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Back in 1902, cinema was still a relatively new concept. It was, after all, only seven years since Auguste and Louis Lumière had pioneered motion pictures with L'arrivée d'un train en gare de La Ciotat: the moving image of a train pulling into a station which, apocryphally, sent cinema goers into a mass panic. Nevertheless, it was in 1902 that Georges Méliès first released Le Voyage dans la Lune and thus became arguably the first auteur to not only include then state-of-the-art special effects in one of his films, but also the pioneer of science fiction in the movies. The George Lucas of his day, Méliès has been inextricably associated with cinematic space exploration for 110 years and it could easily be argued that Air are his sonic counterparts.
Originally released in both black & white and in colour, the prints of the film were painstakingly hand painted. Lost for years, the colour print was finally rediscovered in Spain in 1993 and, six years later, work began on restoring the badly damaged film reels. With a view to premiering the rescued version at the 2011 Cannes film festival, Fondation Groupama Gan and Fondation Technicolor, the two cinematic organisations working in film preservation, approached Air earlier this year with a view to producing a new soundtrack.
Jean-Benoit Dunckel and Nicolas Godin kindly took some time to talk to DiS about the project and its expansion into a full-length LP, and we started by discussing whether it was Le Voyage dans la Lune's stature in French art that drew them to the project, or was the attraction more borne of a passion for cinema....?
AIR: It's more like, when you make a record you know you need a strong idea behind it, and when something like [this project] happens, you just jump on it. Otherwise you just make a collection of songs that have nothing to do with one another, so it's good to have something melting the thing together.
But, well, we are big fans of cinema in general, and we knew [of] Georges Méliès before, because this part of the movie, with the starship hitting the eye of the moon is such an icon, and so well known. And also Méliès has been so influential for cinema in general, for example I know that Scorcese is a big fan of him [Méliès' films are a central part of Scorcese's new film Hugo] and Spielberg, and Star Wars have been influenced by him. He has invented science fiction, he has invented special effects, so to be able to play with images like that, we couldn't not do it. And there was the exposure: the festival at Cannes is so big, we couldn't refuse."
Although the first known public exhibition of a film with sound took place in Paris two years prior to the release of Le Voyage dans la Lune, it wasn't until 1923 that a set of shorts shown in New York became the first commercial display of "talkies". Instead, Méliès' films were always intended to be narrated live in the theatre. This makes Air's effort the first official score the film has ever seen. Presumably this would have to act as a stand-in for that narration?
AIR: Yes. And there was a problem with the first scene, because this was where the narrator was explaining the whole thing, so on the screen nothing really exciting is happening and it was hard for us to replace the narrator with the music, so that was a big challenge for us. But after that there is so much action in the movie that the fact that the narrator disappears is not a problem. But it was that first four minutes, because we didn't want to use any dialogue, but we put in some layers upon layers, and at some point in the end there was some cohesion. But everything in the movie was OK except that.
It's interesting that Godin mentions the opening scene as difficult. It's a four-minute, single-shot expository scene with very little action as the French scientists devise their ideas for the voyage and subsequently build the rocket, almost entirely lacking in drama. Despite this, the soundtrack opens with 'Astronomic Club' and 'Seven Stars': two of the more ominous, tense tracks in Air's canon. So what was the thinking behind having the record's more dramatic moments here rather than juxtaposed with the narrative's apex?
AIR: They were in this big... I don't know, church? This big room, so we wanted to use something with a lot of beats and a lot of reverb so you can feel the space. And, if you notice, on the movie there's the big drum with all the reverb, but on the record there's no reverb; because you don't have the image you don't need the space anymore. So you don't have anything happening, but there was this big space, like a cathedral, or Harry Potter, so this is what kind of music we can do.
Of course it would be easy just to say that the soundtrack is a substitute for narration, but there are a number of different schools of thought on what the meaning of the film is. Is it the simplest narrative used to showcase Méliès' array of technical accomplishments? Or is it more allegorical than that, with the Freudian imagery of a phallic rocket hitting the moon in the eye, or the spationautes' being celebrated for false tales of bravery? And how was this conveyed?
