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Why Is Katy Perry's "Dark Horse" No. 1?
Before we talk about the new No. 1 song in America—Katy Perry's latest in a hit-packed, half-decade career—here's a quick pop-music pop quiz.
In 2010–11, Perry tied an impressive chart record when her album Teenage Dream generated five No. 1 singles on Billboard's Hot 100. She matched a 23-year-old mark set by Michael Jackson, whose Bad in 1987–88 became the first album ever to produce five No. 1's.
Quick, without Googling: How many of Perry's five chart-toppers from that record-tying 2010 album can you name in 2014?
If you know your 2010s pop, the first three should be gimmes. Leadoff single "California Gurls"—featuring Snoop Dogg and that line about "Daisy Dukes/ Bikinis on top"—was the consensus Song of the Summer. The second single, the album's title track, was all electro wistfulness, Madonna crossed with "Jack and Diane"; it's Perry's most critically acclaimed single and a notably adaptable tune. Third single "Firework" was the album's biggest-selling hit, an ersatz It Gets Better anthem that will probably be sung at elementary-school graduations for years to come.
Of the remaining two, I'm going to guess the one you'll recall more easily is the fifth of the five: the summer 2011 trifle "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)," with its memorable video that put Perry in braces and big hair for a parody of every '80s teen movie ever. But what was that fourth hit?
"E.T.," featuring Kanye West. Not ringing a bell? To jog your memory, here's the Floria Sigismondi–directed video, which is frankly more impressive than the song itself.
As a song, the alien-sex curio isn't as grabby as any of the above-mentioned four hits. But amazingly, "E.T." is the second-highest-selling single of Perry's career (5.6 million copies, behind only "Firework's" 6.3 million) and was the fourth-biggest Billboard hit of 2011. It's also a song her label didn't originally plan to release as a single. Reportedly, after "Firework," Perry had to convince them "E.T." could be a hit, and for the remix West was brought in as extra insurance.
I bring up "E.T." because Perry's new Hot 100 topper, "Dark Horse" featuring rapper Juicy J, might as well be called "Son of E.T." The darkest track on Perry's sparkly 2013 album, Prism, "Horse" is just as spooky—and it was conceived to fill the same slot in Perry's otherwise bright-and-shiny oeuvre.
And like "E.T.," its hit potential was not obvious. "This No. 1 is the most unexpected one I've ever had," Perry told Billboard last week when the song reached the penthouse. "'Dark Horse' has been a dark horse of a song, since August when [fan group] the KatyCats voted to release it early on iTunes, before Prism even came out. I'm so thrilled and grateful."
The similarities don't end there. "E.T." was a pop-friendly approximation of then-current electronic music tropes—techno and dubstep—just as EDM was beginning to storm pop radio in 2010. Likewise, "Dark Horse" is a pop-friendly version of the hip-hop/electronic subgenre known as trap; it retains trap music's synth sheen, if not its druggy bleakness. Perry's version of trap music is then painted over with goth nail polish—made even gaudier in Perry's Spinal Tap–worthy performance of the song on last week's Grammy telecast. Both songs are blippy, spacey, and broadly danceable or at least bounceable, if you like your club music minimalist.
Unsurprisingly, both songs were co-written by pop mastermind Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald—yes, him again. ("Horse" is his second straight No. 1 after Pitbull/Ke$ha's "Timber," and it won't be his last.) Luke has worked closely with Perry since she broke in 2008 and is responsible for the bulk of her chart-toppers. And he, too, seems to have viewed "Dark Horse" as an unofficial sequel to "E.T." He first wrote the earlier song with with Juicy J's longtime rap crew Three 6 Mafia in mind, before Perry snagged the song for herself. T6M are best known for their Oscar-winning "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp"; they had a handful of gold and platinum albums before the Oscar win, and a handful of Top 40 hits afterward. But Dr. Luke has long had his eye on the charismatic Juicy J for stardom: Luke refers to Juicy as "my rapper" in a recent New Yorker profile, and Juicy is now signed to Luke's Kemosabe label. With "Dark Horse," Gottwald, working with his mentor Max Martin and Perry, has effectively redone "E.T." as a showcase for Juicy, rectifying the loss of the would-be T6M hit to Perry's prior album.
Sonically at least, Gottwald, Martin, Perry, and their army of studio wizards did a better job the second time. Though it may have been a blockbuster hit, "E.T." was lugubrious, dopey, and left a bad xenophobic aftertaste. "Dark Horse" isn't a great song, and it hasn't entirely solved the dopey-lyrics problem; Juicy drops an unfortunate Jeffrey Dahmer simile right at the start of his verse. But on the whole "Horse" is more energetic and has a brain-sticky digital bounce. Aging Gen-X fans of vintage synths might even find its keyboard hook warmly familiar—it's a sound R&B and hip-hop have been mining for several years now. Juicy's rap is catchy, and Perry's yelp of a voice, an acquired taste at best, is well matched to "Horse's" insistent ache.
That voice isn't suited to everything Perry tries—ballads, especially. In fact, "Horse" rights the ship for Perry after "Unconditionally," a midtempo torch song that was the second promoted radio single from Prism. By Perry's standards "Unconditionally" was a flop, peaking at No. 14 over the holidays and snapping her streak of Top 10 hits. Balladry has long been a chink in the armor of Battleship Perry: She has repeatedly underperformed with forgettable songs like "Thinking of You" (No. 29, 2009) and "The One That Got Away" (which ended the Teenage streak of No. 1's and prevented Perry from topping Jackson's record). The closer Perry veers toward smoldering romance, the more radio listeners yawn.
Long-term, this may present a bit of a challenge to Capitol. The label has been working, single by single, to style Perry—born Katheryn Hudson and a former Christian music singer—as an all-purpose inspirational starlet. Yes, this is the woman who kicked off her pop career in 2008 with a hateful bit of homophobic taunting and an equally noxious bit of faux-homophilic titillation. But the Perry of the 2010s mostly hews to the motivational mode of "Firework"—or, better, the anthemic "Roar," Prism's chart-topping leadoff single. "Roar" is a better, sturdier song than anything else on Prism, but Perry and Capitol can't go to that well every time.
In this era of the focus-grouped hit single, perhaps it's as simple as listening to avid pop fans. "Dark Horse" was already selling well at iTunes before it was tapped as an official single. Next, if it's sonic variety Capitol needs, Perry's homage to '90s house, "Walking on Air" (the second-best track on Prism after "Roar," I'd argue) has been doing some business on iTunes as a non-single, and they'd be fools not to turn to it by summer.
For now, popheads have sent a clear message that they enjoy Perry in her Hot Topic, goth-girl-with-training-wheels mode. Maybe next time, Luke and Perry can solve Capitol's singles dilemma entirely, by combining the uplift song and the spooky song in one—perhaps something about spirit animals, called, say, "Patronus." Watch, it'll dominate the Hot 100 for months.
Why Is Pitbull and Ke$ha's "Timber" No. 1?
Why Is Eminem's "The Monster" No. 1?
Content retrieved from: https://slate.com/culture/2014/02/katy-perrys-dark-horse-hit-no-1-on-billboard-hot-100-why-video.html.


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This collection contains black and white press photographs and tear sheets dating from 1933-1976.
Esquire, inc.This collection consists of illustrations, photographs, print materials, awards, and other ephemera relating to the career of American fashion illustrator Jane Bixby Weller.
Bixby Weller, JaneCollection is comprised of model photographs, sketches, photographs of sketches, show programs, some newspaper and magazine clippings with articles about or by Lucile, order forms, advertisements, and fashion plates. Garment designs include theatrical costumes, wedding gowns, day and evening wear, tea gowns, lingerie and pajamas. Bulk of the collection consists of model photographs, fashion sketches, photographs of sketches and official phototransfers. In addition there are clippings of articles from different publications written by or about Lucile, she wrote regular columns for Hearst publications. Programs for the "Model Parades" introducing lines of clothing for several years. There are some photographs of Lucile's clients, and photographs of "Rose room" interiors of Lucile. Ltd from New York and Chicago locations. Inspirational and reference materials collected by Lucile and/or her staff, mainly fashion plates and newspaper clippings from different publications. Dates range from the early 1910s to the mid 1920s. Model photographs were glued in large format (12-14"w to 16-18"h) standard, blank books to order, referred throughout this finding aid as scrapbooks; there are 12 volumes in the collection. Bulk of original drawings that are arranged according to the type of clothing are loose, drawn on a heavy weight board; sketches for 1916 and 197-18 lines were glued into scrapbooks; there are 12 volumes of original drawings and 2 volumes of photographs and phototransfers. It is possible that two types of arrangement seen throughout the collection (most of Model photographs chronologically, most of sketches by type of clothing) are due to different purpose these materials served; sketches of period gowns or theatrical costumes could have been referred to time and time again for different productions or themed social events, whereas model photographs would have documented actual creation of such a garment at a certain point in time. It is also not clear why, but some scrapbooks with model photographs are reproduced in complete entirety, using same photo session materials some fully annotated.
