Sunday, March 7, 2010

Museum exhibit chronicles rock & roll photography

By Arthur Pollock
Sunday, March 7, 2010 - Updated 5m ago

"WORCESTER - The original 1898 curators of the Worcester Art Museum could hardly have imagined that 112 years later its hallowed halls would someday hang artifacts from an upstart art form called rock ’n’ roll photography.

They needn’t have worried. The 100-plus photos in this traveling exhibit that opens here today - Worcester is the first stop on a four-city tour that originated with the Brooklyn Museum - are a worthy collection of pop artists from the mid-’50s to the present."

Search Amazon.com for rock and roll photography

  Sphere: Related Content

Friday, February 26, 2010

Jimi Hendrix and His Vulgar Bejeweled Transvestism: Monterey Pop! - New York News - Runnin' Scared

 

VVLogo15.jpg

Clip Job: an excerpt every day from the Voice archives.
June 29, 1967, Vol. XII, No. 37

The Hip Homunculus
By Richard Golstein

"MONTEREY -- It begins to sound like the plot of one of those absurdly gargantuan Hollywood musicals. They are sitting around John Phillips's living room in the highest holiest Hollywood, when suddenly the phone rings and someone with a lot of bread is offering those present a share of what promises to be a very profitable venture -- a pop blast at Monterey, festival capital of the West. Everybody listens and yawns the way superstars do at the prospect of earning another line on next year's 1040, when suddenly some supercool Mickey Rooney, with a flower child June Haver nestled at his feet, comes up with the eureka idea: "Let's do a show of our own. A pop festival, with flowers and food and a trippy flippy cast of thousands. Yeah."

And they do. For once, the money men back off and with them that cardboard consistency the title "music festival" usually conjures. For the first time in anyone's memory, the scene exploits back."

Jimi Hendrix and His Vulgar Bejeweled Transvestism: Monterey Pop! - New York News - Runnin' Scared

Sphere: Related Content

LuminoMagazine.com - Tales From Beyond: Johnny Cash’s Final Album

 

Written by SAMANTHA LESHIN

Wednesday, 24 February 2010

"Johnny Cash. Not much needs to be said about the iconic singer of the 20th century. The late Cash has been known to effortlessly mix themes of rock and country into a fusion all his own. The sixth and final installment in his American series, Ain't No Grave, is a mind-blowing exit. Recorded and produced by Rick Rubin in Cash's final days, this album is hauntingly spiritual.

From the first notes of the title song, Cash's signature warble and bass tones resound through ominous lyrics of spirituality and strength. His voice is clear and strong in unison the powerful chords of the acoustic guitar. The fear invoking words of the cover of “Redemption Day” is a clear plea for personal and societal freedom, while “Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream” is a pageantry wish for world peace."

LuminoMagazine.com - Tales From Beyond: Johnny Cash’s Final Album

Sphere: Related Content

Dalai Lama preaches peace, compassion in Boca Raton talk

By MICHELE DARGAN

Daily News Staff Writer
Wednesday, February 24, 2010


"Updated 3 p.m. His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, spoke Wednesday about compassion and the benefits of positivity to 3,000 people at Florida Atlantic University's Arena in Boca Raton.
"Out of compassion brings inner peace, and out of inner peace comes world peace. Without inner peace, we cannot have world peace," he said."



Sphere: Related Content

Love the Earth, Love Your Vibrator | Sex and Dating

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post. Sphere: Related Content

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Psychedelic Therapy New research shows psychedelics might hold therapeutic potential for those dealing with death

 By Alex Liu | Posted February 24, 2010

"The Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of psilocybin, the active ingredient of psychedelic mushrooms, in pilot clinical trials to treat end-of-life distress. [Credit: Rohan523, wikimedia.org]"

Sphere: Related Content

From Woodstock to Bonnaroo, the music festival lives on

Author: Sara Mutnick Contributing Writer
Published: February 19, 2010


"Today's festivals are a far cry from the days of Woodstock, but the intensity and artistry are still present in full force. Festivals still bring out some of the biggest acts in rock, but they are especially good at exposing the world to artists that otherwise could go unnoticed. And it's not just rock acts at these festivals anymore.

Rappers, techno DJs and R&B stars are all welcome to share the stage with the rockers and folk singers that old festival goers are used to seeing. Headlining multiple fests this summer is rap's architect himself, Jay-Z.

The drug culture is another festival component still intact from the days of Woodstock. Many describe music festivals as having an "open air drug market," where you can find just about any way to get high, and trip and roll your way through the weekend. But you don't need to be high to enjoy this year's festivals." Sphere: Related Content

London Fashion Week – Charlie Le Mindu

"Charlie Le Mindu loves to shock – and this second collection from the eccentric French celebrity hairdresser does not disappoint. His Autumn/Winter 2010 collection is a celebration of everything ‘haute-coiffure’, particularly the wig, and has been inspired by religious mysteries, the occult and black magic."

Sphere: Related Content

Medical Marijuana Benefits MS, Spinal Cord Patients: Report

"Marijuana helps ease muscle spasms caused by multiple sclerosis and pain caused by certain neurological illnesses or spinal cord injuries, says a report released Wednesday by the Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research at the University of California, San Diego.

The document includes the findings of five studies that included participants who were randomly selected to receive either marijuana or placebos, the Associated Press reported." Sphere: Related Content

Woodstock creator announces Imagine Music & Arts Festival

By Alex Young on February 19th, 2010

"Update: The festival is now being billed as a two-day event, set to take place from July 10-11. Foo Fighters, Nickelback, and Lady Gaga are among the acts that have been contacted, Torontoist reports.

This summer, Artie Kornfeld, one of the promoters of the original Woodstock Music Festival, and artist David Kam have announced plans for a brand new, three two-day Toronto based music festival designed to draw some 350,000 attendees daily (yeah, 350,000!) in the name of peace and love.

The Imagine Music & Arts Festival, which is inspired by John Lennon’s song of the same name and his message of peace and love along with 1969’s original Woodstock Festival, will be staged at Downsview Park for three days this summer, CHARTattack reports."

Sphere: Related Content

Patti Smith at Harold Washington Library

Posted by Jerome Ludwig on Fri, Feb 19, 2010 at 1:10 PM

"Punk-rock poet Patti Smith achieves a rare two-fer in this week's Reader: a Critic's Choice in both Music and Lit & Lectures.

The Lit part: Smith will read from Just Kids (Ecco), her remarkable new memoir of her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in New York in the late 60s and 70s, on Sunday at 2 PM at the Harold Washington Library Center, 400 S. State."

Sphere: Related Content

What Corporate America Can Learn from the Grateful Dead

By Cory Vanderpool | February 18th, 2010

"...While they sang about sunshine and daydreams, the Dead were no fools when it came to matters of finance. From incorporating the band, to forming a board of directors (recruited from band members and the crew, along with Deadheads), to stoking loyal customers by setting up a hotline to let fans in on the tour dates before they were published (the earliest Twitter feed?), the Dead showed striking business acumen, Green explains. They were rather prophetic, too, knowing they’d never be able to control their musical products–and so turning a blind eye to bootlegging–while understanding that selling merchandise and touring were the real money-makers.

“Much of the talk about ‘Internet business models’ presupposes that they are blindingly new and different,” wrote Green. “But the connection between the Internet and the Dead’s business model was made 15 years ago by the band’s lyricist, John Perry Barlow, who became an Internet guru.” In 1994, well before Chris Anderson made it a business buzz word, Barlow wrote in a Wired article that “the best way to raise demand for your product is to give it away.”" Sphere: Related Content

Eric Clapton, Paul Simon Join Yoko Ono Jam

By David Marchese on February 17, 2010 8:59 AM

"During the career-spanning video montage that opened Tuesday night's We Are Plastic Ono Band concert celebration of Yoko Ono at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, a quote flashed on the screen: "There's a reason the coolest guy in the world fell in love with her.""

Sphere: Related Content

Subculture Film Fest Alert: Video Punks, Drunken Hippies & Dangerous Robots

By Ian S. Port in Film, Music
Tue., Feb. 16 2010 @ 12:48PM


"It's amazing to realize how many historical subcultures San Francisco has hosted over the years. And while a full tally of them all would probably fill an entire boring-ass academic journal, YBCA has a better way to take in the doings of cultural rebels past. An awesome-looking new film series that kicks off this week, "Freaks, Punks, Skanks & Cranks" will explore offbeat communities and personalities, including do-it-yourself punk, egomaniacal Eurotrash, and eccentric comedy through four films that start Thursday and run through Feb. 27."

