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May 25, 2013: The first wave of acts confirmed to play the Belladrum festival's GoNorth Seedlings Stage on August 2-3 has been announced – Cleavers, Prides, Roman Nose, Blood Relatives, Red Ronson, Ranald, Dylan Tierney, Crystal Seagulls, Three Blind Wolves, Garden Of Elks, The Oxides, Fat Goth, St Max And The Fanatics, Fake Major, State Of Flux, Bear Arms, Little Fire and Lionel.
Sarah Hayes' debut EP, Mainspring, is streaming on Bandcamp ahead of its release on May 28. She has Glasgow gigs scheduled for The Old Hairdressers on May 29 and The Wee Chill festival at SWG3 on June 29.
Boards Of Canada have unveiled new song Reach For The Dead, taken from forthcoming album Tomorrow's Harvest, out on June 10.
May 24, 2013: The line-up for King Tut's Summer Nights, which runs in the Glasgow venue from July 15 to August 1, has been revealed. The headliners are The Recovery!, Sunshine Social, TeKlo, Alarm Bells, Taffy, Sienna, So Many Animal Calls, Michael Cassidy, The OK Social Club, SOS, Departures, Fake Major, Prides, Waiting For Go and Arches. Other acts worth checking out include Cherri Fosphate, The Clock, The Youth And Young, Campfires In Winter, Kevin Harper, Discopolis and Father Sculptor. There's also a Pop Cop DJ set on July 25.
Quickbeam song Grace is available for free download – it's taken from the band's self-titled debut album, out on June 3.
Giant Fang has unveiled a video for Aqualung.
May 23, 2013: A Music Open Day is being held at Aberdeen's Lemon Tree on May 26 with a programme that includes three music industry panels, a soundcheck workshop and live music from Revere, Uniform, Leanne Smith and Marionettes. Free tickets to the evening show will be available to anyone who attends the free seminars during the day.
The Wickerman Festival has added Admiral Fallow, Chic ft Nile Rodgers, Dreadzone, Waylayers and Greg Wilson to its line-up on July 26-27.
Algernon Doll track Anti-them is available for free download – it's taken from second album Citalo-pop, due for release on June 10.
May 22, 2013: The Basement Coffee House in Ayr has been shortlisted by NME as Scotland's representative in a public vote to find the best small venue in Britain. The 80-capacity venue opened eight months ago.
Tomorrow's second instalment of the Dewar House Experimental Batch series sees Edinburgh's Caves host free live music from Kid Canaveral, The Last Battle and Adam Ross (Randolph's Leap). There will be 550 tickets available on the door on a first come, first served basis.
May 21, 2013: Camera Obscura song Fifth In Line To The Throne is available for free download in exchange for an email address. It's taken from the band's fifth album Desire Lines, out on June 3, and pre-ordering it will get you another track, Do It Again.
Book Group have released their debut EP, Homeward Sound.
Sparrow And The Workshop's third album Murderopolis, out on May 27, is streaming in full via DIY - one of the songs, The Faster You Spin, is also available for free download.
May 20, 2013: Garden Of Elks' debut EP, Extended Play, is available to buy and stream.
The Clock have a video for their excellent song Everything's Eventual, which is released on May 28. They have Glasgow gigs lined up at Broadcast on June 1 and Roxy 171 on June 20.
May 18, 2013: The 16-strong T Break line-up for T in the Park on July 12-14 has been unveiled - Arches, Blindfolds, DARC, Fake Major, Hector Bizerk, Honeyblood, Machines In Heaven, Michael Cassidy, Poor Things, Pronto Mama, Seams, Sunshine Social, The Merrylees, The Velveteen Saints, Vasa, Waiting For Go.
Anna Sweeney has announced she is taking a full break from music and has cancelled her scheduled appearance at Wickerman in July as she relocates to Reading for work in June. Another musician swapping Scotland for England is Plum, who is moving to Brighton in July.
May 17, 2013: The stage times have been released for the 35 acts playing Stag & Dagger across seven Glasgow venues on May 18.
Franz Ferdinand's fourth album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action will be released on August 26 – check out this brief trailer.
Frightened Rabbit recorded a cover of Best Coast's The Only Place for Australian radio show Triple J. The band release their Late March, Death March EP on June 2.
The Mouse That Ate The Cat song When I Wake Up is available for free in exchange for your email address.
The title track of Adam Stafford's forthcoming second album Imaginary Walls Collapse is streaming here.
May 16, 2013: The Discopolis remix of Bwani Junction single Civil War is available to download for free from SoundCloud.
Born To Be Wide's next seminar at Edinburgh's Electric Circus on May 30 is on the topic of goNORTH, with a panel featuring broadcaster Vic Galloway, goNORTH duo Amanda Millen and Alex Smith and Chasing Owls frontman Ben Sunderland explaining how musicians and delegates can get the most out of the annual Inverness convention. Tickets are free.
AC/DC have backed a campaign to erect a bronze statue of their former frontman Bon Scott in his hometown of Kirriemuir in Angus. Community music group DD8 Music hope to raise £50,000 via Kickstarter by June 5.
Kite And The Crane's debut EP, Found In The End, is out on Bandcamp.
May 15, 2013: Biffy Clyro have a video for their new single Opposite.
The View are playing a one-off show at Glasgow's King Tut's on June 12 for the Sunday Mail Centenary Fund.
Adam Stafford is launching his second album Imaginary Walls Collapse with a gig at Glasgow's Glad Cafe on July 5 with support from Siobhan Wilson and Robbie Lesiuk.
May 14, 2013: The Wee Chill will mark its 10th anniversary with a two-stage bill at Glasgow's SWG3 on June 29 for the West End Festival. The line-up features Malcolm Middleton, James Yorkston with Sparrow & The Workshop (collaborative debut), Aidan Moffat (spoken word), Three Blind Wolves, Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire, Miaoux Miaoux, Fake Major.
Tommy Perman, who recently left FOUND, has unveiled his new solo project ComputerScheisse – check out These Beautiful Minds, the title track of his debut EP, out on July 15 through Phuturelabs.
RockNess have announced more acts for the festival on June 7-9 including Fenech-Soler, Fatherson, Public Service Broadcasting, The Boy Who Trapped The Sun, Niteworks and Jemma Tweedie.
Too Many Fireworks Records will donate all profits from sales of Variations Of Chopin, an album of contemporary interpretations of the composer's music, to the fundraising campaign for drummer Robbie Cooper, whose cancer fight was documented on The Pop Cop.
May 13, 2013: New releases out now include Young Aviators' debut album Self Help, Eagleowl's debut album This Silent Year, and Cherri Fosphate's new Burning Youth EP.
May 10, 2013: The live schedule for goNORTH in Inverness on June 5-6 has been unveiled – it includes a Scottish Bloggers Showcase hosted by The Pop Cop, Peenko and Song, by Toad featuring a four-band bill of Garden Of Elks, Friends In America, The Yawns and Flutes.
May 9, 2013: The documentary Hunting For Remoteness details The Magnetic North's visit to Orkney – where frontman Erland Cooper is from – for the making of their debut album. It will be released on June 24 alongside a reissue of that record, Orkney: Symphony Of The Magnetic North. You can watch the trailer here.
Alphabetical Order Orchestra are streaming their first song, The Architect. The band is made up of My Latest Novel members Chris Deveney, Gary Deveney and Ryan King.
A Band Called Quinn have launched a crowdfunding campaign to support performances of their multimedia show Biding Time (remix) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.
May 8, 2013: Three Blind Wolves have released their new album, Sing Hallelujah For The Old Machine.
May 7, 2013: Adam Stafford's new single Please is streaming online – it's taken from his second album Imaginary Walls Collapse, out in July.
May 6, 2013: The T in the Park Roadshow is bringing free live music to Scottish towns this month – it stops at Glasgow today for The View at Kelvingrove Park (1pm) and Buchanan Street (3.30pm); Edinburgh on May 10 for Vigo Thieves at Queen Margaret University's Student Union (noon), Dundee on May 11 for The LaFontaines at Overgate Centre (noon); Aberdeen on May 12 for Sienna at Aberdeen University (noon); and Ayr on May 18 for The Redettes at Ayr Railway Station (noon).
Fake Major have a video for Fiction, a song on their Have Plenty Of Fun EP. Fellow Comets & Cartwheels artist Finn LeMarinel has a new video for Garden, taken from his debut album Violence.
Capitals have released a sampler of all the tracks on their debut album A National Service, out on June 3.
May 3, 2013: Episode 11 of BBC ALBA's Rapal music TV programme is on iPlayer and features Cara Mitchell, Brown Bear & The Bandits, Three Blind Wolves and Anna Sweeney.
Steve Mason has accused Samsung of plagiarising the video for The Beta Band's 2004 single Assessment for their new television advert. Both show historical figures running down a beach and helicopters circling overhead.
May 2, 2013: Young Aviators' debut album Self Help is streaming on Electric Honey's SoundCloud ahead of its release on May 13.
May 1, 2013: Travis have a video for Where You Stand, the first single and title track of the band's seventh album, out on August 19.
Fake Major's debut EP, Have Plenty Of Fun, is available for download.
My Latest Novel have gone on hiatus, with three of the members forming Alphabetical Order Orchestra - look out for music from them next week.
Kobi Onyame has a video for his new single The Real Part 2.
Trapped In Kansas have unveiled new song Collapse Rebuild.
Rob St John's new AA single Charcoal Black And The Bonny Grey/Shallow Brown is out now.
April 30, 2013: Boards Of Canada will release Tomorrow's Harvest, their first new album in eight years, on June 10.
Quickbeam song Immersed is available to download for free from DIY – you can also listen to snippets from every track of the band's self-titled debut album, out on June 3.
Discopolis have unveiled the video for their new song Falling (Committed To Sparkle Motion), out on May 5.
April 29, 2013: The SAY Award will stream each of the 20 longlisted albums for 24 hours through their app, starting today with Miaoux Miaoux's Light Of The North. You can read The Pop Cop's feature here.
Panda Su's new song MAPS is available to buy now on Amazon, while Bwani Junction's new single Civil War is on iTunes.
The Boy Who Trapped The Sun has a video for new song California ahead of his May tour in Scotland.
The Pastels have a video for Check My Heart, taken from their forthcoming new album Slow Summits, out on May 27.
Frank Turner covered Frightened Rabbit's The Modern Leper for Jim Gellatly's In:Demand Uncut session.
April 27, 2013: Episode 10 of BBC ALBA's Rapal music TV programme is on iPlayer and features two fantastic unreleased songs by Beerjacket as well as The Holy Ghosts, The Merrylees and Ray McCartney.
Travis, Johnny Marr, Hurts, James Skelly, Jack Savoretti, Willy Mason, Foy Vance, Steve Mason, Milo Greene and DIIV have been added to the T in the Park line-up, which has now been separated into day-by-day splits.
Edinburgh venue The Forest Cafe, which has been banned from hosting live music due to council restrictions, are looking for acts to play their new monthly event, the Forest Big Night Out at Old St Paul's, which launches on May 23. Email email@example.com for details.
April 26, 2013: The Burns an' a' that! Festival will feature live music as part of Weekend in the Park at Ayr's Belleisle Park on May 25-26. Rose Parade, Little Fire, Pronto Mama and The Bluebells are among the free acts; Justin Currie + Rachel Sermanni play a ticketed gig on May 26.
Other newly-announced concerts on sale include Lana Del Rey + Kassidy at Glasgow's SECC on May 16 (replacing her two dates at the Academy on May 15/16) Bombay Bicycle Club at Edinburgh's Liquid Room on June 7, Belle & Sebastian at Inverness' Ironworks on July 1, We Are Scientists at Glasgow's Oran Mor on July 29, Kid Canaveral + Ballboy at Edinburgh's Liquid Room on August 10.
Kid Canaveral + The Last Battle + Adam Ross (Randolph's Leap) also play a free show at Edinburgh's Caves on May 23 with 300 tickets on the door on a first come, first served basis as part of a Dewar's event.
April 25, 2013: Seasick Steve, The Pigeon Detectives, Julie Fowlis, Meursault, Washington Irving, PAWS and The LaFontaines have been added to the Belladrum Festival line-up on August 2-3.
Washington Irving have released Palomides Volume 1, the first half of their debut album.
The View are streaming Kill Kyle, one of two new songs on their compilation album Seven Year Setlist, out on June 17.
April 24, 2013: The showcase list of artists picked to play goNORTH in Inverness on June 5-6 has been announced. For the third consecutive year there will be a bloggers' showcase stage hosted by The Pop Cop, Peenko and Song, by Toad. More details to follow soon.
Kilmarnock's Dirty Weekender will feature 45 acts over three venues on May 31 to June 2 including Fridge Magnets, Bwani Junction, The Ok Social Club, Ross Leighton (Fatherson) and Chris Helme.
Poor Things' new single Morgan is free to download – it's taken from their Hurricane Poor Things EP, out on June 10.
Similarly, Cherri Fosphate are giving away Wool from their Burning Youth EP, out on May 11.
April 23, 2013: Glasvegas will play Aberdeen's Garage on June 27, Edinburgh's Liquid Room on June 28 and Glasgow's ABC on June 29.
Reverieme's second album With Up So Floating is out now.
Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire have announced they will release their self-titled new album through Middle Of Nowhere Records in July.
Herculean have a video for Red Weather, taken from The Falling Thunder EP, out on June 7.
April 22, 2013: Stag & Dagger have added Phosphorescent, Rachel Sermanni, Randolph's Leap, French Wives, Fake Major, Prides, Chris Devotion & The Expectations and Donald Macdonald & The Islands to the Glasgow festival's line-up on May 18.
Episode 9 of BBC ALBA's Rapal music TV programme is on iPlayer and features Brown Bear & The Bandits, Cara Mitchell, The Open Day Rotation and John Wean.
Texas have unveiled a video for The Conversation, the title track from their first album in eight years, out on May 20.
