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There's been more than a handful of new releases in this first half of 2016 that have gone unwritten about on the blog, but no longer! This is a collection massive haul of quick takes on all the other albums that I've managed to listen to from January through now, some more than others (for good reason in some cases), but no longer! Due to this being kind of a clearing the decks type feature, these are shorter, one to three paragraph reviews (for real this time) where I try to get to the gist of my opinion as succinctly as possible. If an album isn't on this list, I either didn't get to listen to it or only gave it a cursory listen —- not enough to form an opinion over. Also, I kinda run the gamut of emotions throughout the course of this entire piece and get a little impatient, off-topic, and well just plain nutty at spots, just a heads up. Might as well put the laundry in, you're going to be here awhile.
If you were anything like me, then you found the past few releases from the legendary Ihsahn a bit patience-testing and at times, outright baffling. Ihsahn has always had a bit of an avant-garde streak in his black metal, most vividly witnessed in his Emperor days on their swansong, Prometheus, with its wildly scattered assemblage of zig-zag riffs and keyboard orchestration. His solo albums have been a bit mixed musically though, with his first two showing more of a traditional approach to songwriting with conventional structures (I enjoyed The Adversary and most of angL), and the following three reaching into more of his extreme avant garde interests with results that I found wanting. But on Artkis, his sixth album under his eponymous banner, he throws us a real curve ball, that is a record built on classic metal riffs and soaring, dare I say even melodic clean vocals. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, Ihsahn hasn't written the next Maiden or Priest album, and he's still writing music that is often surprising, veering off into unexpected directions, and challenging at its core. What's changed is the language he's using in doing so, almost as if he realized his venturing onto the outermost fringes of extremity with Das Seelenbrechen demanded a severely sharp contrast simply to get back to center.
Maybe I'm far off the mark in guessing his motives, but no matter the reasons why, I'm just happy Arktis happened, because its the first Ihsahn album that I'm absolutely loving in well over half a decade. There are tangible, meaty riffs to grab hold of on songs such as "Disassembled" and the soaring, skyward "Mass Darkness". The latter is a gem, an instant contender to make this year's Best Songs list and perhaps Ihsahn's most accessible moment ever, built around a guitar figure that's as memorable as his eyebrow raising clean vocals during the chorus. In addition to a classic metal influence, there's shades of 70s prog-rock in ways we've never heard before, via the mellotron (or a reasonable emulation of one) on "My Heart Is Of The North", recalling hints of bands such as Deep Purple and King Crimson. And there's still loads of Ihsahn weirdness about, such as on "South Winds", where his black metal vocals are set against a hushed, electronic pulsed backbeat —- a song that is still tuneful due to a chorus that lifts and thunders. Another favorite of mine is the very rollicking "Until I Too Dissolve", which my MSRcast cohost Cary remarked as containing a Ratt-n-Roll riff! I'm not going to go that far, I'll say its more mid-80s Tipton/Downing, but I get what he's saying. The dreaded saxaphone does make a brief reappearance in "Crooked Red Line", but its not to the detriment of the song overall (just don't think I'm a fan of it being in metal), besides, everything else is so much fun I'm inclined to let it go here especially when its followed up by the gorgeous "Celestial Violence".
The Takeaway: If you're unfamiliar with Ihsahn outside of Emperor or in general, make this your point of entry (yes I know I risk black metal heresy here but this IS more accessible than Emperor, and everyone needs a way in). Regardless of your experience level, this is a must get for 2016.
I've been largely unfamiliar with England's progressive rock/metal explorers Haken (pronounced "Hey-ken"), having seen their name here and there but always dismissing them as being just another in a big bunch of prog bands from the UK that all tend to sound the same to me. That was largely due to not giving them more than a cursory glance/listen, because as a result of longer attention on my end recently I've realized that Haken are a band with an inherent uniqueness, one that will force me to go back and take another look at their catalog. That is once I can stow away Affinity for a bit, which is proving an impossible task at the moment. This is an amazing piece of work, a sharply written blend of traditional prog-rock with metallic riffs, an 80s electronic motif that recalls the best hints of Rush post Moving Pictures, vivid melodies and an ear for hooks galore.
If there's a stumbling block you'll come upon, its likely going to be vocalist Ross Jennings, whose voice I now love but freely admit that it took me more than a few listens through to become comfortable with. I can't even describe why that was the case, but if you listen to the should-be-a-single "Earthrise", you'll get an idea of what I'm referring to —- incidentally, that magnificent song is what really sold me on the band so perhaps you're simply better off letting the album play through until you come to it naturally in the middle of the tracklisting. I guess one observation is that its not a metal voice, yet its not quite as perfectly melodic as Steven Wilson's, Jennings has a distinctive slant on his approach that you'll either accept or be unable to come to terms with. But these songs guys… so good, such artistry and a precision balancing of technicality, they're clearly tremendous musicians, particularly drummer Ray Hearne, whose creative patterns and refreshingly aggressive approach are a huge source of power overall. I recently played a song from these guys on the last MSRcast episode and talked them up a bit, and you'll likely be hearing more about them from me as the year goes on.
The Takeaway: One of the year's first out of nowhere surprises, a contender to hit the Best Albums of the Year list, and a new band for me (and you) to delve into. Can't recommend highly enough.
Just like Haken above, Sweden's In Mourning are another one of those names I'd seen in passing sometime ago yet they never really made a blip on my radar until now. They're identified as progressive melodic death metal on the Metal Archives, and they certainly fit that bill on Afterglow, with the first track "Fire and Ocean" storming out of the gate with total Opeth-worship fury. That's not a bad thing either, because they're channeling Blackwater Park / Deliverance era Opeth, which is not only a hard thing to do but something that I didn't realize I was deeply missing until I heard this song's juxtaposition of deep, iceberg-like death metal vocal patterns courtesy of Tobias Netzell over shifting guitar beds, like the cracking of glacial ice underneath. Again, just like Ihsahn and Haken above, I played In Mourning on the latest MSRcast ep (probably should've spaced these albums apart on this list, oh well) —- my cohost Cary commented that Netzell's vocals were slightly metalcore-ish. I didn't agree and still don't, but I have to admit that Netzell's clean vocals on a cut like "The Grinning Mist" are perhaps more American-tinged in approach than Mikael Akerfeldt's, whose death metal vocal style is clearly an influence at work throughout this album.
What I enjoy about this album is its blend of diverse song styles, tempos, moods, and guitar patterns —- you're hard pressed to find a moment where you're getting bored, and that's half the battle when it comes to prog death metal. A song such as "Below Rise To The Above" manages the impressive trick of layering brutal death metal vocals over a semi-ballad melodic structure, long atmospheric guitar sustains, minimal riffing and some major key rays of sunlight amidst the gloom. If there is a drawback to In Mourning's style, its that at times it presses a little too close to Opethian tendencies, take song lengths for example, the shortest cut here clocking in at 6 minutes, or that Netzell's long sustained screams over accelerating riffs just pinch a bit too much of the magic sugar that made Akerfeldt and company so riveting. Influences are expected in metal, you should hear bits and pieces of where a band is coming from (this is after all a genre based on tradition), but when those influences are identifiable patterns and systemic in nature as opposed to mere paintbrush strokes and isolationist, then a band or artist isn't pushing hard enough (and I wind up yearning to listen to Blackwater Park).
The Takeaway: Talented band with a quality new album that's worth your attention span for a few YouTube clips at least. One thing I wanted to point out and applaud despite not being review-esque is their history of awesome album art, not only for Afterglow, but for the Lovecraftian theme on The Weight of Oceans, great taste in aesthetics just like another band we knOw!
Wildernessking – Mystical Future:
I quite like minimalism in black metal, as much as I do its audacious, tiara adorned cousin symphonic black metal, and if the album art to the left wasn't a dead giveaway, Wildernessking play a blend of furious second wave Norwegian black metal mixed with elements of post-BM and blackgaze. They're from South Africa, which is a neat fact in that we typically don't hear about a lot of bands making an impact from that particular country, so good for these guys for breaking out worldwide in a small way. I've been enjoying this album as a mood appropriate listen since the promo landed on the MSRcast desk a few months ago. When I say "mood-appropriate" I do mean it, because if you're not receptive to the adjectives I threw out above, you won't have the patience to deal with Mystical Future. I find that it works best as a background piece, something to listen to while you're doing a mindless task, because its not background music, these are songs worthy of your attention and filled with emotional musical twists and scorching bleak vocals that are often blanketed by pretty guitar figures and moving melodies.
There is no obvious "single" or lyric-video cut here, but "I Will Go To Your Tomb" boasts the album's most vivid, sharp melody, a guitar pattern that is more of a stream of conscious type affair than a predetermined pattern or hook. Frenetic percussion is its metallic foil, wild, unpredictable, and violent in its furious outbursts, particularly towards the second half when it accompanies the album's most straight forward black metal section. Yet for all its high intensity moments, Mystical Future is largely a quiet, pensive, dreamy affair, such as on "To Transcend", where isolated guitar sustains twist and bend in elegant figures against a stark atmospheric backdrop. This is Wildernessking's calling card, at least on this album (I've yet to check out their debut nor the many EPs they've put out in the interim), but they play it well and with enough creativity to prevent it from being a wet blanket like many atmospheric black metal albums tend to be. And yeah, I love that artwork.
The Takeaway: With Agalloch sadly calling it quits just a few days ago, Wildernessking will be helping to fill a void for a post-black metal sound that is both rooted in tradition and simultaneously detached from it. Worth your time and attention.
Houston's own (!) Oceans of Slumber, my fellow H-town metallers, with a new album on Century Media Records! First of all, and I know we've spoken about this on the podcast, but we're very proud, and rightfully so —- Oceans of Slumber are the first band in a long time to break out of the local scene and truly make an impact on metal media and fans across the nation and pond. They just did a European tour opening for My Dying Bride, likely to do more opening stints throughout the year and next, and that they're doing so in supporting such a intriguing and well-done album such as Winter is even more reason that we're excited down here. Oceans are notable for their inspired approach to progressive doom/death metal on a musical level, and for having one of the more unique female vocalists across metal in general, in Cammie Gilbert, whose bluesy/jazzy tinged vocals are a stark contrast to the music at work here. Its that facet in particular that keeps me returning to this album as a front to finish listening experience —- and I enjoy so much of it when I'm actively listening to it, but I can admit to having trouble to remembering a lot of the songs after the fact. Whether that last detail has clouded my view of the album is still a bit of a mystery to me, but a friend whose listened to the album as well came away with the same criticism.
The title track right out of the gate is actually highly memorable, due to its unique vocal/solo guitar near-ambient intro verse and Gilbert's sheer dominance on the song, she steals the show and you couldn't imagine any other female voice singing this particular tune. Ditto for "Turpentine", where Gilbert's "wooohooohoooo" vocal coos are as addictive as any fully formed chorus hook (except that these are just flavorful parts of the intro verse) —- her performance on this song is captivating, she's got a gravitas to her voice that is gorgeously accented by her ability to sound sweet, almost like she's singing an old standard. Speaking of old standards, Oceans pretty much knock out of the park their cover of the Moody Blues' "Nights In White Satin", giving the song a sense of dramatic urgency with heavy, smolderingly intense verse riffage and Queensryche-ian guitar sustains in the chorus. Guitarists Anthony Contreras and Sean Gary deliver a twin harmony outro solo just after the second chorus that I got to see live at a benefit show here in Houston, and I believe my jaw actually dropped —- it sounds just as good on the album. One last observation, there's a lot of short one and half to two minute long acoustic guitar/piano and vocal songs on this album, and those are great to hear on the album for the most part, but I never remember those in particular. They do however add a strong sense of musicality to an already musical batch of heavy, doomy, prog-death metal, so there is value, I just wonder if they should try scaling them back next time.