Sphere: Related Content

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Martin and other guitar makers go green

By Sidney Stevens

"Recently, Martin and others, including Taylor, Gibson, Fender and Yamaha, joined Greenpeace’s MusicWood Coalition to encourage loggers like Sealaska Timber Corp. (which owns some of Alaska’s remaining old-growth Sitka spruce forests) to harvest them responsibly and seek eco-certification through the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Guitar makers also have put some money where their emerging green values are. Gibson, for instance, was first with its eco-certified SmartWood Les Paul electric guitars. Martin has collaborated with Sting on certified wood signature models. It also produces guitars made of high-pressure wood laminate, a Sustainable Wood series using eco-sourced alternative woods, and last year launched 100 percent FSC-certified traditional-wood models, including the D Mahogany 09."

Sphere: Related Content

Climate change will make world more 'fragrant'

 By Matt Walker
Editor, Earth News


"As CO2 levels increase and the world warms, land use, precipitation and the availability of water will also change.

In response to all these disruptions, plants will emit greater levels of fragrant chemicals called biogenic volatile organic compounds.

That will then alter how plants interact with one another and defend themselves against pests, according to a major scientific review.

According to the scientists leading the review, the world may already be becoming more fragrant, as plants have already begun emitting more smelly chemicals." Sphere: Related Content

Buenos Aires Lures Jet Set With Weak Peso

By Michael Martin

"Buenos Aires's affordability attracts expatriates and bohemian artists who can find rentals for $500 a month or properties for less than $100,000. For those looking to stay long term, companies such as Buenos Aires Habitat specialize in upscale apartments and lofts throughout the city. Those unfamiliar with the grit of urban living should stick to established neighborhoods like Recoleta, the Beverly Hills of Buenos Aires, instead of edgier areas such as San Telmo or Palermo Hollywood."

Sphere: Related Content

Butch Trucks on Moogis, The Allman Brothers Band and More.

By: Dr. Matt Warnock

"The Allman Brothers Band is currently gearing up to begin their March 2010 concert series at the United Palace Theater in New York City. For those who can’t travel to the show, or even get tickets if they can be there, each concert will be webcast live from the theater through Moogis. What is Moogis you ask? Moogis is a subscription-based website that provides streaming webcasts of live and archived concerts. Currently the site features concerts solely by the ABB, but there are plans to expand to other bands and genres of music in the near future."


Sphere: Related Content

Fit to be tie-dyed

 BY CAROLINE BERG | FEBRUARY 15, 2010 7:30 AM

"Tie-dye is usually associated with peace signs, long hair, and the psychedelic. However, the practice dates as far back as 500-800 A.D. pre-Columbian fashions, a little before the Grateful Dead took the stage.

“I don’t really know why tie-dye found renewed popularity in the ’60s,” said Christopher Roy, a UI professor of art and art history. “It must have been the LSD that made all those colors so appealing.”

It could have been the drugs. Or it could have been the tie-dye market in African nations that charmed the influx of U.S. Peace Corps workers during the era.

Heidi Anderson, who works at the Spot youth outreach center in Iowa City, spent last August visiting Kenya and Swaziland, where she came in contact with Africa’s rich assortment of patterned textiles. She will teach a class on the batik wax-resist dyeing technique in celebration of Black History Month. The Afro-American Cultural Center will host the arts and crafts night at 5 p.m. Thursday. Those who wish to participate in this free and open event must RSVP today."

  Sphere: Related Content

Mississippi's marijuana: Legal pot farm at Ole Miss

Chris Joyner • chris.joyner@jackson.gannett.com • February 16, 2010

"The University of Mississippi Marijuana Project provides marijuana by the bale to licensed researchers throughout the nation. They study the drug through a federal contract with the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Marijuana is grown in a field, nurtured in an artificially lit "grow room," analyzed in labs and stored in drums in two bank-style vaults."

Sphere: Related Content

Fog decrease harming California redwoods

By Doyle Rice
Feb 15, 2010

"A lack of fog in recent decades along the California coast could be stressing the region's iconic redwood trees, according to a new study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Based on the study, led by James Johnstone and Todd Dawson of the University of California at Berkeley, fog was 33% more common in California in the early part of the 20th century than it was in the latter half of the century.

Redwood trees rely on foggy conditions to help conserve water during the arid summer months. When there is less fog, the trees become more vulnerable to droughts and dry air, says Johnstone."

Sphere: Related Content

The Seattleization of Washington D.C.

By Adam Vogt
February 15, 2010

"The nation's capital has been converted to the Seattle culture of recycling and caring. Guess which city now has a bag tax?"

"Anyone who has ever made the eastward migration from the Pacific Northwest to Washington, DC knows what a psychological challenge it is. Giving up mountains for monuments, coffee for congressmen (and women), microbrews for Michelob, are not even trade-offs. It is not just the quality of life changes that are difficult; nor the transition from stoic, aloof Northwest personality types to the self-promotional East Coast careerists. Rather, it’s leaving behind the culture of recycling and caring for the environment for the gritty, litter-strewn, rundown urban east."

Sphere: Related Content

ET Water Systems Reigns in Water Consumption With Intelligent Green Irrigation Technology

Posted : Mon, 15 Feb 2010 12:00:05 GMT
Author : ET Water
Category : Press Release

NOVATO, CA -- 02/15/10 -- ET Water Systems, Inc. has announced a new opportunity for businesses and municipalities nationwide to effortlessly establish water-wise landscaping practices that will dramatically reduce their water consumption rates and slash monthly water bills.

According to the EPA's WaterSense Web site, landscape irrigation wastes up to 1.5 billion gallons of water every day across the country. In ET Water's home state of California alone, irrigation-related water use is 8.7 million acre feet per year. A very modest 20-percent reduction in landscape water consumption would conserve 1.74 million acre feet per year -- enough water to serve more than 2 million families for a full year.

"Our platform integrates some of today's most advanced technologies to help solve the critical global need for water conservation," said Pat McIntyre, president of ET Water Systems. "Our customers' many controllers become a state-of-the-art, interconnected computer network with centralized control and internet access, allowing real-time control and the many benefits of a flexible, upgradeable network architecture."

Today, 97-percent of installed irrigation controllers utilize out-dated, non-intelligent controllers. Upgrading these properties to ET Water's advanced irrigation control technology is a quick and economical solution to maximize water conservation and reduce water bills by up to 50-percent while prolonging the useful life of legacy irrigation system.

Since 2002, ET Water has been at the forefront of "green" technology solving one of the world's most important environmental challenges through intelligent irrigation management. By integrating the power of the internet with the state-of-the-art in software, database technology, horticulture science and weather data, ET Water is perfecting the science of landscape irrigation with systems that reduce water consumption by 20 to 50-percent or more, simplify administration, improve landscape quality, and reduce runoff pollution. To discover why some of the largest commercial and municipal properties in the world entrust their landscapes to ET Water visit http://www.etwater.com/.

Sphere: Related Content

The sensual literary salon

Posted on Wed, Feb. 10, 2010
By Lini S. Kadaba
Inquirer Staff Writer

"I want to mainstream erotica." 


"The Erotic Literary Salon pounds with words, those words, the ones not usually uttered in polite company - or in private without a blush.

But few at the Bohemian Absinthe Lounge at Time, a restaurant-bar at 13th and Sansom Streets, look particularly shocked."


Sphere: Related Content

Del. teen found in igloo with pot, bongs, knife

The Associated Press
Thursday, February 11, 2010; 9:34 PM

Alamantra short version: Someone in New Castle called the cops to report a "suspicious man carrying a gun." The cops arrived to find an igloo with a teenager inside. The boy had a knife and hammer ...probably how he built the igloo... about a 1/4 ounce of weed, and a couple of pipes to smoke it with. The cops arrested him and charged him with 2 counts of carrying a concealed, deadly instrument, possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia. ...Build an igloo... that's a pot fueled inspiration if ever I saw one. A decent lawyer should be able to get the weapons charges dropped since the igloo demonstrates that they were used as tools. Sphere: Related Content

Where the Beat Goes On

Forty years after Jack Kerouac's death, Barry Divola tracks down the landmarks of a generation.

"Specs' has been a hang-out for everyone from strippers and sailors to poets and bohemians over the past 42 years and it is my last port of call on a long day of walking - and drinking - in the footsteps of the Beat generation. As the novelist, Jack Kerouac, came to the end of the road in October, 1969, dying at the age of 47, I'd decided to commemorate the 40th anniversary of his passing by making my own pilgrimage to San Francisco's Beat landmarks." Sphere: Related Content

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Don Lattin: My Book on Acid

Don Lattin: My Book on Acid

By Don Lattin
Posted: February 3, 2010 02:12 PM

"You never know who will show up or what to expect when you face the folding chairs and start reading from your new book.
Especially when the book you just wrote is all about LSD.
On Tuesday night, I made my fourth bookstore appearance to promote my new book, and it happened again. Someone tried to turn me on."

