors), bocce, croquet, tennis and cricket. Can be installed outdoors on a compacted aggregate base or indoors on concrete.

  • Yarn Type Nylon
  • Shipping Weight 83 oz per square yard
  • Secondary Backing Natural Rubber
  • Pile Height 1/2″ (+/- 1/8″)
  • Roll Width 15′
  • Perforated No
  • Color Turf, Forest/Olive
  • PDF Spec Sheet NP50

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May 31, 2011

Naturally Supervised Learning, new arXiv paper

Here's a paper of mine recently accepted to the arXiv, cross-listed under the cs.HC and q-bio.NC categories:

This is more work from the physical intelligence project, and it features three experiments I did when the MIND Lab was still up and running:

Here is the abstract and key points:

It will be argued that haptic and proprioceptive sensory inputs serve a supervisory function in movement production related to the control of virtual environments and human-machine interfaces. To accomplish this, an approach new to human factors called neuromechanics will be used. This involves the introduction of novel techniques and analyses which demonstrate the multifaceted and regulatory role of adaptation in interactions between humans and motion and touch-based (e.g. manipulable) devices and interfaces.

Neuromechanics is an approach that unifies the role of physiological function, motor performance, and environmental effects in determining human performance. In this paper, a neuromechanical perspective will be used to explain the supervisory role of environmental variation on human performance.

Three experiments are presented using two different types of virtual environment that allowed for selective perturbation. Electromyography (EMG) and information related to kinematics were collected. Measures related to human performance dynamics were used to model the results.

Results and Conclusions
Results presented here provide a window into neuromechanical performance under a range of technologically-mediated conditions. Both descriptive and specialized analyses were conducted: peak amplitude analysis, loop trace analysis, and the analysis of unmatched muscle power. These analyses demonstrated that there are myriad consequences to force-related perturbations related to dynamic physiological regulation.

The findings presented here could be applied to the dynamical control of touch-based and movement-sensitive human-machine systems. In particular, the design of systems such as human-robotic systems, touch screen devices, and rehabilitative technologies could benefit from this research.

Key Points
* emerging manipulable technologies (e.g. touch- and motion-based interfaces) will ultimately feature a number of non-uniform forces and sequences of stimuli that can be simulated using virtual environments with physical intermediaries.

* the dynamics and complex relationships between simulation, the physical world, and human physiology can be better understood through the lens of neuromechanics, an approach that unifies biomechanics, neuroscience, embodied perspectives, and systems engineering.

* it was found that selective perturbation, in relation to a staggered training protocol can uncover various differences in performance, which remain to be formally classified but are suggestive of underlying cognitive and morphological regulatory mechanisms.

* these findings can be integrated with existing mobile and virtual technologies to provide a versatile, programmable tool for rehabilitative and non-medical applications.

Be sure to take a look. As always, comments are appreciated.

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samedi 29 novembre 2014

CENTROZOON: The Room of Plenty (2014)

“The Room of Plenty is a sonic adventure that will lead you to the other side of music”
1 Paalm 3:14
2 Dooom 5:58
3 Aarooma 15:10
4 Woortex 5:06
5 Hoorn 7:30
6 Plaan 2:49
7 Brooom 14:48
8 Tooong 5:42

Iapetus Records (DDL 60:20) ***½
(Ambiospherical and abstract EM)
Welcome in the anti-music. In the non-rhythm where the seconds are being eaten away utterly by some baroque pulsations, breaths and resounding howlings to be made turn pale the winds of Black Storm. Built around the tour which paid a tribute to the works of King Crimson, just as the last solo album of Markus Reuter (Sultry Kissing Lounge) moreover, “The Room of Plenty” from Centrozoon is a musical exercise totally dedicated to those who are aficionado of a very experimental music which transcends the own empirical territories of King Crimson. Here, there is no concession at the melodic approach. Everything is sound! Both in the fuzzy rhythms as in the tortured atmospheres. The only exception being the very short "Plaan". As for the rest; get your ears sharpened well!
Nevertheless the vaporous waves of
Markus Reuter's Touch Guitar which open "Paalm" let guess a warm work. As soon as the strange organic noises, one would say some deformed snores, invite each other and get in through the heavy resonances and dissonances of the guitar, we are diving into the most total of the abstract universes where the explosions of sounds irradiate some sonic clouds filled with static anger. If we find the introduction of "Paalm" too brief, "Dooom" makes adjustment with soft guitar chords which roll in more peaceful winds. But as the seconds pass, "Dooom" aims to justify its naming. And it's not because there is no tempo, or something like it, that it's not violent! The winds roar like in the best moments of Stephen Parsick's Permafrost series with a subtle gradation, a horrific crescendo in this ambient movement, where we imagine easily that the roots of the insanity take life through these violent metallic hummings. "Aarooma" is a slow symphony that we guess to be about agony where every breath, every plot of air is stigmatized in a metallic envelope which scratches the hearing. One would imagine to be in a factory of sounds of which the purpose is to produce the most distortions in an acceptable surrounding. Moreover we hear machines roar with pleasure. As well as the conveyor which enjoys to make lug around a collection of quirky tones which, put in a crocodile line, will eventually sculpture a rather surprising passive rhythm. The sounds? I hear a thick cloud of bat laughing till they cry and spinning around such as a gigantic tornado which decimates trees of huge roses where every thorn tears the stratosphere. The percussions? Although Bernhard Wöstheinrich and Tobias Reber are busy to create the parameters of abstract rhythms, the percussions whisk more the ambiences with tones which inspire a euphoric state of discomfort. At this level "Hoorn" is rather impressive, especially with the voice which shouts as a torture in a hallucinating ambiosonic envelope. These percussions remain quite static and serve as decoration, of staged to ambiences which touch the walls of a very underground civilization. One loves "Aarooma"? Well we are going to adore the resounding "Brooom" which is more musical and which sounds so much as a King Crimson dirtying the walls of their studio with muddled ideas which quietly will take shape. Even if apathetic, it remains the most serene track, except for "Plaan", in “The Room of Plenty”. We could say the same thing of "Woortex", except that it is a little more, I say well a little more, livened up by a rhythmic life all the same rather passive. "Tooong" concludes this symphony for iconoclastic noises with long lamentations of a skinned guitar which float, and eventually roar, between the floating lines of synths as much ambient as surprisingly more musical. If I had a track to choose for playing on radio, that would be that one! This says enormously on this album which is for ears fond of tones of which the charms live for sure in the gaps of the antimatter.
Sylvain Lupari (November 29th, 2014) &

vendredi 28 novembre 2014

YAREK: Berlin Ratusz (2014)