Duff Gordon, Lucy, Lady


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Palestinians euphoric over UN recognition
RAMALLAH, West Bank — Euphoric Palestinians erupted in cheers, honked car horns and chanted "God is great" after the United Nations endorsed an independent state of Palestine, giving sweeping international backing to their demands for sovereignty over lands Israel occupied in 1967.
The historic General Assembly decision late Thursday to accept "Palestine" as a non-member observer state won't actually grant independence to the 4.3 million Palestinians who live in the West Bank, east Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
Israel remains an occupying force in the first two territories and continues to severely restrict access to Gaza, ruled by the Hamas militant group. Nor does the vote plaster over the rift in the Palestinian leadership that has led to the emergence of dueling governments in the West Bank and Gaza.
But by gaining approval at a world forum overwhelmingly sympathetic to their quest, Palestinians hope to make it harder for Israel to resist global pressure to negotiate the borders of a future Palestine based on lines Israel held before capturing the West Bank, east Jerusalem and Gaza in 1967.
The massive international recognition of the Palestinians' right to a state — only nine of 193 General Assembly members voted against it — gave them hope that the tide had turned in their favor.
"It's a great feeling to have a state, even if in name only," said civil servant Mohammed Srour, 28, standing in a flag-waving a crowd of more than 2,000 packed into a square in the West Bank city of Ramallah late Thursday. "The most beautiful dream of any man is to have an independent state, particularly for us Palestinians who have lived under occupation for a long time."
But even though the resolution did not immediately change their lives, Palestinians say the recognition isn't just symbolic. They believe it will strengthen their hand in any future talks with Israel, which has attacked the Palestinian move as an attempt to bypass such negotiations.
The international community's warm embrace was meant, in part, to shore up the moderate Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, whose domestic standing had been hurt by his failure to deliver a state through negotiations during his eight years at the helm. European powers that Israel had hoped would oppose the statehood bid either supported it or abstained.
Hamas, once shunned internationally for its campaign of violence against Israel, has seen its isolation ease in recent months, as Islamists gain power across the region. An outpouring of support from the Arab world during an Israeli offensive against targets linked to militants earlier this month in Gaza gave them another bump.
After initially criticizing the U.N. bid as an empty gesture, Hamas has come around to supporting the popular move, with reservations.
Palestinians in the coastal strip also celebrated the vote, though on a smaller scale than after the massive eruption of joy in the streets after last week's cease-fire deal with Israel.
Some set off fireworks, others shot in the air and children in the streets cheered and flashed victory signs. "Today is a big joy for all of us," Abu Yazan, a 29-year-old Abbas supporter, said.
Izzat Rishaq, a senior Hamas figure in exile, said he welcomed the U.N. vote as an achievement, but that Hamas counts on "heroic resistance" to create a Palestinian state — underlining the group's deep ideological rift with Abbas who opposes violence.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed the U.N. vote as meaningless and accused Abbas of delivering a "defamatory and venomous" U.N. speech "full of mendacious propaganda" against Israel. Netanyahu argued that the U.N. move violated past agreements between Israel and the Palestinians and that Israel would act accordingly, without elaborating what steps it might take.
The Palestinians turned to the U.N. after two decades of on-again, off-again talks undermined by violence and a failure of will. They reject Israel's claim that the recognition bid is an attempt to dictate the future borders of Palestine.
Instead, they say, it's a last-ditch attempt to rescue peace efforts threatened by Israeli settlement building on occupied land. Since 1967, half a million Israelis have settled on lands the U.N. says are part of Palestine.
Abbas aides say that with its vote, the U.N. is rebuffing Israeli attempts to portray these territories as "disputed," or up for grabs, rather than occupied.
Abbas aide Nabil Shaath said it will no longer be up to Israel to decide whether the Palestinians can have a state.
"The notion that Israel should approve the Palestinians' inalienable right to self-determination is simply illogical, immoral, and totally unacceptable," he wrote in an opinion piece in the Israeli daily Haaretz.
The endorsement of the pre-1967 line as the border of Palestine also poses a direct challenge to Netanyahu, who has refused to accept that demarcation as a basis for border talks with the Palestinians. Abbas and his aides have said the Israeli leader's rejection of such a framework for negotiations, accepted by his predecessors, helped push them to go to the U.N.
The Palestinians could also gain access to U.N. agencies and international bodies, most significantly the International Criminal Court, which could become a springboard for going after Israel for alleged war crimes or its ongoing settlement building on war-won land.
However, Abbas has signaled that he wants recognition to give him leverage in future talks with Israel, not as a tool for confronting or delegitimizing Israel, as Israeli leaders have alleged. He told the U.N. on Thursday that the Palestinians will "behave in a responsible and positive ways in our next steps."
Palestinian technical teams have studied the laws of all U.N. agencies and put together recommendations for Abbas, said a Palestinian official involved in the effort.
He said Abbas told the experts there is no rush, and the next Palestinian moves would in part depend on international reaction, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose internal deliberations.
Palestinian spokeswoman Hanan Ashrawi said Friday that the Palestinians will now sit down to sort out their priorities. She said reconciliation between Abbas and Hamas is the most urgent requirement, but suggested it's unlikely Abbas, even though strengthened by U.N. recognition, would resume negotiations with Israel without a settlement freeze.
"We don't want flawed and counterproductive negotiations," she said.
Most immediately, the Palestinian Authority, which relies heavily on foreign aid and is struggling with the worst cash crisis in its 18-year history, could face further funding cuts over the U.N. bid.
In Washington, a bipartisan group of senators warned the Palestinians they could lose U.S. financial support of millions of dollars a year and risk the shutdown of their Washington office if they use their enhanced U.N. status against Israel.
Israel could also suspend the monthly transfer of millions of dollars in tax rebates it collects on behalf of the Palestinians, a punitive step it has taken in the past.
Associated Press writer Dalia Nammari in Ramallah, West Bank, and Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City contributed reporting.


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(AP) — They're called leggings — popular fashion items that are tight-fitting pants to some and glorified tights to others.
Younger girls often wear them as pants with little fuss. But as those same girls approach middle school, leggings have become an increasingly controversial clothing accessory — and seemingly the favorite new target of the school dress code.
Some schools have banned leggings outright. Others have set limits. Haven Middle School in Evanston took what turned out to be a contentious stand: If you wear leggings, you need to have a shirt or skirt over them that reaches at least down to your fingertips.
In other words, girls need to cover their behinds.
It might seem a reasonable enough request at a time when school dress codes — and even school uniforms — are common and often supported by teachers and administrators who frequently complain about students who push the limits of good taste, and the parents who let them (and may even push those limits themselves).
But how far is too far? And do schools sometimes go too far in pushing back?
Judges have tended to side with schools when safety is a concern. For example, a federal court agreed with a school district in Morgan Hill, Calif., after some high school students were told not to wear American flag T-shirts on the Mexican holiday of Cinco de Mayo in 2010. The worry was that the shirts would incite conflict with the school's many Hispanic students.
When safety isn't at issue, says Perry Zirkel, a professor of education and law at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, the courts tend to throw the cases back to the schools and parents, so they can come up with solutions together.
It's not always easy, since many people have a different notion of what's appropriate and what's not — and what's distracting, and what's not.
At Haven Middle School there has been a lot of confusion. Just a few weeks ago, the school's own website said leggings were banned, when apparently they were not, school officials now say. Then there was the matter of yoga pants, which are tight like leggings but flared at the bottom. Did the fingertip rule also apply to those types of pants, especially when no one could tell the difference if they were tucked into boots, which also is a popular style among teens?