Read More


Sphere: Related Content

The Beatles or The Stones? with Warren Haynes | MusicRadar.com

The Beatles or The Stones? with Warren Haynes | MusicRadar.com:

"Plus: Gov't Mule's mainman answers your questions

Joe Bosso, Wed 3 Feb 2010, 4:12 pm UTC" Sphere: Related Content

New Steam-Powered Environmentally-Friendly Super Engine.

Alamantra short version:
  Cyclone Power Technologies has announced that their new Cyclone Engine, which can run on almost any kind of fuel imaginable (including biofuels), will be used in an attempt to break the land steam record on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah; perhaps as soon as August of this year. Cyclone Technologies states, "the Cyclone Engine is capable of running on virtually any fuel (or combination of fuels) including today’s promising new bio fuels, while emitting far fewer pollutants than traditional gas or diesel powered internal combustion engines."
  "The Cyclone Engine is a Rankine Cycle heat regenerative external combustion engine, otherwise known as a “Schoell Cycle” engine.  It creates mechanical energy by heating and cooling water in a closed-loop, piston-based engine system." See HERE for details.
  The vehicle, which is designed by Chuk Williams of the U.S. Land Steam Record Team, has to achieve a speed exceeding 148.308 mph but is anticipated to achieve 200 mph . ...Groovy.

Sources:
Land Steam Record Vehicle Attempt Gets Its Steam Eco Engine | EarthTechling:
by David Craddock, February 3rd, 2010

Cyclone Power Technologies Website:
http://www.cyclonepower.com/
United States Land Steam Record Team Website
http://landspeedrecord.intuitwebsites.com/index.html Sphere: Related Content

Disruptive jet passenger ate marijuana cookies beforehand

Disruptive jet passenger ate marijuana cookies beforehand

The Alamantra short version: 30 year old dude from San Fransisco named Kinman Chan was traveling home from a conference in the Dominican Republic. This dude is an artist who creates "vibrant" and "abstract" works. He got to the last leg of the flight, which was from Philadelphia to San Fran. He ate too many pot cookies, got on the plane and had a freak out; kinda like that dude in the Twilight Zone movie. A 51 year old flight attendant named Lorin Gorman kicked his ass. It turns out she was a 4th degree black belt in tae-kwon-do. He was put in handcuffs and the plane was rerouted to Pittsburgh where Chan was taken into custody. He's being held on two charges and can't even make his $200 bail. ...Bummer. Kinda funny to think that a dude named Chan got his ass kicked by a tae-kwon-do dragon lady. Maybe this will be his most "vibrant" and most "abstract" masterpiece ...Performance art, that's the ticket. Have a cookie. Sphere: Related Content

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

It's hip to help, student says -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY

It's hip to help, student says -- Page 1 -- Times Union - Albany NY:

By DENNIS YUSKO, Staff writer
First published in print: Tuesday, February 2, 2010

"BALLSTON SPA -- Ashlie Busone's tie-dyed heart is going international.

The Ballston Spa High School senior founded Hippies for Hope in Saratoga County two years ago. This summer, it is expanding into Africa, where Busone will teach language skills and agriculture at a girls school in Tanzania.

Busone, 17, has delivered thousands of tie-dyed T-shirts to hospitals and group homes across the Capital Region, the Northeast and beyond. She and other students dye nearly 100 shirts a week in her family's Ballston Lake garage, and sell them to the public for $10 each. Each shirt sold buys another for a hospitalized child or adult. Each shirt carries an inspirational message or quote, and Busone tries to comfort those she visits." Sphere: Related Content

Whales get Support on Sonar Ban - CBS News

Whales get Support on Sonar Ban - CBS News:

This article was written by Discover's Andrew Moseman.

"Whales and the U.S. Navy have tangled repeatedly over the past years over charges that the Navy’s sonar exercises disorient or injure whales and other marine mammals. Now, whales in the Pacific appear to have a new champion: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is considering limiting the Navy’s sonar tests in certain marine mammal “hot spots.”

The announcement was made in a letter (pdf) from NOAA head Jane Lubchenco to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. NOAA also called for development of a system for estimating the “comprehensive sound budget for the oceans,” which could help reduce human sources of noise - vessel traffic, sonar and construction activities - that degrade the environment in which sound-sensitive species communicate [Los Angeles Times]." Sphere: Related Content

San Francisco Music - Works by Manson Family pal Bobby BeauSoleil’s Orkustra compiled on double album - page 1

San Francisco Music - Works by Manson Family pal Bobby BeauSoleil’s Orkustra compiled on double album - page 1:

"Born Robert Kenneth BeauSoleil in Santa Barbara, BeauSoleil packed his bags in 1965 for San Francisco and found himself at the intersection of Haight and Ashbury. He was just down the street from where the Grateful Dead were holed up, loosening the knots on folk and blues and letting in more expansive jazzy improvisations. BeauSoleil performed a similar act with his own muse, moving beyond rock into weirder fields of play, drawing on Indian classical music, the works of John Coltrane, and avant-garde electronic fare. Trawling the basement of a music shop, BeauSoleil unearthed instruments like the Greek bouzouki and set about amplifying it onstage. A few like-minded travelers joined him, and while his original vision was for an 'electric chamber orchestra,' the group soon pared down to five members and the unmodified name of the Orkustra. They began to share stages with the Grateful Dead, the Charlatans, and Big Brother and the Holding Company.

This two-album set culls its music from rehearsal tapes and concerts performed during the Orkustra's brief existence. While the distance of four decades casts a murkiness over the proceedings, the interplay among its participants still entrances." Sphere: Related Content

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Italians Seek Wizards’ Help During Economic Crisis (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

Italians Seek Wizards’ Help During Economic Crisis (Update1) - Bloomberg.com:

By Flavia Krause-Jackson and Flavia Rotondi

Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- "Italians spend about 6 billion euros ($8.3 billion) on spells and astrology each year to help them with financial troubles, according to a Jan. 28 study by the European Consumers Association.

About 30,000 Italians spend every day between 20 euros and 600 euros each on sorcery, according to the report, which was conducted along with Telefono Antiplagio, an Italian voluntary service that collects reports from victims of con artists.

Italians living in Lombardy, where Milan is located, spend the most on the occult, splashing out 90 million euros a year on various forms of magic, including fortune tellers" Sphere: Related Content

Friday, January 29, 2010

Activist, 28, to become youngest MP | Stuff.co.nz

Activist, 28, to become youngest MP | Stuff.co.nz:

"Parliament's newest MP is a Greenpeace activist who has sailed on the Rainbow Warrior and protested in Tiananmen Square in Beijing.

The Green Party's Gareth Hughes, 28, will become Parliament's youngest MP when he is sworn in early next month."

"Mr Hughes has worked for Greenpeace for 10 years, most recently as its climate co-ordinator, where he ran the Sign On campaign urging Prime Minister John Key to attend the Copenhagen talks on climate change.

He has been involved in several civil disobedience protests in which he has clashed with police, including a campaign against McDonald's use of genetically modified chicken feed.

Mr Hughes has pledged to tone down his activism while an MP but said he would continue to support those involved in peaceful protests."

Sphere: Related Content

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Activist, historian Howard Zinn dead at 87



Howard Zinn, historian, peace activist, and the celebrated author of "A People's History of the United States" succumbed to a heart attack in California on Wednesday. He was 87 years old.

