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In Memoir, Linda Ronstadt Describes Her 'Simple Dreams'
Last month, Ronstadt revealed that she has Parkinson's disease and can no longer sing. Her new memoir, Simple Dreams, reflects on a long career. In this conversation with Fresh Air's Terry Gross, she offers frank insights on sex, drugs, and why "competition was for the horse races."
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September 17, 2013
Guest: Linda Ronstadt
TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. My guest, Linda Ronstadt, revealed last month that she has Parkinson's disease and can no longer sing. Today her new memoir was published, reflecting on her long career, a career that was ended by the disease years before it was even diagnosed.
Ronstadt recorded her first hit in 1967, "Different Drum," under the name of her band, the Stone Ponies. She went on to sell more than 100 million records. Her best known recordings including "Heart Like a Wheel," "Desperado," "You're No Good," "When Will I Be Loved," "Willin'," and "Blue Bayou."
Her rise to stardom coincided with the height of the '60s counterculture and the music associated with it, making her a focal point in a world far removed from her Catholic upbringing in Tucson. But she didn't remain tied to the popular music of her time. Against the recommendation of her record label, she recorded an album of standards with arranger Nelson Riddle that turned into a surprise hit and led to a couple of other albums from the American songbook.
And she recorded albums of the Mexican songs she learned from her Mexican grandfather and her father. Ronstadt's new memoir is called "Simple Dreams." Let's start with a song that was a number one hit for her in 1975.
LINDA RONSTADT: (Singing) Feeling better now that we're through, feeling better 'cuz I'm over you. I learned my lesson, it left a scar. Now I see how you are, you're no good, you're no good, you're no good, baby, you're no good.
GROSS: Linda Ronstadt, welcome to FRESH AIR. It is a great pleasure to have you on our show.
RONSTADT: Thank you so much.
GROSS: Your book about your life and music is being published soon after learning that you have Parkinson's, which explains why you've been unable to sing for several years. Is it hard to talk about your music career now that you can't sing anymore?
RONSTADT: Well, not really. I mean, you know, everything comes in its season. And I will say I had a long turn at the trough. So that's what I - you know, I'm grateful for the time I had. I got to live a lot of my dreams, and I feel lucky about it.
GROSS: Was it a relief to have an explanation, even though the explanation means that you won't be able to sing again? And you have - you know, you have a bad disease. But still, did it help to know...
RONSTADT: Well, at least - I mean I would be saying for years I was struggling onstage. I was having such a hard time singing because I didn't have any muscle control. And, you know, you have exquisite muscle control when you're singing. There's just a lot of things that have to be coordinated on an exquisite level. So I just couldn't do it, and I didn't know why.
I knew how to sing all my whole life.
RONSTADT: So yes, it was a relief to know, but I'd rather it had been measles or something I was going to get over. But, you know, that's the breaks.
GROSS: How's the rest of your body? How's walking?
RONSTADT: Well, walking isn't too much fun these days. I'm really slow. I've got that, you know, bradykinesia. I'm very slow with my hands too. It's hard to brush my teeth. It's hard to wash my hair. The worst thing is I love to knit, and I can't knit. So that - you know, there are just things that I have to - you know, I have to find some other thing to do to make myself useful, and it's important to do that, I think.
GROSS: Well, I want to talk with you about your childhood and your family tree. Reading your memoir, I was just astonished by the richness of your family tree. So let's start with your grandfather, who - correct me if I'm wrong, was born in Mexico and had a hardware store in Arizona.
RONSTADT: In Tucson, yeah.
GROSS: And had a lot of business that came across the border from Mexico. And tell us about his music background.
RONSTADT: Well, he was the one in Tucson who taught everybody how to play their instruments and assembled a band and wrote the arrangements and wrote a lot of compositions for the band. And he was like the Music Man, except he really knew how to play music and how to read. And he was an autodidact. He had quite a rich education. He only went to I think seventh grade in terms of formal schooling, but he was a wide reader and loved opera, loved classical music, you know, loved art.
And all those elements were there. You know, and his life, it was a rich life, artistically. He was a rancher, that's how he made his living in Arizona. It's a tough gig because it's the desert, and sometimes there's no water, and then there are no cattle, you know.
RONSTADT: So he went through some tough times. He went through the Depression. But he also was - he was apprentice to a blacksmith when he was a teenager, and so he made - he had the reputation in southern Arizona for making the most beautiful wagons and buggies, you know, like the luxury - like the equivalent of a Mercedes that you would drive around in a horse and carriage.
GROSS: Did he do a lot of Mexican songs?
RONSTADT: Oh yeah. You know, if you wanted to serenade your sweetheart, you'd get my grandfather's band to go and serenade her at 2:00 in the morning.
RONSTADT: And if you had to have a military parade, well, my grandfather's band was the one you would get, you know. And if you had a wedding or a funeral, well, they'd show up for that. I mean, in those days you had to make your own music. You couldn't get it off the radio. You couldn't get it from YouTube. You couldn't download it. You had to make it yourself, and that's what he did.
GROSS: So while we're talking about some of the music he introduced you to and the music he played, let me play a track from the first of I think three albums that you did of Mexican and Spanish songs. And...
RONSTADT: They're Mexican songs, yeah.
GROSS: Mexican songs. And the title of the album "Canciones De Mi Padre," is the same title that your aunt gave a collection of songs and stories that she published.
RONSTADT: Yes, my aunt was a singer and a dancer, and she was a music scholar, you know, in the teens and '20s of the 20th century. And she traveled all over Mexico and also went to Spain, and she collected all these different regional songs and dances. And she wrote a letter home to my grandfather saying that she had discovered a guitar player that she thought was absolutely wonderful, and she thought he was so brilliant.
And he could hold the attention of the audience when she left the stage to change her costumes. And she wanted to bring him to the United States because she was sure he would be a huge hit there and become a star in his own right. And the guitar player was Andres Segovia.
GROSS: And did he come here because of her?
RONSTADT: I don't know. I mean, I'm sure she encouraged him to. But I mean, he - people, that kind of talent, they make it on their own.
GROSS: Right, right.
RONSTADT: She just didn't get in the way, you know.
GROSS: So the song I want...
RONSTADT: Kind of like being the Eagles. You know, I didn't get in their way. They...
GROSS: They were your backup band before they became famous.
RONSTADT: They were my backup band, and I just got out of the way.
GROSS: So the song I want to play from your first album of Mexican songs is - and I'm going to say this wrong, "Rogaciano El Huapanguero."
RONSTADT: Huapanguero, yeah, "Rogaciano El Huapanguero." A huapango is a certain kind of song, it's a style of singing.
GROSS: Just there's so much emotion in this song. Just say a few words about it before we hear it.
RONSTADT: Well it's - this music is typical of the mountain regions, and I guess in mountain regions people develop a kind of a yodeling style because they can throw their voice across - you know, they don't have a telephone, so they yodel. And so there's a beautiful kind of a haunting, romantic kind of break in the voice that makes it typical of a - that's typical of a huapango. They're my favorites.
And there's a rhythm underneath that is - it would be written in European time signature as 6/8, but it's not really a 6/8. It's a 6/8 with a kind of hitch in the gate. You've got to grow up in that region and sort of know how to count it. It's very much an indigenous Mexican rhythm.
GROSS: OK, so this is Linda Ronstadt from her first album of Mexican songs, "Canciones De Mi Padre," from 1987.
RONSTADT: (Singing in Spanish)
GROSS: That's my guest Linda Ronstadt, recorded in 1987. She has a new memoir, which is called "Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir." We were talking about how your grandfather introduced you to these kinds of songs and sang these kinds of songs. Your father sang, too. I was surprised to read that Paul Whiteman invited your father to be the boy singer in his band. And, I mean, that's where Bing Crosby got his start.
RONSTADT: Yeah, that was a huge deal, because in those days, he was the most well-known bandleader in the country. So that was quite an honor. My father had a beautiful, beautiful baritone voice. He sounded like a cross between Pedro Infante and Frank Sinatra. And he just had wonderful stories in his singing.
And always, you know, if there was a dinner party or something, he'd get the guitar out, you know, about 10 or 11 o'clock, and everybody would start to listen, and he'd just sing. And then people would talk for a while, and then he'd sing a little bit more. And I always would fall asleep in somebody's lap listening to my dad sing some beautiful song, you know. It was a beautiful memory.
GROSS: On your mother's side of the family, her father was Lloyd Copeman, who was an inventor, and...
RONSTADT: Yeah, he was a famous inventor. He invented, well, the electric toaster, the electric stove, all the timing devices. He invented the thermostat for Westinghouse, basically.
GROSS: Whoa.
RONSTADT: And he invented the pneumatic grease gun, and he invented a dripless paint thing that you put on your paint can, so it doesn't drip down the side. It's still in use today. He invented a tamper-proof envelope for the FBI, all kinds of things that he did. You know, he was kind of the Gyro Gearloose of his time. But he worked alone. He was the third to Thomas Edison in number of useful inventions sometime in the '50s, you know, that he had made, but he worked all by himself. Thomas Edison worked with teams and teams of people. So I always say my grandfather kind of beat him a little bit.