AIR: I think it's pure entertainment, but I think that when you know Georges Méliès, you know that each detail has a story behind it. For example each character has an umbrella, which is linked to the stories of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells. And then the starship, it is almost looking like a weapon, and the image of that hitting the moon and damaging the moon is important, because we are really damaging nature, and Méliès really had that in mind. We arrive, we kill everything and we fight, and I think that's a good analogy for what Europe was doing in 1902 in Africa.
I think [the music conveys] that it's kind of sad; when the rocket hits the moon I see it as a kind of sad experience. It's the end of innocence, like the conquistadors when they arrived in South America they brought all the germs and they destroyed all the people and civilisations everywhere. [In the film] what they do with this alien, it's horrible, the first thing they do is just hit them with the umbrella [in the film, this vanquishes the hapless aliens]. There's no talking, no communication. It's pretty raw and violent.
The soundtrack is perhaps not quite what we've come to expect from the electropop duo. Much like the film and its visual effects it is very organic and, if not simple, there is something more rudimentary about it than anything in their back catalogue. I asked whether this was difficult to expand into a full-length album, and how they approached this....
AIR: No, it's more that we were frustrated when we finished the movie, because it was too short. It was like a relief, like 'cool, we can take this further'. I think the album length is a good length for a journey for the listener; that's what we grew up with, so we know how to tell a story. Longer or shorter is more challenging for us, but the length of an album is perfect for us to tell a story, to take someone by the hand and let it go at the end of the music.
There were two processes [when it came to recording]. The film process, the 14 minutes, we had a deadline of what, three weeks, and then the album was like a classic album, we didn't have any pressure and could take more time. We wanted to have the perfect music for the perfect scene, and then there were some tracks where we could go a bit longer so that was easy. And we had some produced tracks we added on the album at the end. It's a photo of what we had in mind, musically, at this time.
Not that this is by any means Air's first foray into film soundtracks. Their music has been used most notably by Sofia Coppola; as well as contributing to The Virgin Suicides and Lost in Translation they composed the soundtrack to Marie Antoinette in 2006. Of course, Le Voyage dans la Lune is almost unrecognisably removed from such contemporary cinema. Did this require a change of approach?
AIR: This is more like a pop album, a collection of songs; on the movie with Sofia Coppola it's more like you compose one thing and you arrange it differently, like a classic film score. With a silent movie you cannot do that, because there's too much that repeats and it's boring after a while.
Now I'm not sure about something here. For me the Marie Antoinette soundtrack was far more like the pop music we're accustomed to from Air; far more accessible and breezy than this often dark record. In keeping with Coppola's decision to use contemporary pop music in a period piece, I suggest that the earlier piece was far closer to a traditional pop album.
AIR: Nowadays I think, with the likes of Marie Antoinette there's a music supervisor who selects different tracks for each scene. There's not the work of a composer, the job has changed – there's no more John Barry or Ennio Morricone.
It's a bit more risky, maybe. We don't even know what to expect concerning the results; we didn't know if the match would work between contemporary music and old images like that. There's a risk it's going to be distasteful and cheesy.
We wanted to respect the way Georges Méliès was working. There are lots of home-made sounds... and the vocals, it's like when you read the comics, they're not words really, it's more like sounds. We also used animal sounds to make the people speak, because we didn't want to use any dialogue but we still wanted to have organic sounds that express feeling."
As I alluded to earlier, this is hardly a new theme for Air to visit. Through its title alone, not to mention subject matter, Le Voyage dans la Lune is sure to attract comparisons to their magnificent 1998 debut Moon Safari. Surely they must have been conscious of this when making the record, but was it something they were keen to avoid?
AIR: Yeah, I said to myself, 'The moon, again? What are we going to do again with that?' It's two musical pieces coming from the science fiction culture at the beginning of a century. The world I live in has been inspired by H.G. Wells and Jules Verne, and then Moon Safari has been influenced by Ray Bradbury's The Chronicles of Mars. So it's always the same story, the two pieces of music have been inspired by all of science fiction, those wrong visions of the future. It shows you how wrong we are right now about the future and about our choices.
But we have been raised like that, and it's a kind of disillusion. We are from this generation where they lied to us; they told us when we're 30 years old we'll be living in a space colony on some other planet, and it didn't happen. When I was a child everybody was talking about the year 2000, a future that will happen... and nothing really happened except the iPad. It's sad for our generation.