The Takeaway: Trust me when I tell you to buy this album that I'm not being a Houston homer… okay, there's a little of that in there but if this wasn't worth your time or money, I'd tell you regardless of the band's H-Town status. Its a rich, diverse, really friggin interesting metal album that is big on musicality, refreshingly unique for a female fronted band, and worth it alone for the Moody Blues cover.
Avatarium – The Girl With The Raven Mask:
I'm new to Avatarium, ex-Candlemass bassist/founder Leif Edling's new project that seeks to take elements of his doom metal songwriting and mix them with classic hard rock and metal elements. Having missed their 2013 debut, I can only go based on what The Girl With The Raven Mask is presenting me, which I can honestly say is unlike anything I've ever heard. Sometimes I really enjoy it, and other times I can identify moments where the songwriting doesn't quite gel, but what keeps me coming back are the fierce, belting, Doro/Grace Slick styled vocals of unknown singer Jennie-Ann Smith. She's the star of this album, capable of going full on Robert Plant on the title track, complete with "Immigrant Song" styled wailing screams —- and this is an interesting song coming from a guy like Edling, a fairly uptempo, rollicking hard rocker that reminds me of Catatonia (the Welsh rock band, not the Swedish metal one). Its placement on the tracklisting as the opener is a bit deceptive, because the following two songs are a little more in line with Edling's doom-metal roots, both "The January Sea" and "Pearls and Coffins" being built around lazy, delicate melodic crawls. You're hardly listening to the capably produced music underneath however, as once again Smith's vocals are hypnotic, capturing all your attention.
There's an aesthetic running through this album that I can't quite put my finger on —- there's definitely hints of 60s/70s musicality here, a ton of organ, mellotron, a theremin at one point (!) which all combine towards that old-school prog-rock era vibe. And the songs are written as to at times entirely separate the vocal melodies and musical patterns, so that Smith often sounds like she's singing Jim Morrison-esque verses of poetry rather than simply carrying a tune. She's actually great at that, convincing and passionate in her delivery, yet sometimes it all passes over as instantly and fleetingly, to me anyway (more on that in a second). What is strange about Avatarium's overall sound that is likely to keep me coming back to investigate this album throughout the year are those scattered moments where they lean more alt-rock in guitar tone (and subsequently, melodic structure and pattern) such as on "Run Killer Run", where a fantastic driving riff anchors the most sing-song styled jam on the album. I wound up wishing they'd had more of these kind of songs, with meaty hooks to grab hold of and firmly lodge in one's upper recesses. Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty, highly intriguing album that is captivating to listen to, but I suspect my own hangup with it is that while I can admire its construction and aesthetic while its playing, I can't form an emotional attachment to anything here, and that's either a songwriting problem or a Metal Pigeon problem. Shrug.
The Takeaway: Do listen to this and at the very least get to hear something really unusual in metal (well, unusual for those of us who don't follow the doom metal scene with a sharper eye, I'm told there are others like Avatarium). I suspect a few of you might share in my inexplicable distance from these songs despite enjoying what I'm hearing on a sonic level —- for you others, this band might be a revelation.
Sunburst – Fragments of Creation:
Sunburst are heavy prog-metal tinged power metal group out of Greece, not an uncommon place for power metal love given their Iced Earth worship and for local heroes such as Gus G and Firewind. Its always been a little bit puzzling as to why Greece hasn't produced more breakout bands in these stylistic veins (although the state of the Greek economy over the past decade and the apparent lack of reliable venues seems to form a reasonable hypothesis as to why), but Sunburst are seeking to be another ray of light (oy!) peeking out from the skies of this tiny country. And they get a lot right, for starters their vocalist Vasilis Georgiou has a voice that recalls strong flavors of Tommy Karevik, a little Roy Khan, and some Georg Neuhauser in there as spice —- but he's not a composite, in fact, he has a distinct quality that in further records could see him separating himself as truly unique. He's not quite there yet, but this is a debut, and Appetite styled brilliance is a rare thing when it comes to first times at bat. With time I think Sunburst could be a band really worth gushing over, but they have a guitar problem they need to address first.
Allow me to clarify, I think the lead guitar parts on Fragments are really, really awesome, full of flowing melodic goodness and carefully though out so as to create motifs that complement Georgiou's excellent vocal melodies. But if sole guitarist Gus Drax (another Gus!) put as much thought and effort into his riff writing and rhythm guitars as he did his lead parts, Sunburst would be on another level. What bogs this album down is clunky, simplistic, and often ill-timed riffs that lack originality, give us a dose of standard chug-a-chuga without really going anywhere (you know the kind, like on a Disturbed album). The first thing you'll hear, notice, and remember about these songs are the vocal melodies, upon which nearly everything revolves (and that's fine), but if that's to be the case, then reduce the rhythm guitars in the mix (way too in your face for not having anything memorable to offer). There's one moment where he goes get this right, on "Symbol of Life" the rhythm sequences are fairly standard but unobtrusive and kinda rockin' in their straight forward lean metal attack. Over such a bed, Georgiou owns the song with a wonderful vocal and Drax's lead guitar motif is the perfect kind of splashy overload that we all geek out over. Sadly, there's not enough of this perfect balance.
The Takeaway: A promising debut with a really talented vocalist and a guitarist that has a flair for crafting beautiful lead guitar work. If he can settle down and start writing rhythm beds that support the vocal melodies instead of trying to fight them for dominance then Sunburst could have a breakout sophomore album.
Thunderstone – Apocalypse Again:
Finland's quasi-thrash/power metal hybrid Thunderstone is back, well, back with original vocalist Pasi Rantanen after he left in 2007 and the band recorded a indifferently received album with another singer. I'm glad they reunited (I have no idea on why Rantanen left in the first place, if anyone has any info on that I'd love to be clued in), because for the kind of traditional metal/hard rock meets power metal songs guitarist Nino Laurenne is writing, Rantanen's grizzled, raspy, rough n' tough melodic croon was always the perfect complement. If there's ever a band to have lived under the shadows of an entire country's metal scene, its Thunderstone, whose sound seems to fit far better coming from England or even mainland Europe, Germany in particular. Overshadowed in their early years by the success of Stratovarius and then Nightwish and Sonata Arctica, Thunderstone never really seemed to capture mainstream Finnish attention until they were invited to take part in their country's Eurovision qualifiers. It shot a few of their singles into the national top ten along with their next album, and then things promptly unraveled with the departures of Rantanen and longtime keyboardist Kari Tornack.
Ten years later, I don't think its outrageous to suggest that Thunderstone is essentially starting over again, especially in the context of Finnish metal's collective attention shifting from power metal to melodic death and depressive rock/metal. They have their work cut out for them, and unfortunately I don't hear a potential single on this album as ear-wormy as "10,000 Ways", although a song like "Fire and Ice" boasts a chorus that hints of past glories. Alright, I guess I'll just let my frustration show, because I was thinking about this last night as I was listening through this album again, and maybe its simply because I do end up listening to such a large number of new releases but —- sometimes I think its only worth talking about music that really hits me in the heart and moves me. Because the alternative, which I'm doing right now, is attempting to dissect how a relatively ho-hum, average new album by a veteran band stacks up against their past few ho-hum, average albums. Thunderstone has never released anything we'd call close to a masterpiece, and while no band knocks it out of the park every time at bat, over time a lack of home runs makes you wonder why they're on your team (arrrgggh baseball metaphors! How did that happen?!). Is this a listenable album? Sure, of course it is, professionally recorded and with a few songs that have hummable melodies and a nice hook or two. But is that really enough in the light of some of the really majestic, heart-stirring music I've already heard this year? I'm going to say that at this particular moment, no its not.
The Takeaway: A veteran hard rock/power metal band comes back with a new album with their original singer. If that's enough to get you in the door then by all means walk on through, but at least to my ears, there's nothing else worth adding.
Hatebreed – The Concrete Confessional:
My MSRcast co-host balked when I listed Hatebreed as one of the band's we were going to play on our recent episode of the show, but he has no one to blame but himself. It was he that introduced me to Hatebreed vocalist Jamey Jasta's podcast The Jasta Show, simply one of the most illuminating metal/heavy music based discussion podcasts available. The show captured my attention with its musician to musician access, providing a level of friendly, open conversation that no conventional interview could provide. It helped that Jasta is immensely likeable as a personality (something I even thought during his tenure as the MTV2 Headbanger's Ball host a decade ago), and that he already knew most of his interviewees and vice versa via touring with them at some point or by crossing paths with them behind the scenes in the music industry, or simply by reputation. Its a show worth delving into especially if you enjoy hearing more industry/business related discussion in regards to the music industry and just how bands operate in general.
So what does this have to do with the new Hatebreed album? Well, my enjoyment of the podcast quickly turned into curiosity about what my opinion of Jasta's music with Hatebreed would be now, in 2016, when I had previously written them off as hardcore/metalcore in the past (which they unabashedly were and still are to a certain extent). I watched a load of their music videos on YouTube, and found myself enjoying the songs simply for what they were, as Jasta himself describes, "caveman metal" built around heavy riffs, syncopated vocal delivery and shouted gang vocals, structured around precision songwriting that aims for the most catchy assault on your speakers and ear drums possible. Its music meant for live shows, mosh pits, and visceral physicality —- but within that are Jasta's lyrics, mostly motivational based calls to action, and he's really good at it. After buying Perseverance I found myself listening to it before work as a motivational tool, and as blood-pumping, adrenaline spiking workout music. I started to relish the idea of Hatebreed as music with a practical application —- I might not listen to it with headphones on with deep concentration, but it really hit the spot in those particular situations and just as a heavy metal palette cleanser of pure, unadorned heaviness. I know that some of you are shaking your heads at this right now, but give songs like "I Will Be Heard", "Perseverance", "In Ashes They Shall Reap", "This Is Now" and newer singles like "A.D." and "Looking Down the Barrel of Today" a shot.
Since this is an album review after all, I should probably speak about The Concrete Confessional a bit. It is certainly not deviating that much from what this band is known for, but one thing worth mentioning is just how thrashy these guitarists are getting on some of their riffs. Take "A.D." for example, which sounds more like what modern day Slayer should sound like mixed with a little Kreator in those minor-keyed, subtle melodies. That's not a surprise to me anymore, seeing as how Jasta constantly throws out his love for Kreator, Destruction, and plenty of other thrash metal mainstays on the podcast. You'll be harder pressed to find an angrier, more vicious sounding single in metal this year than this one, with Jasta tearing apart the commonly touted idea of the American dream with his perfectly-timed verbal assault (what he lacks in vocal tone variation he more than makes up for with his ability to understand how well chosen lyrics with percussive syllabic structures make his delivery so potent). Its follow up single "Looking Down the Barrel of Today" is a little more metalcore-ish in its approach and stop-start moments, but its still addictive and will stick in your head, and its lyrical sentiments are admirable despite their biologically inadvisable suggestion of "No Sleep! No Rest!" (because seriously guys, 8 hours…). I'm actually impressed with the consistency of the album overall, there are at least five potential other singles here, and that should say something about the band's songwriting strengths if nothing else.
The Takeaway: If you're unfamiliar, The Concrete Confessional isn't a bad place to start with Hatebreed, especially if you're keen on some thrashy guitars now and then. This is a band that has been leaning more metal than core over their past few releases, although the 'core is still an important (and vital) aspect of their sound. Just give it a shot, this album or the band in general, what do you have to lose but a few minutes spent not watching videos of Corgi puppies?