The discussions at school meetings have sometimes bordered on silly. But few disagree that there are serious issues at hand here — among them, whether girls are being shamed and unnecessarily embarrassed at a time when they're already starting to feel more aware of their changing bodies.
Clearly frustrated with the debate, Haven Middle School teachers posted this statement on the school's website to explain the reasoning behind the leggings policy: "We believe, through years of experience and professionalism, that it is essential to our school's climate that we set a standard of expectation and decorum."
They denied that they acted because leggings distract boys, as has been alleged by some parents.
"The notion that girls' clothing affects the way boys learn is not, and never will be, our message," the statement said.
However, parents who've attended school meetings, and students who dislike the policy, seem most troubled by an inconsistency in enforcement. They claim that some girls are "dress-coded" more than others, perhaps because they are more physically developed. They say, for example, that they have heard comments like, "If you were smaller, you could wear this and it would be fine."
"I've also seen skinny, smaller girls walking around in leggings every week and never, ever getting caught for it," says Kate Green, a seventh-grader at Haven who concedes that she probably fits that category herself. She's had warnings, she said, but never more than that, when other girls have had to put their gym shorts over their outfits if they're in dress code violation.
Parents Kevin and Juliet Bond wrote an open letter to the district after their 13-year-old daughter Lilly sensed unfairness and asked them to address it.
"It's not like these girls are dressing up like street corner gals, right? I mean, it's sweatshirts and comfy pants," says Juliet Bond, an author and professor of women's studies at a Chicago liberal arts college.
Members of the advisory board say the dress code policy will be reviewed for the next school year. The key, school board member Suni Kartha said, would be to come up with a clear, consistent policy with as little "judgment" as possible.
"I don't think anybody ever had the intention for the policy to ever shame any of the students, but I understand that that's the effect," Kartha said.
There are those who argue that the best way to handle the dress code dilemma is to mandate uniforms, such as the blue pants and white shirts worn by Chicago Public Schools students.
"It puts everyone on the same playing field when they're at school," says Kitty Rotella, principal of St. Mark's Episcopal School, a private school for preschool through eighth grade in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. When her students have the occasional out-of-uniform day, she says, she feels like they're more distracted, even if there's no attire she deems inappropriate.
But others question the value of any strict codes.
"We were always pro dress code. Now I think, 'Is it really that important?'" says Jamie Renfro. She's the mother of third-grader Kamryn Renfro, who recently gained national attention when she decided to shave her head to support her 11-year-old friend Delaney Clements, who has cancer and lost her hair after chemotherapy.
After she shaved her head, 9-year-old Kamryn was suspended from her public charter school in Grand Junction, Colo. — though the school's board quickly reversed the decision.
Now, because of her daughter's experience, Renfro says she catches herself paying attention at school events to dress code violations — earrings that might be too big, or a boy's hair that is longer than shoulder length.
"But does the length of the kids' hair doesn't necessarily affect them in the classroom?" she asks. "I really doubt it does."
Haley Bocanegra, a 17-year-old junior from Riverside, regularly pushes the limits even further at her school, sometimes dressing like a boy, or wearing wigs and goggles for a "Steampunk" outfit, or a Japanese anime costume.
She says teachers usually have a harder time with it than her classmates do.
"I'm paying attention in class. So why are you making a big deal about it?" the honors student asks, showing them the student handbook to prove she's not violating the code.
At least one former teacher who's now an expert in education law advises schools to continue to focus instead on safety — and to ignore students' unusual dress, if it's not disruptive or disrespectful in some way.
Beyond that, Nancy Hablutzel, a professor of education at the Chicago-Kent College of Law, says consistency is important.
"But," she says, "so is common sense."


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Thursday, July 31, 2008
Country Music I Like Despite My Better Judgment
I say this all with caution because I recognize that saying one hates Country music is something like saying one hates the flag, Abraham Lincoln or Lost and I know I'm setting myself up for angry mail. But the first part of a cure is admitting you need help, right? So though I can't handle the twang, the ethos or the clothing Country music spawns there are a few--very few--songs that could be considered "Country" music that I like. Maybe even love--though I'm not sure I'm prepared to admit to the "L" word yet.
I suppose I should dedicate this list to my grandfather who is a die-hard Country fan. Not the Toby Keith-Shania Twain-crossover Country but the deep-down, hard-core variety that sings into a bottle of whiskey, rejected and alone in the back of a Chevy as only Country can do. I remember sitting on Grandpa's lap as a kid and watching Hee Haw together. The fun of watching with Grandpa would be the only thing on earth that could induce me to endure that show.
Any other songs I should be listening to that might make a convert out of me?
1. Killing the Blues by Alison Krauss and Robert Plant. Andrew came up with this song--it might have been a freebie on itunes, he follows those pretty closely--and gave me the "Guess whose voice this is?" test. I'm pretty good at picking out voices and I caught Alison's distinctive plaintive, clear tones right away but the male voice stumped me. I couldn't for the life of me guess who it was and it didn't help that Andrew kept saying "You're NEVER going to guess!" and he was right. When he finally told me I was hearing the great Led Zepplin front man reborn as a Country star I was blown away but I've loved the song from the first time I heard it.
Maybe it's just knowing that there's a tie to Led Zepplin there that makes me feel that it's not 100% Country. Yea, that must be it.
2. Big Rock Candy Mountain by Harry McClintock. This one really IS country, no getting around it but the words roll off the tongue so beautifully and the feeling of Americana is so strong I'm going to ignore my "no Country" rule and like it anyway. I love the whole O Brother Where Art Thou? soundtrack and the beautiful mix of gospel, bluegrass and folk that it reintroduces. "Down to the River to Pray" (another Allison Krauss favorite) is gorgeous and who can't help smiling when they hear "You Are My Sunshine"?
3. Tennessee Waltz by Eva Cassidy. You've heard me sigh over Eva's voice before and there are few women that could get me to love the twang the way Eva does. This sad and romantic waltz is a favorite and I also have a fondness for some of her gospel pieces such as "Wade in the Water."
4. Cold, Cold Heart and Creepin' In by Norah Jones. Again with the female crooners! "Cold, Cold Heart" is an old Hank Williams song that Norah glosses up for my anti-Country ear. A great song that deserves a spot on my Limited Country List along with her "Creepin' In" duet with Dolly Parton (who by the way is one of the greatest songwriters ever in my humble opinion). It's got the guitar, it's got the twang and it's got my dedication.
5. Personal Jesus by Johnny Cash. I first heard this as a Depeche Mode cover and it was years before I found the headwaters of this great song. As expected, Johnny Cash does it right and while D.M. has a funky beat Cash's original carries the emotion and strength that the covers lack. Could be Cash at his finest--though I'm not an aficionado and my experience with his music is pretty limited so take my opinion with a grain of salt. And if we're talking Johnny Cash you could probably take it with a grain of salt and a shot of tequila. And then another.
6. Bluegrass. In general. This is probably my Alaskan roots because Bluegrass is popular here, there's even an annual Talkeetna Bluegrass Festival each year. I haven't heard much of the genre but if you can count Bluegrass as part of Country music then I'd say--tentatively--that I like quite a bit of what I've heard. I think it's because it feels like an American cultural root that goes deep into early American history--rather like gospel or folk--and it speaks to me. On a limited, need-to-know basis. And not every day. And rather quietly when no one else is watching.
7. She Said Yes by Chad Brock. I think I inherited this itunes file from my sister's playlist somehow--you know, a disc transferred to a disc transferred to a disc--and it's perky and chirpy enough that I found it catchy and I decided to leave it on my list despite the mockery from Andrew (who still refuses to get in touch with his countrified side). I don't play it for company but have been known to listen to it on the sly from time to time when no one is around and the windows are securely fastened.
8. Smokey Mountain Memories by David Archuleta. This really is embarrassing. It's like being caught with a Miley Cyrus poster on my bedroom wall but I justify myself by saying it's not really sugary-sweet, blond teenage country, it's DEEP country from the great Queen Dolly. Though maybe I've negated this justification by prefering the American Idol version sung by tiny David "Cutie Pie" Archuleta. He's like a short little Mouseketeer up there on stage with his cute little smile--Grace is a huge fan.