Bronagh & The Boys have released their debut single Green, taken from A Young Heart EP, out on May 19.
April 19, 2013: Kassidy's Barrie-James O'Neill and his girlfriend Lana Del Rey have recorded a cover of Summer Wine (made famous by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood), backed with a video featuring handheld footage of the pair in Los Angeles.
My Bloody Valentine, Trash Talk, Fidlar and The VirginMarys have been added to the T in the Park line-up.
April 18, 2013: Pre-sale tickets are available for Regina Spektor at Glasgow's Academy on August 20 and Kings Of Leon at the ciry's Bellahouston Park on August 15, the latter being part of the Glasgow Summer Sessions.
The Mirror Trap have unveiled a video for Westminster Ghost Story, the first track to be taken from their second album Stay Young, due out this autumn.
April 17, 2013: Midnight Lion have changed their name to Prides and expanded to a trio with the addition of Kitty The Lion's Callum Wiseman on guitar and vocals. To coincide with the announcement, they have unveiled wonderfully addictive new song Out Of The Blue.
T in the Park have added Local Natives, Lucy Rose, Swim Deep, Theme Park, Lewis Watson and Sons & Lovers to the festival on July 12-14.
April 16, 2013: Doune The Rabbit Hole have announced that this year's festival will take place at the new location of Cardross Estate at Port of Menteith in Stirlingshire on August 22-25. The line-up features Clinic, Meursault, Rachel Sermanni, Alasdair Roberts, Washington Irving, The Pastels, PAWS, Beerjacket, Rick Redbeard, We Are The Physics, Randolph's Leap, Siobhan Wilson, Panda Su, Shambles Miller, Jo Mango and TeenCanteen. See here for full day-by-day splits.
April 15, 2013: James and Twin Atlantic will headline the Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival on August 2-3. Other acts on the bill include Admiral Fallow, Fatherson, Rick Redbeard, Noisettes, The Horrors and King Charles.
April 13, 2013: Edinburgh's live music scene has suffered yet another setback with Forest Cafe having its live music licence reviewed, causing the immediate postponement of gigs there, starting with the Solas Showcase scheduled for today.
Newsnight Scotland featured a report on the music industry on April 10, prompted by the Wide Days convention in Edinburgh. Watch the segment on BBC iPlayer, with contributions from Stanley Odd's Dave Hook, Plum's Shona Maguire, Chemikal Underground's Stewart Henderson, Wide Days organiser Olaf Furniss and journalist Nicola Meighan. The interviews were conducted by Galleries drummer Andrew Black.
April 12, 2013: Episode 8 of BBC ALBA's Rapal music TV programme is on iPlayer and features Niteworks, The Holy Ghosts, Miaoux Miaoux and The Merrylees.
Eagleowl have unveiled Not Over, the first offering from debut album This Silent Year, which will come out through Fence Records on May 13.
Dear Lara, aka David Lan, has released his debut EP Plans as a free download.
April 11, 2013: Capitals' debut album A National Service will come out on June 3, with those who pre-order it (from just £5) getting an immediate download of any of the record's 11 tracks, one of which is Reliever.
The View will release singles compilation Seven Year Setlist on June 17 – the album features two new songs, Dirty Magazine and Kill Kyle.
Several Scottish acts have posted tracks from forthcoming new albums – check out Washington Irving – Wandering Wits, United Fruit – Taste I Can't Give Up and Hector Bizerk – Orchestrated Madness.
April 10, 2013: Promoters Cry Parrot will host their 6th Birthday Party at Glasgow's Glue Factory on April 26 with a gig featuring Sacred Paws, Hector Bizerk, Tut Vu Vu, Ultimate Thrush, Ela Orleans and Sad City.
Three Blind Wolves are previewing Slow Summer Deer, taken from their Sing Hallelujah For The Old Machine album, released on May 6.
Where We Lay Our Heads single Keanu Leaves is out now.
Great Cop are giving away new song Stop Hiding as a free download.
April 9, 2013: Mogwai guitarist John Cummings uploaded a photo of himself at Glasgow's George Square yesterday where more than 300 people gathered, inspired by his band's 2011 song George Square Thatcher Death Party.
Hi-Arts, which promotes arts in the Highlands and Islands, has issued notices of redundancies to all 10 of its staff in the wake of funding cuts.
April 8, 2013: Fridge Magnets will play a 'silent gig' at a secret outdoor location in Glasgow on May 15 (6pm) – tickets can be won through organisers Deezer. The band will perform inside a mobile perspex box with the 300-capacity audience able to hear them through headphones.
Kassidy have released new mini-album People Like Me.
April 7, 2013: Song Of Return have launched their Singles Club project on Bandcamp through which they'll be selling unreleased tracks. Month 1 contains Torn Between The Tides (see video) and Enough.
Cairn String Quartet, who were profiled on The Pop Cop in March, have unveiled their orchestral cover of Kid Canaveral's Low Winter Sun.
Travis have made new song Another Guy available to download for free through their website. It also has a video.
April 6, 2013: The following 16 HMV and Fopp stores in Scotland will remain open following Hilco's takeover – HMV: Aberdeen, Ayr, Dundee, East Kilbride, Edinburgh Fort Kinnaird, Edinburgh Ocean Terminal, Edinburgh Princes St, Glasgow Argyle St, Glasgow Buchanan St, Glasgow Fort, Inverness, Livingston, Stirling; Fopp: Edinburgh; Glasgow Union St; Glasgow Byres Rd.
Bwani Junction have a video for new single Civil War, out on April 29.
Rachel Sermanni and Emma's Imagination are among the acts playing the Kintyre Songwriters Festival in Campbeltown on May 24-26.
Quickbeam will launch their debut album with a gig at the disused Govanhill Baths in Glasgow on May 31. They will be supported by Fake Major whose debut Have Plenty Of Fun EP comes out on May 1.
April 5, 2013: Spotify director Mark Williamson will give the keynote speech at next week's Wide Days event in Edinburgh as part of a session on the business of streaming. The full running order is here.
Episode 7 of BBC ALBA's Rapal music TV programme is on iPlayer and features Anna Sweeney, Cara Mitchell, Discopolis and Paul McGranaghan.
Dot JR has uploaded new song Waterfalls to SoundCloud.
April 4, 2013: The Tiree Music Festival will take place in An Talla on July 20-21 with a bill that includes Roddy Hart & The Lonesome Fire, Washington Irving, The Youth And Young and Brown Bear & The Bandits.
Galleries' fantastic new single Midnight Rush is out now.
Casual Sex have made a video for their debut single Stroh 80. They play Glasgow's Nice 'n' Sleazy on April 5 and Oran Mor on April 7.
April 3, 2013: Comlongon Rocks have added a third day of live music to its line-up at Comlongon Castle in Dumfries & Galloway on May 17-19. The festival's line-up features Three Blind Wolves, Emma's Imagination, The OK Social Club and Saint Max.
Chem 19 are offering three days of free recording time to five Scottish acts through their Creative Scotland Demo Fund. To apply, musicians (under-25s only) should email a link to some demos and a bio to email@example.com with the subject Chem19 Demo Fund Enquiry before April 26. Chosen acts will also take part in a live showcase.
Siobhan Wilson + Julia And The Doogans + Jo Mango will play Glasgow's Roxy 171 on June 26 as part of the Scottish Fiction Presents: Aye Tunes vs Peenko night at the West End Festival.
April 2, 2013: Acts confirmed for The Insider Festival in Aviemore on June 21-23 include Rachel Sermanni, Karine Polwart, Hector Bizerk, Urstan, David Thomas Broughton, Miaoux Miaoux, Pete Roe, Jonnie Common, Adam Holmes And The Embers and Sparrow And The Workshop.
Up-and-coming acts can apply to play the Hebridean Celtic Festival in Stornoway on July 17-20 through their One Step Further competition which is open to musicians aged 18-25. To enter, artists need to email firstname.lastname@example.com with the subject HebCelt New Talent Submissions and include links to three songs, a biog and high-res photo. Closing date is April 12.
April 1, 2013: Quickbeam's self-titled debut album will be released through Comets & Cartwheels on June 3 – check out the video for lead track Immersed which will be available as a free download on April 29.
We Were Promised Jetpacks will headline the second night of the three-day Solas Festival in Perthshire on June 22.
Minor Delilah will be giving away copies of their new EP, Only Dust Can Hear You, to anyone who attends their launch gig at Glasgow's Classic Grand on May 3.
"I have a problem with nationality" – Alexi Murdoch's identity crisis
One of the questions in the recent UK census asked: "What do you feel is your national identity?" offering the options Scottish, English, Welsh, Northern Irish, British and Other.
To most people, the answer would involve a straightforward and instinctive thought process, but not ALEXI MURDOCH.
The singer-songwriter spent much of his childhood and teenage years in Elgin and now owns a remote house on the west coast facing the Hebrides where he eats porridge for breakfast and wrote his latest album Towards The Sun in its entirety.
You wouldn't be surprised to learn, therefore, that Murdoch is almost universally described in online articles as Scottish, but it's a label that makes him decidedly uncomfortable.
"I don't really regard myself as anything particularly," he says. "I have a problem with nationality in general. I find it causes problems. It can limit people's perception of what they're hearing. I've always been rather suspicious of the very idea of geographical boundaries and representing identity that way.
"Patriotism seems all good and well but, in reality, the attachment to some idea of identity is based literally on these quite arbitrary – or, at the very least, historically arbitrary – boundaries that have been harboured usually by violence and aggression in the past.
"Obviously there are cultural differences between people but it just seems that placing importance on the very idea of being from one place probably does more harm than good."
Murdoch's refreshingly nonconformist attitude towards society's deep-rooted presumption of allegiance probably derives from his multinational roots and nomadic upbringing.
Murdoch was born in London two days after Christmas in 1973 and initially raised just outside of Athens by his Greek dad and English mum.
It wasn't until Murdoch was of school age that his family moved to Scotland, before the lure of the American dream saw him relocate to North Carolina to enrol at Duke University.
Murdoch freely acknowledges he doesn't have a place he would call home.
"Not really," he says. "I've moved around a lot. I have Scottish family and I live out on the west coast now and I love it there and don't see myself leaving, but I'm pretty restless. I feel more at home on my boat out at sea. Maybe that's because of the lack of any kind of flag or nationality. It's not that I don't feel I belong, because there are places I resonate with, but I spend a lot of time away."
It has been during his many extended stays across the Atlantic that Murdoch has forged an incredibly successful career in music.
His sublime 2006 debut album Time Without Consequence, with its lights-out atmospherics and echoes of Nick Drake both vocally and in its hypnotic acoustic melodies, has shifted more than 100,000 copies, allowing Murdoch to easily sell out 500-capacity venues across the US.
Remarkably, he has managed to generate a large and devoted following without the support of a record label.
Even if his name isn't familiar to you, there's a strong chance you'll have heard Murdoch's music without realising, since his songs have popped up in the background of dozens of television shows (House, The O.C., Prison Break, Dawson's Creek) and films (Garden State, Gone Baby Gone and Away We Go).
"It was a choice for me early on," he explains. "Either I allowed the music to get out that way or you go with a record label, because one way or another you've got to figure out a way to finance making records and get your music out there.
"There's no way that that's not going to feel like a compromise to me, it definitely does. But having said that, it has become such an accepted form of discovering music. People watch so much crap on television that it seems like they have developed a capacity to be able to tune out, or at least separate, the music they might discover and the actual programming that it's a part of.
"The worry would be that they're so attached to the programme they discover it from that, for them, that becomes the meaning of the song. But I've found that, with the music I make, people don't seem to be too bothered about where they first heard it.
"The collision of art and commerce has never been a comfortable one but at the end of the day it's a real one. I hope the choice I've made is the lesser of two evils."
This year, however, Murdoch is making a concerted effort to forgo preaching to the converted on North American tours and step outside his the comfort zone.
He has given respected German-based label City Slang permission to release his latest album Towards The Sun in Europe, and this month he has been playing in less-visited cities such as Amsterdam, London, Paris and Berlin, although sadly no Scottish dates have made it into his schedule as yet.
"I've been doing this independently since I started," he says. "I just followed where the music took me and it took off in the States. However, I've always had this strange feeling that I need to get back home, whether it's the UK or Europe.
"I feel that the music I make is part of some kind of tradition that is almost automatic. It's subconsciously ingrained or genetically there or part of the landscape, and yet I don't really know enough about it.
"People have lost touch with the real traditional music, their local traditional music. They have ideas about what traditional Scottish music is but it's quite a narrow perspective. There's probably some amazing music happening in these rural spots that I'd like to investigate."
Alexi Murdoch's new album Towards The Sun is out now on City Slang. The title track is available for free download via Bandcamp.
Alexi Murdoch – Something Beautiful