Ah Brainstorm, one of power metal's chunkier, heavier leading lights. At least they were for awhile from the turn of the millennium through 2008's Downburst, but since then the band has released three albums of wavering, shaky, brow-furrowing quality. I'm not exactly sure what happened, because this is a band that at one point was knocking out full length albums with nary a filler track on offer and a killer single or three apiece. Did they run out of creative fuel? It certainly seemed like it, and you'd expect that with a band dealing with a plethora of lineup changes, but that wasn't the case with Brainstorm whose members have been solidly in place with the exception of a bassist change in 2007 (a non-songwriting member at that). In trying to gain some context for this album I went back and listened to 2014's Firesoul which I actually remember enjoying initially, but hearing it now I can't figure out why I was so impressed back then. The good news straight away is that I'm enjoying Scary Creatures a bit more than any of their past three albums. The bad news is that its still not hitting the adrenaline spiking heights of Metus Mortis, Soul Temptation, or Liquid Monster.
The album is front loaded with both the music video fueled single and lyric video adapted second single, "The World to See" and "How Much Can You Take" respectively. Its a wise choice because they're both reminiscent of classic Brainstorm, ear-wormy, hook laden and propulsive in that particular way that only German heavy metal can be, and it gets you in a receptive headspace for the rest of the album, which is sometimes hit and miss. I will say there are more hits here though, such as the album closer "Sky Among the Clouds" which is a refreshing injection of a shades lighter melody (alongside a very 80s rock inspired guitar solo) that gives the song an unusual vibe relative to the rest of the album. Then there's the very epic "Caressed By the Blackness", where we're treated to a far more complex songwriting arrangement that Brainstorm is typically known for, with a chorus with shifting vocal layers where Andy B. Frank's bellowed backing tracks soar to the heavens. Frank's voice is ageless, he sounds the exact same as when I first heard him back in 2002, must be something about German singers perhaps —- he's on fine form throughout and about seventy-five percent of the reason why we're listening at all (no disrespect intended to the other guys). There's a handful of seemingly filler-esque cuts that plague the middle of this album and might cause a wandering attention span to develop at some point, but its at least a sign of a potential turnaround from a band that should never have lost their way.
The Takeaway: Worth a listen on Spotify or YouTube, but I'm not sure if I can really recommend buying Scary Creatures particularly if you haven't grabbed those aforementioned classic era Brainstorm releases yet. This is an easy band to root for, really nice guys, honest metal, some moments of brilliance through their career —- I have high hopes for the next one because they seem to have found their footing a bit here.
I've spent a lot of years ignoring Exmortus, on purpose really, though I've been aware of talk around them and have in the past tried to get into their sound because on paper it should something I'd enjoy. And I do… to a certain extent, I'll get to that in a second. If you're in the dark here, Exmortus play a hyper, shredder-inspired, technical riff oriented blend of thrash and melodic death metal with a hint of neo-classical stylings ala Noise Records roster circa 1988. This is music that rarely, if ever, demonstrates an ability to breath and relax. Its up-tempo nearly all the time, built around skittish, almost nervous riffing (nerves like a Viking might appear over the next hill swinging a battle axe), with vocals that are fairly monotone in their raw, black-metal forged growling vocal attack. I'm not sure who's singing for these guys at the moment, they've gone a heap of lineup changes seemingly at every position including vocalists, but he's a competent enough growler on a technical level. What he lacks is any hint of emotional resonance, there are no moments here where he loosens the iron-tight grip on his enunciations and delivery to allow a little genuine emotion (such as, I dunno, anger or rage) break through. Anders Friden was good at that back in the classic In Flames days, and with growling vocals I consider him to be a benchmark of quality.
The thing about precision in metal, whether it be vocals or guitars or drums, is that it always works better when you treat it like a baseline from which you can vary and dip in intensity and adherence —- that's where the excitement comes from (listen to 80s Priest if you need a primer, and you shouldn't). That's ultimately the problem with Exmortus, because there's so much here that does pop out as potentially enjoyable, but its never given space or a little added jolt of energy to come alive and breathe. Its like watching an NBA game where all you get is fundamental basketball, set plays, unwavering game tempo, mid-range two pointers, hook shots, lay-ups, and free throws. What you're yearning for is a steal and a fast break down the court with an explosive dunk to finish and get the crowd really amped up and waving those white towels (or whatever the heck they're waving these days). I can't say Ride Forth is a bad album, but I'm not sure its a good one either, simply because I can't friggin tell —- that makes me a bad reviewer but you tell me, what am I supposed to be reviewing here? I'm actually really interested in what everyone thinks of this album in particular because maybe it boils down to me missing something critical. Why did I review this? Because a very friendly PR person requested it and I've been putting off those requests far enough, and hopefully this doesn't prevent them from sending me more stuff in the future but I'm coming up empty on this one.
The Takeaway: I don't know. I'm actually at a loss as to what I think, but maybe it goes back to what I was saying with Thunderstone and how difficult it is to write about music that doesn't move the needle positively or negatively.
Rhapsody of Fire – Into The Legend:
My immediate reaction to seeing this release arrive as a promo earlier in the year was somewhere along the lines of "What the hell… another Rhapsody album?!". I was of course recalling that ex-Rhapsody of Fire's guitarist Luca Turilli released his own Luca Turilli's Rhapsody album just last year with Prometheus, Symphonia Ignis Divinus. I actually wrote a review for that one, my first for any Rhapsody related release ever, and I think it was an honest assessment of what that album did for me on a purely musical level, but I didn't bother at the time to research just why they were two Rhapsody bands in the first place nor what it could mean for the sound of either project. This time around, I've gone back and read a few press statements, some interviews, a little quick research on just what the schism in the Rhapsody world really entailed and have come away simultaneously baffled and yet a little more receptive to what it is I'm hearing. Bear with me.
So Rhapsody (of Fire) was founded by keyboardist Alex Staropoli and guitarist Luca Turilli, and from 1997's Legendary Tales through 2011's From Chaos to Eternity, their music was set to their own fantasy universe —- one that involved albums groups into sagas that could span over many albums (if I'm getting it right, its ordering was The Emerald Sword Saga, followed by its sequel The Dark Secret Saga). Regardless of what I thought of their music during this time, I will say now that its a heck of an achievement, a life's work type of thing that is laudable for its sheer ambition and for both men's tenacity in finishing it while dealing with all sorts of legal problems (copyright suit over the Rhapsody name, the contractual mess with Magic Circle *cough* Manowar's label). But I guess it sort of took the wind right out of their sails, because by 2011 with the release of From Chaos to Eternity, Staropoli and Turilli agreed to a mutual split, stating that working together "was not the same anymore". But instead of agreeing that one guy should keep the Rhapsody name and the other create something new, they decided in their amicable split to share the name the way they're currently doing —- and thus becoming the LA Guns of power metal. So here's the obvious question: Aren't you guys risking splitting or splintering your market? If I'm a promoter, and I've booked Staropoli's Rhapsody of Fire one year, and then Luca Turilli's Rhapsody comes sauntering along in the early part of the following year, do I really see much of a difference? Rhapsody is in both names, and in booking two Rhapsody shows so close together I'm taking a huge risk on that second booking —- confused fans might stay home thinking they'd already seen the band not too long ago.
Think about how this could be affecting festival organizers and their relationships with promoters in the regional area. Proximity in booking shows for particular markets is something that promoters look at —- its why its hard for a band who was on a package tour with a bunch of other bands to come back through to the same city four to five months later on their own headline tour. Because they've already saturated that particular market's demand, and they have to let some time lapse or a new release come out in order to reset the demand for that area. Blargh! Its infuriating! Why didn't Turilli just form his own non-Rhapsody named project? Luca Turilli's Sweet Jams or something, anything other than the dreaded R word?! Okay, rant over, here's something to be encouraged about: I think that being freed from the conceptual/fantasy storyline has actually made Rhapsody of Fire sound better (I actually might need to hit up their 2013 album in order to reinforce this theory), because Into the Legend is the first Rhapsody album that I've actually enjoyed to a notable degree. Its got some actual meaty, metal riffs, and apparently Fabio Lione is writing his own lyrics and vocal melodies and it really shows —- there's a naturalness to his delivery and he's carrying a majority of the material here on his own back. He doesn't have to shoehorn in lyrics to tell a story, he can just write y'know, regular lyrics, a radical concept for this band. The songwriting is far more attuned to classic power metal templates and that helps to restrain the normally grandiose factor that spirals Rhapsody's sound out of control (it also succeeds in keeping the keyboard arrangements more precise, focused and purposeful). I'm impressed.
The Takeaway: My opinion could be entirely contrary to what long time Rhapsody fans are thinking, but for me, this might be a case of less is more. No grand interwoven story dominating what the lyrics have to be, thus not impacting the vocal melodies directly, and allowing Rhapsody to simply be a straight up power metal band for once. I actually had fun listening to this, so take that for what its worth to you!
It seems pretty damned silly to come out with a review for an album I recieved in January and have been listening to for the past five months now and already discussed on my other outlet, the MSRcast. But, this being the reviews codex, its either gotta be here or nowhere at all and it would be silly not to considering how much I have gone back to it time and again. No backstory here, you've all likely heard that Immortal and Abbath have parted ways (stupidly I might add, on the part of Demonaz and Horgh), and Abbath is the first out of the gate with his own new album. I suspected upon hearing "To War" and "Winter Bane" in particular, that I was hearing cuts from a once-future Immortal album that never happened, because let there be no man who attempts to tell me those aren't Immortal songs. They're also incredible, brutally punishing, slicing cuts of sharpened black metal built on riffs that only Abbath devises. His sound is so distinctive at this point, that I often use him as a reference point in sussing out other bands sounds ("hmm… this sounds Abbath-y"), his very name becoming an adjective in metal writer circles and having the potential to turn into a verb (I'm working on that!). As for what era of Immortal these songs seem tied to, I'd say they're picking up where All Shall Fall left off, but with flashes of Sons of Northern Darkness hook factor splashed across the board (they're far catchier than anything off the last Immortal album in truth).
I hear this album as one divided by each song's original destination, because just like those two mentioned above, there are a handful of other cuts that absolutely sound like they belonged on a future Immortal record, and others that find Abbath dabbling in looser riffing, more rock n' roll influenced songwriting. As to the former, songs like "Ocean of Wounds" built upon classic Immortal hypnotic riff sequences, riffs that deviate higher or lower in tone but are relatively static while Abbath's inimitable vocals dance over the top. Up tempo cuts like "Count the Dead" and "Fenrir Hunts" are amazing, the latter being a personal favorite, its viciousness and accelerating speed reminding me of At the Heart of Winter. But take a listen to "Roots of the Mountain", and you'll hear Abbath in a different light, one where he employs a slower, looser approach to his rhythm guitar playing, one that lacks his typical intensity and tightness. At a certain point during the song, things get a little black metal meets ZZ Top (speaking guitar wise). I'm not wild on the song but its alright in a change of pace type of way. Far more interesting is "Eternal", which at times sounds like a punk rock / Immortal crossover with its raw, first-take sounding guitar riffs and uber-aggressive patterning —- this is definitely a song specifically crafted for the idea of an Abbath solo album. Ditto for "Riding on the Wind", a cover of an oft-forgotten Judas Priest cut where Abbath's vocal choices recall Alexi Laiho during Children of Bodom's covers of "Poison" or "Rebel Yell". Kudos for not choosing something obvious to cover, and kudos in general for simply getting new music out, Abbath is a worldwide treasure in metal and he was being cooped up for too long.
The Takeaway: I'm kinda glad I waited on reviewing this because my initial reaction was simply one of sheer joy that we had new Abbath-related music to listen to. It had been six years, and many more before that —- I suspect now that my bias in that regard would've over-inflated any verdict I'd have issued. As it is now, this is a good, not great album, albeit with moments that are at times majestic and reminiscent of classic Immortal.