Oh who cares what you all think. I love this song and the first time I heard it I almost teared up. Almost. Not quite--you won't get me to admit more than that.
9. Travelin' Thru by Jason Castro. Since I'm spilling my guts with the confessions I might as well include this one sung the same American Idol night by Captain Dreadlocks himself, Jason Castro. Didn't particularly care for him as a contestant but I loved this version of another of Dolly's songs, once again reaffirming my assertion as to her songwriting ability. I think it's interesting that while I don't care for Christian rock some of the Country songs I like can have gospel overtones. Just proves that the lines between genres can be blurry.
10. All My Exs Live in Texas by George Strait. This is silly Country at its finest--and while there are plenty of pop songs on ridiculous subjects only Country can take such wonderful liberties with the English language. I used to listen to this one (and it's not actually on my playlist, so my affection for it is still pretty limited) is because my dear friend Laurie my freshman year of college adored George Strait and Randy Travis and listened to their music constantly. I still hold the song in fondness in honor of her.
"Rosanna's down in Texarkana, wanted me to push her broom . . . Sweet Eileen's in Abileen, she forgot I hung the moon . . . and Allison in Galveston somehow lost her sanity . . . and Dimples who now lives in Temple's got the law lookin' for me . . . "
Have you ever heard "I'd Rather Have a Bottle in Front of Me Than a Frontal Lobotomy"? There ought to be a Pulitzer Prize category for whacked-out funky song lyrics like this.
11. You Were Always on My Mind by Willie Nelson. This one has been remade by more people than should have been allowed into a recording studio and while I believe this was originally an Elvis creation (am I right?) I think Willie sings it the best. I just don't care that it's down-and-out Country, it's a beautiful ballad that can bring tears to the eyes. "Maybe I didn't love you . . . quite as often as I should . . .you were always on my mind . . . " Sniff.
12. Amazing Grace. By anyone. It doesn't really matter who sings this song. Well now let me see, do I really mean that? Because that statement may not be entirely true. I don't think I'd care for an Usher version--or a Yanni or a Raffi version--so perhaps my loyalties are rather limited to those performing under a legitimate first and last name.
I've always thought it odd that my own church doesn't have this one in the hymn book as it's definitely the premier hymn and can move a crowd like no other.
13. I Will Always Love You by Dolly Parton. Sorry for so much Dolly but can you argue with me on this one? Go ahead, argue with me, I dare you. Her voice is so sweet and clear and the words are so haunting that now that I think about it I'm NOT sorry for having so much Dolly on the list. So there. And if I've interested you enough to go and look up some of her songs on itunes then well folks my work here is finished.
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47 comments:
- Tim Appleton (Applehead) said...
Stand firm Andrew....refuse to give in...
Err, the Depeche Mode version IS the original. Johnny Cash covered the song late in life - not long before his death - along with a whole bunch of other covers (including NIN's "Hurt") on albums called "American I, II, III and IV". I believe this is on American IV and I also believe that was his last album.
You've probably heard Alison Krauss doing "I'm A Man You Don't Meet Every Day" with the Pogues but if not check it out. We had it at our wedding. It's on Rum, Sodomy and The Lash (great name for an album) if you can't find it.
I also love "Portland, Oregon" by Loretta Lynn, which is off an album she did with Jack White (the White Stripes). You can hear his vocals too, and it's great. - 2:56 AM
Your playlist sounds very interesting. You forgot Chris Isaak! You can listen to 5 of his songs on his website. http://www.chrisisaak.com/nav.html
I just found your blog and am enjoying it. My own blog is almost one month old and I would love to have your comments on how I am doing! Best regards, Rosemary
http://contentinacottage.blogspot.com - 3:32 AM
- Unknown said...
Why is it country music fans are so ridiculed? Oh wait. Because the music is twangy and hokey. :-)
That said, you picked a few of the great exceptions! - 3:44 AM
- Kat Mortensen said...
I was a post-punk aficionado (with a little new romantic thrown in), but somewhere along the line, I deviated to a country phase and became a big fan of Randy Travis, Dwight Yoakum and later Johnny Cash. I still don't know all the early Cash stuff, but I regularly play and enjoy his later material with the likes of Trent Reznor's Hurt, and Soundgarden's Rusty Cage, BUT if you really want to listen to some great CASH - listen the album (you can tell how old I am by the use of that word) MURDER!
Wonderful post. We've been meaning to check out that Krauss/Plant collaboration. Now I'll just have to go out and get it.
Kat - 3:46 AM
- Scott McMurren said...
Your picks are great! I bought that Robert Plant/Alison Krauss CD on a whim standing in line for coffee at WHole Foods. Love it. Of course, I love everything Alison Krauss does. I discovered her...by watching "O Brother Where Art Thou" which...AH...is next on your list. Are you stalking my playlists?? HAHAAA...
- Stephanie Wilson she/her @babysteph said...
I do NOT LIKE COUNTRY. But, I have a feeling I might like the Plant/Krause album. I also totally love Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, and the O Brother Where Art thou soundtrack with a passion! : )
One other singer I might suggest is Mindy Smith. I love her song Come To Jesus and the rest of the album is pretty good, too. She does a duet with Dolly on Jolene. Love it!
Steph - 6:21 AM
I've heard most of the tracks from "Raising Sand" and have enjoyed all of the ones I've heard. It's a good album. Weird combo, considering the duo, but it turned out great.
I love the "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"soundtrack. There's something about that album that takes me back to my father's childhood in North Carolina.
We got the album for both dads for Father's Day one year.
My father-in-law listened to it for the first time in his car. The first track played. He heard the clink-ching, shuffle, clink-ching shufffle. Panicked, he stopped the car, thinking the last rusty bolt that holds it together had given way. Seeing nothing. He started up again.
Clink-ching, shuffle, clink-ching shufffle. He was aghast. Stop. Check. Nothing wrong.
Start again. Then the voice track came on.
Oh. It was the track on the CD with the chain gang.
My FIL and MIL hadn't seen the movie. They thought we were playing a joke on them.
I wish I could be that cunning, but it was purely accidental/ - 6:51 AM
- Munchkins and Music said...
I do have to admit, I like some country. But you are right, some of the country singers have SO MUCH TWANG in their voices. It is a bit much for me. I guess it fits the style though.
- CountessLaurie said...
Sounds like denial there, Michelle! If you can find that many songs you do like, I am thinking there are probaby more...
I am a country convert and not afraid to admit it. I love twangy and hokey. (I also have a thing for big hair band ballads but that's a whole other post!) - 6:54 AM
- Scribbit said...
Well Rebecca all I can say is "oops"--just shows how not-an-expert I am :)
Hate country, looooove Bluegrass. I don't get it either. LOL! There are some good Bluegrass channels on XM and iTunes.
- TheOneTrueSue said...
I was an in the closet country music fan for years, but now I HAVE NO SHAME. I love it. It's very sweet, tender and sappy - all the things that I love.
- Maddy said...
Oh dear! Now I shall be worried all day.
As a long time loather of all things remotely 'country' I would have to admit that I'm familiar with at least one of those.
Shan't tell you how many more though.
Cheers - 7:22 AM
- MIQuilter said...
I'm with you on the "not liking country music" thing..... although my husband has me occassionally listen to Brad Paisley - and his song "Online" is actually pretty cute.
Great choices! Robert Plant: I didn't know he was still on the go! And Johnny Cash - he's the best!
- [Stacia] said...
You really ought to check out more of George Strait's newer songs-I love him!
- carrie said...
I'm not usually a country fan either. Most of it just makes me downright ill.
But your list is some exceptional music any way you slice it. Love Allison Kraus, Dolly Parton, and Norah Jones (even though she's not usually country). - 7:33 AM
- Heather said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- Mama Hobbit said...
Heh, I grew up in Texas, where you can't escape the stuff, and merely avoided it when possible. Now that I've moved to the East Coast, I find myself switching my radio to country all the time!. I think I'm homesick, and the horrible twang just takes me back :-p
- Elizabeth said...
#4 and #5 I'm down with.
But the ain't country!!!!
right? - 7:56 AM
- Scribbit said...