Howard Zinn's website

Please see the Democracy Now! tribute:

The Progressive:

The Nation / NPR:

From the Huffington Post:

From AntiWarBlog.com:



Sphere: Related Content

Poetry and prejudice: "Howl" cast links beatnik obscenity trial to Prop. 8 | StarTribune.com

Poetry and prejudice: "Howl" cast links beatnik obscenity trial to Prop. 8 | StarTribune.com:

Park City, Utah

By Colin Covert

"The Sundance premiere “Howl” may be based on a 53-year-old First Amendment case, but its stars say it raises issues that are still burning today. James Franco plays embattled beatnik poet Allen Ginsberg and Jon Hamm portrays defense lawyer Jake Erlich. Ehrlich, the person fictional attorney Perry Mason was based on, defended Ginsberg’s publisher from obscenity charges for selling the ribald epic, whose homosexual references and antiestablishment tone outraged Eisenhower era moralizers. The film's vibrant animation of passages from 'Howl' turns Ginsberg's challenging language into handsome, trippy imagery." Sphere: Related Content

EXCLUSIVE: Animal Collective and Director Danny Perez On Their Psychedelic Visual Assault, ODDSAC | Movieline

EXCLUSIVE: Animal Collective and Director Danny Perez On Their Psychedelic Visual Assault, ODDSAC | Movieline:

"ODDSAC, a 53-minute experimental film scored by psychedelic indie favorites Animal Collective, is a cortex-punishing experience. Like the demonic product of the unholy union of Stan Brakhage, Matthew Barney and an Elvira and the Party Monsters pinball machine, this “visual album,” as the band and director Danny Perez refer to it, seeks to provide a visual palette to accompany the band’s hard-to-describe signature sound — a potent mixed-bag of atonal chords and crunches glossed with surf rock harmonizing. But be warned: If your familiarity with the band is limited to the more accessible stuff on Merriweather Post Pavillion, ODDSAC’s jarring, horror-tinged soundtrack might put you off. For his part, Perez manages to concoct a bizarre and eclectic visual soup that frequently returns to the great outdoors: it opens with dark figures spinning hypnotic fireballs in an open field, then introduces us to a velvet-cloaked figure literally washing his balls in a stream (one of the film’s many D&D-nerd-inspired images), and later offers a marshmallow roast gone horribly, horribly wrong." Sphere: Related Content

Memorial service set for celebrated author

"Unto them from whose eyes the veil of life hath fallen may there be granted the accomplishment of their true Wills; whether they will absorption in the Infinite, or to be united with their chosen and preferred, or to be in contemplation, or at peace, or to achieve the labour and heroism or incarnation on this planet or another, or in any Star, or aught else, unto them may there be granted the accomplishment of their wills; yea, the accomplishment of their wills." Ecclesiae Gnosticae Catholicae




On Saturday, Jan. 30th, friends and family members will gather in Dayton Ohio for a 10:00 AM memorial service for Ted A. Andrews. This memorial will be held at St. Luke Church, 1442 N. Fairfield Road, Beavercreek.

He succumbed to cancer at his home in Jackson, Tenn. on Oct. 24th. He was 57 years old.

Mr. Andrews was the founder of Dragonhawk Publishing and was known as a prolific writer on occult and esoteric subjects; as well as an advocate for the protection of wildlife. Some of his titles include The Intercession of Spirits: Working with Animals, Angels and Ancestors, How to Meet and Work with Spirit Guides and Nature-Speak: Signs, Omens and Messages in Nature. His most widely recognized work is Animal Speak: The Spiritual and Magical Powers of Creatures Great and Small,” which has sold more than a half million copies since it was published in 1993. He practiced what he preached, volunteering in a raptor rehabilitation and animal rescue programs at the Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm near Dayton. He worked as a teacher in the Dayton School system for over ten years, was a musician, and a student of sacred dance, ballet and kung-fu. Many have considered the philosophy and beliefs that he espoused in his works and in his life to be an inspiration in their own. He is missed.

SOURCE

SOURCE

Sphere: Related Content

Enchantment blooms at Waterhouse exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts - Taunton, MA - The Taunton Gazette

Enchantment blooms at Waterhouse exhibit at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts - Taunton, MA - The Taunton Gazette:

By Margaret Smith
GateHouse News Service
Posted Jan 27, 2010 @ 02:19 PM
MONTREAL —

"Imagine walking along a remote ocean or sea shore, as turquoise waves call you to some exotic, distant place.

More beckoning still is the sight of a mermaid combing out her long hair, her eyes looking afar, a gaze at once mysterious and inviting.

A viewer can easily imagine encountering such a scene for real in the painting, “A Mermaid,” by John William Waterhouse, the British artist who embraced scenes of a mythical past even as his contemporaries emphasized edgier images of the everyday world.

An exhibit of his paintings is on view in “John William Waterhouse, Garden of Enchantment,” at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, in the only scheduled North American stop of a tour of the paintings.

The exhibit – with paintings and artifacts on loan from The Tate Gallery in London, Leeds Art Gallery, and the Art Gallery of Ontario -- is the largest-ever retrospective of Waterhouse’s work, and the first international Waterhouse exhibit since 1978."

"If you go

‘John William Waterhouse: Garden of Enchantment’

Where Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Jean-Noel Desmarais Pavilion, 1379 Sherbrooke St. West, Montreal

When through Feb. 7

Admission $15 Adults, ($7.50 Wednesday 5 to 9 p.m.); $10 60 or over ($7.50 Wednesday 5 to 9 p.m.)

$7.50 Students under 30

Children under 12 free.

Families $30; $12 groups of 30 or more

Please note all fees are in Canadian currency.

To purchase tickets On sale at the museum counter or through the Admission network in Montreal at 514-790-1245 and elsewhere in Canada at 1-800-361-4595 and in the U.S. at 1-800-678-5440.

For group reservations, call 514-285-1600, ext. 440 or 1-800-899-MUSE (6873.)

More information is available at the museum’s Web site.

Hours 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Closed Monday.

For more information Call 514-285-2000 or visit www.mmfa.cq.ca.

For English language option, click “English” at top of home page.

Lodgings The museum Web site also lists a variety of lodging offerings in the vicinity.

More lodging and other travel info visit the Montreal Tourism Board at

www.tourisme-montreal.org.

Margaret Smith is Arts and Calendar editor at GateHouse Media New England’s Northwest Unit. E-mail her at msmith@cnc.com." Sphere: Related Content

Monday, January 25, 2010

WEB EXCLUSIVE: A-Z of Jaipur Literature Festival

WEB EXCLUSIVE: A-Z of Jaipur Literature Festival:

"For any self-respecting reader, the Jaipur Literature Festival is the best that could have happened after the invention of the Guternberg press. The fifth edition of the “greatest literary show on the earth” as a vinyl board at the venue says, just got bigger and bigger. Here’s an A-Z of the who’s who and what’s what of the event." Sphere: Related Content

SoCal with a sci-fi twist: Philip K. Dick's serene, unusual years in Orange County | Hero Complex | Los Angeles Times

SoCal with a sci-fi twist: Philip K. Dick's serene, unusual years in Orange County | Hero Complex | Los Angeles Times:

PART 1: PHILIP K. DICK, THE LAST DECADE

"The last years of his life, Philip K. Dick lived in, of all places, Orange County, a Southern California setting that made the life-battered sci-fi writer something of a (to borrow from Robert Heinlein) stranger in a strange land. Today, we begin a six-part series looking at those final years. The series is written by Scott Timberg, the L.A. freelance journalist who runs the West Coast culture blog the Misread City. He's also a longtime (albeit sometimes closeted) fan of science fiction."

"Dick’s life and work, which began to resemble and blend into each other during his years in Southern California, are the subject of a new film, “Radio Free Albemuth,” starring Alanis Morissette and currently seeking distribution. (The novel, published after his death, and film both offer a character named Philip K. Dick.) “The Adjustment Bureau,” an adaptation of an early Dick story starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt, is due in the fall, and several other projects -- as well as lawsuits over his ever-growing estate -- are cooking." Sphere: Related Content

Live: Hal Willner, Sonic Youth, Jeffrey Lewis, Lou Reed, and More Pay Tribute to Fugs Emeritus Tuli Kupferberg at St Ann's Warehouse - New York Music - Sound of the City

Live: Hal Willner, Sonic Youth, Jeffrey Lewis, Lou Reed, and More Pay Tribute to Fugs Emeritus Tuli Kupferberg at St Ann's Warehouse - New York Music - Sound of the City:

By Richard Gehr in Featured, Last Night, Richard Gehr, St. Ann's Warehouse, Tuli Kupferberg, live



"A Benefit for Tuli Kupferberg
St. Ann's Warehouse
Friday, January 22

Nothing crystallizes the identity politics lurking somewhere near the core of pop music quite like benefit and tribute concerts, where donor acts reconstruct the beneficiary in their own image, often to revelatory - or, nearly as often, dumbfounding - effect. Just ask Hal Willner, who's made a fine career out of assembling such confabs, including Friday's three-hour, suitably beat potpourri he and St. Ann's threw for beatnik king, multitalented rabble-rousing hedonist, and Fug emeritus Tuli Kupferberg, who, at age 86, is burdened by medical expenses after suffering two strokes last year." Sphere: Related Content

A green city arises from the desert of Abu Dhabi | The Australian

A green city arises from the desert of Abu Dhabi | The Australian:

"Masdar City, whose design and technologies are still being determined, will house up to 50,000 people in a carless city connected to the rest of Abu Dhabi by a planned underground metro system.