GROSS: So that leads me to wonder, I mean, did you grow up wealthy? Did your mother inherit a lot of money? That's a lot of inventions.
RONSTADT: No. My grandmother had Parkinson's disease, and it took all his money. He had - he was wealthy from time - you know, at certain times, but he spent all his money trying to find a cure for Parkinson's disease.
GROSS: Which is what you have now.
RONSTADT: It's what I have now, yeah. It's a gene, I guess. I mean, I think that's - a gene is one of the things that - they don't know what causes it, but I think that genetic is one of the ways you can get it.
GROSS: Wait, you mean, so he tried to invent a cure, as an inventor, to come up with a cure for...
RONSTADT: Well, he tried to - you know, he searched everywhere and tried to - you know, people would say, you know, we can cure it. Give us this much money. And he just went through his money trying to find a way to fix her, I think. He loved her so much. I remember seeing her in her declining years with Parkinson's disease, when she couldn't walk, and she couldn't talk. So it's pretty scary, you know, when I think about - Parkinson's works differently in different people.
So I don't really know. I don't have a crystal ball. I don't really know what's going to happen to me, but I hope it's not going to be what happened to my grandmother. But, you know, it could be.
GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Linda Ronstadt, and she has a new memoir called "Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir." Let's take a short break, here, and then we'll talk some more. This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: My guest is Linda Ronstadt. She has a new memoir called "Simple Dreams." So you form a band with friends, the Stone Poneys, which eventually has the hit "Different Drum" in 1967. But that was their second album. The first album, it was a harmony group, and you weren't, like, the lead singer Linda Ronstadt. It was a band. You sang harmonies.
I hadn't heard that early work until I was preparing for this interview, and I was really interested in hearing how the early Stone Poneys sound. So I want to play the first track from that first album. This is "Sweet Summer Blue and Gold." And do you just want to say a few words about this, and about what the band was about in those early days?
RONSTADT: Well, Bobby Kimmel was a guy that I met in Tucson. He was kind of a blues guitar player, but he doesn't - but then he writes stuff that wasn't bluesy. He wrote songs and stories about his own life and his own experiences for his own vocal register, which was very different from mine.
So, you know, they weren't songs that would be good for me to sing as a soloist, but so we just - you know, we put them together. And we had Kenny Edwards, who was a really wonderful guitar player and a good musician that I met really early on, and he was part of the group, too. And so he hadn't thought of himself as a singer, but we just put the harmonies together. We just kind of fit them together, and sort of like throwing against the wall, you know, and see if it stuck.
GROSS: All right, so this is Linda Ronstadt with the Stone Poneys, the first album that they released.
THE STONE PONEYS: (Singing) Look out your window, the rain is turning into snow. So the time has come, you know. You must decide to stay or go. Oh, how you love me, sweet summer blue and gold. Will you stay with me, long winters gray and cold?
(Singing) Go, love, open up the door. You'll see the winds aren't warm anymore. The birds we heard all summer long were chased away by winter storm. Oh, how you love me, sweet summer blue and gold. Will you stay with me, long winters gray and cold?
GROSS: So that was the Stone Poneys, with my guest Linda Ronstadt, and that was before "Different Drum." This was from their first album. And Linda Ronstadt has a new memoir, which is called "Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir."
So that's so folk-influenced. Was that the direction you were heading in?
RONSTADT: Well, that's what we came from, you know. That's - on the radio in those days, the radio was so wide open, you could hear a jazz song, the Singing Nun, a country song, and, you know, Peter, Paul and Mary, you know, doing sort of what was considered commercial folk music.
And we heard a lot of that stuff, and we were really influenced by it, you know, that kind of finger-picking guitar style and stuff like that. So that's what we were chasing then.
GROSS: You got a manager, and your manager thought you should really be, like, the soloist. He wasn't that hot on the band, but he liked you, and thought he could really promote you. And then you're ready to record "Different Drum," and you show up to the studio, and, like, your band's not there. It's these different musicians. Tell the story of what happened.
RONSTADT: Well, originally, we had recorded - I had heard it, it was a song called "Different Drum." I'd learned it off a bluegrass record by the Greenbriar Boys. And I thought it was a really strong piece of material. I thought it was a hit. But I wanted to record it in a folky way.
RONSTADT: So we recorded it with a guitar and a mandolin. And, of course, you know, the record company didn't like it. And they said, well, we want to do it again, but we're going to get a different arrangement. And I had no idea there was going to be all these musicians. It turns out they were all good players. Don Randi was playing. Jimmy Gordon was the drummer, a wonderful drummer.
GROSS: Don Randi was playing harpsichord.
RONSTADT: Yeah, Don Randi was playing harpsichord, and he played piano. So I was just shocked. And when they played the arrangement, I didn't know how to fit the phrasing in. I didn't - it suddenly wasn't the way I was used to singing it. So it really knocked me off my stride. And I think we went through it twice, and we kept the second take. And that was it, you know, me sort of going I know how to do this now.
RONSTADT: And it was a hit. You know, what was I supposed to know? I mean, I was just shocked. I didn't want them to use it, because I felt like I was struggling so with the singing, and I thought that showed, you know, so clearly. But it was a hit. So when they put it out, that was a lucky thing for me that they didn't listen to me.
GROSS: So this is my guest Linda Ronstadt, "Different Drum," 1967.
RONSTADT: (Singing) You and I travel to the beat of a different drum. Oh, can't you tell by the way I run? Every time you make eyes at me. You cry and moan and say it will work out, but honey child, I've got my doubts. You can't see the forest for the trees. Oh, don't get me wrong. It's not that I knock it. It's just that I am not in the market for a boy who wants to love only me.
(Singing) Yes, and I ain't saying you ain't pretty. All I'm saying, I'm not ready for any person, place or thing to try and pull the reins in on me. So goodbye, I'll be leaving. I see no sense in this crying and grieving. We'll both live a lot longer if you live without me.
GROSS: That's Linda Ronstadt, recorded in 1967, a big hit for her, "Different Drum," her first big hit. Did you believe in the lyric about not wanting to be tied down or monogamistic? Like, did that describe you?
RONSTADT: Well, I didn't want - yeah. Yes, it did.
RONSTADT: Yes, it does.
GROSS: Never been married, right?
RONSTADT: No knack for it. You know, I think that the culture supports serial monogamy, and I think I had plenty of that. And I think I was reasonably monogamous in a serial way. But I'm not a good compromiser. I think I don't have a knack for the kind of compromise - I admire people's marriages, and I think it's a wonderful thing to have, but I don't think it's the only way to live. I think there are many ways to live, and many ways to establish intimate support in your life that can be from family or friends or a great roommate that you like, you know. It doesn't have to be somebody you're sleeping with.
I figured that out pretty early on, and that was sort of how I felt. I was trying to sing. I was never trying to get married.
GROSS: Speaking of figuring out, you write in the book about how you had to figure out your image. And you write: Female performers in the folk-pop genre were genuinely confused about how to represent themselves. Did we want to be nurturing, stay-at-home Earth mothers who cooked and nursed babies? Or did we want to be funky mamas in the troubadour bar, our boot heals to be wandering an independent course like our male counterparts?
So, where did you see yourself fitting in between, like, the funky mama and the Earth mama?
RONSTADT: Well, I didn't really fit in there. I was raised to, you know, to a wear hat and gloves and polish the silver, and it wasn't the way I was quite raised. So I was a little bit confused by it. But I was also raised out in the country, you know, where we were sort of rough-and-ready child. I was kind of right out there on my own, rolling around in the desert. So I had a little bit of both.
And my mother, there was nothing pretentious or fussy about my mother, but she had had a very nice upbringing, a very privileged upbringing, and she liked to keep the rules sort of, you know, where we lived, way out in the wilderness in Tucson in the desert, which was pretty uncivilized, compared to what she'd grown up, you know, having.
GROSS: Linda Ronstadt will be back in the second half of the show. Her new memoir is called "Simple Dreams." I'm Terry Gross, and this is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross back with Linda Ronstadt. She's written a new memoir called "Simple Dreams." Ronstadt had her first hit in 1967 with the song "Different Drum." Some of her other best-known recordings include: "Heart Like A Wheel," "Desperado," "You're No Good," "When Will I Be Loved," "Willing" and "Blue Bayou." She's also recorded albums of American popular song and Mexican songs.
Last month, Ronstadt revealed that she has Parkinson's disease. It was diagnosed less than a year ago, but the symptoms ended her singing career several years before that. When we left off, we were talking about her difficulty figuring out her public image early in her career, feeling she didn't quite fit into the folk-pop images of the Earth Mother or the Funky Mama.
I remember the rumor about Janice Joplin was - and I don't know if you heard this because you were in the music industry, so - and you actually knew her, but at a distance...
RONSTADT: Not well, but I knew her little bit.
GROSS: Right. But at a distance, when like all of her fans were preparing for like the concert, you know, in the college auditorium, like the rumor that went around was like Janis Joplin got so deep into the sexuality of her songs that she actually reached orgasm on stage.
RONSTADT: Oh my god. Well, I never heard that.
GROSS: I doubt that was true, but...
RONSTADT: I've never personally had that experience myself, but...
GROSS: I assumed that. But did you feel like you have to compete with that kind of image and that kind of like level of sexuality that people projected onto her?