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Announcing the 2012-2013 Season
Judy Kuhn and The Young Voices of Edmond
7:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, August 24 and August 25, 2012
Tony Award-nominee and Drama Desk Award-winner Judy Kuhn has received worldwide recognition and critical acclaim as the voice of Disney's Pocahontas. Ms. Kuhn appeared on Broadway in Les Miserables (Original Broadway/Cosette), Chess (Original Broadway/Florence), Rags (Original Broadway Company), and Sunset Boulevard (Original Los Angeles Cast/Betty Schafer with Glenn Close). Join us for a magical evening of Broadway and Disney favorites withJudy Kuhn & our own Young Voices of Edmond.
Broadway Tonight: Betty Buckley: Ah, Men! The Boys of Broadway
7:30 pm, September 22
The Tony Award-winner Betty Buckley from "Cats" defined an era as
Broadway's leading lady in various productions. Buckley performs her
critically-acclaimed concert, "Ah Men! The Boys of Broadway." For
tickets, call (405) 974-3375.
Franc D'Ambrosio's Hollywood - SONGS FROM THE SILVER SCREEN with the UCO Symphony Orchestra
7:30 pm, Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Franc weaves heartwarming stories from his youth in the Bronx with marvelous songs from the classic movies of the silver screen. From "Pennies From Heaven" (Pennies From Heaven) "Our Love Affair" (An Affair to Remember) "Some Enchanted Evening" (South Pacific) the classic "Moon River" and others, including a medley from favorite Fred Astaire movies Purchase tickets online.
6 & 9:30 p.m., Saturday, February 16, 2013, Performing in the UCO Jazz Lab
Tom Wopat first came to public attention in the late 1970's as the freewheeling Luke Duke on the TV series the Dukes of Hazzard. But he is more at home on the Broadway stage. Broadway credits include: I Love My Wife, City of Angels, Guys and Dolls, A Catered Affair, Catch Me If You Can. Mr. Wopat received a Tony nomination for the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun (Frank Butler). He has released his sixth album, Consider it Swung, which features standards and interesting covers, includingFrank Sinatra, Blood Sweat & Tears, and Joni Mitchell.An exhilarating evening of jazz & standards.
7:30 pm, Tuesday, March 12, 2013
You've seen this world-renowned modern dance company creating pictures and telling stories with their bodies on numerous national commercials. But seeing them live defies description! Pilobolus will delight you with their unique brand of dance. Founded in 1971, Pilobolus began as an outsider dance company. Nearly 40 years later, it has evolved into a pioneering American cultural institution of the 21st century. Join us for a breathtaking event. "Acrobatics liquefied into poetry." -The New York Times Purchase tickets online.
Season tickets will go on sale and can be purchased by calling (405) 974-2609. Individual show tickets can be purchased beginning July 15 by calling the Mitchell Hall box office at (405) 974-3375.
Season Ticket Prices are as follows:
Lower Orchestra | Upper Orchestra | Upper Balcony | |
Full Price | $150.00 | $150.00 | $135.00 |
Tickets are non-refundable.