Okay I had to go look at Wikipedia to see what they said and here's the gist:
Rebecca is right, Johnny Cash covered Depeche Mode's 1989 original of Personal Jesus in 2002.
Heather, I think you're thinking of "You Were Always on My Mind" which they say is a Brenda Lee original covered by Elvis, Willie and Pet Shop Boys. I had no idea it went back to Brenda.
Anyway, that's what the Mighty Wikipedia claims.
Shows how much I know. - 8:09 AM
- ames said...
Good list! I'm not a country fan myself either, but I think it's really an aversion to the slower, more modern stuff. I like Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Dixie Chicks (occasionally), and Lyle Lovett, and I *love* Norah Jones, Alison Krauss, and anything Bluegrass! As long as there's a banjo or a fiddle, I'm diggin' it.
Charlie Daniel's Band too, but mostly for the Devil Went Down to Georgia :) - 8:22 AM
- Penny said...
Because he's big, does it make it wrong? I like several of the Garth Brooks songs...
*Standing Outside the Fire - inspiration for life and love
*Ain't Goin' Down (til the Sun Comes Up) - gets my feet moving when I'm exercising
*We Shall be Free - great beat, great motto
*Long Neck Bottle - funny and upbeat - 8:36 AM
- Beth Cotell said...
Dolly's version of "I Will Always Love You" is soooooooo much better than Whitney Houston's.
It makes me cry every time I hear it. Seriously. - 8:37 AM
- Cagey (Kelli Oliver George) said...
I LOVE that song by Allison Krauss and Robert Plant. I ran into it awhile ago on TV and forgot about buying it. Thank you for reminding me!
I also love, LOVE Dolly Parton - I have since I was a kid and was buying LPs. Still v. v. frustrated that the album "dolly, dolly, dolly" is not available on CD. I managed to cobble together most of the songs off of iTunes, but still. I am also a big fan of Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn.
Me likey bluegrass, too. I consider it different than "country", though. Bluegrass is less "twangy" and more "plucky". - 8:42 AM
- Lara Neves said...
I am absolutely a music snob. And Country is one of the only genres I truly don't enjoy.
I had a stint back in college of going Country Dancing with roommates, and I started to like it, because the dancing is so fun.
Then, when my husband was working on his doctorate, his first assistantship was to be the TA for a class called "The History of Country and Western Music." We laughed and laughed about that assignment (he's not a fan, either), but he has grown to respect it a lot. Especially the early artists like Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash.
I haven't heard most of the songs you list, but am very interested in the Robert Plant one. :) - 9:06 AM
- Lori - Queen of Dirty Laundry said...
Hey, sounds to me like you DO like country music. You're just not a fan of all of it.
Because George Strait? Pure country, and my pretend boyfriend. I've been a fan since the beginning.
Now crossover country, like Shania Twain? It's not country. I like some of her songs, but THEY ARE NOT COUNTRY. I used to bicker with a co-worker about it all the time.
To me, Alison Kraus and Dolly Parton are two of the twangiest, and I love 'em for it! And Dolly's version of I Will Always Love You? The ultimate.
I love that you have that Chad Brock song on your list - I love it and I'm sad that he faded into obscurity.
Great list! - 9:34 AM
- Daisy said...
Love the lyrics and the titles of country songs! My son enjoys country, and I let him listen to country in the car when I'm driving. It makes for some good discussions, too. "Mom, what does it mean when they say Ten Rounds with Jose Cuervo?"
I love all types of music, but was raised on Country. I can vividly remember dancing with my Grandpa while balancing on his toes, to Tammy Wynette, George Jones, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash and my all time, tip top favorite - Merle Haggard. Silver Wings makes me cry every time I hear it. I knew the words to Okie From Muskogee by heart at 5 or 6. Crazy!
I also love Randy Travis, Alison Krauss, Tracy Lawrence, George Strait, Alan Jackson and Reba McEntire. Lots more actually.
I haven't heard the new album from Alison Krauss and Robert Plant, but I hear it is very good.
Great list. - 12:49 PM
- MamaCta! said...
I have also professed my dislike of country in the past, but find myself liking some music in this genre, including many that you mentioned on your list. I guess there are always lots of exceptions!
hi! i discovered your blog by accident a couple of weeks ago and love, love, love reading all your great newsy, funny and informational posts about Alaska...
i drove from VA to AK in 1995 with a good friend from college for a summer visit and stayed for 3 years!
i've been trying to get back ever since. only this time i'll have a husband and 2 sons in tow so your "mom in alaska" is right up my alley!
Killing the Blues is originally a John Prine song and I like the Plant/Krauss version but I LOVE the version by Shawn Colvin that she does on Cover Girl.
I'm originally from Richmond, VA and though I got the hell out of there as soon as possible, the one thing I've taken with me is a love of country music...
i mean the real stuff. no carrie underwood or rascal flatts, sorry.
to tell you my age...i listened to my mom's dolly parton and loretta lynn and conway twitty records along with my 45's of Tainted Love (the Soft Cell version) and at least half the songs from any John Hughes movie soundtrack!
have you given the dixie chicks a listen? esp. Long Way Home
and any older randy travis or older George Strait is a great way to go too.
generalizations are trouble(remember when lots of U.S. citizens thought it would be cool to have a cowboy as president?!?!?!)
you just have to wade through the sludge of modern country to get to the good stuff. much like anything these days i guess!
thanks again for your great blog. i can't wait to keep reading - 3:04 PM
- J said...
I agree with you, country is not my bag. But there are exceptions to every rule, and Alison Krauss should be included in any list of country not to hate. ;)
- Megan Cobb said...
Never been much of a country music fan myself, but I do love some Dolly Parton. Crystal Gayle's always been fairly tolerable, as well.
- SarahHub said...
Oh, Allison Krauss has a beautiful voice.
- Sarah said...
Try Nickel Creek! It's kind of modernish blue grass if that's a genre. You might like it. :)
- Flea said...
There is a short window when I loved country, in the early 90's. Randy Travis, Clint Black, some Garth Brooks, Alabama. I don't count bluegrass or gospel as country. Maybe it's because I love them both. And Big Rock Candy Mountain is one of the best albums ever. :)
Thank you; I feel so much better about peeking out the closet now, following you.
I also like Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson and Norah Jones but please Michelle, please say it isn't true; Dolly?
Of course, I suppose that may be countered with my love of Dwight Yoakam. What an incredible voice! The only problem with him that I see is that his legs are longer and shapelier than mine.
I also think that Waylon Jennings had a gorgeous voice but I don't care for all the whining tales of misery and woe. I've got my own problems! - 7:08 AM
- Geekwif said...
I am not much of a country music fan either. I haven't heard most of the music you mention here, but I love the sound track to O Brother Where Art Thou. Man of Constant Sorrows, Go To Sleep You Little Baby, Down In the River To Pray, they're all just wonderful.
You can never go wrong with George Straight and Dolly Pardon! :)
Great list. - 10:58 PM
- Tammy and Parker said...
One word Sugarland.
Or is it Sugar Land?
Which in that case it would be TWO words. - 2:15 PM
Ya, I pretty much could have written this post without changing much. Except I have to add that Eva Cassidy and Norah Jones are not Country!
I LOVE Alison Krauss. Her voice is divine. I favor Everytime You Say Goodbye and Baby, Now That I Found You.
But I can also handle a few more artists AND I love Bluegrass. It comes from listening to Prairie Home Companion. LOOOOVE Prairie Home Companion. My husband and I notice that we like any music on that show, even if it's not something we'd ever normally listen to. In the context of the rest of the show, we can enjoy it. - 9:15 PM
- Unknown said...
It's sounding like you could almost fit in down here in East TN. I think your love for Dolly MAY make up for your anti country attitude :)
Alison Kraus and Eva Cassidy are some of our favorites.
And, I love Archuleta too :) - 5:02 AM
- Shauna said...
My favorite is Mr. Lyle Lovett. I heart Lyle and think Julia was an idiot to let him get away.
- Janet said...