RONSTADT: No. I think competition is for horse races and I never thought it belonged in art. And I never felt that competitive with other girl singers, really. I admired them. If I really admired them, I'd try to figure out a way - if it was appropriate, just figure out a way - to sing with them. You know, I liked Maria Muldaur when I first started out. Now, there was somebody that was really sexy on stage. And, in fact, Janice just admired her too, she loved her. And I got to sing with Maria little bit. It was really fun. We did some harmonies together. But mainly when I ran into Emmylou Harris, that was it. You know, we could finish each other's sentences musically, and personally too. We have a very shared, similar sensibility, and that was a friendship that really opened up a tremendous number of musical doors for me.
GROSS: I love the way you write about first hearing her. That, you know, you loved her singing so much, and the songs that she was singing were the songs you'd wanted to be able to sing, if you record company had let you.
RONSTADT: And just like that, if I could.
GROSS: Yeah. And you said you had a choice. You could either just be like really jealous or meet her and try to sing with her, and you chose to meet her and sing with her. I like that story.
RONSTADT: I remember that so clearly. It was just like running into a glass wall at 150 miles an hour. I just went, oh my god, it was like a slap in the face, you know, and I thought, OK, I can get jealous here or I can just love this person and admire her and just go with it and see what I can learn. And it was just a split second, but I made that decision and it was - I never looked back. It was the best decision I ever made.
GROSS: Yeah. You have a few stories in your new memoir about being propositioned by men who assumed hey, it's a hippie chick singer, free love.
RONSTADT: It's so funny.
GROSS: Yeah. Like...
RONSTADT: Yeah.
GROSS: For example, the time when a producer of a TV show that you were doing, you were a guest on the show. He came into your room on the premise that you had to talk about business, and he immediately like stripped off all his clothes.
RONSTADT: He took all his clothes off. I was so shocked because I'm really kind of modest, you know, I had a Catholic school upbringing and we just didn't see a lot of naked bodies. And this guy, I'm telling you, was not the Adonis of show business. He was kind of...
RONSTADT: There was something really kind of exhibitionistic and self-hating about what he was doing.
GROSS: Mm-hmm.
RONSTADT: I felt sorry for him. I mean it was - clearly he was so troubled. But, you know, he had the power and I didn't have any. And so I just kind of edged to the door and edged to the door and then I just went out the door. You know, and I didn't come back for a couple of hours, I went and sat in the lobby. And I was so bored and I was so mad down there sitting in the lobby, but - because I wanted to go to bed, but I was just afraid to go back to my room. And in those days, you know, when you were kind of low man on the pecking order, or low woman on the pecking order, you didn't dare go and complain. I called my manager and he said don't say anything because, you know, they might kick you off the show. I mean you did the show, so...
GROSS: So while we're talking about this kind of stuff, I thought this was hysterical. In 1971 you perform at Disneyland. And the contract stipulated that you had to wear a bra and your skirt had to be a certain number of inches from the ground when you were kneeling. Which led me to wonder...
RONSTADT: Yeah. Not very many inches.
GROSS: Yeah. They seemed, so your skirt had to be long enough. Had they seen your act and known that, well, sometimes you don't wear a bra and that you kneel in your show?
RONSTADT: No. They just, that was just the rules, that if you wanted to work for Disneyland, you...
GROSS: For anybody?
RONSTADT: And I was laughing. I was going to put the bra my head, you know, it didn't say in the contract. But I really needed to get paid.
They paid really well at Disneyland, that's why we did those silly gigs. But, you know, they always have these silly laws. I think they were a very uptight organization.
GROSS: In your memoir you write about how when you found the song "Heart Like A Wheel," the Anna McGarrigle song, which she sang with her sister Kate, that that song rearranged your entire musical landscape. First, let's start with why did you musical landscape need rearranging?
RONSTADT: Well, I'd come from this kind of sensibility. My grandfather loved opera, he loved "La Traviata," that was his favorite opera, that's my favorite opera. And he had this kind of, you know, arty, refined sensibility, but he also look traditional music and he loved Mexican music, he was really passionate about that. So, and the same with my father, you know, he liked those things too. So the McGarrigles kind of married this incredibly traditional sort of refined aesthetic with, you know, just telling it like it is - sort of straight out, no bones about it the way they talk about stuff. And it was just this unabashed sentiment. They were unafraid of female sentiment.
And I don't know, there's something in the water up there in Canada because my favorite writers are the McGarrigles sisters, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot - oh my god, what a great ballad writer - Joni Mitchell. I mean, you know, they're just, they're completely unique great writers. And in a lot of ways they're falling in the tradition of what it would be called art song. And that's what I was seeing with the McGarrigles. I thought, I didn't know what to call it then but I just knew it was different from folk music and it wasn't the same as rock 'n roll. It wasn't, there was no place for it in pop music on the charts, but I wanted to sing it because it told my story exactly how I felt at the time about, you know, what I was feeling about my life and my relationships. And I just had to sing it. And I tried it for a couple - and I sang it for couple of different guys. And, you know, my manager at the time, he said, oh, that's just too corny. You know, nobody's going to want to listen to that. And the record company wasn't interested in it. They said, oh, that's not a hit, they'll never play that on the radio. So I just kind of, it sort of hurt my feelings on behalf of the song, and I sort of fold it up tuck it in my pocket.
And then one night before we were going to play at Carnegie Hall and the night before I was rehearsing with my piano player, Andrew Gold, and he had learned the song some other place. I don't know where he learned it. And he was just playing the introduction to it. I said, I know that song, let's do it. So I sang through it and of course, you know, I knew all the words and everything and I said let's put it in the show. We put it in the next night at Carnegie Hall, got a huge response. So that was how I won with that song, I just kept trying, you know.
GROSS: Well, it ended up being the title track of a 1974 album. Let's hear it. This is my guest, Linda Ronstadt, singing "Heart Like A Wheel."
RONSTADT: (Singing) Some say the heart is just like a wheel. When you bend it, you can't mend it. But my love for you is like a sinking ship and my heart is on that ship, out in mid-ocean.
(Singing) When harm is done no love can be won. I know it happens frequently. What I can't understand, oh please God, hold my hand. Why it had to happen to me?
(Singing) And it's only love, and it's only love that can break a human being and turn him inside out.
GROSS: That's my guest Linda Ronstadt, singing "Heart Like A Wheel," the title track of her 1974 album. That also included "When Will I Be Loved," "Willing," "Faithless Love."
I think it was after "Heart Like A Wheel," you go to your record company, Capitol Records, and you basically beg them to let you go because you couldn't record what you wanted to record with them.
RONSTADT: Well, they weren't - I just didn't think they really got who I was, and I mean to their credit, how could they know? Because I was still shaping who I was.
GROSS: Mm-hmm.
RONSTADT: I was morphing into something. It took me 10 years to learn how to sing, really, and to figure out, you know, who I was stylistically. So, but I had always loved Hank Williams, and I had always loved his country songs. And I could play them on the guitar because there were three chords. And I liked singing them and they were good harmonies and they were great sentiment. So - and again, I had this manager that said, oh, that's too country for rock and too rock for country; you'll never sell any records, you know. But I liked those songs, so I sang them.
GROSS: Let's take a short break here, then we'll talk some more with Linda Ronstadt. She has a new memoir called "Simple Dreams."
This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: My guest is Linda Ronstadt. She has a new memoir about her singing career called "Simple Dreams."
One of the big decisions you made in your career is that you wanted to sing standards. You wanted to sing songs like Sinatra and Rosemary Clooney had recorded.
RONSTADT: Right.
GROSS: And you wanted to do it with Nelson Riddle...
GROSS: ...who had done arrangements for both of them. And you were lucky enough to actually record three albums with him. So let's go back for a moment. How did you first know the American Song Stan Book? Sorry, Song Book.
RONSTADT: I'm glad that was you and not me.
GROSS: Right.
RONSTADT: Well, I...
GROSS: You're welcome. Yeah.
RONSTADT: I heard it on the - first on the Victrola and then on the big hi-fi monaural record player that my father brought home in the '50s. He brought it home with a bunch of records. He brought Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, duets that were just fabulous. And he looked brought Peggy Lee and June Christy and Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. There were a lot of people that could, really knew how to sing that stuff, and those were brilliant songs. They're just, they're, if - I think that if the American - what the United States gave to world culture at large - especially in the 20th century - was the American popular song, and it was a wonder to behold.
GROSS: The title of the album is "What's New." That's a song that so many people have sung. What spoke to you about that song?
RONSTADT: Well, I'd had experiences like that, where you run into an old boyfriend that maybe you're still carrying a little torch for and, you know, you see him and it just kind of brings back all those old feelings and you have a brief little encounter with him on the street and you go on by like nothing ever happened and it's kind of a devastating experience. And that song just describes it in very subtle innuendos, you know, it doesn't, it's not instructive. It doesn't say this is what happened, the story, the story, the story. It just kind of supplies these little details and you put the story together yourself - like a good arguing, like a good trial lawyer.
GROSS: OK. This is Linda Ronstadt from her first album of standards. The album is "What's New."
RONSTADT: (Singing) What's new? How is the world treating you? You haven't changed a bit. Handsome as ever, I must admit.