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VICTORIA – The B.C. government has spent 10 years and $66 million on meetings and consultants to discuss aboriginal "governance" of children in protective care, while actual services such as domestic violence safe houses remain inadequate to meet the need.
That conclusion emerges from a new report from B.C.'s Representative for Children and Youth, Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, who calls it a "confused, unstable and bizarre area of public policy" where millions continue to be spent without accountability.
"For example," Turpel-Lafond wrote, "nearly $35 million was spent discussing regional aboriginal authorities, including large expenditures on paying people to meet, hiring consultants to facilitate those meetings, and producing materials of questionable practical value following such meetings that almost never addressed the actual difficulties children and youth were experiencing in their lives – issues such as parental addiction, domestic violence, poverty, neglect and the need for mental health services or special needs support."
Stephanie Cadieux, B.C.'s Minister of Children and Family Development, said Wednesday she accepts the findings of the report, and agrees that the ministry "strayed from its mandate to provide direct services."
A new deputy minister appointed two years ago has worked to redirect ministry spending to services for those in need, Cadieux said. She acknowledged that another $8 million is being spent this fiscal year on impractical "nation to nation" talks before consulting contracts expire.
NDP children and families critic Carole James said she supports the concept of delegating child welfare to aboriginal communities where it's practical to do so. But she said it's "appalling" that millions are spent on high-level meetings while there is an eight-month waiting list for youth mental health services.
The B.C. Liberal government has a track record of this, going back to former premier Gordon Campbell, who recruited a South African expert as deputy minister to impose a new aboriginal child care system, she said.
"They put out a big idea or a slogan, say they're going to move it, and then have no plan to implement it properly, with resources, with clear outcomes," James said. "The tragedy with this one is it's aboriginal children who are suffering."
Cadieux said it isn't fair to conclude all the money was wasted. The ministry has better relationships with aboriginal communities, and still provides direct services across the province, she said.