subset: commoncrawl


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Find a Group
Use the map below to vifew a list of groups in your area. You can visit a group by clicking the "Signup" link in the list and filling in your information. The group's leader will receive an email with your request and will contact you with more information about the group.


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Company Directory
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Aromatherapy Heart Locket
Item# 76-0022
Cultivate inner peace with this aromatherapy necklace
Gift wrapping available
A sacred piece of jewelry such as this can bring a moment of self-love and inner peace. Place drops of the essential oil blend onto one of the 10 included scent pads to remind yourself to live peacefully with balance, forgiveness and loving kindness. Made of a zinc blend and plated with nickel-free pewter. Pendant is 1"W; waxed black cord adjusts 16"-26"L.


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Store > Asian > ASIAN - SASHIKO, Noren Panels, Cording > OLSASH18
OLSASH18 Sashiko Threads - Royal Blue - SolidUS $3.25
40 metersThis gorgeous cotton thread for Sashiko is perfect for traditional Japanese hand Sashiko or hand quilting in the big stitch style with its sturdy weight and beautiful colors. Sashiko Thread, 100% cotton, loosely twisted, 40 meters / 43.7 yards solid color yarn.
Quantity: each


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Archives > Obituaries
Mayfrey Pauline Buckler Hancock, 93, passed away February 15, 2013, at Mercy Villa in Springfield, Missouri.
She was born October 29, 1919, in Boone County near Columbia, Missouri.One of the darkest times in her history was the start of WWII when she was 22 years old. One of her most important meetings was when she met her favorite baseball player, Wally Moon. She also worked and retired from the Baptist Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, and was on duty when Lisa Marie Presley was born, being one of the busiest days of her work career. She was also working when Medicare first started. She talked about how much paperwork was involved. She also reminisced about how quiet the streets of Memphis were after the shooting of Martin Luther King Jr.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Obie and Hettie Buckler; brother, JT Buckler; and her husband of 59 years, Orville Hancock.
She is survived by her sisters, Lorraine Krofft of Raytown, Missouri, Kathleen Benjamin of Coppell, Texas, Lucille McGrath of Fulton, Missouri, and Dorothy Marti of Springfield, Missouri; and her favorite niece of all time, Robin Pennington of Rogersville, Missouri. She was also blessed with several other nieces and nephews and surviving members of her husband's family who meant a lot to her.
She moved to Mercy Villa in Springfield, Missouri, June 1, 2011, where she made many friends and received excellent care.
No services are planned per her request. She will be laid to rest next to her husband in Memphis. Arrangements are by Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home, 1947 E. Seminole St. Springfield, MO 65804, 417-886-9994.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Mercy Villa-Court Yard ATTN: Chaplain Ann Payette, 1100 Montclair, Springfield, MO 65804. As she loved flowers and trees, this will help maintain this area. Donations may also be made to First United Methodist Church, 800 W. 5th Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102 to put toward their woman groups.
To the end she had her humor, her smart wits, and her hair done weekly and requested lipstick and perfectly painted fingernails.
We love you, Aunt Paul, and thanks for making our lives much richer.
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CMAcclaim brings national recognition to an individual, ensemble, or organization whose work in chamber music has had a significant cultural impact on a local or regional community.
Any CMA member may nominate an individual or organization for the CMAcclaim Award---but the nominee need not be a CMA member. Nomination deadline for the following year is September 30, annually.
CMA/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming
The CMA/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming recognize ensembles and presenters demonstrating innovative approaches to the programming of new chamber music, as well as the audience development activities and marketing strategies that accompany it.
New chamber music is defined as contemporary classical, jazz and/or world music, written for 2–10 musicians, composed within the past 25 years.
The 2014 Award recipients will receive $500 and a commemorative plaque, presented at the CMA National Conference, January 16–19, 2014, in New York City.
Ensemble Awards
One award is given in each of the following categories:
· Contemporary—for groups specializing in contemporary classical chamber music
· Jazz—for ensembles that perform original music and/or contemporary works by other jazz composers
· Mixed Repertory—for groups that perform traditional classical music and include new chamber works
Presenter Awards
Two awards—one to a large presenter (for programming of more than 10 live concerts) and one to a small presenter (between 5-10 concert programs) are given in each of the following categories:
· Contemporary—for presenters specializing in contemporary classical chamber music
· Jazz—for the programming of contemporary jazz
· Mixed Repertory—for presenters that program contemporary classical chamber music, as well as traditional chamber music, jazz, world music, and other musical styles
More Information
Gina Izzo, executive assistant
CMA/ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming
Jeanette Vuocolo, program director, CMA Jazz