(Singing) What's new? How did that romance come through? We haven't met since then. Gee, but it's nice to see you again.
(Singing) What's new? Probably I'm...
GROSS: That's Linda Ronstadt from her first album of standards, which was called "What's New," and the first of three albums in which she collaborated with the arranger Nelson Riddle.
Did you, do you feel like you learned things about music or about, you know, how singing fits in with an arrangement by working with Nelson Riddle?
RONSTADT: Well, I learned a tremendous amount. I mean I told Nelson in the beginning, I had the chutzpah to tell him I needed a really custom fit and that I liked to be involved in the way the arrangements were set. I didn't kid my, you know, I can do simple arrangements myself. I've done some very simple string writing and some very simple - and I can to pretty complicated harmony arrangements. But I knew that I was way over my head with anything like this. And he was one of the great masters of the style, if not the great master for pop music.
So - but I said I wanted a custom fit. So he came over to my house in the morning and we would go through things. And he's the only person I ever let - allowed him to correct me on a key. Like I'd usually pick the key out of the air and every once in a while he'd say, no, it'd be better if you moved it up a little bit or down a little bit. And he'd always be right.
But, you know, I remember in one song I asked for a modulation, you know, just to kind of brighten up the arrangement and give it a little - keep it from getting too boring, you know? And he said, oh, I can do a trick. He said I can modulate - modulation usually modulates it up to a higher key and it brightens. He said I'll give it - I'll modulate to a lower key. And it gave it this incredible mood shift, you know?
I was just always floored by the things that Nelson came up with and he always had a real reason for however he cast his arrangements. The woodwinds would have a certain place in the mix. You know, it would be just supporting something or they'd be speaking out more prominently or the strings would be in the background, they'd be speaking out more prominently. He always knew actually where to cast the instruments so that they supported the story and illustrated the story.
GROSS: He - Nelson Riddle died while doing the arrangements for your third album together. That must've been devastating.
RONSTADT: It was devastating because there was only one Nelson Riddle. They don't make any more like him. And you know, it was the end of an era in a certain way. And we still had one track to record after he died and we did. Musicians were crying in the orchestra because they all loved Nelson. You know, he'd given them so much work over the years and he appreciated what, you know, what their abilities were.
And his son was also playing in the trombone section. He was crying. It was pretty tough that day.
GROSS: In your memoir you write about your father's death in 1995 and you write that it changed your thoughts about death, that he faced death with great courage and it changed the way that you feel about death. And you write: While I don't embrace it, I no longer fear it in the same way. Can you - would it be too personal to ask you to talk a little bit about his death and how that changed you?
RONSTADT: Well, we were all with him. His entire family was with him. He was in his own bed instead of in the hospital, you know, which is an enviable way to die. I think he had what I would describe as a beautiful death with people who had loved him all his life and revered him and respected him. And all of his children. There's something about wanting to connect with your children before you die. I don't know what that is.
But there was kind of a peace that happened when he died that went through the room. I was needlepointing and somebody else was doing something else and we were all just sitting there with him, you know? We knew what was going on; he knew what was going on. He had, the day before, recited a 20 verse limerick from memory.
And he was reading - in the three or four days that he was in bed before he died, he was reading to us passages from Gabriel Garcia Marquez's book "Love in the Time of Cholera," and it just tickled him. So he was laughing. Because there are a couple of passages that are really funny. He was laughing so hard at them.
And he and my nephews, his grandchildren, were - had his Audubon bird book and they were looking at the birds that were in the yard, coming and going in the yard, looking them up in the book. And it was just a great sharing, you know? But it was a different experience having - being with my father when he died than it was being with my mother.
I wasn't with my mother when she died and I just couldn't quite get it through my head that she was gone out of the world and I was never going to see her again. It was much harder to make a relationship to her as a dead person than it was with my father, who I saw him die and I understood that it was final and that that was going to be it. I knew I was going to miss him but I accepted it better.
GROSS: You've probably...
RONSTADT: It was just an easier burden.
GROSS: You've probably known a lot of people who've died young, and I'm thinking, just to name a few - Gram Parsons, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison.
RONSTADT: Yeah. Well, we had the great culling, you know, of people that took drugs and it was just a disaster and a tragedy. It was just so sad that those people didn't get to live out full lives. And then there was the next one, which was the AIDS epidemic, which was another just terrible tragedy. You know, that all those people had to die. You know, there are a lot of people that are gone from "Pirates of Penzance," most of them, in fact.
GROSS: From the production that you were in?
RONSTADT: Yeah. You know, the music director and a lot of the stars. And they're gone. It's a shame. They had amazing careers and they should - they had many more years in them they could've been around. So there was two. So then the next...
GROSS: Are you saying that that was because of AIDS?
RONSTADT: Yeah, because of AIDS.
GROSS: Mm-hmm.
RONSTADT: And then now is, you know, old age. You know, people are dropping around my generation, the senior - it's like the senior class in high school. Now we're the seniors and we're looking around going, eww, we're next. But that's the way it is, you know. We're all going to die.
GROSS: Do you still feel like a bit of a survivor because you made it through this far?
RONSTADT: Well, I didn't die young.
RONSTADT: I feel like...
GROSS: You can say that.
RONSTADT: Whatever I've got - I just feel whatever I've got now is gravy. I feel like I was lucky. I got to live out a lot of my dreams and I got to, you know, sing with all of these wonderful people like Emmy Lou and Aaron Neville and, you know, Smoky Robinson. I mean, the tenors - I sang with Aaron Neville, Smoky Robinson, Placido Domingo, Dennis Wilson, Ricky Skaggs. I mean how can you beat that, you know, for tenors?
So I was lucky. And having a singing sister like Emmy Lou Harris, what a gift in my life. You know, she opened doors for me musically that I never would've been able to open by myself. Because she was as passionate as I was about offbeat, quirky, you know, art song and traditional music. She didn't care whether it was going to be a hit or not either. She just wanted to sing it if it really told her story.
There was nothing that was going to get in the way of her telling her story. So she - and if that told it the best - she was going to do that song and do it right. So you know, we just - it was like going through the woods with - like Hansel and Gretel. You know, leave them a little trail of breadcrumbs. We left our little notes behind and hoped we could find our way back.
GROSS: My guest is Linda Ronstadt. She has a new memoir called "Simple Dreams." We'll talk more after a break. This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: My guest is Linda Ronstadt. She has a new memoir called "Simple Dreams." Last month she revealed she has Parkinson's disease, which wasn't diagnosed until a few months ago, even though the symptoms ended her singing career years before that. I want to close with a song from your final album, "Humming to Myself" from 2004. And this is - this song "Tell Him I Said Hello."
RONSTADT: Oh, I'm glad you picked that. That's my favorite one.
GROSS: Oh, good. So is this - did you know this would be your final album when you recorded it?
RONSTADT: It wasn't my final album. I made an album after that, that I'm really proud of, called - it was (unintelligible) called "Adieu False Heart" that I made with Ann Savoy down in the Cajun country. And it's - I had no voice left and I was just crafting whatever I could craft together, but I hung onto Ann and we sang this harmony duet and it was an unusual sound. I really loved that record.
But I was also really proud of this record because it was really hard to sing at this point when I was recording. And again, I had to find a new voice to sing with that I put together, especially for this song, just "Tell Him I Said Hello." But I love this song. It's one of those kind of things, again, where it's just a moment where you're remembering, you know, the regret of a past relationship.
And you think you want to sort of reach out to that person and then you realize you'd better not. And so you just leave it alone.
GROSS: When you say you had to, like, refashion your voice, like, what did you have to do differently in these early stages of Parkinson's when you were still singing?
RONSTADT: Well, I was singing on sort of the flat lower part of my voice. I didn't have all the color and the breath and the sort of airy halo that comes. There's a lot of different textures that you can dial in and out on an unconscious level when you're singing. And you just bring in these colors and textures and they all express emotion in some way or another. And I didn't have that with me.
I was - I thought of myself as a painter that was painting with a limited palette. So I thought, well, I've got some darks and lights here and I've got some - maybe some umber, you know, and I can put that in. And I just have to make a really strong drawing, make the image as bold as I can. And that's what I was trying to do with this song.
GROSS: Do you still enjoy listening to music?
RONSTADT: I love music. I prefer music - always prefer to hear live music over recorded music. Which sounds odd, as I was a recording artist, but of course when I was recording, it was live - so my experience recording was always with live music. But I love to go the symphony. I feel it's a privilege to live in a city that can support a symphony and I feel the same way about the opera. I love the opera. And I love the ballet.
So, you know, those are things I like to see. I love chamber music and I have dear friends that still come over and they play their new songs that they've written and that's my favorite place for music, is just in the living room with some dear friends whose music you admire. And you just get to sit down and really, really, really listen with nothing distracting you. You know? No audience, no stage, no sound system, nothing.
Just that singer and a story. I love that the best.
GROSS: Well, Linda Ronstadt, it's just been such a pleasure to talk with you and I wish you the best.
RONSTADT: Well, thank you so much. It's been my pleasure too.
GROSS: Thank you. And Linda Ronstadt's new memoir is called "Simple Dreams" and here she is from her 2004 recording "Humming to Myself." This is "Tell Him I Said Hello." Thank you again.