Being raised in Nashville you'd think I'd be a country music fan. Unfortunately it was a case of 'familiarity breeds contempt.' Also, I'm close to having perfect pitch, and that twang just makes my ears bleed. And my taste in music runs to folk and some serious rock and roll (Led Zeppelin and the like). However, you made some excellent choices. I love the "O Brother" soundtrack (and the movie) and all things Johnny Cash, because he could actually sing. And Dolly Parton's version of her own song is MUCH better than Whitney's over the top version. That being said, my grandparents were in Randy Travis' "Forever and Ever, Amen" video. And I met Loretta Lynn and she is a lovely, lovely person. Very kind and generous and never acted like she was better than anyone else. (I dated her son for awhile, but that's another story.)
Nice post! Check out this site too. It has a pretty good collection of music theory tutorial videos. Free mp3 and movie dl as well
http://crazyinstruments.blogdns.com:8080/blog/ - 4:26 PM


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1 syllable
- behl, bel, bell, belle, cel, cell, chell, clell, del, dell, delle, dwell, dwelle, ehle, el, ell, elle, fehl, fel, fell, frel, gehl, gel, gell, grell, grelle, guel, hehl, hell, helle, jell, kehl, kell, kjell, knell, krell, l, l., lehl, mehl, mel, mell, melle, nel, nell, nelle, pehl, pell, pelle, prell, quell, schell, schmehl, schnell, schnelle, sell, selle, shell, smell, snell, spell, stell, stelle, strehl, strehle, swell, tel, tell, well, welle, yell, yelle, zel, zell, zelle
2 syllables
- accel, adel, adele, adell, adelle, adwell, aichele, akel, ancel, angelle, ansel, antell, anwell, apel, ardelle, arel, armel, arnelle, arvel, atwell, axtell, bandshell, bardell, battelle, bechtel, bedel, befell, bendel, beutel, bignell, bodell, boutell, boutelle, bozell, bracknell, brownell, brunelle, bucknell, burdell, burrell, buzzell, cabell, cantrell, cantrelle, capelle, carel, carmel, cartel, carvel, cattell, caudell, cavell, chanel, chapell, chapelle, chappelle, compel, cordell, corel, corell, cornell, cornelle, cosell, cotelle, cottrell, cycle, danelle, daniele, dantrell, darnell, darrelle, decelle, deikel, desselle, develle, dispel, dispell, dovel, edell, eichel, elwell, estelle, excel, expel, ezell, ezelle, farewell, fascell, faupel, ferrel, fidel, foretell, frenzel, futrell, gabel, gazelle, get-well, ginnell, giselle, gitchell, gravelle, grinnell, gsell, harpel, heichel, hillel, hormel, hornell, hotel, impel, intel, irell, janelle, joelle, kitchel, kitchell, labell, labelle, landell, lapel, lavelle, leavelle, ledwell, lemelle, leonelle, lobell, loisel, loiselle, lyell, mabelle, madelle, mantell, manuel, marcel, marcelle, markel, martelle, marvell, marvelle, matell, mattel, maxell, maybelle, mckell, mendell, mentel, michael, michal, micheal, michel, michel, michel, michele, michell, michelle, michl, miguel, mirell, mirelle, misspell, mitchel, mitchell, mizel, mizelle, montel, morel, morrell, moselle, motel, mousel, mozelle, nadel, nevel, niguel, nobel, noel, noelle, nouvelle, novell, noxell, o'dell, octel, odell, outsell, ozelle, pantel, pastel, patel, percell, pesnell, postrelle, procell, propel, purcell, quesnel, rachelle, rampell, randell, rangel, ransdell, raquel, ravel, rebel, reichel, reichl, reichle, repel, resell, retell, revelle, rintel, rochelle, romelle, rozelle, rudelle, ruelle, sabel, samelle, savel, sawtelle, schmeichel, scurdell, sentelle, sharell, sheftel, shirell, shirelle, shortell, sibelle, splichal, stinel, sydell, tavel, torell, treichel, twaddell, twichell, twitchell, tyrrell, udelle, ul, unsell, uzzell, vandaele, varvel, vaupel, vertel, wachtell, waddell, warrell, weichel, weikel, wikle, wykle, zumel
3 syllables
- aol, avenel, carrasquel, clientele, danielle, esquibel, esquivel, gabriele, isabell, jeanmichele, kal, lyondell, marcantel, mcmichael, mirabel, montiel, orabel, personnel, rafael, raphael, recycle, riopel, sanmiguel
4 syllables
- aix-la-chapelle, industrielle, mademoiselle, materiel, nepl
5 syllables
- anfal, antipersonell
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Ball Joint Replacement
The Basics Behind Ball Joint Replacement Services at Greulich's Automotive Repair
The suspension system allows your tires to maintain constant contact with the road, especially on uneven surfaces like bumps and potholes. Ball joints are ball-and-socket joints located between the control arm and the steering knuckle. Ball joints act as the pivot point between the wheels and the rest of the suspension system. They are designed to allow for movement in two planes at once while providing ease of rotation in those planes. They allow a vehicle's suspension system to move up or down while the wheels turn left or right. Vehicles with shocks have upper and lower ball joints, while many vehicles with struts have only lower ball joints. Some ball joints are load-bearing and will wear faster than normal ball joints. As an important suspension component, ball joints are designed to experience wear and tear, often in the form of friction. Like all suspension system components, ball joints have a maintenance schedule that can help prevent unexpected repairs or replacements.
Why Should You Have Ball Joint Replacement Services Performed at Greulich's Automotive Repair?
Upper and lower ball joints are designed to fit snugly inside a lubricated casing. If the casing loses lubrication, dries out, or the linkage becomes loose, wheel alignment may be affected. A loose ball joint can also result in suspension noise and uneven tire wear. Because ball joints act as the link between the wheels and other suspension components, a bad joint can conflict with normal steering capabilities. In extreme cases, a worn ball joint that fails may fall out of its casing and cause a collapse of the suspension system. Clunking sounds, poor handling, and unnatural pulling are all signs of bad ball joints. In some cases, ball joints may require replacements. If you plan on avoiding a ball joint failure, be sure to consult your owner's manual for the maximum allowable wear on your suspension system's ball joints. Our replacement ball joints will restore full functionality to your suspension system.
We proudly service the Ball Joint Replacement needs of customers in Scottsdale, AZ, Cave Creek, AZ, Phoenix, AZ, and surrounding areas.


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This course consists of 12 lectures on the visual system and neural coding produced by the Allen Institute for Brain Science. The lectures cover broad neurophysiological concepts such as information theory and the mammalian visual system, as well as more specific topics such as cell types and their functions in the mammalian retina.
Coding and Vision 101
From the retina to the superior colliculus, the lateral geniculate nucleus into primary visual cortex and beyond, this lecture gives a tour of the mammalian visual system highlighting the Nobel-prize winning discoveries of Hubel & Wiesel.
From Universal Turing Machines to McCulloch-Pitts and Hopfield associative memory networks, this lecture explains what is meant by computation.
In an overview of the structure of the mammalian neocortex, this lecture explains how the mammalian cortex is organized in a hierarchy, describing the columnar principle and canonical microcircuits.
The retina has 60 different types of neurons. What are their functions? This lecture explores the definition of cell types and their functions in the mammalian retina.
Optical imaging offers a look inside the working brain. This lecture takes a look at orientation and ocular dominance columns in the visual cortex, and shows how they can be viewed with calcium imaging.
Functional imaging has led to the discovery of a plethora of visual cortical regions. This lecture introduces functional imaging techniques and their teachings about the visual cortex.
This lecture explains these ideas and explores the task of characterizing neuronal response properties using information theory.
The "connectome" is a term, coined in the past decade, that has been used to describe more than one phenomenon in neuroscience. This lecture explains the basics of structural connections at the micro-, meso- and macroscopic scales.
What is color? This lecture explores how color is "made" in the brain and variations of color perception including trichromacy, color blindness in men, tetrachromatic vision in women, and genetic engineering of color perception.
How does the brain learn? This lecture discusses the roles of development and adult plasticity in shaping functional connectivity.
What is the difference between attention and consciousness? This lecture describes the scientific meaning of consciousness, journeys on the search for neural correlates of visual consciousness, and explores the possibility of consciousness in other beings and even non-biological structures.
This primer on optogenetics primer discusses how to manipulate neuronal populations with light at millisecond resolution and offers possible applications such as curing the blind and "playing the piano" with cortical neurons.