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The Evolution Deceit
The Miracle Of The Blood And Heart
Recall the small accumulation of cells that starts moving on the left side of the 22-day-old fetus. That first movement signals a heartbeat. This collection of cells will now not stop moving for a long time. It will never grow tired. It will beat around 70 times a minute, some 35 million times a year, and some 2 trillion times during an average lifespan.82 It will pump a total of some 227 million liters (59,970,000 gallons) of blood throughout its owner's life.83
This astonishing amount could fill a 10-ton tanker84 in a day, or 100 full-capacity swimming pools in a lifetime.85 And this extraordinary pump seldom misses a beat from its rhythm, and never goes wrong and becomes old. It never loses its ability to pump blood throughout the body until the death of its owner. That is because this is an extraordinary miracle of God, Who is able to create a superior artistry, flawlessness, an incomparable balance and magnificent intelligence all at once.
The fetus's heart begins beating hours before there is any blood to pump. But why should this organ start functioning before the blood is formed? The reason is the need for nutrients. The emerging embryo requires nutrients, oxygen and hormones in order to develop. In the tiny embryo, there are also waste products that have to be carried away. Therefore, this magnificent pump inspired by God suddenly begins its independent and flawless motion at just the right time and place.86
Every detail in this great miracle is sufficient for a person to have faith and see the evident proofs of God's existence. A most special creation prevails in all the features of the heart. Independently of all the other miraculous systems in the body, the heart is by itself a major example of creation in our bodies. No comparable mechanism to keep a human being alive has ever been developed. With the cells that comprise it, its special valve systems and the ordered way these open and close, the heart is a most complex system with many attributes. No other organ can do anything like the job it does—to keep pumping blood in a particularly powerful way. As long as blood is still present, the heart can even keep beating outside the body.
A nerve cell in the body acts with amazing intelligence. However, to call a nerve cell intelligent doesn't imply that it possesses the intelligence. The reason of the amazing consciousness in body cells is the inspiration they take from God.
As the systems in the human body go about their work, they also assume responsibility for the coordination, order and organization of these tasks. That is why we describe structures in the body as intelligent and why we seek to account for the source of that intelligence. No doubt, the term intelligent cell or intelligent organ is a metaphor, because cells or tissues with no brain or nervous system cannot have their own consciousness. Yet an astonishing consciousness does emerge in everything they do. This represents an insoluble dilemma for Darwinists and all materialists, who maintain that consciousness is born from the cells in the brain and the chemical reactions among those cells. In short, according to the materialist claims, consciousness consists of the brain.
Though materialists attempt to reduce consciousness to the brain, scientific observations show that even living things with no brains possess consciousness. The intelligent cells examined throughout the course of this book are just one example. In recent years, observations of bacteria and other single-celled organisms have shown that these microscopic entities literally evaluate their surroundings in an exceedingly intelligent manner and make appropriate decisions. The molecular biologist Michael Denton writes:
The amoeba, although the size of a small speck of dust, exhibits behavioral strategies which seem objectively indistinguishable from those of animals far higher up the scale. If an amoeba were the size of a cat, we would probably impute to it the same level of intelligence as we do to a mammal. Just how do such minute organisms integrate all the information necessary to make such apparently calculated intelligent decisions? … the way it [the amoeba] integrates all the information necessary to pursue its prey, its decision to change direction, its persistence in the pursuit when its prey escapes, the sudden breakout of the smaller amoeba from its imprisonment in the interior of its captor at the moment when the wall of protoplasm was at its thinnest—all this remains to be fully explained in molecular terms.81
The final sentence of the above account is particularly notable. Amoebas' behavior cannot be explained at the molecular level, in terms of chemical reactions and physical effects. These living things decide and act as conscious entities, even though they possess neither brain nor nervous system. They are merely cells consisting of protein, fat and water.
There are other examples revealing the intelligent behavior of bacteria.
According to a report in the July, 1999, edition of the French scientific journal Science et Vie ["Science and Life"], bacteria communicate with one another and make decisions based on those communications.
Science et Vie emphasizes that this communication takes place by means of a very complex system. On their surfaces, bacteria have mechanisms that emit and receive electrical signals. In this way, they send one another signals, and transmit information about the features of their environment and the food situation therein. On the basis of that information, they then decide whether to multiply and when to stop doing so.
In short, tiny living things too small to be seen with the naked eye, collect information about their surroundings, transmit this information to one other, and later still—as a group—determine a particular course of action. All these examples show the presence of a consciousness that can never be reduced to matter. From human beings, regarded as the most complex living things, to single-celled creatures, regarded as the simplest, there is an astonishing consciousness that reaches far beyond mere matter.
So what is its source?
The Qur'an provides important information on this subject. For example, its verses referring to honeybees reveal that the conscious behavior exhibited by these creatures is inspired in them by God:
Your Lord revealed to the bees: "Build dwellings in the mountains and the trees, and also in the structures which men erect. Then eat from every kind of fruit and travel the paths of your Lord, which have been made easy for you to follow." From inside them comes a drink of varying colors, containing healing for humanity. There is certainly a sign in that for people who reflect. (Surat an-Nahl: 68-69)
Another verse reports that all living things are under the dominion of God. As revealed in the Qur'an, "There is no creature He does not hold by the forelock" (Surah Hud: 56).
This secret revealed in the Qur'an is the source of the mysterious consciousness in living things. Contrary to what evolutionists imagine, consciousness is not a property of matter. No matter what you do to the atoms comprising matter, you can never cause them to have consciousness. Consciousness must arise from another consciousness; and the consciousness in living things stems from the inspiration of God.
The intelligence that appears in the cells in the human body or of any organism is a manifestation of God's absolute dominion over living things. God reveals Himself by means of the entities He creates, and human beings can witness and appreciate His infinite power and might by considering these works. In listing the examples of consciousness in this book, therefore, this important fact needs to be borne constantly in mind.
By beating an average of 70 times a minute, the heart moves blood around the body some 1,000 times a day. This means that blood visits every cell in the body 1,000 times a day, carries to them the necessary nutrients, gives oxygen and takes back carbon dioxide, repairs damage, makes good defects and collects wastes. Thanks to the heart's tireless efforts, every cell in the body is "inspected" 1,000 times a day. The heart pumps 8,000 liters (2,113 gallons) of blood every day.87 The heart of an adult pumps 340 liters (89 gallons) of blood an hour even while sleeping. At that same rate, one could easily fill a car's gas tank in just seven minutes.88
Imagine that you have set up a water system that must pump out water at least on an average of 65 to 70 times a minute, to reach around 100 trillion homes, always at the same pressure. There is no doubt that the establishment of such a plant is impossible in a great many regards. Yet inside the body there is a network system incomparably more complex than this example. The vascular network, capable of reaching every cell in the body, is another proof that the body's distribution system is flawless and conscious.
The heart is a piece of muscle the size of a fist, consisting of water, fat and protein, but possessing a far more perfect and complex system than even the most advanced pump that has yet been developed by experts working with computers. This incomparable piece of flesh is powerful enough to squirt blood 2 meters (6 feet) high into the air.89
Another miraculous feature is that the heart can determine the body's needs and pump just as much blood as it requires. In a person at rest, the heart pumps just 4 to 6 liters (1.057 to 1.585 gallons) of blood a minute. That quantity is enough because the resting body's cells don't require too much oxygen. If someone is exercising, however, his need for oxygen rises, and it needs to be transmitted to the cells faster. The heart immediately identifies this need and begins beating faster. During exercise, the amount of blood pumped by the heart can increase by four and seven times.90
To see the perfection of these features of the heart, imagine a machine that pumps water at least once in a second, on an average of 65 to 70 times a minute. Let that water be carried to a hundred trillion homes every second by means of that pump, under the same pressure. At the same time, let that plant determine how much water each house needs and send the requisite amount to each one. In addition, make this system be able to function for at least 70 years, never develop the slightest defect, never rust, and never neglect a single pipeline leading to any of the homes in question.
How could such a system be brought into being? It is impossible to meet the needs of 100 trillion houses under the same pressure at the same time. A machine that works at such high speed and to such an unchanging rhythm cannot last any longer than 10 or 15 years. Even before then, it will have to undergo maintenance many times to make good any defects. It is impossible for such a machine to function for long years without any mistakes. It is totally illogical to claim that an ordinary piece of equipment can determine needs in houses, evaluate the situation and send the right amount of water where required.
In addition, recall that this pump you have established is under your control or that of another rational being like you. Naturally, you cannot claim that such a mechanism and its pipelines came into being by themselves over the course of thousands of years by the coming together of iron and cement, then suddenly began rhythmically pumping water, through pipelines, laid by themselves, that will reach to 100 trillion houses. Not one person would believe it. It is obvious that the system was brought into being by an intelligent being.
However, evolutionists manage to claim that such systems as the circulatory and respiratory—incomparably more perfect than any artificial ones—came into being as the result of blind chance. They maintain that this magnificent pump, which began its work while you were still in your mother's womb, began functioning in an uncontrolled manner, as the result of chance. They ignore the clear existence of the Almighty Force to which this matchless work belongs. Yet as we shall soon examine in detail, every feature of this miraculous organ introduces us to the superior wisdom and power of God. It is revealed in verses that:
Does man reckon he will be left to go on unchecked? Was he not a drop of ejaculated sperm, then a blood-clot which He created and shaped, making from it both sexes, male and female? Is He Who does this not able to bring the dead to life? (Surat al-Qiyama: 36-40)
The Heart's Working Mechanism
The heart possesses a most systematic system, in which a single flaw can spell the end of an individual's life. The most important of the heart's mechanisms are the pumping muscles on its right and left sides: There are atria (small pumps) and ventricles (large ones) on both sides of the heart. The heart's left side—the left atrium and ventricle—is responsible for distributing oxygenated blood to the organs and tissues. The heart's right side—its right atrium and ventricle—serves to pump the "dirty" oxygen-depleted blood to the lungs to be cleaned.
When oxygenated blood reaches the heart, it is received by the left atrium, the small upper cavity. From there it is passed to the left ventricle, the large chamber below. In a similar way, deoxygenated blood is transmitted from the right atrium to the right ventricle. Although the chambers in the heart appear different, they actually perform the same job. Both are charged with pumping the blood to a specific objective.
Arrow indicates the direction of the blood flow. When the heart contracts, blood is passed from the atria to the ventricles. The valves close. As the ventricles contract, blood is pushed out to the body.
The systematic functioning of this mechanism is of great importance because all these processes have to be in order. And if it goes wrong, the heart will either pump no blood to the body, or else it will become loaded with too much blood. In order for this sequence to occur properly, the valves between the atrium and the ventricle open like a one-way gate to the flow of blood. When the atria contract, these valves open and blood enters the ventricles. After this has taken place, the valves close again to prevent the blood's return to the atria where it came from.
The venae cavae bring deoxygenated blood to the right side of the heart, and the pulmonary arteries carry that blood to the lungs. The pulmonary veins bring oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left side of the heart, and the aorta sends this blood to the body. During this flow of blood, the heart valves contract, thus allowing blood to pass through the chambers.
Similar valves also exist in the ventricles. When the ventricles contract, these valves open and let the blood flow directly to the body. Then the valves close, preventing the pumped blood from returning to the heart. The sound that you perceive as your heartbeat does not result from the heart's contraction and dilation, as is popularly imagined. Listening to your heartbeat, you are actually hearing the opening and closing of these four powerful valves.
The heart valves open in the direction of blood flow. When the atria contract, these valves (atrioventricular valves) open and blood fills the ventricles. The valves then immediately close again to prevent any blood from flowing back where it came from.
Leaving aside this flawless system's enormous complexity, even just the rhythmic opening and closing of the valves presents evolutionists with an enormous quandary. No living thing can afford to wait to come into possession of such a rhythmic order. The slightest lapse will cause terrible damage. The rhythmic opening and closing of the valves has to function splendidly even while the creature is still in the embryo phase. To maintain that such a movement came about through random mutations and functions in perfect manner in all vertebrates as the result of chance is a falsehood that no logical person can accept.
He said, "The Lord of the East and the West and everything between them if you used your intellect." (Surat ash-Shu'ara': 28)
The Heart Muscle Cells: the Only Ones Moving Rhythmically in the Body
The cardiac muscle possesses a very special structure, in that every one of the cells comprising it can beat on its own. These cells are just like living batteries, using the electrical current that passes over them.
The body consists of some 100 trillion cells, each with different functions and properties. Some, like the red blood cells, possess no nucleus. Others, like those in the windpipe, have minute hairs. Some have propulsive structures that allow them to move. Yet heart muscle cells possess an ability not found in any other in the body—the ability to shrink and expand, which is why the heart, which is made up of such cells, beats.
What makes the muscle cells in the heart special is the way they suddenly begin moving inside the still-developing embryo. These cells continue beating during transplant surgery, despite all the nerves connected to them having been severed and all contact with the organs around them having been eliminated. Indeed, even when you separate just one of these cells and place it under a microscope, it will continue to pulsate as long as you nourish it with blood.91 Despite appearing to be outside the control of any mechanism, these cells behave as if they had literally taken a decision to beat, pump blood and keep their body alive.
What allows them to beat is the electrical current that passes over them. Every cell making up the heart is literally a living battery. They themselves chemically produce the energy that powers the movement we refer to as the heartbeat. This feature of the cells is too extraordinary to be explained with any evolutionist claim. Cardiac cells provide the necessary electricity for themselves with the potassium and sodium ions that they can easily find in the blood. Each of the atoms comprising these two elements frequently loses a negatively charged electron. Consequently the atom has an extra proton, or a positive charge.
Cardiac cells possess a high concentration of potassium ions, and sodium is present in the fluid surrounding these cells. The cell membrane removes sodium from the heart muscles and takes potassium inside. Since the cell membrane removes sodium faster than it takes in potassium, an excess positive charge builds outside the cell. When it reaches a certain level, the flow suddenly reverses and sodium ions again begin entering the cells. This sudden change sets up an electrical current, and the heart cell retreats by contracting.92 The process that allows the cells to beat emerges through these chemical transactions.
The heartbeat is regulated by a small body of specialized heart muscle tissue known as the pacemaker, or sinus node. Below, nerve networks in the ventricle.
The signal for the heartbeat to start depends on one small knot of cells known as the sinus node, or SA node, in the right atrium. The electrical signal produced by this node is transmitted to the heart muscle by two small muscles. The cells pass on the electrical impulse reaching them to all the other muscle cells in the heart's lower regions. This wave of current stimulates all the muscle cells beneath, starting with the right atrium, and is thus disseminated throughout the heart. The sinus node, producing and regulating these electrical currents, is also known as the pacemaker. While controlling the rhythm, the pacemaker also reacts to the needs of the body. It possesses the ability to accelerate or decelerate the heartbeat according to the body's requirements.
The heart does not contract all at once, however, because it has to collect blood and also to pump the blood it has collected. If all cardiac cells were to contract at once, then the blood would be pumped before it had been properly collected; and as a result, only a few drops of blood could be transmitted to the body. However the blood collected by the atria must be transmitted to the ventricles, which are larger, before the latter contract. Therefore, the cardiac muscles wait for each other to contract in sequence, just as if they were aware of their own place in line. As the cardiac muscle tissue of the atrium contracts, the valve separating the atrium from the ventricle opens and allows the blood to flow downward into the ventricle. Once the ventricle is full, it contracts. But how does that sequencing manage to remain so regular?
If you examined the cardiac cells under a microscope, one by one, you would see that each one beats at a different rate. This is a most astonishing, but also a most miraculous state of affairs: Far from being a sign of any irregularity, this actually indicates an impeccable order. The heart beats in a rhythmic and synchronized way: The cells literally know when to contract and when to expand, in line with this synchronization. God has inspired in each cell the time frame in which it will beat. That's why each beats at different speeds and sequences.93
When you put together two cardiac cells that beat at different rates, they immediately begin beating in rhythmic harmony through an extraordinary mechanism. When these intelligent cells come together, they all work in harmony and maintain a rhythm that will best pump the blood. This extraordinary fact is one of the blessings created by God for humanity.
The flawless harmony between the cells is one of the proofs of our Lord's artistry. God is the Ruler of all, the Almighty.
A cardiogram indicating the heart's electrical activity. The heart beats rhythmically and synchronically. Thanks to this regular rhythm the body is provided with the appropriate amount of blood flow.
The Heart Cells' Timing
The impeccable order in the timing of the heart is brought about by coordination and communication among the cells that comprise it. Here again, of course, a striking intelligence manifests itself. These intelligent cells transmit current to the other side of the heart at a speed of approximately 60 centimeters (23.62 inches) a second. The signal is sent from the sinus node. The cells comprising the sinus node produce the signal in 1/14th of a second.
As the current moves rapidly, it passes through the two atria in turn and causes them to contract. Between the atria and ventricles of the heart, there is an area of specialized tissue, known as the AV node (atrioventricular node), that conducts the electrical impulse from the atria to the ventricles. Just as the electrical impulse is about to reach the ventricles, it is delayed by the AV node. The speed of the current falls to 20 centimeters (7.84 inches) a second and it starts being transmitted at around 1/16th of a second.
This delay is of the greatest importance. Due to that delay, before the ventricles contract, the atria are empty completely.94 This is the secret of the heart's synchronized action.
All praise belongs to God, the Lord of the heavens and the Lord of the Earth, Lord of all the worlds. All greatness belongs to Him in the heavens and Earth. He is the Almighty, the All-Wise. (Surat al-Jathiya: 36-37)
These are not the only notable details in the heart's electrical system. One miraculous feature of this system is the sinus node that initiates the first current. In fact, the other regions of the heart possess the same ability as the sinus node, which sets the heart muscles in motion. The AV node and the Purkinje fibers, located in the inner ventricular walls, can also set the heart in motion by setting up such a current. So why is this task left solely to the sinus node? Because the current transmitted with the sinus node is significantly faster than the others. The sinus node stimulates tissues that could set up signals of their own before these signals even begin.
Because of that speed, the sinus node initiates all electrical activity. If the current were initiated at other nodes, it would lead to blood failing to reach, or being delayed in reaching, various organs.95 The consequences would be most serious. Indeed, if blood fails to reach the brain within 4 to 5 seconds, the individual will lose consciousness. If that lack of blood is prolonged still further, it will lead to death.
Considering all these features, you can see that the heart is a conscious organ that produces its own energy and employs it to work in a most synchronized, harmonious manner. The place where movement begins is a small node consisting of a specific quantity of cells that knows how fast it has to transmit the current. Otherwise, the heart would be unable to fulfill its function and pump blood. At the same time, the heart accurately determines the amount of the current it produces. If an immeasurably minute amount of current passes through this region in an uncontrolled manner, this will cause problems that could result in death.96
a) The sinus node (SA node) sends out a signal that causes the atria to contract. When this signal reaches the AV node, it sends a signal to the ventricles to contract by way of the Purkinje fibers. b) A normal ECG shows the heart is working properly. The P wave forms when the atria contract, the QRS wave when the ventricles contract, and the T wave when the ventricles are recovering from contraction. c) Abnormal ECGs: Sinus tachycardia is a rapid heartbeat due to a fast pacemaker. An irregular heartbeat occurs because of the ventricles' irregular stimulation (ventricular fibrillation). Mitral stenosis occurs because the mitral valve is obstructed.
In addition, the heart is able to regulate its own synchronization. Whichever of the cardiac cells, aligned side by side, has the fastest rhythm of expansion and contraction, it keeps the others in synchronization. If this rhythm is impaired—if one cell expands while another contracts—then the necessary pumping will fail to take place. The heart will soon stop and death will follow in a matter of minutes.97
In short, the heart consists of special cells that constantly produce energy, coordinate the blood flow, expand and contract under the inspiration they receive from God. They can regulate their own order, act with intelligence and can plan, calculate, and move quickly to take precautionary measures.
The Special Network that Feeds the Heart
The heart nourishes the entire body, but like all other organs, it too needs to be nourished. Because of the intensity of its work and the fact it is such a very special organ, the heart requires large quantities of oxygen and nutrients. However, the heart muscle is too thick to absorb and benefit from food and oxygen in the blood filling its chambers. Therefore, how is this valuable organ nourished?
In addition to all the marvels of creation examined so far, the heart is also nourished by a special system that feeds it, known as the coronary circulation.
Of the blood that emerges from the heart by way of the coronary arteries, the heart itself is the first recipient. These arteries are two separate branches of the aorta carrying oxygen-rich blood from the lungs. These arteries have been created solely to feed the heart. Unlike all the other arteries, they leave the heart but then return to it, rather than going to other organs. In this way, the blood richest in oxygen is devoted to nourishing the heart, that region of the body needing the greatest amount of oxygen, without being diverted anywhere else. Since the heart's cells must turn oxygen and sugar into energy in order to be able to function, blood in the coronary arteries needs to be rich in these substances—because the heart's energy consumption is regulated according to need, and can raise four- or five-fold in a matter of seconds.98
Say: "Have you thought about your partner deities, those you call upon besides God? Show me what they have created of the earth; or do they have a partnership in the heavens?" Have We given them a Book whose clear signs they follow? No indeed! The wrongdoers promise each other nothing but delusion. God keeps a firm hold on the heavens and Earth, preventing them from vanishing away. And if they vanished no one could then keep hold of them. Certainly He is Most Forbearing, Ever-Forgiving. (Surah Fatir: 40-41)
The coronary arteries are perfectly equipped for their job. These arteries entering the heart separate into much smaller branches and spread throughout the heart muscle. Every cell making up the heart has a constant need for nutrients and oxygen. As these arteries head directly for the heart, they also establish sub-connections with one another, because if any of the arteries is blocked for any reason, the heart muscle will receive no nourishment and will die. These sub-connections represent a precaution taken in the face of that very grave danger. If one artery becomes blocked, thanks to that precautionary measure, blood will still flow through the others, bypass the obstruction and eventually reach the muscle tissue.
Could coincidences have taken it upon themselves to take such a precaution, before that danger was even present, by imagining the arteries becoming blocked? This is of course impossible. Coincidences are random accidents that leave no room for conscious intervention. This order, present in all living things including human beings, belongs to God, Who created them.
God reveals this in a verse of the Qur'an:
Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High. He Who created and molded; He Who determined and guided. (Surat al-A'la: 1-3)
82 Seymour Simon, The Heart - Our Circulatory System, New York: Mulberry Books, 1996, p. 1. 83 Lionel Bender, The Human Body: Its Mysteries and Marvels, Crescent Books, 1992, p. 35. 84 http://www.diyanet.gov.tr/DIYANET/nisan2001/dinsaglik.htm 85 David Burnie, "Human Body," Concise Encyclopedia, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, 1995, p. 86. 86 Robert A. Wallace, Gerald P. Senders, Robert J. Ferl, Biology Ferl 2 - Biology The Science of Life, HarperCollins College Publishers, p. 812. 87 Thema Laorusse Thematik Ansiklopedi, Vol. 4, p. 258. 88 http://people.a2000.nl/aalan/sirlar/vuc.html 89 Ibid. 90 Arthur C. Guyton and John E. Hall, Textbook of Medical Physiology, 9th Edition, Nobel Tip Kitapevi, p. 115. 91 The Incredible Machine, National Geographic Society, 1986, p. 123. 92 Ibid., p. 124. 93 Ibid. 94 http://people.a2000.nl/aalan/vucut/bolum1.html, 1. Bölum: Zamanlamanin Önemi ("The Importance of Timing") 95 Textbook of Medical Physiology, Arthur C. Guyton, M.D., Seventh Edition, Nobel Tip Kitapevi, Çapa, Istanbul, p. 244. 96 http://ww.boun.edu.tr/~pubrel/news/arsiv/aralik00/aralik00.html 97 http://ww.boun.edu.tr/~pubrel/news/arsiv/aralik00/aralik00.html 98 Thema Larousse, p. 258.