RONSTADT: Thank you.
RONSTADT: (Singing) When you see him, tell him things are slow. There's a reason and he's sure to know. But on second thought, forget it. Just tell him I said hello. If he asks you when I come and go say I stay home 'cause I miss him so. But on second thought, forget it. Just tell him I said hello. Look into his eyes when you speak my name. Maybe there's a spark to start another flame. Do I love him? Don't say yes or no if he should ask you. But he won't, I know. 'Cause it's all over and forgotten. Just tell him I said hello.
Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.


text:
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Part of Yhc |
Yhc is no longer actively developed or maintained - see this blog post.
Warning, this compiler is not finished, and is not useable as a standard Haskell Compiler. It is also not an official York project.
Installing Yhc
Further information
- Blog
- Mailing List - users and developers
- Build bot - build status reports
- Bug tracker
- Haddock documentation
- Darcs Web
Yhc Manual
This is the official Yhc manual, feel free to edit it!
- Introduction - how to get it, who to contact
- FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
- Using Yhc - short tutorial on yhc, yhi, yhe
- HCAR Entries - small overview progress reports
- Options - command line options and environment variables
- Building - building yhc from source
- Hacking - how to hack on Yhc
- Porting - how to port Yhc to a new architecture/platform
- Debug Flags - flags to help debug the compiler
- Primitives - information about the primitives
- Runtime System - information on the runtime system
- Machine - the virtual machine architecture
- Heap - how the heap is laid out
- Modules
- .hbc format
- Bytecodes
- Concurrency - how this is implemented
- Applications - additional tools for use with Yhc
- Yhe - the evaluator (like GHCi)
- Pyhi - the python runtime
- Javascript - Javascript back end
- Yhc web service - zero-install use of Javascript back end
- API's - API (programmer libraries) available
- Yhc Core - similar to GHC Core, but for Yhc
- Bytecode API - Haskell API to play with .hbc files
- Compiler API - Haskell API for playing with Haskell files (pending)
- Interpreter API - C API for running .hbc files (pending)
- Ideas - these are all for the future
- Todo - things on the todo list
- Gtk2Hs - porting Gtk2Hs to Yhc
- Heap Profiling
- Path Handling - how file paths should be used
- Compilation to Erlang - new backend for Erlang VM (Haskell on BEAMs) may start here
- Yhc Core Primitives Proposal - a Google spreadsheet (published as PDF) which contains the proposed set of Yhc Core primitives in the light of the possibility to have multiple back-ends and front-ends
- Yhc Core Conversion Infrastructure - aimed at creation of complete Yhc Core toolchain
- Notes - random notes collection
The "Yhc team" consists of a bunch of friend people, who enjoy doing this kind of thing. We include Tom Shackell, Neil Mitchell, Andrew Wilkinson, Mike Dodds, Bob Davie, Dimitry Golubovsky (insert your name here)


text:
How to Peer Review for ADS
The reviewer report should comprehensively critique the submission, consisting of more than a few brief sentences. ADS does not require a specific structure for reports, however, a suggested format is:
- Summary
- Major issues
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We encourage reviewers to help authors improve their manuscript. The report should give constructive analysis to authors, particularly where revisions are recommended. Where reviewers do not wish authors to see certain comments, these can be added to the confidential comments to the Academic Editor.
While expectations vary by discipline, some core aspects that should be critiqued by reviewers may include:
- Are the research questions valid?
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- Are there any inappropriate citations, for example, not supporting the claim being made or too many citations to the authors' own articles?
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To help authors receive timely reviews, reviewer reports should be submitted via the Manuscript Tracking System on or before the agreed deadline. Reviewers should contact ADS if they are unable to meet the deadline so an alternative date can be arranged.
We encourage reviewers to focus their reports on objectively critiquing the scientific aspects of the submission, including soundness of the methodology and whether the conclusions can be supported by the results. Comments may also be given on novelty and the potential impact of the work. Reviewers provide a recommendation to accept, revise, or reject; however, the decision will be made by the Academic Editor.
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Reviewers should raise any concerns about publication ethics to the Research Integrity team.
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Reviewers may, on request, consult with colleagues from their research group trusting that the confidentiality of the manuscript is maintained. Reviewers should first contact ADS or the Academic Editor handling the manuscript and note the name of the colleague(s) in the 'Comments to the editor' section of their report.
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Reviewers must declare any remaining interests in the 'Confidential' section of the review form, which will be considered by the editor.
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J.5. Style Guide
J.5.1. Reference Pages
Reference pages should follow a standard layout. This allows users to find the desired information more quickly, and it also encourages writers to document all relevant aspects of a command. Consistency is not only desired among PostgreSQL reference pages, but also with reference pages provided by the operating system and other packages. Hence the following guidelines have been developed. They are for the most part consistent with similar guidelines established by various operating systems.
Reference pages that describe executable commands should contain the following sections, in this order. Sections that do not apply can be omitted. Additional top-level sections should only be used in special circumstances; often that information belongs in the " Usage " section.
- Name
This section is generated automatically. It contains the command name and a half-sentence summary of its functionality.
- Synopsis
This section contains the syntax diagram of the command. The synopsis should normally not list each command-line option; that is done below. Instead, list the major components of the command line, such as where input and output files go.
- Description
Several paragraphs explaining what the command does.
- Options
A list describing each command-line option. If there are a lot of options, subsections can be used.
- Exit Status
If the program uses 0 for success and non-zero for failure, then you do not need to document it. If there is a meaning behind the different non-zero exit codes, list them here.
- Usage
Describe any sublanguage or run-time interface of the program. If the program is not interactive, this section can usually be omitted. Otherwise, this section is a catch-all for describing run-time features. Use subsections if appropriate.
- Environment
List all environment variables that the program might use. Try to be complete; even seemingly trivial variables like
might be of interest to the user. - Files
List any files that the program might access implicitly. That is, do not list input and output files that were specified on the command line, but list configuration files, etc.
- Diagnostics
Explain any unusual output that the program might create. Refrain from listing every possible error message. This is a lot of work and has little use in practice. But if, say, the error messages have a standard format that the user can parse, this would be the place to explain it.
- Notes
Anything that doesn't fit elsewhere, but in particular bugs, implementation flaws, security considerations, compatibility issues.
- Examples
- History
If there were some major milestones in the history of the program, they might be listed here. Usually, this section can be omitted.
- Author
Author (only used in the contrib section)
- See Also
Cross-references, listed in the following order: other PostgreSQL command reference pages, PostgreSQL SQL command reference pages, citation of PostgreSQL manuals, other reference pages (e.g., operating system, other packages), other documentation. Items in the same group are listed alphabetically.
Reference pages describing SQL commands should contain the following sections: Name, Synopsis, Description, Parameters, Outputs, Notes, Examples, Compatibility, History, See Also. The Parameters section is like the Options section, but there is more freedom about which clauses of the command can be listed. The Outputs section is only needed if the command returns something other than a default command-completion tag. The Compatibility section should explain to what extent this command conforms to the SQL standard(s), or to which other database system it is compatible. The See Also section of SQL commands should list SQL commands before cross-references to programs.


text:
100% Genuine Product | |
Secure Shopping | |
Easy Returns | |
Cash on Delivery | |
Shipping in 5-7 bussiness days |
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Dedicated GPS Navigator with Driver Awareness
- Easy-to-use, dedicated GPS navigator with 5.0-inch dual-orientation display
- Preloaded with detailed lifetime maps of the MENA
- Driver alerts for increased awareness, including upcoming sharp curves, school zones, speed changes and more
- Garmin Real Directions feature guides like a friend, using landmarks and traffic lights
- Find new and popular restaurants, shops and more with Foursquare
Helpful Driver Alerts for Your Daily Commute
Garmin Drive 50 GPS navigator provides driver alerts to encourage safer driving and increase situational awareness. Warnings include alerts for sharp curves, speed changes, railroad crossings and animal crossings. Additionally, Garmin Drive 50 notifies you when driving the wrong way on a one-way street and sends warnings for nearby school zones. Receive alerts for nearby red light and speed cameras. For longer drives, a fatigue warning suggests break times and potential rest areas after hours of driving. The Up Ahead feature lets you easily see places up ahead and milestones along your route, without leaving the map view.
Guidance Using Recognizable Landmarks
Garmin Drive 50 redefines "spoken turn-by-turn directions" with Garmin Real Directions, easy-to-understand driving directions that guide like a friend, using recognizable landmarks, buildings and traffic lights (e.g., "Turn right after the red building" or "Turn left after the QT"). It's preloaded with millions more new and popular places, thanks to Foursquare.
Find Exactly Where You Need to Go
The Direct Access feature simplifies navigating to select complex destinations, like airports and shopping malls, by finding a place within a larger location. Direct Access even navigates through parking lots to find the entrance nearest your destination. When navigating to the mall, Direct Access gives additional location information for specific retail stores inside. For example, "Arriving at Woodfield Mall. Anthropologie is inside, on the upper level."