Listening the album, it's clear that Air's musical influences have shifted away from the European pop and dance of their earlier work. Instead the likes of 'Parade' with its aggressive guitar line and the heavy bass of 'Sonic Armada' sound almost as if they're an alternative take on 1960s Anglo-American rock music; the likes of 'Moon Fever' one of the few songs with what you might call the classic Air sound. What was the musical inspiration here, and what were they listening to around the time of recording?
AIR: The colour version [of the film] reminds me of London in the 60s, it's like the cover of Sgt. Pepper, so I think a lot of the music has been inspired by this era; it was the mood we were in, what we felt when we were watching the movie.
At the time we were listening to a lot of new things and a lot of classical music... a lot of new bands. There's some good guitar lines, and we were listening to Ariel Pink, but it's a soundtrack, it's not pop. We had the chance to do something pop, with normal songs and verse-chorus, but we wanted to do something very psychedelic. And we really like Victoria Legrande [of Beach House, who lends vocals to the album]; this is one of the best recent albums, and her voice is so original. We really wanted something raw and mineral, and I don't know any other singer who could have done that really.
We have this studio now, and this studio has so many keyboards, so there were so many possibilities we wanted to use. The challenge was to get a very fat, rich sound playing around with the microphones and the drums that we had, kind of like American hip-hop with our own taste.
With such an organic yet dense and multi-layered record as this, I begin to fear that my romantic dreams of seeing the soundtrack performed as a live accompaniment to a screening of the film, as was the old tradition in theaters, may have remain just that. Sadly it seems I was right, but the temptation must have been there?
AIR: Yes... not now. But we could seriously consider that, with something else, because it's not complicated; it's a silent movie for 14 minutes you could just play along to.
No, there are no plans for live performances, or touring. It's too complicated with the movie, and we toured last year, and lost one year, so I think we need to pause now because the audience have seen us already. We need to write something new, not a soundtrack, but something with songs. A new side of Air.
Le Voyage Dans La Lune is released on February 6.


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subset: commoncrawl


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WASHINGTON - As her presidential campaign enters a decisive phase this fall, Michele Bachmann is facing new questions about her propensity for gaffes and the recurring upheavals in the ranks of her staff and top advisers.
In interviews with the Star Tribune, six former Bachmann staffers said the sudden resignations recently of campaign manager Ed Rollins and deputy David Polyansky reflected her longstanding reluctance to trust the advice of top political handlers hired from outside of her family circle and could put her campaign in danger of foundering.
Since her victory in the Iowa straw poll last month, Bachmann also has seen her fortunes sink with the entry of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a highly networked social conservative who appeals to many of the same evangelical activists she is courting.
Her campaign has downplayed her recent campaign shakeup as a normal "restructuring" in a fast-moving race. But hanging over Bachmann's reorganization is a history of staff turnover that includes five congressional chiefs of staff in as many years, as well as five press secretaries, four legislative directors and three communications directors.
The six former staffers who spoke to the Star Tribune praised their former boss as talented and demanding. But they also said that her reliance on her instincts and those of a tight-knit cadre of family advisers -- chiefly her husband, Marcus -- explains a history of turnover considered extraordinary even by Congress' revolving-door standards.
Those who have broken with her -- some of them respected GOP operatives who would speak only off the record -- say she demands utter loyalty and is wary of professional advisers.
"The Achilles heel of her campaign is that when things get really tough you need some seasoned professionals," said former Minnesota GOP Party Chairman Ron Carey, who served as Bachmann's chief of staff until a falling out last year. "Her history is not to rely on outsiders, even if they have a lot more experience and savvy."
Rollins, said to be stepping back for health reasons, and Polyansky, who quit with no explanation, have said little about the shakeup. But a GOP source close to the situation said both national strategists felt that their advice was too often ignored. "I don't know what happened with all those congressional staffers, but to let those experiences interfere with your ability to trust people like Ed Rollins is crippling," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In the wake of what might be Bachmann's biggest campaign gaffe -- repeating an unfounded claim that HPV vaccine can cause mental retardation -- Rollins went on MSNBC last week to make it clear he was not consulted.
"Two weeks ago I made every decision," said Rollins, a venerated GOP strategist who remains on retainer in the reduced role as a senior adviser. "Today I make no decisions."
What most bothered her national strategists, the GOP source said, was that Bachmann's HPV gaffe squandered what had been a direct debate hit on Perry, who has close ties to vaccine-maker Merck & Co.