“Electronica and World Music trapped in Berlin School moods; that's the menu of Berlin Ratusz which is as good as Last Train to Berlin”
1 Minaret 9:03
2 Ultrabas 4:37
3 Black Water 6:19
4 Carima 4:19
5 Dream 4:09
6 Ocean 4:27
7 Imagination 4:33
8 Moon Walk 2:53
9 Nostalgia 4:29
10 Serce Lasu 4:24

Ricochet Dream | RD072 (CD 49:12) ***½
(Electronica and World Music)
Here is the perfect example of an album that it is necessary to listen carefully before throwing it to stinging nettles. Not that “Berlin Ratusz” is difficult to access. Quite the opposite. Faithful to his style, Jaroslaw Degórski proposes a wide musical range with a vision of a more balanced electronica which bubbles in a delicate hint of Berlin School  with these floating synth layers which interlace in delicate orchestral arrangements and huge trolls' rustles. And when the whole thing is tinted by dreamlike aromas of the world of Aladdin, it can only give a result that surpasses the expected. We loved Last Train to Berlin? We shall like this album which doubtless has draw the main lines.
And that starts on hubcaps. A mixture of breaths and hummings, which remind the uncomfortable tones of gigantic Trolls on a foot of war, sweep the introduction of "Minaret". The chirpings of a line of sequences with organic ions are deeply oscillating. One would say a strange ride in unreal territories. Especially with these Gregorian voices layers and these vampiric waves which crisscross and wrap a rhythm which takes more and more tonus with the addition of big nasal riffs and electronic percussions which couple their strikings to a troop of flickering sequences. The rhythm is heavy and incisive. Very just like what we shall hear on “Berlin Ratusz”, its jerks are taken by a delicious  mixture of sibylline vibes where hoarse voices hum some black airs. The riffs breaks out in a continuous mode and bite the feverish beatings of the electronic percussions, while the sequences continue to oscillate violently. Set apart for the starved riffs, the e-guitar also throws nice solos. Moving thus a little the violence of the movement which refutes the brief caresses of some more seraphic voices and the peace of mind of a brief more moderate passage. It's with a hard and pure e-rock, dipped into Mephistophelian ambiences and encircled with an electronic veil to the thousand hearing pleasures, that Jaroslaw Degorski invites the spectators to an electronic Mass, rich in sound colors, for this concert performed at Rathaus Schöneberg within the framework of the 40th anniversary of the Berlin School movement. But in spite of the event, “Berlin Ratusz” has little to see with the Berlin School genre. Except for these ambiospherical synth layers which enclose a host of rhythms very near to electronica, the music of “Berlin Ratusz” glitters in a kind of crenel of a World Music prepared in a technoïd sauce. Bang-bang it hits hard, flap-flap it caresses!
If "Minaret" is throning in absolute master on this collection of tracks, "Ultrabas" is not too far behind. The rhythm is curt, nervous and is stoned to death by good resonant riffs, ploughed by bass sequences and hammered by percussions which deeply swirl in another violent up-tempo. Here, as almost everywhere on “Berlin Ratusz”, the music is strongly soaked by an approach of the Middle East and the voice of Lukasz Kolakowski is very feminine. The rhythm, always knotted of nervous jerks, of "Black Water" is a good mid-tempo with an approach a bit bicephalous; with an electronica sneaking in spaces a little softer. The synth pads, rather ambiospherical, remind that we celebrate on the 40 years of the Berlin School. Except that I find that it is closer to World Music, to Arabic techno. Suffice to hear the tribal hymn which is "Carima" to be convinced. Otherwise, the beautiful and very ethereal ballads which are "Dream" and "Ocean" will erase all the doubts. If at the beginning the voice of Lukasz Kolakowski annoys, because she's rather omnipresent, we eventually get bewitched because shes sounds very oniric and the music of
Yarek abounds in a wealth such as what we found on Last Train to Berlin. "Imagination" is a kind of drum'n'bass a bit groovy which is filled of resounding hoops and  by curt, abrupt movements. The approach is always rather melodious, Yarek having emptied his gall on "Minaret" and "Ultrabas"."Moon Walk" offers a nice structure of bouncing rhythm with a superb synth which spreads an attractive Arabic veil. That reminds me moreover Jean Michel Jarre and his collection of ethnic rhythms in Zoolook. A perception which is rather present all over “Berlin Ratusz” by the way. "Nostalgia" is a good FM piece of music and a beautiful down-tempo, very Jarre, with a slow rhythm shimmering of slamming percussions which is painted of beautiful synth veils as floating as orchestral and above all very melodious. Just to remind us that “Berlin Ratusz” is a festive event which surrounds the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Berlin School, "Serce Lasu" fills our ears of a soft ethereal music. It's an ambient track which rests us a bit, as much as the voice of Lukasz Kolakowski, and which concludes an album disconcerting certainly (if we look for of real Berlin School EM) but of which the roots are not really that far.
Sylvain Lupari (November 28th, 2014) &

mercredi 26 novembre 2014

BERLIN HERITAGE: Phoenix (2014)

“This is yet another wonderful album from Berlin Heritage filled by these psychedelic cosmic moods of the 70's”
1 Leaving Behind 24:17
2 Somewhere in Between 14:08
3 Welcome to the New 25:43