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You could weight lift the cat on a daily basis or eat a truckload of spinach to help build muscles. Or, after a workout, you could try a protein bar. Grab 12 low carb protein bars from Advance Nutraceuticals for just $39, choose from:
- Chocolate macadamia nut
- Coconut
- A mixed box - six chocolate macadamia nut and six coconut
You can also opt to buy two boxes, one of each flavour, for $74.
- These low carb protein bars don't contain artificial sweetener
- The bars weigh 50g each
Ingredients (for chocolate macadamia nut): whey protein isolate (from milk), gelatin, isomalt, coconut (10%), soy protein, glycerine, water, macadamia nuts, cocoa powder, cocoa butter
Nutritional facts (for chocolate macadamia nut):
- Serving per pack: one
- Serving size: 50g
- Per 50g: energy 102 cal, 428 kj, carbohydrate 2.04g, sugar 0.23g, fat 3.15g, saturated fat 1.21g, protein 16.32g, dietary fibre 4.56g, sodium 74.44mg
Ingredients (for coconut): whey protein isolate (from milk), gelatin, isomalt, coconut (10%), soy protein, glycerine, water, cocoa butter
Nutritional facts (for coconut):
- Serving per pack: one
- Serving size: 50g
- Per 50g: energy 137 cal, 576 kj, carbohydrate 0.83g, sugar 0.55g, fat 4.99g, saturated fat 1.41g, protein 22.23g, dietary fibre 8.02g, sodium 90.47mg
Zen Store
(021) 985 677 or (09) 815 9803
Enter address when purchasing. Delivery is nationwide within 3 days of deal ending. Excl. PO Box and rural addresses. No refunds, no cash back, not to be used with any other offers.See the rules that apply to all deals Delivery Timeframe: 3 days