A previous 2016 date for completion was recently discarded, with 2020 now a better bet.

In a departure from Abu Dhabi's heavily airconditioned buildings (which, along with massive desalinisation plants, give the emirate its huge per capita greenhouse gas emissions), Masdar has gone back to traditional desert Arabian building methods: channelling wind through the city and careful use of shade to take the sting out of the desert sun, with average maximum summer temperatures near 40 degrees Celsius.

The first residents of the city -- about 150 students at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, which is affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- are scheduled to move in in September, with the rest of the city being built in stages to 2020.

The city will be powered by solar energy, with almost all the roofs in the 6sq km city covered in solar panels, and other renewable sources. One of the biggest innovations will be driverless cars, which will provide free solar-powered public transport around the city from September." Sphere: Related Content

Sunday, January 24, 2010

GM food can damage liver and kidneys: India Today - Latest Breaking News from India, World, Business, Cricket, Sports, Bollywood.

GM food can damage liver and kidneys: India Today - Latest Breaking News from India, World, Business, Cricket, Sports, Bollywood.:

"A new study raises questions about the safety of genetically modified crops for human consumption, saying it could cause liver and kidney damage.

According to the study, animals fed on three strains of genetically modified maize created by the US biotech firm Monsanto suffered signs of organ damage after just three months." Sphere: Related Content

Save money and easily make environmentally friendly household supplies yourself | year, products, make - Life - Gaston Gazette

Save money and easily make environmentally friendly household supplies yourself | year, products, make - Life - Gaston Gazette:

"There are five main ingredients that you need on hand: baking soda, borax, soap, washing soda (laundry section of grocery store) and white vinegar or lemon juice.



GENERAL HOUSEHOLD CLEANER:

1 teaspoon liquid soap

1 teaspoon borax, squeeze of lemon

1 quart of warm water.

Mix well in a spray bottle.

For extra scouring, use moist salt or baking soda and a green scouring pad.



WINDOW CLEANER:

2 teaspoons white vinegar

1 quart of warm water or 2 tablespoons of borax

3 cups of water

Use a spray bottle for application.



DRAIN CLEANER:

½ cup borax followed by 2 cups boiling water or ¼ cup baking soda followed by ½ cup white vinegar, cover drain for 15 minutes, follow with 2 quarts of boiling water or, use a plumber’s “snake” and boiling water.

Use a drain screen to prevent excess hair from bathtub drains.



FLEA PREVENTION FOR PETS:

Add 1 tablespoon of brewer’s yeast to food to give pet’s skin a scent that fleas avoid

Use cedar chips around bedding.

WANT MORE? Check the website www.ecocycle.org for even more cleaners.

Mark your calendar

Gaston County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events

WHEN: March 6, May 22, July 24 and Sept. 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

WHERE: Gaston County Park, Dallas-Cherryville Hwy, Dallas

MATERIALS ACCEPTED: Oil based paint, solvents, cleaners, batteries, lawn chemicals, aerosols, fluorescent bulbs, oil and oil filters. electronics, tires, used motor oil and filters can be disposed of daily at Gaston County Convenience Sites.

DETAILS: Call 704-922-7729" Sphere: Related Content

On Poetry: Poets, writers can offer their words for world peace - Norwich, CT - Norwich Bulletin

On Poetry: Poets, writers can offer their words for world peace - Norwich, CT - Norwich Bulletin:

By A.S. Maulucci
For The Norwich Bulletin
Posted Jan 22, 2010 @ 07:48 PM

"After every Christmas and Martin Luther King Day, I start giving more thought to world peace and what poets can do to help bring it about. The answer, of course, is to write more poetry which helps further the cause of universal brotherhood and encourages people everywhere to bring an end to war and other brutal global conflicts.

Many groups of poets and other writers are now contributing their artistic talents to this great goal. One of the largest and most active of these organizations is Poets Against the War, which, according to a statement on its Web site (www.poetsagainstthewar.org), was born when Sam Hamill “asked about 50 fellow poets to ‘reconstitute a Poets Against the War movement like the one organized to speak out against the war in Vietnam ... to speak up for the conscience of our country and lend your names to our petition against this war’ by submitting poems of protest that he would send to the White House.”" Sphere: Related Content

Refuge restoration: Project to plant 250,000 trees in Avoyelles | thetowntalk.com | The Town Talk

Refuge restoration: Project to plant 250,000 trees in Avoyelles | thetowntalk.com | The Town Talk:

By Jeff Matthews
jmatthews@thetowntalk.com
(318) 487-6380

"FIFTH WARD (Louisiana) -- To those involved in the project, there was no sweeter sight than a tractor plowing through muddy fields Thursday at the Grand Cote National Wildlife Refuge in Avoyelles Parish.

The machine was planting seedlings on the 238-acre plot, part of a large-scale planting effort that will bring nearly 250,000 new trees to Grand Cote and Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuges.

When mature, the hardwood forests will provide sustenance to a wide variety of bird and animal species, as well as remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere." Sphere: Related Content

Call a halt to war on drugs - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Call a halt to war on drugs - South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com:

"The second sensible idea coming out of California is — hold onto your hats — legalizing and taxing marijuana. I already can hear the reaction from self-anointed Florida 'conservatives.' It goes something like this:

'Are you nuts? We'd be turning the state over to drug-crazed, hippie, liberal, Godless reprobates. Anyone advocating such a course of action would be doing the work of the devil.'

To which, I would counter: 'Those who have argued for an end to the un-winnable drug war include the late William F. Buckley, the intellectual godfather of the modern conservative movement; the late Milton Friedman, the free-market economist whose economic thinking laid the foundation of the modern conservative movement; and George P. Shultz, Ronald Reagan's venerable secretary of State.'

None of them stumped for drug use, but they all realized fighting the drug war caused more problems than it solved.

The illegal profits have turned some of the most reprehensible people in the world into major power brokers, who use a share of their fortunes to corrupt politicians, judges and police officers. The drug war is helping to destabilize foreign governments, including Mexico's and Afghanistan's. Profits are being used to bankroll terrorists. Arresting, trying and incarcerating those involved in the drug trade costs this nation and the states tens of billions of dollars annually that could be used for constructive purposes." Sphere: Related Content

Virginia should legalize marijuana - dailypress.com

Virginia should legalize marijuana - dailypress.com:

"For the first time in years, the Virginia General Assembly will consider common-sense marijuana law reform. House Bill 1134 would replace criminal penalties for simple marijuana possession with a civil penalty of $500." Sphere: Related Content

Book Review: I Think, Therefore Who Am I?: Memoir of a Psychedelic Year by Peter Weissman - Blogcritics Books

Book Review: I Think, Therefore Who Am I?: Memoir of a Psychedelic Year by Peter Weissman - Blogcritics Books:

"Peter Weissman’s memoir I Think, Therefore Who Am I?: Memoir of a Psychedelic Year examines 1967. Terry Valentine’s speech from The Limey shows how the recording industry has commodified and mythologized the decade to an eager consumer base. The Sixties remains the popular decade to mythologize, at least among the political Left and rock fans. On the other hand, the Right readily mythologizes the Fifties with its philosophy of conformity, white privilege, and rabid anti-Communism." Sphere: Related Content

20 years of taking moe. for an answer - The Boston Globe

20 years of taking moe. for an answer - The Boston Globe:

By Scott McLennan
Globe Correspondent / January 24, 2010

"Moe.’s 20th anniversary tour stops at the House of Blues in Boston on Friday, a week after the band played a benefit concert in New York to raise money for world hunger relief and for aid to Haiti.

Perhaps the reason things don’t get easier with time is that moe. has never taken a safe approach with its music. Songwriting and song styling shapeshift from album to album. In concert, the band is even more apt to plunge into uncharted territory. The band’s sense of musical adventure may have cost it some commercial capital, but in exchange this quintet with the oddly typeset name has a loyal fan base, creative freedom, the clout to do substantive philanthropic work, and the pull to organize multiple music festivals throughout the year." Sphere: Related Content

Saturday, January 23, 2010

Haiti recovery efforts get boost from green companies and solar technology – Tech Products & Geek News | Geek.com

Haiti recovery efforts get boost from green companies and solar technology – Tech Products & Geek News | Geek.com:

Jan. 22, 2010 (4:02 am) By: Doug Osborne

"As the country of Haiti continues recovery efforts - restoring power, water and communications is a monumental effort after a 7.0 earthquake devastated the country last week. But thanks to some generosity by a few green technology companies, donations of solar power tech have been sent to help speed aid.