Berlin Heritage Bandcamp (DDL 64:10) ****
(Vintage Berlin School)
Land of the Rising Sun had been a beautiful surprise in the field of the unexpected in 2012. The fans of Berlin School, mainly the Klaus Schulze era, had full ears with a symphony of music, rhythms and ambiences sprinkled with dusts of stars and fed by electronic effects to make daydream the ears well screwed at our loudspeakers. “Phoenix” is made in the same mold!
A breeze extricates itself from the depths of the cosmos. Its hollow and sinuous breath drags dust of stars which whistle in our ears like a sibylline singing emanating from oblivion. Its shadow gets loose and infuses an analog heat with a slow movement of bass which intertwines the abstruse singings. Both entities harmonize their undulate breaths, shaking prismic particles which put together a series of keys skipping into  fine circular movements. It's a kind of rhythmic halos which go and come such as strands trying to run away. The bass line flushes out a structure of jerky pulsations while some electronic percussions invite each other, structuring so a kind of rhythmic ride which beats under the delicate kicks of the harmonious sequences. Elytrons to the felted jingles, cosmic gases, brief stroboscopic jerks and nervous percussions establish the bases of this stunning rhythmic approach which will shake the 24 minutes of "Leaving Behind". If the rhythm is very livened up, it remains static. Pounding in all directions, it keeps a minimalist direction which twins its pulsations at this delicious string of sequences and its indefatigable oniric song which returns ceaselessly in a hallucinating sound decoration clouded of prismic fog and set by magnificent solos which will make the fans of vintage EM to daydream. Solos! They are wonderful. They sing and also weave beautiful earworms, just like the sequencing. They make spirals and twists, sometimes acute, they cut out the cosmic atmospheres and they cross a structure of rhythm which remains subdivided by the very harmonious approach of its sequences. "Leaving Behind" is a splendid starting signal which will bring a little shade in the next 40 minutes of “Phoenix” so much it is powerfully appealing.
Clearly quieter, even very ambient, the structure of "Somewhere in Between" reminds to me constantly that of
Klaus Schulze in Body Love. Wandering choruses fill its introduction. They hum in a dense astral fog from where pop out delicate sequences of which the purpose is to weave rhythm as discreet as very ambient. We dream. And we let ourselves being deported in the vintages territories with this delicious movement of sequences which call out so much to the ambient works of Schulze. Little by little, "Somewhere in Between" covers itself with a more opaque veil where we discern a little less the sequences, but where we hear subtle synth solos that will make you daydream in an intense astral soundscape. With "Welcome to the New", Robert Sigmuntowski wants to weave a link between vintage Berlin School and a more contemporary one. Cracklings of old vinyl are decorating an intro seized by heavy and overwhelming organ layers. The movement is very ambient, even floating, with a fascinating choir and its sibylline singing which fit closely to the delicate implosions and the slow impulses of the ghostly layers. I'm hearing Adelbert Von Deyen! A line of starry prisms sparkle like chirpings of birds and a fine movement of sequences shakes its keys which spin in a circular choreography. The bass line regurgitates the pulsations which it held in secret, while the structure of "Welcome to the New" rhythm spreads its long undulatory skeleton which adopts a bit the movement of "Leaving Behind". This is getting striking! Moreover, this second part of "Welcome to the New" is as much delicious as the opening of “Phoenix”. The sequences are harmonious and weave a hypnotizing earworm. They sparkle brightly in this immense opacity of ochred mist which feeds and weighs down the moods of “Phoenix”. The synth solos of have difficulty in highlighting their acutenesses, dividing their acrobatic singings in more nuanced tints and others more pearled. Berlin Heritage bears its name marvelously. I adored “Phoenix”. It is an album tailored for the fans of Berlin School, as retro as contemporary, but with a clear tendency for the golden years of the psychedeli-cosmic EM. If you like long minimalists structure, if you like a sensible balance between the morphic moods and the intensely jerky rhythms, the sequences which sparkle of harmonious rhythms and solos as discreet as sharps; I strongly recommend you this “Phoenix” from Berlin Heritage.
Sylvain Lupari (November 25th, 2014) &

samedi 22 novembre 2014

HYPNOSPHERE: Within The Whirl (2003)

“Within the Whirl is worth listening. Especially if you are a fan of the Phaedra era and also of those cosmic moods of Jarre”
1 Isolation Process 19:37
2 Sleepwalk 10:10
3 Hypnotic Fields 15:51
4 Anguish 14:41
5 Trancelunar Drive 12:30
Spheric Music | SMCD 4003 (CD 72:59) ****
(Berlin School)

The more we go in the discovery of “Within the Whirl”, we have difficulty in believing that this opus is the fruit of individual and separate sessions of improvisations. The German duet shows an outstanding cohesion, both at the level of the structures and the ideas, to merge an opus livened up by the somber aromas of Alien Nature to the fluid sequenced movements of Lambert Ringlage. The result is surprising, even overturning, because “Within the Whirl” offers 5 tracks to some unexpected and strange dimensions in a structure free of constraints but nevertheless very coherent.
At both complex and harmonious, "Insulation Process" navigates between the dark age of
TD, the Phaedra era, and the first music of Neuronium due to its drifting lethal cosmic side. Not totally floating, this long movement bathes in a lugubrious mood up until that a light sequence ignites it at the middle point. The rhythm becomes then febrile by oscillating on a rotating and nervous sequencing pattern which is draped by the fluid ambient chords from a synth. The ambiances and the sonic pattern are rich in tones and electronic sounds effects while the solos abound in a synth flora to the mesmerizing meanders, not to say hypnotic. The rhythm becomes heavier and loud riffs monopolize this sequence in cascade which spins on ill-assorted sound effects. This is a great opening where subtle tribal aromas cogitate with anarchy, depicting so the strange sound universe which reigns all over this first album from Hypnosphere. "Sleepwalk" releases a sweet morphinic scent with a nice movement where the dream builds up itself on a soft sequenced hypnotic carousel. You see the kind? This is smooth, a bit of eerie, and totally enveloping. It's this kind of track which doesn't stop amazing with some great guitar parts and slow synth pads which revolve on a spiral sequencing pattern. Simply sublime! Following the introductory structures of each track in “Within the Whirl”, "Hypnotic Fields" grows in a dense cosmic mist. Quite heavy and enveloping, the ambience is filled of deaf clamors which widen their reverberations on the opaque and foggy synth layers. Magnetizing and slow percussions awaken this sleepiness, in order to create a slow sensual impulse which mutters beneath thunders and their stigmatised artifices, a little as we were in a dark cave with only a long tunnel within it. The hollow effect persists up until the intro of "Anguish" which surprises with a short sequence move a la Jarre around the 5th minute point. Loyal to its structure, "Anguish", just as "Trancelunar Drive", evolves on sequences and alternate paces wrapped by heavy synth lines filled by fragrances of dark moods.