Easier to Search, Quicker to Find
Garmin Drive 50 has a search field that makes it easy to find addresses and millions of points of interest (POIs). Simply enter a category (like "pizza"), an entire address ("1234 Sycamore Lane, Anytown, USA") or a proper name ("Starbucks"), and Garmin Drive 50 quickly returns your results.
Add a Camera to Your Drive
For a complete navigation solution, Garmin Drive 50 pairs with the BC 30 wireless backup camera (sold separately; professional installation recommended). Once connected, you can easily see vehicles, pedestrians and other obstacles right on the Garmin Drive 50 display, as you move in reverse. When traveling with a baby or toddler, add Garmin babyCam to your drive. babyCam is an in-vehicle video baby monitor that conveniently provides an "on demand" view of your backseat passenger, right on your navigation display.
One-stop Device Management
Use Garmin Express to keep your Garmin Drive 50 up to date. Garmin Express makes it easy to update maps and software, transfer favorites to and from devices and install free custom vehicles and voices.
The quality of map data can make all the difference between finding your destination and getting lost. High-quality HERE map data enables your Garmin device to provide you with the information you need, when you need it most, reducing the frustrations of driving by avoiding delays and cutting down the time you spend in the car.
Preloaded street maps | YES |
Includes lifetime map updates | YES |
nuMaps Guarantee | YES |
Accepts data cards | microSD card (not included) |
Custom POIs (ability to add additional points of interest) | YES |
Speaks street names (e.g. | YES |
Lane assist with junction view (displays junction signs) | YES |
Junction view (displays junction signs) | YES |
Route avoidance (avoid highways, tolls etc.) | YES |
Speed limit indicator (displays speed limit for most major roads) | YES |
View upcoming points of interest along route | YES |
Additional | Trip planner, Trip log, Garmin Real Directions landmark guidance, Foursquare POIs, Smart notifications |


text:
On the top, protein expression in current human tissue, based on all annotated cell types, is reported with the units not detected (n), low (l), medium (m) and high (h). Underneath, protein expression in each annotated cell type are reported using the same units.
Protein expression data is based on knowledge-based annotation. For genes where more than one antibody has been used, a collective score is set.
If knowledge-based annotation could not be performed for a gene, no data is displayed here. View antibody staining data further down this page.
A summary of mRNA expression data available for current tissue based on several datasets. The mRNA expression levels in human tissues are based on RNA-seq data generated by the Human Protein Atlas (HPA), Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) portal and CAGE data generated by the FANTOM5 consortium. Consensus normalized expression (NX) levels for human tissues was created by combining the data from these three transcriptomics datasets (HPA, GTEx and FANTOM5).
The mRNA expression levels in pig are based on RNA-seq data generated by the Human Protein Atlas (HPA), and for mouse, HPA data and in situ hybridization generated by the Allen brain atlas are reported.
The RNA-seq details section shows detailed information about the individual samples used for the transcript profiling and results of the RNA-seq analysis.


text:
Sinn Sinn Butterfly Clasp
Sinn Butterfly Clasp for Leather Strap
Out of Stock
Available in the following finishes
- Polished
- Sandblasted
- Satinised
Available in the following Sizes
- 18 mm
- 20 mm
- 22 mm
Please specify finish and size in the "Additional Comments" section of the order form
Key Characteristics
Additional Product Details
Sinn Watches was formed in 1961 by the legendary pilot and flight instructor Helmut Sinn. They began manufacturing flight watches based on his extensive aviation experience, this was primarily based on Mr. Sinn's dissatisfaction with the watches that were available for pilot and navigational purposes at that time. His own designs incorporated the features and functionality that he felt more fit for purpose as an instrument watch. This is a design philosophy that has transcended the company's culture right through to the present day. Sinn is now the world's most eminent manufacturer of high quality, precision, functional and purposeful instrument watches. From the beginning, their emphasis was on creating special purpose instruments that performed under extremely adverse operating conditions such as high speed, high and low pressures and altitudes, intense heat or pressure, extreme cold, high magnetic interference, and submergence in liquids. Sinn are becoming increasingly known for their instrument watches, and are today a force to be reckoned with as they lead the way in instrument watch design. The company changed hands in 1994 when Lothar Schmidt formerly of IWC assumed control and further expanded the boundaries of Sinn's high tolerance manufacturing expertise. Over the past decade, Sinn has pioneered some innovative new technologies, including oil filled watch chambers to enable operation under extreme pressures, argon gas filled watches to prevent moisture infiltration, impact resistant gear suspensions, and new micro-lubricating techniques. Their timepieces are standard equipment in some of the most dangerous and adverse environments on earth - little surprise their watches are issued to the German military and elite forces. Above all the watches are manufactured and marketed to the world at large. Like the designs and their application areas, the pricing of the Sinn watches is most aggressive, making them available to most people. Due to distribution agreements Sinn watches can only be shipped to the UK and Ireland and certain countries where there is no Sinn agent assigned to that territory. Sinn watches are covered by a two or three year manufacturers warranty depending on the model.


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- Retroinnovation (1) (remove)
The present study analysis the environmental benefits of urban vegetation within the municipal boundary of a megacity through multi scale integrated modelling to estimate its benefits approximately. The advantages (and challenges) that Nature, inserted into cities, offers to the population are observed from different viewpoints. As geographical reference the profile of megacities located in low (tropical) latitudes was observed, in a case study on the city of São Paulo/ Brazil. Commonly, urban vegetation is overlooked by local people, governments and economical structures. Although sparse vegetation exists, it is hardly recognized. Along the brief history of rapid urbanization which is accompanied by massive environmental degradation, urban green becomes, in the dispute for space, a true luxury in cities like São Paulo. Not as retrogression but as advance, it demonstrates that the integration between nature and city would be desirable. The approximated quantification of the variations which occur between actual scenario and greened scenarios shows the need to rethink the urban biome as a man-dominated ecosystem. The benefits of the urban vegetation are diverse. This work details plants as agents of climatic and ecosystem balance and performance. It also approaches current issues like climate change, energy efficiency and thermal comfort, as well as the purification of natural resources, through the treatment of water, soil and air. Especially because at present no efficient technical solutions exist, that could substitute the environmental services of the vegetation. These benefits contribute to quality of life and increase socio-environmental equity especially important in high-contrast megacities. The vegetation assumes two important roles in cities. The functional dimension brings concrete and measurable benefits to the environment. From a symbolic vision, vegetation represents Nature in cities, approximating humans to their origins. Conclusively the study defends the importance of the valorization of Nature and of the united efforts for literally green cities because it proves that financial investment in urban vegetation has direct effects on the costs destined to the areas of health and infrastructure. The City of São Paulo, invested in 2008 about US$ 180 million (one hundred and eighty million dollars) in urban green (and environment) which tends to save US$ 980 million (nine hundred and eighty million dollars) of expenses annually. In other words, for each US$ 1 invested in planting and maintenance of urban green, the society saves at least US$ 5 of expenses in health, construction of French drains, energy etc.


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As military, police and federal investigators searched for answers as to why a lone gunman opened fired Sept. 16 at the Washington Navy Yard, killing 12 people and wounding at least eight more, religious leaders and public officials offered prayers for the victims and their families.Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl and Archbishop Timothy Broglio, who heads the Washington-based Archdiocese for the Military Services, both issued brief statements offering prayers for the victims and their families.The shooter was identified as Aaron Alexis, 34, who became the 13th victim when he died in a gun battle with police at the naval office building in the nation's capital. At first, law enforcement authorities thought there was a second shooter, but by the end of the day confirmed Alexis was the only gunman.According to news reports, Alexis was a former Navy reservist who received a "general discharge" from the service and had moved to the Washington area from Texas about a year ago. He worked for a military contractor and had security clearance at the Navy Yard.Archbishop Broglio said the "terrible loss of life" shocked and saddened him, particularly as it occurred at a familiar place where he has often visited and celebrated the Eucharist."Somehow we must restore the notion of respect for life into the fabric of the nation," he said in a statement. "When the uniqueness of the human person created in the image and likeness of God is universally recognized, the possibility of a mass shooting is more remote."The Sept. 16 attack unfolded shortly before 8:30 a.m. (Eastern time) in one of several large buildings at the Navy Yard. About 3,000 people work at the facility, which is the headquarters for Naval Sea Systems Command. It is the largest of the Navy's five system commands.Some witnesses told of encountering a gunman in a hallway; others described someone shooting from an upper-level overlook area into a cafeteria below.Cardinal Wuerl in his statement offered his prayers for the victims, their families and friends, as well as for the emergency responders on the scene. The injured included a police officer.He noted that "while many facts are still unknown, our most powerful tool right now is prayer," adding that the church always calls people to prayer, particularly at times of crisis. "It is what we do best because it is what the Lord asks us to do."Cardinal Wuerl was scheduled to celebrate a Mass for consolation and healing on Sept. 17.As he opened a news conference on recovery from the banking crisis, President Barack Obama also extended his prayers and observed that the attack targeted military and civilian personnel at a military installation."These are men and women who were going to work, doing their job, protecting all of us," he said. "They're patriots, and they know the dangers of serving abroad — but today, they faced unimaginable violence that they wouldn't have expected here at home."He particularly offered his gratitude to the Navy and law enforcement authorities and to the doctors who responded "with skill and bravery."Among the religious entities offering prayers, the Washington National Cathedral, administered by the Episcopal Church, announced that its noon Eucharist service and the choral evensong service would include special prayers for victims, responders and the Navy community.The cathedral's dean, the Rev. Gary Hall, in a statement offered the cathedral's space and its ministries "to all who seek consolation and refuge from this loss."—CNS{gallery width=100 height=100}gallery/2013/0920/shooting/{/gallery}
Catholic News Service is a leading agency for religious news, with the mission to report fully, fairly and freely on the involvement of the church in the world today. It was founded in 1920 by the United States bishops.