subset: commoncrawl


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Modular Machines
The Modularity Principle
The core idea of modularity in mechanical engineering is to divide complex machines into modules so that they can be individually assembled with an increasing number of identical parts. The combination of these modules covers the variance of machine types. Thanks to the economies of scale that this achieves, modular machines can be manufactured faster and more cost-effectively. In addition, they can be put into operation more quickly and expanded with greater flexibility.
Standardized interfaces are required to ensure the units can be combined easily and quickly. These include mechanical interfaces, but also those needed for power transmission, communication and, if necessary, compressed air. Modularity is not a characteristic that can be defined with a categorical yes or no. Instead, it ranges from low to absolute modularity.
Decentralized automation promotes modularization
Consistent modularization is not possible with point-to-point wiring in the central control cabinet. These central structures make it difficult to replace a module or expand a machine. Machine modules require autonomous structures. These can be implemented in small on-site control boxes on the module with IP20 components.
However, wiring and installation are usually more complex than for components with IP67 protection class, which can be mounted directly on the machine without any additional safeguards. However, if certain components are not IP67-rated or if special requirements apply in relation to hygienic design, food conformity or chemical resistance, IP20 solutions in the protective housing are often essential.
IP67 automation components facilitate the interconnectivity of modules. Decentralized I/O components for mounting directly in the field allow signals to be collected directly at the point of generation on the module and coupled from module to module via an Ethernet connection – and all without a control cabinet. This reduces installation costs and shortens commissioning times at the end customer's premises.
IP67 spanners translate between Ethernet protocols
Machines and modules with different Ethernet protocols can be connected directly in the field with minimal effort using "spanners". Commissioning and interconnectivity are made easy and efficient by using conventional communication standards. This is particularly true in modular mechanical engineering.
Decentralized safety concepts
Applications that require secure automation can also be planned and implemented in a modular design strategy. With the same power and data supply concept, any safety signal from sensors or emergency stop switches can be collected easily and efficiently.
The safety modules control safety functions for each module while the HMI/PLC controls the standard application
Safety functions can also be controlled in a decentralized manner by IP67 safety controllers directly on the modules. This prevents long cycle times for central safety controls, which ultimately enables reduced safety distances on the machine. Further advantages of decentralized safety solutions can be found on our technology page on machine safety.
Video: How modular machines enable more flexibility
RFID Solutions: Seamless Identification in Production and Intralogistics
Modularization of control solutions
Consistent modularization also requires different control functions to be relocated to the machine module. These functions can be performed either from I/O systems with integrated logic controllers or from actual compact PLCs. Both product groups—I/O modules and controllers—can be designed in IP20 in control boxes or as IP67 versions for mounting directly in the field. In this case, the IP67 version without a control cabinet offers clear advantages in terms of wiring and flexibility. The relocated safety logic in the I/O module can offer additional benefits, such as the rapid execution of safety functions or an overall more cost-effective safety architecture, since no central safety control or F-CPU is required.
The on-site controllers communicate with higher-level controllers or HMIs for control, documentation or visualization purposes. The selection of the appropriate control solution depends on the type and dimensions of the machine. This means oversized control solutions can be avoided. The work for the user remains minimal, while the efficiency of the machine increases. Since the on-site logic module pre-processes the data, only relevant process information needs to be transferred to higher-level controllers.
Relocating Intelligence to the Field Level
The relocation of intelligence to the field must be mapped in the engineering department on the software side. The machine modules process the inputs of adjacent modules as an autonomous system and determine their actions on this basis. Depending on the complexity of a module, this can be achieved with I/O components with logical functions or by field PLCs. Only the information required for the adjacent module is then transferred at the interface between two machine modules.
Relocating software features can offer many benefits:
- Relieves the load on the main communication link
- Relieves the load on the main control – and can even fully replace it
- Module tests before commissioning and linking
- Third-party module integration is facilitated by the fact that the central control can remain unchanged
- Simple plant expansion
The more consistently machines are modularized and intelligence is decentralized, the more the rigid structure of the automation pyramid begins to be destabilized. The hierarchies becomes more transparent, particularly at the sensor/actuator and I/O and control levels.


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The FBI, Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and the Director of National Intelligence issued a joint statement Wednesday night confirming an investigation is underway over a hack of government networks.
Cybersecurity officials at Homeland Security ordered federal civilian agencies to immediately disconnect or power down affected SolarWinds Orion products from their network.
Previously, officials said that the network was "compromised."
"The compromise of SolarWinds' Orion Network Management Products poses unacceptable risks to the security of federal networks," CISA Acting Director Brandon Wales said earlier this week. "Tonight's directive is intended to mitigate potential compromises within federal civilian networks, and we urge all our partners—in the public and private sectors—to assess their exposure to this compromise and to secure their networks against any exploitation."
On Wednesday, SolarWinds acknowledged the cyberattack.
"SolarWinds has been made aware of a cyberattack to our systems that inserted a vulnerability within our SolarWinds® Orion® Platform software builds for versions 2019.4 HF 5, 2020.2 with no hotfix installed, and 2020.2 HF 1, which, if present and activated, could potentially allow an attacker to compromise the server on which the Orion products run," the company said. "We have been advised that this incident was likely the result of a highly sophisticated, targeted, and manual supply chain attack by an outside nation state, but we have not independently verified the identity of the attacker."
Federal officials said that the FBI is engaging with victims and is conducting an investigation.