Within the Whirl” is a sonic experience which sticks closely to those dark ambient atmospheres which furnished our somber dreams of these great vintage moments, back in the 70's. This is worth listening, discovering. Especially if you are a fan of the Phaedra era and also of those cosmic moods of Jarre. Two influences that we will remark all along this first album from this amazing collaboration between Wolfgang Barkowski and Lambert Ringlage. There is a rich mixture of sequences on an ambiospheric background wealthy in sound effects and creative in progressive cadences which redefined a more audacious Berlin School.
Sylvain Lupari (November 15th, 2007 and translate on November 22nd, 2014 &

jeudi 20 novembre 2014

STEVE ORCHARD: Pilgrimage (2014)

“If you want smooth relaxing music this new album from Steve Orchard will suit your expectations”
1 Leaving the City Behind 5:45
2 Covered Wagons 5:01
3 Cat's Eyes 5:24
4 Just Sitting in a Field 4:50
5 On the Road 6:01
6 Open Spaces 2:18
7 Toll House 5:23
8 Cast a Long Shadow 5:21
9 Traveller's Rest 3:22
10 Changing Horizon 4:59
11 April Sunshine 5:26
12 Spiritual Destination 6:20

AD Music | AD137 CD-r (CD-r/DDL 60:16) (Soft e-rock, New Age)
A flute to the perfumes of jazz lost in the noises of a city whistles an evocative air which floats over the jerky echoes of a keyboard's chords. The introduction of "Leaving the City Behind" sticks then to the muffler noise of a motorcycle of which the start is guiding the track towards a soft and very melodious mid-tempo. The piano lets go some fragile harmonies which dance cheerfully in the breezes of the violins, always preserving so this romantic approach tinted of melancholy which characterizes the music of Steve Orchard. With “Pilgrimage”, Steve Orchard follows this tangent of the English label for a music of which the essences of the New Age cradle themselves over some rhythms a little more lively.
The bard of the
ADMusic label trades his acoustic clothes in order to electrify his romantic ambiences with more sustained rhythms. Giving so an album where a mix of down and mid tempos are still flirting with New Age. We are still far from the lands of the electronica, still very far from those of an EM of the Berlin or England School kinds, except that the music offered on “Pilgrimage” answers the needs to those who like a more Easy Listening genre. It's not made for me, but my sweet Lise likes it a lot. That's the perfect balance in a couple. So, “Pilgrimage” is a lot rhythmic than the previous offerings from Steve Orchard. The guitar leaves more space to the piano and keyboards. And the percussions shake a little more the romantic moods of Orchard. And all in all, that remains some nice music which furnishes the thread of the screens of our life. We feel a delicious tendency of jazz and blues on tracks like "Covered Wagons", the pleasant "Cat's Eyes" whom Lise has really fall for, and "Cast a Long Shadow". In order to avoid of mislaid too much his fans, Steve Orchard also offers these delicious guitar ballads which cut out our buried feelings. Romance tracks which would fill the end credits movies of watery tears, like the very beautiful "Just Sitting in a Field" where violins transport the tears of the piano and the very elegiac "April Sunshine". For the rest, Steve Orchard offers a lively and not too much complicated e-music. "On the Road" is a good balance between a mid-tempo and a down-tempo with yet nice orchestrations and a rich musical envelope perfumed of sweet harmonies a bit cosmic. It's a more electric track where the six-strings of Orchard discharges the piano of its harmonious responsibilities. The same goes for "Open Spaces" and "Traveller's Rest", although the violins are more present here, where the guitar expires mainly alone its harmonies of solitary bard. Steve Orchard plays a little more in the cinematographic music scents with a massive use of violins and orchestral arrangements of which the main purpose is to be melt the last bastions of resistance of any soul. I think among others to the oriental fragrances of "Toll House", where we can perceive David Wright's influences, and the very ambient, floating and wrapping "Changing Horizon" which moves slowly with a dreamy morphic tempo. A beautiful ballad which has also pleased to my Lise. "Spiritual Destination" concludes this album, which in the end is situated closer to New Age or even soft e-rock than electronica, with a more folk root approach. We hear there, through good orchestrations which cradle as much the rhythms as the ambiences, airs which haunt and which awaken souvenirs of an already heard music. If you want smooth relaxing music, even if lively here and there, this new album from Steve Orchard will suit your expectations.
Sylvain Lupari (November 20th, 2014) &

mardi 18 novembre 2014

JAVI CANOVAS: Axiom (2014)

“Axiom is an interesting collection of short tracks where the sequencing shines of its analog and digital fragrances”
1 Sima 4:07   2 Descent 5:57
3 Masker 3:52   4 Axiom 6:39
5 Invisible Symbol 5:21
6 Hydrometry 5:26   7 Crush 6:15
8 Forbidden Zone 3:53
9 Relapse 5:38   10 The Seeker 6:15
11 Transcription 4:06
12 Allegory 4:00
13 Almost Imperceptible 4:45
14 Heavy Colour 7:52