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I have a horseshoe setup of "door" tables resting on filing cabinets FULL OF TOO MANY PAPERS! My computer is facing the window area.The door is to my right so I'm not sure how un-feng shui I am..Hmmm
I usually put whatever I'm painting up on the desktop and paint directly from it. Especially since the subject matter may be long gone.
A pull back showing my wonderful Canon scanner that changed my life dramatically.THANK YOU Canon.
I used to wait for daylight to shoot my watercolors and then they would still come out pink or crooked.
To the right of my computer - my watercolors and maybe my still life subjects...
My cousin Bill asked me where was I putting all the new miniatures I'm painting of late? They don't take up alot of space Bill :)
Oooops the rest of the table to my left.
So why am I showing you all this havoc?
Because I hope these will become my "BEFORE" pictures.
I am taking ArtBizCoach.com's "Get Organized" class to change things around here.
Are you feeling overwhelmed?
Drowning in clutter?
Losing time to poor habits?
Don't know where to begin to start files and databases?
Chaos has always reigned supreme in my studio. Only in Paris, minus all my junk, have I ever had an airy, open clear place to work and I liked it!? So I've got until February 9th to make some serious changes around here,
YES. Well I'm gonna try anyway.
It would be so nice if every box I receive did not become a table for papers etc.Plus my new way faster tower is sitting inside this box (do I have to say it's been sitting there for 2 weeks..?)
I still have a ways to go to top Francis Bacon in messiness...This is now a shrine to him as well as a book, so maybe I should leave things as they are?
But here's a good book to get you going in the other direction -
And here is Jana Bouc's very beautifully organized studio!


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According to the authors, you should keep a pair of thread clippers (not scissors, but thread clippers specifically) by your machine at all times. After you sew a seam, you're supposed to immediately clip the threads. And then take the garment immediately to your ironing board to press. Here's what they say:
There is a rhythm to sewing and it goes like this: SEW, CLIP, PRESS. This stitching rhythm should be used from the start when you begin your first row of stitching. This method of stitching needs to be firmly planted in the sewer's mind from the beginning; with experience, it will become second nature to you.If you stick to this method, the authors say you'll have a clean, professional garment.
I always press as I go, but the idea of clipping threads as I go is a new idea to me. And I confess, upon wearing a garment for the first time I often find stray threads hanging off of it. I don't even own a pair of thread clippers! So my mission for this week is to buy a pair and have it handy by the machine so I can try this SEW, CLIP, PRESS idea.
How about you? Do you already do this? What's your sewing rhythm?


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Princeton University's Peter and Rosemary Grant, whose legendary explorations on the bleak Galapagos island of Daphne Major over nearly four decades have produced an array of dazzling insights into evolutionary theory, have been named recipients of the Kyoto Prize.
The biologists are the first husband-and-wife team to win in the 25-year history of the prize. They were cited both for their scientific ideas and their personal characteristics that have shaped those achievements.
"The Grants' empirical research has made the most important contribution since Darwin toward making evolutionary biology a science in which proof is possible," the Inamori Foundation stated in a news release announcing the award.
The Kyoto Prize, a major international distinction, is presented by the Inamori Foundation of Japan. It honors lifetime achievements in the categories of basic science, advanced technology, and arts and philosophy. The award includes a cash prize of 50 million yen or approximately $500,000 for each category. The award will be presented during a week of ceremonies beginning Nov. 9 in Kyoto.
"We are honored and deeply humbled to receive this award," the Grants e-mailed the foundation on Friday (June 19) morning upon learning of their selection. "It is a special privilege to receive this honor from the Inamori Foundation that has as its aim the fostering of both scientific and spiritual values on a worldwide level.
"We are profoundly grateful to the foundation for recognizing and celebrating the value of scholarship and the importance given to the interchange and balance between scientific advancements and spirituality, and for the opportunity the prize gives for intercultural and intergenerational exchange," they continued. "Conscious of the list of scholars who have received the Kyoto Prize, we thank you with great pleasure, gratitude and humility."
Peter Grant is the Class of 1877 Professor Emeritus of Zoology, and Rosemary Grant is a retired senior research scholar, both in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton.
In their dogged study of a population of birds popularly known as "Darwin's finches," the Grants have won renown for detecting and recording evolution in action, and proving and extending the theories of pioneering evolutionist Charles Darwin. Working in the Galápagos, the most celebrated place in the study of evolution, they have conducted extensive surveys of the totemic birds, whose beaks spurred the great naturalist's first allusions to what would be his world-shattering theory.
"Peter and Rosemary have combined their expertise in biology and ecology to really unravel the evolutionary dynamics of Darwin's finches," said Daniel Rubenstein, the chair of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Class of 1877 Professor of Zoology. "It is fitting that on the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth that they receive the award and underscore Darwin's view about the integrative nature of biological processes."
John Bonner, the George M. Moffett Professor Emeritus of Biology at Princeton, said, "Peter and Rosemary Grant have been the leaders in showing how evolution works -- how small changes can lead to big ones. It is particularly fitting that the zenith of their careers coincides with this year's [much celebrated anniversary]. They are universally recognized and have been the honored guests at an extraordinary number of lectures and symposia all over the globe celebrating Darwin."
For much of the public, the work of the Grants first came to light in Jonathan Weiner's Pulitzer Prize-winning account of their efforts, "The Beak of the Finch." Published in 1994, the book detailed the couple's arduous, yearly six-month stay in tents on Daphne Major, a desolate volcanic island 600 miles west of Ecuador. There, since 1973, they have undertaken what was described in Weiner's book as "one of the most intensive and valuable animal studies ever conducted in the wild."
But, among their peers in zoology, ecology and evolutionary biology, their work was already legendary and their eminence has only grown.
What the Grants have been trying to do and how they go about doing it may be best explained by them in their 2008 book, "How and Why Species Multiply: The Radiation of Darwin's Finches."
"We choose a single group of related species for close scrutiny," they wrote, "and attempt to answer the following questions: Where did they come from, how did they diversify, what caused them to diversify as much as they did (and no more) and over what period of time did this happen?"
What the Grants have shown through their relentless study and cataloging of 14 varieties of island finches is how beak size and shape evolve through natural selection within a dramatically changing environment, according to certain mechanisms and conditions.
"You have to follow exactly what is happening, otherwise you just guess," said Rosemary Grant in their offices in Eno Hall at Princeton earlier this week, explaining the exacting techniques that have led to their knowing every bird on the island over many generations.
"And we also have to be very careful that we don't fool ourselves," added Peter Grant. The couple talks in the same give-and-take manner in which they work. "We need very precise numbers to know exactly what has happened, to cut out any possibility for guesswork."
The researchers consider themselves fortunate for many reasons, but especially for having been able to combine their professional duties with family time. Their daughters, Nicola and Thalia, are now grown, with Nicola a physician and Thalia a biologist and artist. As girls, they often accompanied their parents to live in Daphne Major. Both daughters published research papers on what they found there, and their parents consider them collaborators on their work.
"This has been one of the highlights of our life, that we've been able to live as a family doing science," Peter Grant said. "How many other people can say the same?"
On Friday, he thanked the many people and organizations who have assisted their research over the years. "We've only been able to do this work as a result of a lot of support from numerous graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and colleagues we've collaborated with," he said.
The organizations include: the Charles Darwin Foundation, the Galápagos National Park Service, Princeton and McGill universities, the University of Michigan, the National Research Council of Canada and the National Science Foundation.
Peter Grant joined the Princeton faculty in 1985. He previously held faculty positions at the University of Michigan and McGill University. He is a graduate of the University of Cambridge and holds a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia. Grant served as chair of Princeton's newly created Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from 1990 to 1991. He transferred to emeritus status last year.
Rosemary Grant came to Princeton in 1985 as a research staff member. She is a graduate of Edinburgh University and worked as a research associate at several universities until she earned her Ph.D. from Uppsala University in Sweden. Also serving as a lecturer during most of her time at Princeton, she became a senior research scholar in 1997 and retired last year.
Both are fellows of the Royal Societies of London and Canada and have won many other honors, including the Darwin Medal from the Royal Society of London.
In addition to being invited to Kyoto to receive the prize in November, the Grants will be asked to reconvene in San Diego April 20-22, 2010, for the ninth annual Kyoto Prize Symposium.