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Welcome to the House of Ideas, where the doors have never been more open to new talent than today! Join Jim McCann, Fred Van Lente, Khoi Pham, Brad Walker and more special guests to talk about what it takes to make yours Marvel as a profession, from writer to artist to editor and more! Do you have what it takes? Come find out!! (Part 4 of 7)
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Digital influence is one of the most fascinating and widely debated trends in social media today. Whether or not you agree with the idea of assigning a score to individuals based on their actions in popular social networks, the reality is that Pandora's Box has already been open. People check the scores like investors check stock prices. Brands reward "influential" consumers with products and services. Employers consult scores to lure seemingly more qualified candidates. This is already happening and as a result, there's much to learn.
So what is the future of digital and what does it mean to you and me? My guest on this episode of Revolution is Joe Fernandez, founder and CEO of Klout, one of the earliest and arguably largest player in the realm of digital influence. We talk about the rise of Klout, its challenges in measuring digital and real world influence, and what consumers and businesses need to think to make influence matter.
Subscribe to Revolution on Youtube or iTunes and connect with me: Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Google+
The End of Business as Usual is officially here…


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These people assisted Woosh Een áyá Yoo x̱'atudli.átk (We're talking conversation) by contacting speakers, arranging recording sessions, providing housing, organizing travel, driving, cooking, collecting information about the recordings, operating the camera or microphones or lights, translating to English, transcribing in Tlingit, proofreading the bilingual texts, formatting the recordings, developing the website, posting recordings on the website, or offering advice.
Anderson, Caroline | Folletti, Mary | Marks I, Paul |
Belarde, Linda | Frank, Konrad | Marks II, Paul |
Bremner, Amanda | Gordon, Louise | Martin, Carolyn |
Burkinshaw, Kelli | Gray, Skip | Meyers, Casey |
Chester, Hans | Hotch, Evelyn | Parker, Louise |
Chester, Jessica | Hotch, Joe | Parrish, Anita |
Cunnington, JJ | Hotch, Marsha | Sarabia, Helen |
Dauenhauer, Dick | Isturis, Jessica | Sheakley, Florence |
Dauenhauer, Nora | Katzeek, David | Shorty, Norma |
Davis, George | Katzeek, Smith | Strong, David |
Dutson, Margaret | Klein, David | Thompson, Maxine |
Eggleston, Keri Edwards | Lafferty, Anita | Tripp, Erin |
Edwardson, Susie | Littlefield, Kassy | Twitchell, Lance |
Everson, Selina | Littlefield, Roby | Wallace, Liana |
Mahan, Jim | ||
Please contact [email protected] if you have assisted and have been accidentally left off the list above.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 065178. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.


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WASHINGTON — Education Secretary Betsy DeVos planned a "Moms for Trump" rally in her home state of Michigan. The Department of Homeland Security's top official was in Texas to celebrate completion of a section of the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The chief of the Environmental Protection Agency headed to North Carolina after visiting Georgia the day before.
That was just Thursday.
Members of President Trump's Cabinet are logging extra miles as mostly unofficial campaign surrogates in crucial states in the final days before Tuesday's election, blending politics and policy in ways that critics say skirt established norms and may even violate the law.
It's long been one of the benefits of incumbency that a president can enlist his Cabinet to promote administration accomplishments. But only to a point, with a law on the books since 1939 requiring a division between political and official activities for all federal employees except the president and vice president.
"The Trump administration has completely obliterated that line," said Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight, which describes itself as a nonpartisan watchdog organization. "The White House is now the seat of government, where the president lives, and one of his chief campaign props. And that erosion of norms has spread throughout the entire administration."
This criticism isn't new, but it's intensified in recent months. The administration, which came under fire for using the White House as a backdrop for the president's acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, insists it is adhering to the law known as the Hatch Act.
"The Trump administration takes the Hatch Act seriously and all events are conducted in compliance with the law," White House spokesman Judd Deere said.
But already, at least one member of the administration has run afoul of the decades-old law in recent weeks.
The Office of Special Counsel, led by a Trump appointee, concluded this month that Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue violated the law at a North Carolina event in August where his remarks in support of the president devolved into crowd chants of "four more years." Perdue was ordered to reimburse the government for costs associated with the trip.
"He turned an official event into a campaign one," by tying aid to farmers to reelecting Trump, said Jordan Libowitz, communications director for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which filed complaint with that federal office over Perdue's appearance.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo could be next.
Two New York Democrats, Reps. Eliot L. Engel and Rep. Nita Lowey, said this week that the same office was investigating the speech that America's top diplomat made to the Republican convention from Israel. The office declined comment and the State Department noted that a previous Hatch Act complaint against Pompeo was dismissed.
That Pompeo speech was among a number of appearances, including one in September in Wisconsin, that appeared to many observers to cast aside a long tradition of avoiding partisan politics by secretaries of state. But he's hardly alone, and the examples have proliferated in recent days.
Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette this week was visiting southwestern Pennsylvania – a swing area in one of the most important battleground states – for at least the third time since August. In an area closely tied to fracking, Brouillette didn't mention Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden by name but warned that efforts to develop renewable energy to address climate change could threaten "every form of energy besides renewables."
Environmental Protection Agency chief Andrew Wheeler has made repeated trips to closely contested Michigan, including one to announce $2 million in grant funding, where he criticized the Obama administration's response to the lead contamination crisis in Flint.
DeVos has made frequent visits to pivotal states such as Florida, Texas and Wisconsin, for discussions of efforts to reopen schools closed by the coronavirus pandemic and to promote school choice, an issue that Trump has focused on in hopes of appealing to Black voters. The announcement of her appearance at Thursday's "Moms for Trump" rally in Detroit referred to her as the "Honorable Betsy DeVos," not as education secretary for a clearly political event.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf was in South Texas to mark completion of 400 miles of border wall, one of the central themes of the Trump 2016 campaign. Wolf also has drawn scrutiny by holding news conferences in Pennsylvania and elsewhere to announce relatively minor immigration operations. American Oversight, in a letter Thursday, urged the Office of Special Counsel to investigate Wolf and other DHS officials.
Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie has traveled to a host of presidential and Senate battleground states in recent months, mixing in dedication ceremonies and other official business with a "fireside chat" and praise of vulnerable GOP incumbents. His activity has received criticism from congressional Democrats.
Other examples include national security adviser Robert O'Brien traveling to Minnesota and Wisconsin this month to discuss trade; senior Trump adviser Stephen Miller holding a conference call Wednesday with reporters and speaking "in his personal capacity" to discuss immigration policy; and Kayleigh McEnany doing double duty as White House press secretary and "Trump 2020 campaign adviser," as she was described in an appearance on "Fox & Friends" on Thursday.
Hatch Act violations can be referred to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation, but more typically result in administrative penalties. Evers, a former litigator and government lawyer, said lower-level staff should be concerned about the possible legal consequences of working on barely concealed political missions.
There could be electoral consequences as well. "The political calculation that go into these decisions could be very wrong," he said. "It should matter to the public that their apolitical government is being used for purely partisan ends. So it may not have the payoff they expect."
Associated Press writers Collin Binkley in Boston, Marc Levy in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Ellen Knickmeyer and Hope Yen in Washington contributed to this report.
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"All the animals of the earth, all the birds of the sky, all the small animals that scurry along the ground,
and all the fish in the sea will look on you with fear and terror. I have placed them in your power.
I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables. "
Genesis 9:2-3


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South Park Cartman Magazine and a Toilet Fleece Crewneck Sweatshirt
- Get cozy in this super-soft traditional crewneck sweatshirt!
- Fit: Comfy and casual fit
- Made of: 50% polyester / 50% cotton
- Care: Machine wash cold inside out with like colors and tumble dry low.
Ordering Information
Allow 10-15 business days for your order to ship.
- Return Policy: We will gladly accept returns for any reason within 30 days of receipt of delivery.
- Shipping: Ship times are estimates of time in transit after your product leaves the fulfillment center. Some items in your order may ship separately to arrive faster.
- Availability: Ships to Europe and internationally.
- Shipping Policy: For more information, see our Shipping Policy.
Eric Theodore Cartman is just a normal fourth grader who appreciates the simple things in life - watching television, eating junk food, playing video games and the suffering of those he despises. Once described by a neighbor as "fat, racist, [and] foul-mouthed," Cartman is also sadistic, sociopathic, selfish, narcissistic, and greedy, and tends to place his own desires, needs and reputation above all else in life. His decisions are almost always driven by his own material or personal desires, and feelings like sympathy and guilt are largely foreign to him.
For Cartman's full bio, visit: https://wiki.southpark.cc.com/wiki/Eric_Cartman