For example, one such company is solar equipment manufacturer Sol, which has delivered some fifteen solar powered street lights to the area in order to expand the time doctors and other rescue personnel help the wounded and expects to send 100 more as soon as they can find a shipper.

Another green company pitching in with some of their solar generating equipment is SolarWorld as they have donated and shipped enough solar panel products to power ten water pumping stations for those areas in Haiti desperately in need of drinking water.

Communication is also another major issue in Haiti’s disaster recovery and to help coordinate aid efforts Dutch based company Intivation has offered to assist by giving away 1,000 solar powered phones to be used for relief initiatives in and around Port-au-Prince. Even a company called Solar Ovens International is accepting donations to purchase solar ovens and has partnered with Feed My Starving Children to send 270,000 meals to Haiti along with solar powered cooking devices.

Thankfully the overall generosity to those suffering in Haiti has been worldwide and immense. And in addition, with the advances of solar technology the Haiti Earthquake has served as an unlikely stage to prove their usefulness."

Read more at CNET


Sphere: Related Content

Greenpeace names legislators taking polluter's campaign cash as they gut the Clean Air Act

Greenpeace names legislators taking polluter's campaign cash as they gut the Clean Air Act:

January 22, 3:03 AMGreen Living ExaminerAmy Lou Jenkins

"Greenpeace US reports that Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska worked with big polluter lobbyists to draft the Dirty Air Act — a.k.a. the Murkowski amendment — which would strip the EPA's authority to regulate global warming pollution from stationary sources like coal plants, oil refineries, and factories, authority granted to the agency by the Clean Air Act.


Murkowski’s spokesman, Robert Dillon, is now claiming that they have secured a Democratic cosponsor for the Dirty Air Act. Kate Sheppard, an investigative reporter from Mother Jones, speculated that five Democrats were the most likely to have partnered with Murkowski on the amendment.

Greenpeace USA reports All of these Democrats have a history of taking polluter campaign cash, so today they sent a letter to each of them asking them to make it clear where they stand. Greenpeace also released a report detailing the campaign contributions that these five Democratic Senators have taken from the lobbying clients of Jeffrey Holmstead and Roger Martella, the DC influence-peddlers accused of funneling campaign cash to Senator Murkowski at the same time that they were pushing and helping write the Dirty Air Act.

* Mary Landrieu of Louisiana (letter PDF)
Since 1997, Senator Mary Landrieu has directly received $152,668 from these two lobbyists, their firms, their climate legislation clients, their PACs and employees.
* Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas (letter PDF)
Since 1997, Senator Blanche Lincoln, who is the Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee and has jurisdiction over clean energy legislation moving through the Senate, has directly received $139,766 from these two lobbyists, their firms, their climate legislation clients, their PACs and employees.
* Jim Webb of Virginia (letter PDF)
Since 2005, Senator Jim Webb has directly received $25,700 from these two lobbyists, their firms, their climate legislation clients, their PACs and employees.
* Byron Dorgan of North Dakota (letter PDF)
Since 1997, Senator Byron Dorgan has directly received $119,446 from these two lobbyists, their firms, their climate legislation clients, their PACs and employees.
* Ben Nelson of Nebraska (letter PDF)
Since 1997, Senator Ben Nelson has directly received $65,770 from these two lobbyists, their firms, their climate legislation clients, their PACs and employees.

All told, these five Senators have directly received $503,350 from these two lobbyists, their firms, their climate legislation clients, their PACs and employees, since 1997. Read the full report here.

Greenpeace makes it easy to contact your Congressional representivies.
Take action now to tell your Senator to vote NO on the Murkowski amendment." Sphere: Related Content

Please Touch to reveal secrets of the trees | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/22/2010

Please Touch to reveal secrets of the trees | Philadelphia Inquirer | 01/22/2010:

By Monica Peters
For The Philadelphia Inquirer

"Families can discover the wonders of trees through the exhibit 'Exploring Trees Inside and Out,' offered Saturday through May 2 at the Please Touch Museum.

The exhibit allows children and adults to have fun in an interactive way while experiencing the sights, sounds and scents of trees.

In larger-than-life tree parts, visitors can take a walk through the inside of a tree trunk and through the veins of leaves. Families can watch a simulation of light filtering through leaves, and they can listen to the sound of water as it travels from roots through leaves. The goal is for visitors to develop a greater understanding and appreciation of trees and their role in our daily lives.

The exhibit, designed by the Arbor Day Foundation and Dimensions Educational Research Foundation, is sponsored by Doubletree Hotels.

'Exploring Trees Inside and Out' opens Saturday and continues through May 2 at Please Touch Museum, Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park, 4231 Avenue of the Republic. Museum hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission: $15 for everyone age 1 or older; free for museum members and children younger than 1. Information: 215-581-3181 or www.pleasetouchmuseum.org." Sphere: Related Content

Summerfest organizers launch new “alternative rock” music festival

Summerfest organizers launch new “alternative rock” music festival:

By Alex Young on January 22nd, 2010

"Another music festival for your festival-going pleasures: The organizers behind the enormous Summerfest have announced plans for a new “alternative and modern rock” two-day festival, set to take place from June 4-5 at the Henry Maier Festival Park in Milwaukee, WI." Sphere: Related Content

Decades after his death, Django Reinhardt is a star - latimes.com




Decades after his death, Django Reinhardt is a star - latimes.com:



"This year's centennial -- he was born Jean Baptiste Reinhardt in Belgium and grew up in Gypsy camps outside Paris -- has spurred a wealth of live performances and recordings celebrating his spirited transformation of American jazz into a hard-swinging pan-European-flavored potpourri."

"Reinhardt, a self-taught player, lost the use of two fingers on his left hand when he was 18 in a caravan fire, yet still became one of the most dazzling instrumentalists of the 20th century, as well as the composer of more than 100 songs."


Sphere: Related Content

Give the Anarchist a Cigarette: Counterculture legend Mick Farren reads at La Luz de Jesus Gallery | Brand X | Los Angeles Times

Give the Anarchist a Cigarette: Counterculture legend Mick Farren reads at La Luz de Jesus Gallery | Brand X | Los Angeles Times:

"In his 60+ years on Earth, Mick Farren has worn many hats. He's one of the founders of the 'underground' press in Britain, he was the doorman at the psychedelic UFO Club (where Pink Floyd and the Soft Machine got their starts), a political activist, a well-respected science fiction novelist, a TV and media columnist, a poet, and, not least, he was the lead singer of the proto-punk band, The Deviants. His autobiography 'Give the Anarchist a Cigarette' is an indispensable volume in any library about the '60s and '70s. In short, the man is a counterculture legend, and one of the last of the 'gonzo' journalists."

Sphere: Related Content

HANS NIEDERMAIR - St. Catharines Standard - Ontario, CA

HANS NIEDERMAIR - St. Catharines Standard - Ontario, CA:

Posted By SPECIAL TO THE STANDARD
Posted 19 hours ago


"It's not often that classically trained vagabonds drift into town.

Combining elements of Bohemian cabaret, neo-classical opera, Paris hot jazz, tangos, klezmer, Balkan and Arabic stylings, gut-bucket swing and their own personal flair, Vagabond Opera has carved its own niche into the world of music and entertainment.

The Portland, Ore.-based sextet will take the stage Jan. 28 at Brock University's Sean O'Sullivan Theatre. It's their first tour of southern Ontario, which will include stops in Oakville, Toronto and Kingston."

"Founded by tenor, pianist and accordion player Eric Stern, Vagabond Opera also features bassist Jason Flores, drummer Mark Burdon, Robin Jackson on sax and vocals, cellist Skip vonKuske and Ashia Grzesik on cello and vocals. "

"Some of the band's musical influences come from German- American composer Kurt Weil, Belgian singer-songwriter Jacques Brel, French singer Edith Piaf, Frank Zappa, "any of the operatic composers, such as (Giacomo) Puccini and any of the stuff that's coming out of Eastern Europe," Stern said. "

Who:Vagabond Opera
Where:Sean O'Sullivan Theatre, Brock University
When:Thursday, Jan 28, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets:Call 905-688-5550, ext. 3257

Article ID# 2273173
Sphere: Related Content

Almanac : Saturday at Kepler's: 'My Nepenthe'

Almanac : Saturday at Kepler's: 'My Nepenthe':

"Romney 'Nani' Steele will talk about and sign her book, 'My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur,' at 2 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, at Kepler's Books, 1010 El Camino Real in Menlo Park.

Ms. Steele is the granddaughter of the owners of Nepenthe, the restaurant perched on the cliffs of Big Sur. She says she grew up at the restaurant.

The book includes 75 recipes from the Fassett family, who started the restaurant.