Bandcamp DDL (DDL 74:13) ***½
(Driven sequenced rhythms)
One of the most attractive seductions of the Berlin School is this possibility that have the authors and musicians to tie a crowd of rhythms and melodies through some long structures fed by cosmic or simply ethereal ambiences. Get out these elements of this crenel is like to eat a filet mignon without accompaniments. Some people will like, others will miss the sauce, the potatoes or the vegetables. “Axiom” is this filet mignon. It's an album which aims the fans of meat. To the fans of sequenced rhythms braided, excepted for the very ambient "Heavy Colour" which is nearer of the nomadic moods of Cracks in the Air (2013), into jumping keys which bloom and scatter in all directions in order to create a brochette of rhythms rather diversified. For this last album, Javi Canovas wanted to try something different with a series of short tracks which shine in movements of sequences to the tones more alive than ever. If every piece of music possesses its unique cachet, the synth wizard of Spain makes a sense of honor to merge analog tones to the colors of the digital era, giving an album which unites marvellously the tones of bass to others more crystalline into patterns of rhythms charmingly acrobatic.
"Sima" begins with a storm of sequenced keys. Tones of bass, others crystal clear ones and some others more sizzling are parading in a mess of rhythmic lines which rise, come down and crisscross each others like tightrope walkers on a bicycle rolling on wires shaken by ample oscillations. The rhythm is heavy and lively. It spins with elytron of metal and electronic percussions of which the splinters draw a thick cloud of birds which pecks at a texture as well cosmic than very Teutonic. The sound textures are appreciably the same, except that
Canovas has, this time, a clear tendency for more lunar atmospheres. And every track, in spite of certain resemblances here and there, offers a structure of rhythm of its own which sticks well enough to the visions of his author. So "Descent" offers a more sneaky movement with lines of rhythms which either crawl or tumble down a slope on the brakes. The track catches the hearing rather quickly because of its perfume which releases the ambiences of Tangerine Dream's Flashpoint. After the jerked and colored rhythm of "Masker", the title-track plunges us into a structure of rhythm braided by multiple loops where the keys spin with violence in breezes to the colors of the nostalgia. The rhythm is static and violent and I challenge you to drumming it with your fingers and follow its pace. This is a great Berlin School, perfumed of cosmic breezes a la Jarre, with keys which try desperately to extricate themselves from these uncountable loops which enclose it. I don't know why, but that reminds me the violence of Steve Roach's static rhythms on Empetus. Idem with "Transcription" and its stubborn rhythm which climbs a brief oscillating curve with a thick cloud of keys in tints and timbres which mix delightfully the contrasts of the analogue and the digital. "Relapse" also breathes of these static rhythmic fragrances of this period. "Invisible Symbol" sounds so out of tune in all this universe of splendid rhythms. It's a nice ballad with a beautiful piano and it allows our ears to breathe a little. And that restarts with the deep oscillatory rhythm of "Hydrometry". The sequences buzz like a swarm in fury, while the curve of the winds breathes an ethereal approach which drowns itself literally in front of these massifs hummings and these solos which whistle braids over this mass of feverish agitation. "Crush" presents a more Cartesian approach. The movement is minimalist. Keys, always so furious, are skipping in the shadow of the rather nervous jingles of electronic percussions while the more the movement progresses, the more it frees other keys in juicier tones which glide in crisscrossed figures over a structure which weighs down constantly its heat. That looks like a Deep House, but without the bass pulsations. A little of tranquility? Just to rest the ears! Javi Canovas offers then another small quieter movement in "Forbidden Zone" with a stream of sequences which spin and chirp, with a fascinating organic harmony, in suave morphic veils. "Almost Imperceptible" feeds itself of the same ambiguities. Its rhythm is more or less ambient and snores in cosmic corridors. There also I like these organic tones sequences which make tremble the ambient texture and which enhance the quality of the twisted, and rather discreet moreover, solos. "The Seeker" offers a very good heavy rhythm with a more resonant line and a series of winged keys which crisscrosses it of a spheroidal line. The rhythm splits in a structure with gaps where the jumping keys are bouncing in the shadow of other ones, in order to peck at the line of the main rhythm. Adding so these colors and sound flavors which bicker constantly between the analog and the digital tones. "Allegory" is in the same vein, whereas "Heavy Colour" ends “Axiom” with an ambient approach which is very near of Steve Roach's aboriginal soundscapes. After all, it's necessary good in an album where the jumping and flying keys devour our ears as much as the ambiences and the melodies, which are literally in background, on this surprising pallet of rhythms in so lively colors that alone the fathomless territories of EM can draw.
Sylvain Lupari (November 18th, 2014) &

lundi 17 novembre 2014

LORD OF THE ANTS: Firebird (2014)

“If one like diversity and musical structures which take completely unexpected bends in a meshing of rhythms which touch almost everything in the spheres of electronica, this is for you”
1 Firebird 3:38    2 Ruby 3:22
3 A Dedicated Man 3:43
4 Expectate Veni 7:05
5 Dr Dee 4:35    6 Impossible Sky 5:11
7 East at Least 5:02    8 Neuronaut 4:13
9 Secrets of the Days 4:55
10 Keep Off the Grass 4:35
11 1218 4:25    12 Orlando Girl 5:13

 AD Music | AD139 CD-r (CD-r 55:57) ***
(Electronica dips in New Age)
Having walked on the paths of New Age, ADMusic explores the avenues of an EM which mixes firmer rhythms to orchestrations where rather catchy melodies, certain stamped by the New Age seal, float in envelope musical which knot the cinematographic approaches to electronica. Hydrosphere, from Divine Matrix and Of Moon and Stars, from Iotronica are two good examples of this new direction from the English label. “Firebird” distances itself from those, but just a bit, with a more punchy music which gets closer to the very interesting Transfer of my Affections from The Pels Syndicate. This Lord of the Ants' 2nd album, the other one being Quantum Voodoo which was released in 2009, offers a dozen of short musical pieces, set apart for one track, which move enormously inside their minutes and which touch lightly the big themes of electronica without ever taking root really in a genre in particular.
The title-track opens with a series of arpeggios shivering like pieces of wood which collide in some big Siberian winds. The approach is nervous, but fast covered up by pads of Gregorian voices which infuse a perfume of Enigma on a structure of rhythm which livens up on a meshing of linear percussions and bass sequences. That gives a kind of semi techno interrupted of passages as ethereal as the sections of melodies and the orchestrations which decorate it. This kind of rhythm with nervous static shocks finds also its niche on "Dr Dee", which sounds very
TD with its guitar, and "Orlando" which lurches more into a kind of Ambient Chill. More cinematographic and very relaxing, with its delicate arpeggios which shiver in the winds of orchestrations and air voices, "Ruby" eventually offers a beautiful down-tempo with a tone of guitar, rather nasal, which cries on a slow tempo. If we are into a more ballad mood, "Secrets of the Days" offer an interesting folk approach with an acoustic guitar which scatters its notes on a rather slow rhythm. The voices and violins offer a rather poignant texture. The same goes for "East at Least", which is quite good. An electronic rock, kind of very TD from the 220 Volts years, intertwined in a kind of Deep House approach, "A Dedicated Man" is transiting by several kinds in a little less than 4 minutes, while "Neuronaut" is a pure Deep House. The diversity abounds on this Christopher Westcott's 2nd album, the one-man band behind Lord of the Ants. Besides finding an interesting, and completely unexpected, reggae in "Keep Off the Grass", "Expectate Veni" entails us in a long progressive structure which gathers more or less all the styles which we find on “Firebird”. The rhythm is rather slow, from time to time a bit jerky, with sound effects well putted in a rather tribal musical approach. Only drawback! The sound seems to have its limits. There are distortions here and there. Is it the sought effect? That would be possible because that adds an effect of apocalyptic science fiction on a more or less film structure. At this level, and although clearly quieter, "1218" is closer of a screen with orchestrations a bit dramatic and percussions which roll like military thunders on the tears of violins. A good track filled with emotionalism! "Impossible Sky" is a music piece which a little breaks ranks with a more acoustic approach which struggles under thunders of percussions and rests on perfumes of saxophone. At times one would say a kind of lounge, jazz and blues with a guitar which grumbles in the interlinks of several musical styles, just as a lot of tracks on “Firebird” by the way. "East at Least" begins with an ambient approach where sizzling winds and ochred synth lines float like radioactive clouds. The track eventually falls under the charms of a good mid-tempo, interrupted by jerks and by ambient movements, with fascinating hoarse breezes adorned of Didgeridoo perfumes, and some beautiful orchestrations as well as a sweet seraphic voice. I know that it sounds like a New Age a la Enigma, but I like that! And if we like diversity and musical structures which take completely unexpected bends in a meshing of rhythms which touch almost everything in the spheres of electronica, this “Firebird” is completely drawn for your tastes.
Sylvain Lupari (November 17th, 2014) &