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Home | myCampus | Directory | Employment | Calendar |
Marcia Taylor, M.S., M. Ed. (Marine Science) has been an extension agent on St. Croix since October 1991. A Virgin Islands resident since 1978, Marcia was a dive instructor before working for the V. I. Government in its Department of Planning and Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division. Following 13 years of supervising the water quality monitoring office, she came to VIMAS. An alumna of the University of Connecticut, she completed her graduate work both at Southeastern Massachusetts University and the University of the Virgin Islands. Her research interests include tropical marine algae and coral reef ecology. Marcia is also involved in outreach education. Her current projects include tropical marine resources, wetland ecology and Nonpoint Source (NPS) water pollution.
> Click here to download CV


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Also in 1984:
First-year students in MBA program are required to purchase and use "portable" PCs (dubbed "luggables" by students).
Policy pioneer and renowed case-method teacher C. Roland Christensen is named a "University Professor" (Harvard's highest academic honor) by President Derek Bok.
343 employers conduct 12,800 on-campus interviews; average graduating student has 14 interviews and gets 3 offers
Thomas McCraw publishes Prophets of Regulation, which wins the Pulitzer Prize in 1985
"HBS Press" is reestablished after a 15-year hiatus
$4.5 million renovation to Mellon Hall is completed; former MBA dorm becomes PMD residence hall
11th Annual Business School Student Show spoofs HBS history
25% of graduating class are women
3 most popular fields for graduating students are consulting (19%), investment banking (18.9%), and high tech (11.7%)
A working paper by Howard Stevenson -- "Who Are the Harvard Self-Employed? -- reveals that nearly half of HBS alumni consider themselves entrepreneurs, and almost half of those entrepreneurs are self-employed
Calvin Pava publishes Managing New Office Technology
Christopher Lovelock publishes Services Marketing and (with Charles B. Weinberg) Marketing for Public and Nonprofit Managers
Class of '59 makes record reunion gift of more than $1.5 million
Class of 1958 Professorship is established
Faculty votes to establish joint Ph.D. program in decision sciences
Fellowship fund honoring D. George Sullivan (MBA '29) and totaling more than $150,000 is established
First in a series of "Senior Executive Sessions" is held; aimed at helping highest-level executives with strategic challenges
Fouraker Professorship, honoring HBS Dean Lawrence Fouraker, is established; Paul Vatter is named first incumbent
George Lodge publishes The American Disease
Gordon Donaldson publishes Managing Corporate Wealth
HBS establishes a $100,000 fellowship in memory of longtime administrative operations staff member Daniel Sullivan
Harry Hansen is honored by Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Empresa (IESE) in Barcelona for his contributions
Indonesian Institute for Management Development opens with assistance from Harry Hansen, Robert Anthony, and Louis Wells
Industrial Bank of Japan Professorship is established; Thomas Piper is named first incumbent
International Senior Managers Program relocates to Soldiers Field; is renamed SMP
Malcolm Salter, Chris Christensen, and Norman Berg publish Policy Formation and Administration
Michael Beer (with Spector, Mills, Walton, and Lawrence) publishes Managing Human Assets
Michael Spence is named dean of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences
Norman Berg publishes General Management
Paul Lawrence (with Beer, Spector, Mills, and Walton) publishes Managing Human Assets
Quinn Mills and Janice McCormick publish Industrial Relations in Transition
Ramchandran Jaikumar publishes paper -- "Computers in Transportation" -- that subsequently wins the E. Grosvenor Plowman Award
Richard Vietor publishes Energy Policy in America Since 1945
Robert Hayes and Steven Wheelwright publish Regaining our Competitive Edge
Robert Stobaugh and Louis Wells publish Technology Crossing Borders
The Stanley Roth, Sr. Charitable Trust makes a $1.5 million gift in support of HBS doctoral students
Thomas Bonoma and Benson Shapiro publish Segmenting the Industrial Market
Warren McFarlan publishes The Information Systems Research Challenge
William Abernathy, 50, dies of cancer; is honored with the establishment of a research endowment
With encouragement and help from Alonzo McDonald, Jr. (MBA '56), HBS inaugurates "Senior Executive Session" for current or former CEOs
Key to Topic Colors:
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Timeline: 1984
Bruce Scott and George Lodge publish U.S. Competitiveness in the World Economy
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VISIT DENVER is the premier source of information about Denver's hot spots, visitor attractions, cultural events, hotels, and more. For a comprehensive listing of things to do in Denver, visit www.visitdenver.com
Public art, theatre rentals, entertainment, and more.
Denver Recognized for Brownfield Redevelopment of the Denver Central Platte Campus
Denver Offers New Mentorship Program for Minority- and Women-Owned Businesses
"The Fax About Small Business" to Showcase Entrepreneurial Resources, Colfax Development Opportunities
Press Release - Denver City Council Sets 2014 Budget Priorities
Mayor Michael B. Hancock, joined by transportation, safety and school officials, today launched a citywide public safety awareness campaign to educate those who live, work and play in Denver about how to increase safety while in transit.
Visit our 311 mobile website.
Watch instructional videos to get answers to your questions about motor vehicle registration, missed trash collection, and more.