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Update: Bon Jovi Daughter
Stephanie Bongiovi was found unresponsive by an ambulance crew sent to Hamilton College early Wednesday after a report that a female had apparently overdosed in Dunham Hall, the school's largest dorm.
Town of Kirkland police investigator Peter Cania said Bongiovi, of Red Bank, N.J., was recovering at a hospital he declined to name.
Officers sent to the dorm initially found a small amount of heroin and arrested Ian Grant, 21, also of Red Bank and a Hamilton student, according to police reports.
Investigators got a search warrant for the dorm and found heroin, marijuana and drug paraphernalia, leading to Bongiovi's arrest. Cania would not say whether the search involved her room.
Police didn't know whether Bongiovi or Grant have lawyers. Jon Bon Jovi's representative wasn't commenting Wednesday.
Bongiovi and Grant were each charged with seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a misdemeanor. Bongiovi was also charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of marijuana and criminally using drug paraphernalia, both misdemeanors, and unlawful possession of marijuana, a violation.
Both were issued tickets and ordered to appear in court at a later date.
He has four children, Stephanie and three sons.


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Two films — 1985's The Color Purple (pictured) and 1977's The Turning Point — received 11 Oscar nominations (including nods for Best Picture) and went the night without a win.
Most Nominations That Ended in a Complete Sweep: 11 The final chapter in Peter Jackson's first Middle-earth trilogy, 2003's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, took home Oscars in all 11 of its nominated categories, which were: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Original Song, Best Sound Mixing, Best Use of Cinematic Flimflammery to Trick Audiences Into Sitting Through 13 Different Endings, Best Visual Effects, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Make-Up. (Yes, we added a fake 12th category there.)


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In the weeks since Iran's President Hasan Rowhani was elected this summer, he and President Obama have swapped letters, Obama says. The U.S. president discussed the exchange for the first time publicly in an interview with George Stephanopoulos that aired on ABC's This Week Sunday.
The interview was conducted Friday, before U.S. and Russian diplomats hammered out a deal to rid Syria of its chemical weapons arsenal. But the question arose of what message other countries might infer from the U.S. pursuit of a diplomatic rather than a military solution to the Syrian dilemma — particularly in Iran, which is pursuing a nuclear program against U.S. wishes.
Asked if he had reached out personally to Iran's president, Obama answered, "I have. And he's reached out to me. We haven't spoken directly ..." At this point, Stephanopolous asked if he meant they'd exchanged letters, and Obama said yes.
But the president didn't predict a rosy future of easy dealings with Iran as a result of its new leader, who is seen as more moderate than his predecessor, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
"Negotiations with the Iranians is always difficult," Obama said. "I think this new president is not going to suddenly make it easy."
Speaking of Iran in light of the Syrian crisis, the president noted that for the U.S., preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East is a higher priority than ridding Syria of chemical weapons. And Iran's leaders should remember that, he said.
"My suspicion is that the Iranians recognize they shouldn't draw a lesson that we haven't struck [Syria] — to think that we won't strike Iran. On the other hand, what they should draw from this lesson is that there is the potential of resolving these issues diplomatically," Obama said.
The president added, "My view is that if you have both a credible threat of force, combined with a rigorous diplomatic effort that in fact, you can strike a deal."
Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Chris has been with IG for four years, and in that time has become a regular commentator and analyst for the financial press and TV, with appearances on all the major financial channels as well as the BBC and Sky News. His background is in equity research and analysis, and he uses these skills to provide in-depth reports on stock market movements.
This information has been prepared by IG, a trading name of IG Markets Limited. In addition to the disclaimer below, the material on this page does not contain a record of our trading prices, or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instrument. IG accepts no responsibility for any use that may be made of these comments and for any consequences that result. No representation or warranty is given as to the accuracy or completeness of this information. Consequently any person acting on it does so entirely at their own risk. Any research provided does not have regard to the specific investment objectives, financial situation and needs of any specific person who may receive it. It has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such is considered to be a marketing communication. Although we are not specifically constrained from dealing ahead of our recommendations we do not seek to take advantage of them before they are provided to our clients. See full non-independent research disclaimer and quarterly summary.


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Four enormous water tanks sit high on a hill in the West Bank. These hold the lifeblood for Rawabi, the first planned, privately developed Palestinian community, about 25 miles north of Jerusalem.
After five years, the first neighborhood is nearly built. But developer Bashar al-Masri is worried, because when it comes to water, Israel controls the spigot in the occupied West Bank.
"We're about to have people move into the city," he says, "and we still do not have a solid solution for the water."
Right now, a 2-inch temporary pipe brings in less than half the water needed for construction and to run the offices. The rest is trucked in to those storage tanks, an extra expense and hassle. Rawabi's first residents are due to move in at the end of this year. Eventually, developers hope, 40,000 people will call Rawabi home.
They also hope this will be a new kind of living experience. Rawabi is designed to offer an environmentally friendly, middle-class lifestyle. There will be walking and biking paths.
Like in Israel, but unlike in any other Palestinian city, wastewater here will be cleaned and reused to irrigate landscaping. Homes will have meters to help monitor water use and instant hot water to reduce waste.
Amir Dajani, the deputy managing director of the project, says these are big cultural changes. Most Palestinian homes have their own water tanks on the roof, because in the West Bank water comes through the pipes erratically. Some places get it several times a week; some places less than once a month.
"People hug their tanks in the summer," Dajani says. "If they go up on the roof and feel the tank, they know that there is enough water to keep them going."
Seeking Israeli Approval
To get enough water to keep Rawabi going, a new pipe needs to be laid. And because that pipe would run across territory entirely controlled by Israel, in what's called "Area C" in the West Bank, the community needs Israeli permission.
An application is in to a joint Israeli-Palestinian commission. But Israeli water expert professor Alon Tal says it's a lopsided relationship.
"Israel doesn't need Palestinian permission to undertake any number of water development projects," he says. "Palestinians are required to get Israeli permission to do so."
But he says he believes Rawabi will get its pipe.
"I think all the major decision-makers, including our prime minister, see Rawabi as a good thing," says Tal, who supports the idea himself. "It sends a message to the world that Israel's not trying to sabotage Palestinian development. It sends a message to the Palestinians: It pays to cooperate; we're going to let you guys develop new cities.
"It's the first city in the West Bank in what, 100 years?"
Developer Masri is not so sure.
"We have had positive feedback from the Israeli authorities since day one," he says. "But the delivery is very slow and always incomplete. Always incomplete."
Political Pressure
As an example, he points to Rawabi's attempt to get a road built to the city big enough to handle, first, construction traffic, then residents. The road also crosses part of Area C.
Israel eventually permitted a temporary road. A Western official told NPR that Tony Blair, the former British prime minister who now serves as the official envoy of the Mideast Quartet, had raised the issue with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Tal, the Israeli professor, says the question of Rawabi's water could also get caught up in politics — even in peace negotiations, if they begin.
"Israel grants a certain amount of water, under agreement, to the Palestinians," he says, noting that the amount Israel provides the West Bank has grown since figures were first worked out under the Oslo Accords two decades ago.
"It's very easy for us to increase that. But that's a concession. What are they going to do for us? At least this is the thinking of Israeli politicians," Tal says.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is pushing a $4 billion economic investment plan for the West Bank, to parallel potential political negotiations with Israel. No details have been made public, but Kerry has spoken about removing "bottlenecks and barriers" to business in the West Bank. Experts in the West Bank economy say allowing development in Area C could be an important piece of that.
Rawabi's developer says even if Israel gave the green light for a water line right now, he would expect to continue hauling water even as early residents move in.
"But whether we haul it for three or four months or three or four years — that's the big question," he says.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Openness doesn't come naturally to China's Communist Party. After all, China is an authoritarian state where people have little right to know how they are governed. But Communist Party schools have been trying to change that over the years by teaching officials how to deal with the news media.
Earlier this month, Qin Chang, a host at Shanghai People's Radio, taught a class on the art of the press conference at China Executive Leadership Academy in Shanghai's sprawling Pudong district and I was invited to watch.
The students, dressed in dark jackets and windbreakers, worked for state-owned companies. Qin began by talking about a recent benzene spill in Western China. The first lesson for officials in that case, she said: don't wait for nearly a day to tell citizens their water is too dangerous to drink.
"Because they didn't handle the situation properly right off the bat, the first public news conference ran into huge problems," said Qin. "Within 24 hours, all kinds of discussion, opinions, rumors and even public distrust permeated the city."
The 'New' Communist Party
The leadership academy doesn't look like what you might expect of a Communist Party school. Instead of the sort of hulking, Soviet-style buildings the party has sometimes favored in the past, the main building here is a French-designed mix of angled glass and steel with a giant, patriotic red awning flanked by a long reflecting pool.