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Today ISL 2015 Chennai vs Delhi Match 45 Live Score Hero of the Match Prediction Teams 24 Nov 2015

Today ISL 2015 Chennai vs Delhi Match 45 Live Score Hero of the Match Prediction Teams 24 Nov 2015 :- Get ready Soccer fans from across the world for another exciting 90 mins game of Football as tonight match no. 45 of Indian Super League season 2 is going to be played between Chennaiyin FC vs Delhi Dynamos FC. The match will be played at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Chennai. The scheduled start time of this Soccer game is around 19:00 PM Indian Standard Time.

Tonights match between Chennai vs Delhi is going to be a very crucial one for Chennaiyin FC side especially as to reach the semi finals stage of this league they have to win almost every single match from here on.

Indian Super League Season 2 Chennai vs Delhi Teams

Chennaiyin FC Team

Indian players: Abhjit Mondal, Shilton Paul; Dhanachandra Singh, Gouramangi Singh, Khelemba Meetei, Abhishek Das; Jaison Vales, NP Pradeep, Dane Pereira, Anthony Barbosa, Denson Devadas, Harmanjot Khabra; Jeje Lalpekhlua, Jayesh Rane.

Overseas players: Gennaro Bracigliano; Mikaël Silvestre, Marco Materazzi (marquee signing), Bernard Mendy, Jairo Carvajal; Elano, Bruno Pelissari, Bojan Djordjic, Cristian Gonzalez; Eduardo Silva.

Head Coach: Marco Materazzi

Delhi Dynamos FC Team

Indian Players: Jagroop Singh, Anwar Ali, Govin Singh, Munmun Lugun, Shouvik Ghosh, Naoba Singh, Robert Lalthlamuana, Francis Fernandes, Shylo Maltswamtluanga, Souvik Chakraborthy, Adil Khan, Manish Bhargav, Steven Dias, Manandeep Singh.

Foreign Players: Marek Cech, Kristof van Hout; Wim Raymaekers; Henrique Dinis, Pavel Elias, Gustavo Marmentini, Hans Mulder, Bruno Herrero; Morten Skoubo, Mads Junker, Alessandro Del Piero (marquee player).

Head Coach: Roberto Carlos

Prediction : Chennai will win today match of ISL 2015

Chennaiyin FC won the match 4-0

Hero of the match is Bernard Mendy

Keep checking for more updates of ISL 2015

I am a cool brat from Jammu and Kashmir who is an amateur bike rider and pro blogger. I love to hang around with mah buddies, explore new things and yes I am the one who believes in skill rather than qualification


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Friday, July 26, 2013

Democrats: Mayor Filner OUT NOW

Well as usual it took the Democrats a while to actually give a shit about women, again. But yesterday afternoon, after the like...20,000,000,000 harassed woman came out swinging, they decided maybe Filner had to go. Ya think?

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Posts Tagged ‘USDOE Office of Civil Rights’

Title IX and What is Causing Uproar for Schools

Tuesday, September 26th, 2017

 Title IX

On Friday, September 22, 2017 Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced changes to Title IX procedures affecting sexual harassment and violence on college campuses. Her statement confirms suspicion that the U.S. Department of Education intends to roll back critical civil rights protections for students. A new “Dear Colleague” letter to all educational entities explicitly stated the two 2011 actions to be rescinded – the Obama administration actions to clarify procedures for investigations of sexual harassment and violence to students.

When educational environments are unsafe because of sexual harassment, assault, and violence, students can’t learn — and their right to an education free of discrimination is put at risk.

#1: Forty-eight percent of students in grades 7–12 still face sexual harassment.

#2: Girls still receive $1.2 million less in funding for high school sports than boys.

#3: Although approximately 20 percent of women are targets of attempted or completed sexual assault, 89 percent of college campuses disclosed zero reported incidences in 2015.

Title IX, part of a U.S. Education amendment in June 1972, signed by President Richard Nixon, states

No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Usually, the public thinks only of Title IX legislation affecting sports. It also affects classes offered to boys and girls, job discrimination in an educational institution, biased academic advantages and opportunities for scholarships, and sexual assault and harassment discrimination, especially on college campuses.

After Title IX regulations went into effect, women in sports increased 600%. However, the issues of sexual harassment showed numbers not so well improved. 8 in 10 boys and girls were still harassed, 25% very often. Girls were more likely to be harassed, 56% girls vs. 40% boys. See

In 2011 regulations in a “Dear Colleague” letter explained in more explicit detail who and how Title IX would be implemented at all educational institutions. At that time, the criticism was that not enough victims’ complaints were pursued or decided. New regulations said the case would be decided by the preponderance of the evidence (POTE), the principal objective being to avoid use of federal monies to support sexual discrimination and provide protection against discrimination.

The argument about and the reason for the changes made September 22, 2017 are because Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, claims that the accused in a sexual discrimination case and decisions that come before a school’s administration are diminished unless legal counsel is hired and forced to sue. The Office of Civil Rights of the DOE wishes to change the regulations to more equally weigh the claims of the victim and the accused. To do so, the OCR has sent another “Dear Colleague” letter to require clear and convincing evidence that what happened, happened.