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To find a doctor, call 800-667-5356 or click below:
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Definition | Causes | Risk Factors | Symptoms | Diagnosis | Treatment | Prevention
Neurogenic bladder is abnormal bladder function caused by a nerve problem. The bladder may empty too often or at the wrong time ( incontinence ) or the bladder may be unable to completely empty the urine (urinary retention). In this case, urine may leak out of the overfilled bladder.
Contact your doctor if you think you may have this condition. The sooner it is treated, the lower the chance of developing other serious conditions, such as a urinary tract infection .
Copyright © Nucleus Medical Media, Inc.
Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done. You may be asked to keep a diary of how often you empty your bladder and other urinary habits. If your doctor thinks that your symptoms may be caused by a nerve problem, you may have some of the tests below. You may also be referred to a urologist for further evaluation and treatment.
Treatment focuses on relieving symptoms by emptying your bladder regularly.
Treatment options include:
A thin tube, called a catheter, can be inserted to empty the bladder. You can learn to do this yourself or a trained healthcare professional may do it for you.
While most cases of neurogenic bladder cannot be prevented, people with diabetes may be able to delay or avoid the problem by carefully controlling their blood sugar levels over the long-term. Also, wearing seat belts and avoiding activities that increase the risk of spinal cord injuries will prevent neurogenic bladder from this cause.


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Live happily.
Hi, my name's Sofia. I'm seventeen, born and raised in the US, but ethnically an Afghan Uzbek. I'm fluent in English and Uzbek, but I'm working on my Dari and Urdu. I absolutely adore culture, language, and dance.. Of every region of the world. People say I'm very diverse. What I post will usually be reflective of my mood at the moment. I'm usually quite a happy person, or at least I try to be. I love everyone, so from time to time, I like to do random things to make people happy. Humbleness and honesty are very important to me. Oh, and the word that describes me all around is
. I never really know what I want. Maybe because I want a little of everything. I also excessively over-analyze, to the point where I confuse myself. But yeah, that's enough about me, feel free to leave me any questions or comments :)
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Hours of great reading await, with tales from some of the 20th century's most renowned science fiction authors, Here are 25 science fiction stories (plus a bonus short-short):
UNKNOWN THINGS, by Reginald Bretnor...
The Andre Norton megapack collects 15 works by the Grand Master of Science Fiction. Included are:
"The People of the Crater"
"The Gifts of Asti"
"Plague Ship"
"Star Born"
"All Cats Are Gray"
"The Time Traders"...
When Sora's swallowship is taken out by a swarm during the war she is rescued by Merlin, a legendary man who has allegedly discovered a super-weapon built by the Way creators; a gun so powerful it I said to...
Unexpectedly the starship Stellaris hurtled off the earth and into the farthest reaches of space. If only that was the only problem! No star maps, killer aliens and a ship that was only partially built.
The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack selects 25 more modern and classic science fiction stories, by talented authors new and old. Authors in this volume include: Mary A. Turzillo, E.C. Tubb, Murray Leinster,...
Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy,...
Nina, one of the few descendants of human colony on Mars that was abandoned by Earth, is surprised to discover that she can breathe the toxic atmosphere of the Martian surface. The crew, thinking that their...
Hours of great reading await, with tales from some of the 20th century's most renowned science fiction authors, Here are 25 science fiction stories:
WHAT'S HE DOING IN THERE? by Fritz Leiber
Dark matter, the invisible substance that constitutes the bulk of all matter in the universe, remains one of science's greatest mysteries. But what if it actually is nothing more than ordinary matter purposely...
Here is the novel that will be forever considered a triumph of the imagination. Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides, who would become the mysterious man known as Muad'Dib....
Reach fell, and when hope seemed lost, humanity stood face-to-face with the possible extinction of all life in the galaxy and lived to tell the tale.
But that was just one epic battle, and the war rages on ....
In the stunning continuation of the epic adventure begun in Hyperion, Simmons returns us to a far future resplendent with drama and invention. On
the world of Hyperion, the mysterious Time Tombs are opening. And...
The human Confederation empire stretches across the endless night between the stars, slowly rotting from within even as it faces threats from without. And at its farthest reaches stand the forgotten men and...
In 1984, London is a grim city where Big Brother is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind. Winston is a man in grave danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions....
This volume assembles 30 complete novels and short stories by Murray Leinster, published between 1919 and 1963. Included are such science fiction classics as "The Runaway Skyscraper," "Space Tug," "Second Landing,"...
"The Second Randall Garrett Megapack" is the follow-up to "The Randall Garrett Megapack." Together, these two volumes encompass 42 classic-era science fiction stories by Randall Garrett. [Note that we omit one...
"The Randall Garrett Megapack" (and its companion volume, "The Second Randall Garrett Megapack") together encompass 42 classic-era science fiction tales by Randall Garrett. Readers interested in works by the...
Siege is the conclusion to Rhiannon Frater's As the World Dies trilogy, which should appeal to fans of The Walking Dead. Both The First Days and Fighting to Survive won the Dead Letter Award from Mail Order...
In one of Robert Heinlein's most controversial bestsellers, a recruit of the future goes through the toughest boot camp in the Universe--and into battle with the Terran Mobile Infantry against mankind's most...
Dune Messiah continues the story of the man Muad'dib, heir to a power unimaginable, bringing to completion the centuries-old scheme to create a super-being."Brilliant...It is all that Dune was, and maybe a little...


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Your Happy Retirement Is Probably About $250,000 Short
NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Do you have a good grip on your retirement?
Be honest -- a really good grip?
Ameriprise Financial (AMP) , the Minneapolis-based financial services giant, doesn't think so. In fact, Ameriprise says there may be a significant "emotional disconnect" between your retirement goals and retirement reality.
The firm based its analysis on its Retirement Check-In Survey of 1,000 U.S. employees ages 50-70.
At first blush, Ameriprise says America has a good, healthy, positive mindset toward retirement. The firm says 78% of Americans expect to be "extremely happy." Ameriprise's data cite the belief among workers that they can look forward to ample free time with loved ones, the ability to travel the globe or spend quality time with favorite hobbies.
This is where that "disconnect" enters the picture. Ameriprise says that, on average, most Americans have a gap of $250,000 before they can retire in the relatively cushy lifestyle described above. Furthermore, 68% of U.S. workers say they plan on working in retirement.
"There seems to be a significant disconnect between the expectations that Americans have for their lifestyle in retirement and the financial steps they're taking -- or not taking -- to make those expectations a reality," says Suzanna de Baca, vice president of wealth strategies at Ameriprise Financial. "The good news is there are several things that most people are doing right, and there are steps that everyone can take to help build their financial readiness for retirement."


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Listen to Amy Winehouse on iHeartRadio | Listen to Nas on iHeartRadio
(Yahoo!) - Amy Winehouse and Nas' duet "Cherry Wine" is up for the Best Rap/Sung Collaboration Grammy, competing against entries from Flo Rida and Sia, Jay-Z and Kanye West, John Legend and Ludacris and Rihanna and Jay-Z.
Nas featured performance footage of Winehouse in the music video for the song he released in October.
On the track produced by Salaam Remi, both Nas and Winehouse discuss their tiresome search for love. The video ends with Nas and a Winehouse lookalike walking off into the sunset. The song appears on Nas' "Life Is Good" album that in the running for Best Rap Album.
In 2011, Winehouse received a posthumous Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy for "Body And Soul" from Tony Bennett's "Duets II" album.
READ MORE: Yahoo!
Photo Credit Getty Images


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"I wanted to lose weight to challenge myself and show myself I can change, and not change for the world," Garcia wrote in her iReport. "This time, it was for me."
Getting in shape wasn't going to be easy. Going to the gym had been one of her biggest fears for a long time. She was self-conscious about how she looked and sounded when she ran.
"It was hard for me to breathe," Garcia said. "It was embarrassing."
Embarrassment about her weight extended to other areas of her life. Although she was president of her sorority, Garcia always felt like she stood out.
"All the sorority girls had cookie-cutter form, and I looked different," she said. "It was really hard for me to connect."
Garcia's involvement in Greek life perpetuated her unhealthy habits; she often went to bars and restaurants to mingle with her college friends. It was difficult to break the cycle, but she found supportive friends who also hit the gym.
"What I tell people is that you find new friends at the gym," she said. "If you don't have the support, it's really hard to do it on your own."
Garcia found one of her biggest supporters through her sorority. She met Nicholas Monreal at a Greek function, and they began dating when she was at her heaviest. But the days of social functions, bar visits and restaurant outings are long gone for the couple.
"He was there when I realized I wanted to change," she said. "To this day, our dates are to the gym. We see excitement in going on walks and runs."
The couple has been together for four years; he proposed in December. Monreal has noticed a significant difference in Garcia over the past few years -- not just physically.