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If you looking for a way to unlock Xiaomi Mi Note 3 and install latest TWRP recovery (3.2.3-1) on it, then you are in right place. Unlocking your smartphone/tablet is the first step to extract the complete juice of your device hardware. Once Xiaomi Mi Note 3 is unlocked, you can then easily install custom recovery such as TWRP recovery, can root it using Magisk or SuperSu. After root access, you can perform various system related task which otherwise isn't possible.
Related: How to Root Xiaomi Mi Note 3 in 2019 – Easy Guide
How To Unlock and Install TWRP Recovery On Xiaomi Mi Note 3
WARNING: Unlocking the bootloader will erase all data on your device! Before proceeding, ensure the data you would like to retain is backed up to your PC and/or your Google account, or equivalent. We (TrueAndroid Team) are not responsible if anything happen to your device while following this tutorial.
Advantage of TWRP Recovery
- A touch based interface.
- Can flash custom ROMs, Mods and kernels.
- Can wipe Dalvic /ART Cache.
- Allow you to access and use phone memory when you are in recovery.
- You can install Xposed Modules.
- You can root your device using root zip file (magisk, supersu etc.)
- Flashing a custom kernel may help you to overclock or underclock your SoC.
- Can factory reset your device.
- You can remove all bloatware by flashing proper bloatware removal zip.
- You can take a full system backup (Nandroid) and later restore it.
- Make sure your computer has working adb and fastboot. Setup instructions can be found here.
- Enable USB Debugging on your device. [Tutorial]
- Proper USB driver is installed. [Download]
How To Unlock Xiaomi Mi Note 3
- First visit Xiaomi's official unlocking website and apply for unlocking permissions. It might take some days.
- Meanwhile, link your device to your Mi account in Settings > Additional settings > Developer options > Mi Unlock status. This step is mandatory and will trigger a countdown of 360 hours, the waiting period before a device can be unlocked..
- Once you get the approval, you will get Mi Unlock app download link (Windows Only). Install the utility in your PC.
- Once the 360 hours waiting period is over, run the Mi Unlock app and follow the instructions provided by the app to unlock your Xiaomi Mi Note 3.
- Since the device resets completely, you will need to re-enable USB debugging for the next recovery installation process.
Once unlocking process is completed, you can then follow below steps to install TWRP Recovery.
How To Install TWRP Recovery 3.2.3-1 on Xiaomi Mi Note 3
- Download TWRP.
- Once done, connect your device to your PC using a USB cable.
- Now on your computer open a command prompt (on Windows) or terminal (on Linux or macOS) window, and type: adb reboot bootloader . You can also boot your Xiaomi Mi Note 3 to fastboot mode by pressing Volume Down + Power when the device power is off, until FASTBOOT appears.
- To confirm the device is connected in fastboot mode or not, type: fastboot devices.
- Once confirmed, type the following command to flash TWRP Recovery: fastboot flash recovery twrp-x.x.x-x-jason.img. [Note: Replace TWRP file name with your downloaded file name]
- The device should automatically reboot, if not then reboot it manually.
Tip: To boot into recovery first turn off your Xiaomi Mi Note 3 and then press and hold Volume Up and Power button together until the "MI" logo appears on the screen, then release.
Also Read: Download Android 9.0 Pie LineageOS 16.0 Official for Xiaomi Mi Note 3 with Guide
That's it! You now have an unlocked Xiaomi Mi Note 3 with latest supported TWRP Recovery installed.


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Advanced Student Pages (New) – Lessons 131-156 [PDF]
The Advanced Student Pages guide the students through the whole learning experience. The target age for this curriculum is fifth and sixth grade. However, these pages are flexible enough to include students a little bit below and above that ability level. View sample.
You can also purchase printed sets.
If you are teaching a class and/or using the Wall Maps and Time Line, you will want an Advanced Teacher Key.
Each set contains 26 lessons. Please purchase one set PER STUDENT. If you have 2 students, change the quantity to 2. If you have 10 students, change the quantity to 10. Please do not make more copies than you purchase.


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Below you will find the updated Privacy Policy for this site effective August 1, 2023.
We understand that booking online involves significant trust on your part. We value your trust, and make it a high priority to ensure the security and confidentiality of the personal information you provide to us. Please read this policy to learn about our privacy practices. By visiting this website, you are accepting the practices described herein.
- What information we collect from you
- How we use your information
- With whom we share your information
- Your choices with respect to collection and use of your information
- Cookies and other technologies
- How we protect your information
- Changes to this Privacy Policy
- How you can contact us
What information we collect from you
In General. We receive and store any information you enter on our website or give us in any other way. This includes information that can identify you ("personal information"), including your first and last name, telephone number, postal and email addresses, fax number, and billing information (such as credit card number, cardholder name, and expiration date). We may also request information about your hotel room preferences, and frequent flyer and car rental program information. You can choose not to provide information to us, but in general some information about you is required in order for you to book travel; participate in a survey, contest, or sweepstakes; ask us a question; or initiate other transactions on our site.
Travel Companion Information. When you make a reservation for someone else through this website, we may request personal information and travel preferences about that individual. You should obtain the consent of other individuals prior to providing us with their personal information and travel preferences, as any access to view or change their information will be available only through your account.
Information from Other Sources. We also may periodically obtain both personal and non-personal information about you from affiliated entities, business partners and other independent third-party sources and add it to our account information. Examples of information we may receive include: updated delivery and address information, purchase history, and demographic information.
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This Privacy Policy is effective as of August 1, 2023.


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The author of the piece is the Guardian's media commentator, Roy Greenslade, a Professor of Journalism and former Managing Editor of the Times. He writes:
It looks to me as though the Sunday Times has landed a genuine world exclusive that should surely have been broken ages ago by US-based reporters.
I agree entirely. Consider what any journalist in the US has known, or should have known, for years.
Sibel's case broke as an espionage story in June 2002 in the Washington Post and an October 2002 CBS' 60 Minutes segment (youtube) where we learnt that foreign operatives had spies working for them in both the Pentagon and the State Department.
Simply following the names and associations of the people known to be involved, any journalist should have been able to piece together the broad outlines of the story simply from public sources.
One of the spies involved, FBI translator Melek Can Dickerson, was known to have worked for the American Turkish Council (ATC) and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA). These organizations were known to be targets of FBI counterintelligence operations. This was publicly confirmed by the FBI and Congress at the time.
Another of the spies identified at the time, AF Major Douglas Dickerson, the husband of Melek Can Dickerson, was working for Douglas Feith at the Pentagon. He had previously worked with Marc Grossman in Turkey.
We know that both Feith and Grossman are two of the prime guilty parties in Sibel's case.
These two spies, Melek Can Dickerson and Douglas Dickerson, were permitted to leave the country while under active investigations by the US Senate Judiciary, by the Department of Justice's Inspector General (IG), by the Pentagon's IG, and by FBI.
In an article three weeks ago, the UK's Times reported:
Edmonds described how foreign intelligence agents had enlisted the support of US officials to acquire a network of moles in sensitive military and nuclear institutions.
We already knew this, and much of the other information reported in the Times.
Consider that in October 2002, CBS' 60 Minutes reported:
"Edmonds... revealed that the Turkish intelligence officer had spies working for him inside the US State Department and at the Pentagon."
Mainstream American journalists, from the Washington Post to CNN, knew about this, and mostly refused to report on it.
US journalists have been either too lazy, or complicit, to report on anything but the most trivial of Sibel's claims, including 'mismanagement' within the FBI, particularly the translation division. However, even if they had initially focussed on the 'mismanagement' of the FBI, they ought to have been able to follow up and connect some of the dots.
Here again is 60 Minutes, October 2002:
Take the case of (Melek) Jan Dickerson, a Turkish translator who worked with Sibel Edmonds. The FBI has admitted that when Dickerson was hired last November, the bureau didn't know that she had worked for a Turkish organization being investigated by the FBI's own counterintelligence unit, and they didn't know she'd had a relationship with a Turkish intelligence officer stationed in Washington who was the target of that investigation.
This information was in a then-public letter written by Senators Leahy and Grassley to Attorney-General John Ashcroft in August 2002, after they had held hearings into Sibel's case, where they note that the FBI verified these facts. This was also later confirmed in the Justice Department's IG report.
Melek Can Dickerson in fact had worked with at least two organizations that were targets of FBI investigations, the American Turkish Council (ATC) and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), and she was actively preventing the FBI agents from receiving important translations from the wiretaps pertaining to these organizations. The information that Dickerson was blocking related to:
"activities to obtain the United States military and intelligence secrets."
Again, we knew all of this in 2002. We knew that the FBI was running a counter-intelligence operation against certain organizations regarding the theft of military and intelligence secrets and that foreign elements had spies working for them in the Pentagon and State Department.
We also knew that Melek Can Dickerson was married to Air Force Major Douglas Dickerson. Douglas Dickerson worked in weapons procurement in Turkey from approximately 1992-1997, based in the attache in Ankara, working under then-Ambassador Marc Grossman, the "senior official" identified in the recent Times article.
In the summer of 2002, while Melek Can Dickerson was being investigated, the Pentagon IG was also investigating Douglas Dickerson regarding these espionage charges/allegations. The official letter sent by the Pentagon specifically mentions Dickerson's involvement with the American Turkish Council.
At the time, Major Douglas Dickerson was working with another of the key perpetrators in Sibel's case, Douglas Feith, at the Pentagon. Whatever "duties" he was conducting at the ATC were presumably on behalf of Douglas Feith.
The Dickersons left the country in 2002 while they were both under active investigations by Senate Judiciary Committee, by the Justice Department's IG, the Pentagon's IG, and by the FBI itself.
In their August 2002 letter to Ashcroft, Senators Leahy and Grassley note that they were concerned that the Dickersons were leaving the country, before the investigations would be completed, and that "...there will be little or no assurance that (Dickerson) will return or cooperate with an investigation in the future." Their concerns were well-founded.
Grassley and Leahy also wrote that they were concerned that:
"...the FBI currently opposes depositions of the monitor and her husband as part of the investigation into this case.
It is unclear, then, why the FBI is taking this position in the wake of such important allegations bearing on national security."
Again, American reporters knew all of this in 2002. They knew that there were spies in the Pentagon and the State Department who were enabling the theft of military and intelligence secrets, and they knew that the Pentagon and the FBI were actively involved in covering it up.
For one reason or other - incompetence or complicity - not a single American journalist followed up on the important issues in the 60 Minutes report and the Washington Post, and we didn't learn about any of this in the US media in 2002. Instead, we are 'learning' it in 2008 from the British press - and still the US media refuses to publish it, which leads me to believe that the American media is not 'incompetent' but rather 'complicit.'
Roy Greenslade, Professor of Journalism and the Guardian's media commentator, first notes that the story "should surely have been broken ages ago by US-based reporters" then adds that the latest revelations in the Times's latest series (1, 2):
.. looks to me like a very hot story indeed that should surely have been taken up by mainstream newspapers in the United States.
Who could argue with him?