When this decision first came to light on September 7, 2017, National Education Association (NEA) president Lily Eskalon Garcia said, we “are appalled that the Department of Education has decided to weaken protections for students who survive campus sexual assault or harassment. This decision offends our collective conscience and conflicts with the basic values of equality, safety, and respect that we teach our students every day.” See USA Today link above.

It’s 45 years since Title IX regulations first went into effect. Speaking personally, my daughter was harassed in middle school and the administration knew the rules and handled the situation well. My son-in-law dealt with the issue as coach at the local high school.

Brett Sokolov, director of the Association of Title IX Administrators (ATIXA), has posted many interim measures used while a matter of harassment is investigated in 80% of the schools in the U.S. that have a Title IX coordinator. He notes that the need to improve is not the excuse to remove the moral, ethical, and legal obligations of any educational institution.

Remember nobody can be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. Claiming the need for clear and convincing evidence, rather than the preponderance of evidence may seem useful, but can overwhelm the investigation and decision.

In addition, such heavy-handed investigations and decisions interfere with getting help for the survivor so s/he can succeed equably in education – the purpose of Title IX.

For all things Title IX go to


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Thursday, June 10, 2010

This blog world is a weird and wonderful thing. As I was reading blogs and a board I visit every day one of my buddies said something about a wiener dog race. That pushed a button in my mind and reminded me that I needed to look at a blog I hadn't looked at in a while.
Remember how I switched computers and lost everything? Well she was one of them. I used to read her daily and was completely excited to go read what I had missed.
I missed a lot it seems.
Her son at the age of twenty committed suicide. I can't explain to you the sense of shock and disbelief that flowed through me. Here is this beautiful, healthy, happy kid gone in an instant. Here is a family that is going through a hell of their own.
He had a constant smile on his face and in his eyes.
It just slammed home the fact that we don't know what is going on inside of people.
My heart just bled.
I hurt for her. It was one of those rare times when you wish that you could reach through the computer and hug someone who you have never met.
Hallie is a freaking strong woman though. She took a tragedy and turned it into something more then just a tragedy. She made the tough choice to donate his organs so others could live. Tell me how much strength that must have taken. How much love she sent to random strangers she will never meet. In her hour of sadness she brought hope to others. Amazing woman.
She and her entire family plus some friends are joining in on Out of the Darkness Overnight.
“Out of the Darkness Overnight” is an 18-mile walk that will take place on June 26th-27th throughout the streets of Boston, beginning at dusk and continuing till dawn. This walk is to bring awareness to depression and suicide.
Each member of the team needs to fund raise $1000 in order to be able to walk this. Her team has raised above their goal BUT several members have not reached the thousand dollar mark in order to walk.
Here is the team page.

I sincerely wish that there was something more I could do to help this family. I wish there were words I could say that would ease pain for them. It is hard to feel so very helpless.

  1. This is what has been soooo difficult for me as I've made friends who are suffering and I sooo much want to be there - in person - for them. I try through comments, email, etc. to do so - but it just seems inadequate.

    And how awesome that she donated his organs - that is an ultimate act of love in my eyes.

  2. It is hard to be there for our bloggy friends and we do the best we can through comments and virtual hugs.


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Saturday, 25 August 2012

Christmas cake!

So in the spirit of poverty, and giving people some time to find out what kind of cake every one likes I am going to post the ingredients and supplies list today. (Don't worry this will all be posted together at the recipe stage again.)

You probably have at least some of the things you need in the pantry. Don't worry, if you have to purchase some of the more expensive items, they are all staples in standard holiday baking, so any left overs can be used later in the year quite easily. We aren't going to be working with anything horribly complicated or unusual.

So, ingredients wise you will need

200g of glacé cherries (French style are best but to be honest it won't make much difference in this cake)

200g of candied peel (some times referred to as mixed peel)

1kg of currants and sultans mixed

(if peel and cherries are not your thing just sub with more dried fruit)

175ml of dark rum (just buy a bottle of the super market own brand, as we'll need more to feed the cake weekly)

25ml of vanilla extract or essence (NOT flavour. Flavour isn't real vanilla and lets just not go into what it is)

250g v. dark brown sugar

250g butter (I actually use a butter substitute as I've got a dairy allergy)

6 medium eggs

400g plain flour (all purpose)

1/4 of a teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

100g ground rice or ground almonds.

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

2 teaspoons of mixed spice (pumpkin pie spice)

See! Nothing scary there at all!

So any special hardware?

A large (23cm or so) Spring form pans (or two if you prefer a shorter cake)

A roll of grease proof baking paper

Some kitchen string

A flat baking tray that's wider than the cake tin

A large bowl to soak the fruit and mix the cake in.

A pastry brush

A kebab skewer

A wooden spoon

So far so good? Any questions yet?

Now given that my recipe is the way I like my christmas cake, so I'm going to link to the classic christmas cake.

Delia smith's christmas cake is a really traditional cake, it's smaller than mine and made with brandy, treacle and chopped almonds. Still quite simple.

But a quick search will bring up any number of versions of the classic! Not all are made as far in advance, this is because my cake is quite a dry cake and the rum keeps the cake and adds much needed moisture.

We won't be starting for a few weeks yet so we've all got plenty of time to buy the ingredients and supplies with out breaking the bank. So don't feel panicked into buying everything at once!

I hope that wasn't too over whelming minnie xoxo

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Sunday, 29 December 2013

Wow, the past two months have been crazy. Winding up the semester and getting ready for the holidays it's been pretty hectic. But I managed to get all my Christmas knitting done and then some. Granted my goals weren't particularly lofty. Still an achievement to be proud of.

The Christmas cake was a hit this year again. I covered it in lemon butter cream and royal icing. Tasty. As you can see my cake decorating was pretty minimalist but it's an upgrade from last year when the cake didn't survive long enough to be iced. Progress. (The coal is put on with an edible food safe pen, I have this one.)

We had planned to head up north to the islands to see family for Christmas  but the weather has been so wild the ferries haven't been running. We had a pretty awesome day all the same, Bloke made a MASSIVE roast beef dinner and we had a film marathon. And because Bloke is awesome he got me a new camera for Christmas so this should be the last post with crappy phone pictures. Well probably.

How was your holiday? Ready for the new year?