Get more informtion from keplers.com." Sphere: Related Content

Friday, January 22, 2010

Is Jimi Hendrix still the future of the electric guitar? – Telegraph Blogs

Is Jimi Hendrix still the future of the electric guitar? – Telegraph Blogs:

"‘Valleys Of Neptune’ (out in March) has 12 tracks, sixty minutes of music, mainly recorded by Hendrix and The Experience (bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell) over four months in 1969, with the guitarist exploring new musical avenues in the wake of his (last) double album, ‘Electric Ladyland’. These are the turbulent sessions that led to Hendrix breaking the group up and briefly forming the Band Of Gypsies (with whom he released one live album). Some of this material has previously been available in dubious versions of poor sound quality on illegal bootlegs, but it presumably took the death of the last surviving member of The Experience (Mitchell passed away in 2008), a lot of contractual wrangling and technological improvements in audio mastering to get it to a stage where anyone but an obsessive collector would want to hear it.

Sonically spruced up and sympathetically edited, what you get is an album of jazzy psychedelic experimentation. Hendrix was going through his Miles Davis phase, trying to create a rock guitar equivalent of ‘Sketches Of Spain’. It is probably not for the faint of heart, yet there are at least three tracks where it really comes into focus, studio versions of Elmore James ‘Bleeding Heart’ and Cream’s ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’ and the seven minute title track, a psychedelic funk epic. It all points in directions Hendrix would attempt to explore more fully on what should have been his next album, posthumously assembled as ‘First Rays Of The New Rising Sun’." Sphere: Related Content

America's new touchy-feely war on drugs | Reuters

America's new touchy-feely war on drugs | Reuters:

"Four decades and billions of dollars later, this war -- based on law enforcement and a crackdown on production, distribution and consumption -- has produced unspectacular results, at best.

So more and more states have been turning to alternative approaches like drug courts, which target consumption among probationers using a combination of frequent tests, the threat of jail time and plenty of moral encouragement.

And it seems to be working. Over the past 20 years drug courts have cut crime rates and proved far cheaper than prison. They are also expected to be part of a drug strategy report the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is due to issue in February." Sphere: Related Content

National Briefing - West - California - Court Rejects Marijuana Limit - NYTimes.com

National Briefing - West - California - Court Rejects Marijuana Limit - NYTimes.com:

"The State Supreme Court struck down a law that sought to limit the amount of marijuana a medical patient can legally possess. The court, in a unanimous decision, ruled that state lawmakers were wrong to change provisions of a voter-approved proposition in 1996 that allowed patients with a doctor’s recommendation to possess an unspecified amount of marijuana. The Legislature mandated in 2003 that each patient could have a maximum of 8 ounces of dried marijuana. The Supreme Court said only voters could change amendments that they have added to the State Constitution through the initiative process." Sphere: Related Content

Thursday, January 21, 2010

West Virginia Headline News and Talk Radio

West Virginia Headline News and Talk Radio:
Staff
Raleigh County

"Three environmentalists took to the trees Thursday morning to protest mountaintop mining.

They've set up tree-top platforms 60-feet in the air next to where Massey Energy is blasting at its Bee Tree Strip Mine in Raleigh County.

Twenty-three year-old David Smith, 19-year-old Amber Nitchman and 28-year-old Eric Blevins are all members of Climate Ground Zero. They've hung banners from their platforms that read 'Save Coal River Mountain,' 'EPA Stop the Blasting' and 'Windmills Not Toxic Spills.'

The three say they intend to remain on their platforms for as long as it takes to end mountaintop mining." Sphere: Related Content

Litchfield County Times - In Bantam, Art for Peace

Litchfield County Times - In Bantam, Art for Peace:

"By last count more than a year ago, the international combat-tracking agency Uppsala Conflict Data Program recognized 36 armed conflicts worldwide. Though the program sets an annual benchmark of 1,000 battle related deaths for a war status designation (by that measure, only five conflicts are wars, two of them being Iraq and Afghanistan,) deadly conflicts are prevalent.
No continent enjoys peace, except for Antarctica and, perhaps, Australia.
Amid the chaos, it is difficult to envision an Earth free of such bloody discord. But with the help of a home-based art class and an involvement in the Global Art Project, Fran Clem of Bantam is cutting through the fray, doing her best to illustrate the path to peace.
Indeed, with a creative mind, an open heart and a basement full of students, both adolescents and teenagers, Ms. Clem has become an indelible soldier in this international, passive-resistance fight against war. It's a role she wants her students to embody." Sphere: Related Content

China's champion of peace | Václav Havel et al | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

China's champion of peace | Václav Havel et al | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

On Christmas Day last year, one of China's best-known human rights activists, the writer and university professor Liu Xiaobo, was condemned to 11 years in prison. Liu is one of the main drafters of Charter 08, a petition inspired by Czechoslovakia's Charter 77, calling on the Chinese government to adhere to its own laws and constitution, and demanding the open election of public officials, freedom of religion and expression, and the abolition of "subversion" laws.

For his bravery and clarity of thought about China's future, Liu deserves the 2010 Nobel peace prize. Sphere: Related Content

JD Supra: Legal Articles - USPTO Implements the Green Technology Pilot Program to Accelerate Review of Green Technologies

JD Supra: Legal Articles - USPTO Implements the Green Technology Pilot Program to Accelerate Review of Green Technologies:

"The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is implementing a pilot program to accelerate the examination of certain “green” technology patent applications. Normally, patent applications are taken up for examination in the order that they are filed and take over three years to receive a final decision. Under the Green Tech Pilot Program, for the first 3,000 patent applications related to green technologies in which a proper petition is filed, the Office will examine the application on an accelerated basis, which should reduce the time it takes to patent the invention by an average of a year. The deadline for filing petitions under this program is December 8, 2010." Sphere: Related Content

Learn What it Means to Go Green at the 2nd Annual EarthDay@Loudoun Family Festival -- BROADLANDS, Va., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire/ --

Learn What it Means to Go Green at the 2nd Annual EarthDay@Loudoun Family Festival -- BROADLANDS, Va., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire/ --:

"BROADLANDS, Va., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- On the heels of the highly successful inaugural EarthDay@Loudoun Family Festival that drew more than 2,000 families in 2009, the Broadlands Wildlife Habitat Committee is gearing up for this year's event that will likely leave an indelible eco-impact on Loudouners. The 2nd annual EarthDay@Loudoun Family Festival will take place on Sunday, April 25th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Willow Creek Farm in Broadlands, VA. This admission-free festival will offer virtually everything for the eco-conscience including more than 75 exhibitors, a Green Marketplace offering earth-friendly products and services, hands-on educational activities for all ages and many other entertainment options."

RELATED LINKS
http://www.earthdayatloudoun.org Sphere: Related Content

Rising plastic problem in oceans | mydigitalfc.com

Rising plastic problem in oceans | mydigitalfc.com:

"In an open ocean, currents and wind combine to form ma­ssive, swirling vortexes ca­ll­ed gyres. The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is one of five major gyres on earth and st­retches between the coasts of Japan and California. In this area, a combination of high atmospheric pressure and the earth’s rotation slows oc­ean currents and moves them in a clockwise spiral. Historically, the Northern Pacific Gyre (NPG) has created a rich concentration of plankton and ot­her organisms.

Recently, however, the gyre has become home to plastic waste drawn from all over the world, particularly from Pacific rim countries. The result is two enormous masses of plastic trash. One, dubbed the we­stern garbage patch, is located west of Hawaii and east of Japan. The second is the eastern garbage patch, near the northwestern Hawaiian Isla­nds. Together, these masses are known as the Great Pacific garbage patch (the Patch). Oc­ean currents carry plastic trash to the patch from all over the world, and debris that ends up in territories of the US may have originated thousands of miles away." Sphere: Related Content

Company to Pay $1.3 Million for SoCal Oil Spill - ABC News

Company to Pay $1.3 Million for SoCal Oil Spill - ABC News:

"An oil transport company has agreed to pay $1.3 million for an oil spill in 2005 into Pyramid Lake, a reservoir that holds water for Southern California cities.

The Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the settlement Wednesday with Pacific Pipeline Systems LLP, based in Long Beach." Sphere: Related Content

Two Firms Enter Clean-Air Settlement - WSJ.com

Two Firms Enter Clean-Air Settlement - WSJ.com: "

BY BRENT KENDALL

WASHINGTON—"The U.S. subsidiaries of two French companies agreed to spend up to $282 million to install new pollution-control technologies at 28 plants, in the first major Clean Air Act settlements for the cement and glass industries.