This is the second time the prize has gone to a Princeton faculty member. In 2005, their departmental colleague Simon Levin, the George M. Moffett Professor of Biology, won the basic science award for his leading contributions to environmental science. The same year, George Heilmeier, the inventor of liquid crystal display technology and a 1962 Princeton graduate alumnus, won in the advanced technology category.
"It's an honor to be following in [Simon's] footsteps," Rosemary Grant said. The fact that three members of the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology have won the Kyoto Prize in four years "says a lot about the quality of this department -- that in under 20 years, it's reached this distinction," Peter Grant added.
This year's other winners are: Isamu Akasaki, a semiconductor scientist, university professor at Nagoya University and professor at Meijo University in Japan, for advanced technology; and Pierre Boulez, a composer, conductor and honorary director of the Institute for Research and Coordination Acoustic/Music (IRCAM) in France, for arts and philosophy.
Kazuo Inamori, the founder and chairman emeritus of Kyocera and the KDDI Corp., started the foundation bearing his name in 1984. He established the Kyoto Prize the following year to reflect his belief that a human being has no higher calling than to strive for the greater good of society. The future of humanity can only be assured, according to Inamori, when there is a balance between scientific progress and spiritual depth.


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The general public seems to be kind of shallow when it comes to user interfaces. They think "prettier = better." A couple of gradients here, some fancy translucent buttons and there you go: an interface that's just overflowing with awesomeness.
Fact is though, fancier graphics do not equal a better interface. Most UI/UX professionals agree that graphics should be kept firmly in check or they'll take over the entire application, sacrificing usability over eye candy. Should we then abandon eye candy altogether? Ban all gradients and icons and go with a bare-bones version of the application? Going bare-bones would focus the user purely on the task or goal the application is designed to do. Sounds like exactly the thing we want to achieve.
Either approach, when designed without care, will yield the same result: decreased usability. Eye candy distracts, whereas bare-bones fails to attract. So which one is the lesser of two evils? What are the pros and cons of both? Are graphics even important? That last one is easy: we're (usually) designing graphical user interfaces. The very presence of the word "graphical" indicates graphics are a big aspect of the interface. But graphics aren't important simply because the term GUI mentions it; graphics largely define the application's appeal for the user. If the application doesn't have some kind of aesthetic value, it will not only fail to attract the user's attention, it will also fail to hold the user's attention.
Attracting attention by having a pretty front-end is important, as it makes the user want to use the product. They are attracted to it just as they are attracted to a beautiful person. The first glance establishes a relationship with the user. Pretty graphics seem to say, "Hi, I appeal to your senses; don't you want to interact with me?" They make the first experience with the application a pleasant one.
Note: by "first experience" I don't mean the very first time you ever laid eyes on the application. By first experience I mean the first few seconds after starting the application, when you are only looking at it, prior to actually doing stuff with it.
The saying goes: "Don't judge a book by its cover". We all know this to be true, as the cover's quality is no indication of the quality of the book's content. But even though we know to judge a book by its cover, we do anyway. We are attracted by pretty covers, so we are more likely to pick a book with a fancy cover from the shelf for further investigation. Books with "humble" (or downright ugly) covers have a larger chance of remaining unnoticed or even knowingly ignored.
So once we've got the user's attention, we need to hold it. Keeping him distraction-free will allow him to reach a state of flow: a state in which he is immersed into his work with the application and in which he feels happy just by doing the task. When in a state of flow, you leave self-consciousness for what it is and no longer think of your individual self but are fully focused on your task. A sense of joy takes over, your mind is entirely devoted to the task, time seems to go slower and everything around you fades into the background.
So where do graphics fit into this story? Do they help in facilitating a state of flow?
Why yes, they do! One example of this is the rounded rectangle. Often considered as "mere decoration" when used in a UI, they apparently also have a lower cognitive impact than regular rectangles. Credit for uncovering this to the greater public goes to Keith Lang in this article on rounded rectangles. Windows 3.1 style graphics, which are still used in some applications to this day, are harsh, full of visual obstacles and hard to scan. The obstacles, like big borders with sharp edges, constantly interrupt the eyes' movement across the screen, making it hard to navigate the application.
Subtle gradients and "soft edges" (created by subtle drop shadows or embossing) lighten the visual impact of the screen on the user, making it actually easier to use. But that's just one small part of the whole.
Bare-bones GUIs prioritize the task at hand and all variables that it has to deal with. They say: "Users use me because they have some task to accomplish, and I want to help them reach that goal ASAP". A commendable approach.
Unfortunately, by focusing on handling the task, they neglect to spend some tender love and care on handling the GUI itself. They may succeed in facilitating fast task-completion times; they fail at being pleasurable to use. And because they fail at being pleasurable, the user has a hard time entering a state of flow. Emotion plays a big role here. If the user has a negative state of mind, he or she will also have a harder time using the application. This state of mind might not have been induced by the bare-bones UI, but it won't be alleviated by it either.
As Donald Norman pointed out in his book Emotional Design, prettier things are actually easier to use, or are at least are perceived to be. This book is all about the relationship between aesthetics and experience, and is a mandatory read for those interested in any kind of design.
So, a level of aesthetic appeal (i.e., eye candy) is definitely recommended for usable interfaces. But it's easy to get carried away when implementing awesomeness into your UI. Most code libraries feature some effects like "Fade," "Move," or "Glow" that only need an argument to use, and it's all too tempting to add them to spice things up quickly. But these features are exactly the things that distract when not implemented properly (or implemented when they shouldn't be implemented at all). Remember the <blink> tag?
Another example is using photographs or other fancy imagery as the backdrop for a graph. I've actually seen this being done: a picture of a coral reef with a line-graph (with a 1px yellow line) superimposed. It might be fancy, it might be exactly what the customer wanted; it is not usable.
With the advent of the iPhone and ever-increasing processing power, graphically rich UIs are far more prevalent than they have ever been. Gradients in applications used to be a rare thing, now it's rare to see an application without one. The gradient is just an example of how eye-candy is quickly becoming standard practice in UI design. But there's a fine line between helpful and harmful eye candy. Analyzing whether the eye candy is either helpful or harmful requires constant vigilance but also, every once in a while, some time off. Looking at your awesome-looking UI after a good night's sleep allows you to look at it objectively, and determine whether the eye candy additions are truly awesome and helpful, or quite the opposite.


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Event details
- July 17, 2016
- 10341 Water Street Highway 42 Ephraim, WI 54211
Founded as an initiative of grassroots organizations to mobilize civil society support for undocumented migrants at the European level, PICUM (Platform for International Cooperation on Undocumented Migrants) promotes recognition of their fundamental rights within the development of EU and member states' policies on migration management. PICUM seeks to guarantee dignity, equality and non-discrimination for undocumented migrants by increasing awareness of the human rights concerns caused by their unprotected status. They lead a growing network committed to ensuring real sustainable change for undocumented migrants by informing and engaging policy makers.
To meet its objectives, PICUM has developed the following activity areas:
- Monitoring and reporting to improve the understanding of human rights issues affecting undocumented migrants
- Awareness-raising through in-depth research and analysis to better inform policy makers of the living and working conditions of undocumented migrants and to promote recognition of the urgent need to protect their fundamental rights
- Capacity-building to strengthen and support the work of NGOs and other actors working to prevent discrimination against migrants based on migration status
- Advocacy to ensure undocumented migrants' issues and concerns are mainstreamed within EU debates on justice, human rights, social affairs, employment, public health and education
- Global action to provide local experts working with undocumented migrants with a voice in international forums on migration and on human rights
Your generosity in support of this critical issue is greatly appreciated.


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WASHINGTON (AP) - Government meteorologists say 2012 was by far the hottest year on record in the United States.
The average temperature was off the charts at over 55 degrees. That's a full degree warmer than the previous record of 1998. Normally, temperature records are broken by about a tenth of a degree.
Scientists blame the heat on global warming and weather variations. That includes the drought that gripped almost two-thirds of the nation.
Last July was also the hottest month on record. The entire year was 3.2 degrees warmer than the average for the 20th century.
The tally was released Tuesday by the National Climatic Data Center.
U.S. temperature records go back to 1895. They're based on reports from more than 1,200 stations across the Lower 48 states.