Minnie xoxo

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Goldberg, Campbell and corpsing

Yesterday was a bit of a marathon ... at one stage I had to do 16 interviews, back-to-back, for BBC local radio. The questions tend to be the same but the attitude of the presenters varies enormously. The most common reaction is disbelief that I am defending smokers.

Ironically, perhaps the least successful interview was at the end of the day when I was on TalkSport. Presenter Adrian Goldberg and I were in general agreement and I guess that doesn't make for good radio. Adrian realised this and changed tactics to play devil's advocate but I don't think his heart was in it.

Yesterday was the first time I have been interviewed by Nicky Campbell (Five Live Breakfast). I've never mentioned it on this blog but Campbell and I were at the same university (he was two years below me) and for a brief period he was on the staff of the student magazine I co-founded and edited.

I say "brief period". What happened is that, one morning, all six members of staff were issued with a writ for defamation. (The plaintiff was a fellow student.)

In case I get another writ (from Campbell himself) I should make it clear that he was totally blameless and was not responsible for any of the six (!) articles cited in the action (which was eventually settled out of court).

I still have a copy of the writ, with all our names on it, but it's fair to say that Nicky kept his distance from that moment. In fact, I am fairly sure that yesterday was the first time I have spoken to him since that fateful morning, 31 years ago.

Finally, I was interviewed twice yesterday across the road from our office in Wardour Street. (Soho is great place to be interviewed about smoking because half the population seem to smoke.) The first interview was with Al Jazeera, the second with NBC.

Now, I don't normally corpse during interviews but for the NBC piece I was standing next to a litter bin (don't ask) and of course the moment we started filming a street cleaner wandered up and began emptying the bin. We waited for him to finish but he was old and slow and he wasn't going to hurry for our benefit.

The NBC journalist and I both found it quite funny so when, eventually, the bin was empty and our friend moved on, I found it impossible to look her in the eye without laughing, especially when I began a sentence with the words, "I'm angry that ..." (cue giggles).

Usually I do an interview in one take. Yesterday, I'm ashamed to say, I experienced the dreaded words: "Forest, take six".

Reader Comments (2)

Take six - love it. Hysteria, I expect, Simon :-)

Oh how I remember the joys of the "carousel", when sitting in a little room at the BBC, you are patched through to one presenter after another to answer inane questions and try to deflect patronising nonsense. Ah, happy days.

February 2, 2010 at 11:39 | Unregistered CommenterRose Whiteley

Interview with Nicky
1.06.00 in

February 2, 2010 at 15:32 | Unregistered Commenterchas

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Global Force Gauge Market 2018 – Ametek, Shimpo, Sauter, Mecmesin, Extech, Mark-10, Dillon, PCE Instruments

Force Gauge
Force Gauge

Global “Force Gauge Market Research Report 2018-2021” provides a unique tool for evaluating the market, highlighting opportunities, and supporting strategic and tactical decision-making. This report recognizes that in this rapidly-evolving and competitive environment, up-to-date marketing information is essential to monitor performance and make critical decisions for growth and profitability. It provides information on trends and developments, and focuses on markets and materials, capacities and technologies, and on the changing structure of the Force Gauge.

For Market chain analysis, the report covers upstream raw materials, equipment, downstream client survey, marketing channels, Market development trend and proposals, which more specifically include valuable information on Force Gauge key applications and consumption, key regions and consumption, key Global distributors , major raw materials suppliers and contact information, major manufacturing equipment suppliers and contact information, major suppliers and contact Information, key consumers and contact information, and supply chain relationship analysis.

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Global Force Gauge Sales (K Units) and Revenue (Million USD) Market by Top Manufacturers 2018-2025 are: Ametek, Shimpo, Sauter, Mecmesin, Extech, Mark-10, Dillon, PCE Instruments, Sundoo, Alluris

This report focuses on the status and outlook for major applications/end users, consumption (sales), and market share and growth rate of Homes for Each Application: Electrical Industry, Automobile Manufacturing Industry, Packaging Industry, Others

The objectives of this study are:

  • To define, describe, and analyze the Force Gauge market on the basis of product type, application, and region
  • To forecast and analyze the size of the Force Gauge market (in terms of value) in six key regions, namely, Asia Pacific, Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe, North America, the Middle East & Africa, and South America
  • To forecast and analyze the Force Gauge market at country-level in each region
  • To strategically analyze each submarket with respect to individual growth trends and its contribution to the Force Gauge market
  • To analyze opportunities in the Force Gauge market for stakeholders by identifying high-growth segments of the market

Access FREE Complete Report:

Geographically, this report is segmented into several Key Regions, with Sales, revenue, Market Share (%) and Growth Rate (%) of Migraine Drugs in these regions, from 2014 to 2025 (forecast), covering North America, China, Europe, Southeast Asia, Japan, India.

The report provides a basic overview of the Force Gauge industry including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure. And development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures.

The study was conducted using an objective combination of primary and secondary information including inputs from key participants in the industry. The report contains a comprehensive market and vendor landscape in addition to a SWOT analysis of the key vendors.

There are 15 chapters to deeply display the global Force Gauge market.

Chapter 1, to describe Force Gauge Introduction, product scope, market overview, market opportunities, market risk, market driving force;

Chapter 2, to analyze the top manufacturers of Force Gauge, with sales, revenue, and price of Force Gauge, in 2017 and 2018;

Chapter 3, to display the competitive situation among the top manufacturers, with sales, revenue and market share in 2017 and 2018;

Chapter 4, to show the global market by regions, with sales, revenue and market share of Force Gauge, for each region, from 2014 to 2018;

Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, to analyze the key regions, with sales, revenue and market share by key countries in these regions;

Chapter 10 and 11, to show the market by type and application, with sales market share and growth rate by type, application, from 2014 to 2018;

Chapter 12, Force Gauge market forecast, by regions, type and application, with sales and revenue, from 2018 to 2025;

Chapter 13, 14 and 15, to describe Force Gauge sales channel, distributors, traders, dealers, Research Findings and Conclusion, appendix and data source.

Reasons for Buying this Report:

  • This report provides pin-point analysis for changing competitive dynamics
  • It provides a forward looking perspective on different factors driving or restraining market growth
  • It provides a technological growth map over time to understand the industry growth rate
  • It provides a seven-year forecast assessed on the basis of how the market is predicted to grow.

Contact Us:
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