Under the Clean Air Act's 'New Source Review' program, companies are required to install the best available pollution-control technology when building new plants or modifying existing ones." Sphere: Related Content

Sierra Club names Brune new head - San Francisco Business Times:

Sierra Club names Brune new head - San Francisco Business Times::

"Michael Brune has been named executive director of the Sierra Club.

Brune replaces Carl Pope, who has led the San Francisco-based environmental organization since 1992, and has been involved with it for 37 years. Pope will remain on as executive chairman." Sphere: Related Content

Environmental group hails clean air settlements | AP Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Environmental group hails clean air settlements | AP Texas News | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle:

"DALLAS — A group of environmental activists is hailing settlements reached by a container glass-maker and a cement manufacturer with the federal government.

The Justice Department says Saint-Gobain Containers Inc. of Muncie, Ind., and Lavarge North America Inc. of Herndon, Va., could end up paying $282 million to cut emissions at 28 plants around the country under the Clean Air Act settlements." Sphere: Related Content

Sit-lie ordinance not the answer for the Haight

Sit-lie ordinance not the answer for the Haight:

Thomas Wong

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

"For more than 40 years, the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood was synonymous with hippies, peace and love. Today, that same neighborhood is becoming synonymous with drug use and, unfortunately, aggressive panhandling.The new breed of panhandlers, called road warriors, are young people who travel with pit bulls and look as if they came out of the film 'Mad Max.' They have been terrorizing residents, businesses and tourists with harassment and threats. Many now are calling Haight-Ashbury unsafe.

The road warriors, as it turns out, are a group of a few hundred thugs who travel up and down the West Coast in an almost seasonal migration. They stay for a few months, harass a few residents and then move on to the next city. In response, many municipalities, including San Francisco, have been considering ordinances that prohibit people from sitting or lying on streets during regular business hours." Sphere: Related Content

Illustrator Chuck U talks Robozoology, inspiration and hippies - Minneapolis / St. Paul Music - City Pages - Gimme Noise

Illustrator Chuck U talks Robozoology, inspiration and hippies - Minneapolis / St. Paul Music - City Pages - Gimme Noise:

"Chuck U is a Twin Cities-based freelance designer and illustrator, mostly known for his album covers and show posters around town. He doesn't offer a complex examination of societal ills or provide introspective solutions to life's problems. What he does offer is something cool to look at." Sphere: Related Content

Music News - The latest music news and gossip from Yahoo! Music UK & Ireland

Music News - The latest music news and gossip from Yahoo! Music UK & Ireland:

"Paul Weller is to be reunited with one of his former Jam band mates on new solo album 'Wake Up The Nation', it has been revealed." Sphere: Related Content

Timber! New England's oldest elm tree comes down | NECN

Timber! New England's oldest elm tree comes down | NECN:
(NECN: Amy Sinclair, Yarmouth, Maine) -

"A beloved resident of Yarmouth, Maine, was laid to rest today. The world-famous elm tree named 'Herbie' was believed to be the largest and oldest elm in New England.

It's never easy to say goodbye to an old friend.

Donna Felker of Yarmouth grew up in the shade of Herbie's enormous arms. She was among the crowd watching as Herbie's arms, crippled by Dutch elm disease, were sawed off one by one.

Onlookers, many of whom had known Herbie all their lives, watched as arborists brought down the old tree.

Dutch elm disease has taken out more than 100 million trees across the country.

Local artists plan to use what's left of Herbie to create keepsakes in his memory. Herbie will be used to make bowls, cutting boards and bookmarks. Those items will be auctioned off to benefit a new tree trust in Yarmouth." Sphere: Related Content

Medical marijuana regulations proposed in Michigan - Holland, MI - The Holland Sentinel

Medical marijuana regulations proposed in Michigan - Holland, MI - The Holland Sentinel:

By Staff reports
The Holland Sentinel
Posted Jan 20, 2010 @ 04:54 PM
Lansing, MI —

"Voters approved medical marijuana in 2008, but now two West Michigan lawmakers are hoping to pass regulations.

The legislation would make it difficult for people to grow their own medical marijuana. The legislation is proposed by Senators Wayne Kuipers of Holland and Gerald Van Woerkom of Norton Shores." Sphere: Related Content

Medical marijuana group believes Colorado could lead plant research

Medical marijuana group believes Colorado could lead plant research:

By MIKE WIGGINS/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

"Colorado could lead the way in developing a variety of strains of marijuana and tapping into its medicinal benefits through reasonable regulations of the proliferating industry, the head of a coalition of medical marijuana supporters says.

“The benefit of good, reasonable, basic, business-level regulations is that a year from now we are the Silicon Valley of plant research,” Matt Brown, executive director of Coloradans for Medical Marijuana Regulation, said Wednesday in an interview with The Daily Sentinel editorial board." Sphere: Related Content

Marijuana and the Massachusetts Senate Race | Stop the Drug War (DRCNet)

Marijuana and the Massachusetts Senate Race | Stop the Drug War (DRCNet):



"Coakley's victorious opponent Scott Brown had actually championed a sparsely-publicized effort to re-criminalize certain marijuana offenses in the aftermath of question 2. It went nowhere, of course, and could easily have been wielded against him on the campaign trial, had Brown's challenger for the vacant Senate seat not been a rabid prohibitionist herself. In a state where 65% of voters endorsed decriminalization, a pro-reform message could easily have given some heft to the Democrats failed campaign strategy." Sphere: Related Content

New Jersey’s New Medical Marijuana Laws | Philly2Philly.com

New Jersey’s New Medical Marijuana Laws | Philly2Philly.com:

By Randy LoBasso at 2:09 am on Thursday January 21, 2010

"According to the Jersey legislation, marijuana can only be distributed at the doctor’s recommendation, and only to patients with one of five ailments: AIDS, ALS, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, and Cancer. The law gives the Department of Health and Senior Services authority to license marijuana distribution to six alternative treatment nonprofits throughout Jersey and the DHSS has six months to exact the rules of engagement, though restrictions are in place: The nonprofit centers must grow their own pot and do it indoors." Sphere: Related Content

Local News | Wash. House committee votes down marijuana bills | Seattle Times Newspaper

Local News | Wash. House committee votes down marijuana bills | Seattle Times Newspaper:

By RACHEL LA CORTE

Associated Press Writer
OLYMPIA, Wash. —

"Efforts to reform Washington state's marijuana laws were voted down by a House committee Wednesday.

The Public Safety Committee rejected a measure to legalize marijuana for those 21 and older, and another that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of pot for adults." Sphere: Related Content

The Marijuana Wars: Pro vs. Con - On The Scene With Shira - CBS News

The Marijuana Wars: Pro vs. Con - On The Scene With Shira - CBS News:

Posted by Shira Lazar

"I’ve been covering the controversial debate over medical marijuana laws in California for the past few months. It all came to a head in Los Angeles this past Tuesday though, as the City Council passed an ordinance 2 ½ years in the making. The new law, which could take several weeks to be put into play, would ban consumption at dispensaries, requires them to close at 8 p.m. and outlaws the use of the familiar neon cannabis leaf signs. The ordinance also caps the number of dispensaries at 70. The one exception would be those registered in 2007 and are still in business. This means that L.A. could make the leap down to around 150 dispensaries from its estimated 1000. That’s a big leap that has both sides continuing to fight for and against the cannabis cause.

I recently paid a visit to Oaksterdam, California and spoke to the president and founder of Oaksterdam University, America’s first cannabis college. Richard Lee also happens to be at the forefront of the fight to not only legitimize medical marijuana, but to completely legalize the use of marijuana across the country:" Sphere: Related Content

Virginia delegate Morgan seeks to decriminalize marijuana - washingtonpost.com

Virginia delegate Morgan seeks to decriminalize marijuana - washingtonpost.com:

By Rosalind S. Helderman
Thursday, January 21, 2010


"RICHMOND, JAN. 20 -- It's high times in the Virginia General Assembly. The lobbyists are cracking jokes about 'joint' sessions, and the legislators are laughing that free Girl Scout cookies delivered Wednesday could prove useful."

"In the District, the city council is on the verge of approving legislation to allow the use of medical marijuana. In Maryland, a senior Republican has joined a senior Democrat in planning to propose a similar bill in the state Senate. But in conservative Virginia, the idea is a joking matter for many.

That is, except for the slight, bespectacled, often-bow tie-wearing Republican delegate from Gloucester County who has proposed decriminalizing marijuana this year. Del. Harvey B. Morgan has also sponsored a separate bill that would allow medical marijuana."

Sphere: Related Content

Twitter Updates

    follow me on Twitter

    Alamantra a la mode