Qin's class this morning also includes a mock press conference.
"I don't want you to become props," says Qin, standing in a sleek conference room with ceiling cameras and flat-screen TVs. "I don't want you to just go along with the ideas of the government spokesperson. I especially hope that you guys can question, criticize and focus on the negative things."
But the first negative thing they focus on is me. I'm the only Western face in the room and I'm holding a long microphone.
The officials don't want a real reporter recording their questions at a fake press conference, in part, because the subject of the press conference is reforming some of the companies for whom they work. If I quote them, one student says, they could get in trouble.
"For each and every one of us to be interviewed, we need to have our work unit's permission," says an official, who naturally does not offer his name. "So, I don't suggest he remain here. Because when you are here, I can't talk."
I stand up and introduce myself and NPR in Mandarin. When I tell Chinese people I work for an American radio network, they sometimes become suspicious and ask if NPR is Voice of America, an arm of the U.S. government. I explain we are public and independent.
Speaking to the officials this day, I also point out that media training is not a politically sensitive topic. Many American officials also receive media training.
Qin, the teacher, even comes to my defense.
"I've been doing this training at this school since 2006," she says. "This is not the first time foreign reporters have come to listen. Let's relax a bit. Show them what we have."
Asked To Leave
But the officials, including high-ranking ones, cross their arms defensively, shake their heads and, eventually, I'm ushered out — to scattered applause.
Fear is one of the biggest challenges the Executive Leadership Academy faces as it tries to train officials how to deal with the news media. In fairness, the officials have some reason to worry. In China's cut-throat political culture, sticking out rarely pays off.
In addition, some of today's students are from the powerful, government-owned oil sector, which has taken a lot of heat recently. Its former chief is under investigation for corruption and people blame the industry's high sulfur fuel for some of China's horrendous air pollution.
"Over the last few years, some officials were very ashamed and were afraid to say some wrong words," says Feng Jun, executive vice president of the academy, explaining the anxiety that grips some Chinese public servants when they have to actually interact with the public.
Feng says some party officials don't have a lot of contact with the masses and worry they'll make mistakes when speaking on-the-record and lose their jobs. So, when a crisis erupts, they instinctively hunker down. Feng cited a case in South China some years back where a girl drowned in a river. Her family suspected she'd been raped by thugs hired by a local official.
Feng says local leaders refused to go to the scene.
"So many people, they are very angry," Feng recalls. "But the leaders, they were scared that the people may fight them. (They were) not experienced in how to communicate with the people, especially with angry people."
Predictably, local citizens took to the streets to protest what they saw as government inaction.
Teaching Officials To Be Responsive
Feng says the academy is trying to teach officials to be more responsive, including using social media to get accurate information out as quickly as possible. But, Feng adds, there is no substitute for getting to know your community.
"We hope the leaders take care of the people," says Feng. "The people must (be) in their hearts. If you don't have this kind of feeling and attitude, the training is just a kind of show to the public."
Feng is echoing one of the mandates of Chinese President Xi Jinping and he seems completely sincere.
After I was asked to leave the mock press conference, academy officials persisted and found a way for me to view more training. They slipped me into a control room, where I watched on closed circuit TV. Unaware a foreign reporter was watching, a man teaching another group of officials was unusually candid and told them how to use a press conference to the government's advantage.
"There is a common misunderstanding that reporters ask something and the spokesperson answers," said the man. "Actually, it's not like this."
Instead, he explained, some press conferences are carefully staged and officials vet reporters' questions in advance.
"This has become an unspoken rule," the instructor continued. " So, when you go cover the premier's press conference, if you want have a chance to ask a question, then you have to get a slip of paper from the press officer. "
This creates the illusion of a vigorous press and public accountability. The staged nature of the premier's press conference is common knowledge among journalists, but unknown to the vast majority of Chinese.
The lecturer told his fellow officials that if you actually let reporters freely ask questions, they can make things difficult for leaders.
Frank Langfitt is NPR's Shanghai correspondent. You can follow him @franklangfitt.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Buffalo Wing Soup CrockPot Recipe
Even though I tried my hardest not to let it happen, football season has begun. The best thing about football season is the food, buffalo wings in particular. I love buffalo wings. LOVE them. The love affair started when I was pregnant with my second, and realized that all I needed to do was call a number and Dominoes would bring them right to my door. I've made hot and spicy wings this year---which is kind of a grown-up version of traditional buffalo wings, and I've made buffalo wing dip at least a dozen times.
But sometimes you (me) need something a wee bit different. This soup hits the spot and satisfies any wing cravings. I really enjoyed it.
The Ingredients.
adapted from Recipe Zaar
--2 cups cooked and cubed chicken
--1/2 yellow onion, chopped
--3 stalks celery, chopped
--1/4 cup unsalted butter
--1/4 cup flour (I used rice flour)
--2 cups fat free milk (no higher content than 2%, or it will curdle)
--3/4 cup chicken broth
--4 oz Velveeta
--1/2 cup hot wing sauce
--1/2 tsp celery salt
--1/2 tsp garlic salt
The Directions.
A 4 to 6 quart crockpot will work well for this soup.
Make a roux with the flour and butter. I usually use the stove top, but tried the microwave yesterday---it worked great. In a bowl, melt the butter on high for 45 seconds, then whisk in the flour. Set aside.
Chop up the onion and celery, and dump it into your crockpot. Add the cooked and cubed chicken. Pour in the chicken broth and milk. Add Velveeta. Add the salt (note: this is saltier than I am used to. If you are on a lower sodium diet, omit the salt all together. The cheese and the broth are pretty salty on their own. You can always season to taste after cooking.)
Stir in the flour and butter mixture. Add hot sauce.
Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, or on high for 3-4. The soup is done when the celery and onion reach desired tenderness and the flavors have melded.
The Verdict.
I really, really liked this. I first made the soup following the directions on Recipe Zaar, and was icked out at how salty it was. After adding a bunch more milk (reflected in my recipe) it was much more pleasing. I also needed to add more of the wing sauce after the milk. Adam and I were both happy with the finished result.
The kids aren't too big on the spice and tang of anything buffalo-flavored, but were overjoyed to have Velveeta in the house.


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Nintendo apologizes for response to same-sex controversy
Nintendo is apologizing and pledging to be more inclusive after being criticized for not recognizing same-sex relationships in English editions of a life-simulator video game. The publisher said that while it was too late to change the current game, it was committed to building virtual equality into future versions if they're produced.
Nintendo came under fire from fans and gay rights organizations last week after refusing to add same-sex relationship options to the game "Tomodachi Life."
"We apologize for disappointing many people by failing to include same-sex relationships in Tomodachi Life," Nintendo said in a statement released Friday. "Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to change this game's design, and such a significant development change can't be accomplished with a post-ship patch."
The game was originally released in Japan last year and features a cast of Mii characters - Nintendo's personalized avatars of real players - living on a virtual island. Gamers can do things like shop, play games, go on dates, get married and encounter celebrities like Christina Aguilera and Shaquille O'Neal. Already a hit in Japan, "Tomodachi Life" is set for release June 6 in North America and Europe.
Tye Marini, a 23-year-old gay Nintendo fan from Mesa, Arizona, launched a social media campaign last month seeking virtual equality for the game's characters.
"I want to be able to marry my real-life fiancé's Mii, but I can't do that," Marini said in a video posted online that attracted the attention of gaming sites and online forums this past week. "My only options are to marry some female Mii, to change the gender of either my Mii or my fiancé's Mii or to completely avoid marriage altogether and miss out on the exclusive content that comes with it."
Marini said Saturday that he was "very happy" with Nintendo's response. "I don't believe they are a homophobic company at all," Marini said. "I think that the exclusion of same-sex relationships was just an unfortunate oversight."
Yet the issue does mark a cultural divide between Japan, where gay marriage is not legal, and North America and Europe, where gay marriage has become legal in some places. It also highlights the problems with "localization," the process when games are changed to suit different locales and customs.
The uproar prompted Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo Co. and its subsidiary Nintendo of America Inc. to pledge to create a more inclusive "Tomodachi" installment in the future.
"We are committed to advancing our longtime company values of fun and entertainment for everyone," Nintendo said on Friday. "We pledge that if we create a next installment in the 'Tomodachi' series, we will strive to design a game-play experience from the ground up that is more inclusive, and better represents all players."
While many English-language games don't feature gay characters, several role-playing series produced by English-speaking developers, such as Electronic Arts, "The Sims," Microsoft Studios' `'Fable" and Bethesda Softworks' "The Elder Scrolls," have allowed players to create characters that can woo others of the same sex, as well as marry and have children.
After Nintendo said this past week - in response to Marini's growing campaign - that it wouldn't add same-sex relationship options to "Tomodachi Life," the publisher of such gaming franchises as "The Legend of Zelda" and "Mario Bros." was called out by fans and organizations such as the gay advocacy group GLAAD.
"Nintendo has taken a first step, but if the company's longtime values are rooted in `fun and entertainment for everyone,' then it needs to catch up to peers like Electronic Arts, which has been inclusive of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) gamers for years," said GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis in a statement.