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1/2 pound of French beans – cut into ½" length
1 small packet of pickle Szechuan vegetable – soak in water for half an hour
1 chicken breast – minced
1 carrot – cut into small cubes
2 shallots – sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic - chopped
2 red chilies – cut small
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 tbsp of soy sauce
Some pepper to taste
Sugar to taste
2. Add in carrot, French beans and chilies. Continue to stir fry for a minute. Add in Szechuan vegetable and the seasonings. Add in a few tbsp of water and continue to cook until vegetables are cooked and the water evaporates. Check sesoning as your might need to add a bit of salt to this dish.
3. Dish out and serve with warm rice
Note: You can replace the french beans with long beans and the meat with any type of protein of your choice.


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MS RFC 50: OpenGL Rendering Support¶
- Date:
- Authors:
Toby Rahilly, Jonathan Bourke
- Contact:
toby.rahilly at gmail.com. bourke.jf at gmail.com
- Last Edited:
- Version:
MapServer 5.4
This RFC proposes the addition of an Opengl Rendering module to MapServer for faster rendering of images.
Presently MapServer supports AGG rendering for high quality anti-aliased images. Although AGG is capable of high quality images, and is significantly faster than GD rendering, it is still not fast enough to suit desirable use cases such as live on-demand rendering.
Opengl is seen as a solution that can provide high performance rendering by making use of hardware specially designed for real-time rendering. Current Opengl prototypes are capable of rendering maps an order of magnitude faster than AGG with similar image quality.
Technical Solution¶
The Opengl rendering module interface and path will be very similar to the current AGG rendering module. Like AGG, the Opengl module will make use of GD for I/O of the results. However due to the nature of Opengl there are a few key implementation differences that are worth noting.
Opengl can make use of pre-rendered textures. All symbols can be pre-rendered and stored as an Opengl texture, when they are used in rendering a map, the rendered texture is simply copied onto the image buffer with transformations. This can hugely increase the performance of complex and heavily repeated symbols, such as train tracks, because not only do they need to be only rendered once, Opengl also handles the repetition and transformations which it has been heavily optimised for.
Labels also benefit from this method greatly, as an entire alphabet can be pre-rendered and stored as textures. When a curved label is to be drawn, the Opengl module simply places the rotated textures of the characters.
Pre-rendered textures of symbols can also be shared between different map rendering instances. For this reason it is suggested that the rendering path be modified slightly, such that when a mapfile with opengl rendering is first loaded, all the symbols are pre-rendered and stored on the map object. This drastically increases the performance of batch rendering.
Another notable difference between AGG and Opengl is that Opengl is incapable of rendering into main memory, and instead renders into a inaccessible buffer in video memory. This means the image must be rendered into video memory in OpengGL, then copied to the GD image buffer before saving the result.
C API Changes¶
As the Opengl module follows very closely to the AGG implementation, very little change has to be made to the core of MapServer. Minor changes are made to the following files to add a rendering path for Opengl:
No new functionality is added to these files, rather just else-if blocks.
The bulk of Opengl functionality will be found in mapogl.cpp.
An output block like this will trigger Opengl rendering:
The guts of opengl rendering occurs inside of opengl drivers. Opengl drivers vary from hardware and operating system, and the rendering techniques vary with them. What this means is that maps rendered on different computers can have different results, such as color shades, anti-aliasing quality and performance.
Although Opengl is cross platform, each operating system has a different method of setting up an Opengl context to render into. Currently we have an implementation for pre-vista windows.
Backwards Incompatibility¶
No issues expected.
Bug ID¶
Not assigned.


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In a story which sounds implausible, but is actually true, The Fietsberaad reports on a cycle only tunnel in Apeldoorn which detects the sound of mopeds, photographs their number plates and automatically fines the riders. For cyclists, this is much much better than any sort of anti-moped gate.
"This is an approximately 90 metre-long underpass connecting Apeldoorn-Noord and Apeldoorn-Zuid. There are sunken squares on either end of the underpass. The underpass is an integral part of the station environment. The reason for barring mopeds is local authorities' fear that the large differences in speed may cause dangerous traffic situations. In addition, the resounding mopeds sometimes scare other traffic participants stiff. Moreover, this is an attempt to reduce nuisance for residents on the approach routes. There are plenty of alternatives, anyway. Mopeds may also use the underpasses meant for cars. This is the first time this type of system is employed."
The system is intended to increase social and subjective safety of cyclists.
In general, small mopeds, known as bromfietsen, are allowed to use rural cycle paths but not urban ones. This is actually beneficial to cyclists as it requires that rural cycle paths are designed to accommodate the 45 km/h legal speed of bromfietsen.
Access to paths where they are not allowed is generally not enforced by any kind of infrastructure such as gates. This enforcement using a camera is quite novel.
I wrote before about how, around here at least, I don't find these bromfietsen to be any problem at all. They are not as common here as in some Dutch cities, and they're generally ridden very carefully.
A video showing the tunnel. This was on "blik op de weg" - a TV programme about errant road users. Note how people are pushing their mopeds through the tunnel to avoid being caught:


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Exhibition catalogue published in conjunction with show held May 10 - June 29, 2007. Essay by Betsy Fahlman. Artists include Herbert Adams, Carl E. Akeley, John White Alexander, Thomas Anshutz, Karel Appel, Richmond Barthé, Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi, Antonie-Louis Barye, George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, Albert Bierstadt, Oscar Bluemner, Norman Bluhm, Ernest Blumenschein, Jacob Boelen, Isidore Jules Bonheur, Solon H. ... [details]
Reference catalogue of the American art collection at Smith College. Contributions by Linda Muehlig, Cynda L. Benson, Deborah Chotner, Kristen Erickson, Elizabeth C. Evans-Iliesiu, Betsy B. Jones, Patricia Junker, Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser, Linda Merrill and Daniel J. ... [details]
"The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, America's oldest museum and school of fine arts, was founded in 1805. Today, the Academy boasts one of the nation's finest collections of American art and a roster of alumni representing the greatest artists this country has produced. ... [details]
Catalogue of sculpture selected from the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Nebraska. Contributions by Karen O. Janovy, David Cateforis, Daniel A. Seidell, Peter Boswell, Nancy Dawson, Janice Driesbach, Lonnie Pierson Dunbier, Charles C. ... [details]