Instead, Bachmann put herself on the defensive just as she's trying to claw her way back into what has become a virtual two-person race between Perry and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
"It [the vaccine remark] took a positive exchange with Rick Perry and turned it into a really negative story for her," said the GOP source, who has been close to the campaign. "That's the challenge. She's just got to mature as a candidate and learn to trust people."
Rollins has publicly urged her to admit a "mistake," something she has declined to do.
Badge of courage?
Gaffes have been a constant staff worry for Bachmann. But the image of handler-defying authenticity may stand as a badge of courage to some.
"She's tough to work for," said north metro radio host Jack Tomczak, who was let go after working on the congressional and campaign sides of Bachmann's political organization. "On the positive side, she can be very demanding, and not everybody's up to the task. On the less flattering side, she can be erratic and irrational."
The best example, Tomczak said, was Bachmann's "House Call" Tea Party rally at the U.S. Capitol to protest President Obama's health care overhaul in 2009. The event was Bachmann's brainchild and drew thousands, despite the skepticism of congressional Republican leaders and some of her own staff. Afterward, Tomczak said, Bachmann wanted a follow-up event where protesters would surround the Capitol banging pots and pans. That idea was nixed.
"Both of those events sounded crazy," Tomczak said. "One of them was pulled off spectacularly, and the other one was crazy."
Becky Rogness, Bachmann's current congressional press secretary, said she never heard about the pots and pans plan. But she said there's a better explanation for the frequent staff turnover in the office.
"Working for Congresswoman Bachmann is a high-profile job in a fast-paced environment," she said. "It's not surprising staffers built sought-after experience here with Bachmann and have been enticed to take other notable positions."
One was Stephen Miller, a young Republican aide who has cycled through several congressional leadership offices since leaving Bachmann. He calls her a "tremendous boss" who "fostered a lively intellectual environment."
That view differs sharply from those of Carey and Tomczak, as well as four other former aides who spoke on condition of anonymity. Uniformly, and in separate interviews, they describe a politician who demands fealty and distrusts outsiders.
"She had a way of mistrusting those around her because she viewed them as mercenaries," said one former aide well-regarded in Minnesota GOP circles. "She looked at us as somebody who wanted a paycheck, so it wasn't about helping her. But you don't question that when it's your son or your husband."
Said another aide: "She wants 'yes' people around her. Loyalty is a really big thing."
'Interim' trouble
Minnesota GOP Party Chairman Tony Sutton, who has closely watched the arc of Bachmann's political career, believes her staff departures simply reflect the rough-and-tumble of a high-profile organization in the midst of a heated political battle. "She's tough and she demands results," he said.
Now run by "interim" campaign manager Keith Nahigian -- once the advance man for former Vice President Dan Quayle -- Bachmann's campaign could struggle to regain the confidence it has lost since Rollins and Polyansky helped steer her to victory in the Ames Straw Poll.
Bachmann campaign spokeswoman Alice Stewart downplayed Nahigian's interim status. "Our focus right now is on meeting the people of Iowa and the other early states, as well as performing well in the debates," she said.
"Any time there is turmoil within a staff, there's usually trouble within the campaign," said University of Iowa political scientist Cary Covington, an expert on presidential elections. "Staff don't usually leave because the candidate is doing poorly. Instead they leave because they feel the candidate is not listening to their advice or there are conflicts within the staff, resulting in one faction or the other leaving."
Fact-checking has been one of those friction points. It was Bachmann's ad-libbing on television that spun the HPV vaccine remark into a week's worth of bad press and criticism from fellow conservatives.
"That's her trademark," said one former top staffer. "She pushes the envelope. But when you're living on the edge, every once in a while you're going to cross it."
Kevin Diaz is a correspondent in the Star Tribune Washington Bureau.


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The RIO-574x0 is a compact, cost-effective EtherCAT I/O slave module. It is packed with digital and analog I/O to be used remotely in an EtherCAT automation system. Although the RIO-57000 can be used with a generic EtherCAT master, it is designed to integrate seamlessly into an EtherCAT system with Galil's DMC-500x0 EtherCAT master.
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The RIO-574x0 can be configured over USB in a few steps using Galil's software and intuitive english-like 2 letter commands.
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text:
Basil Ede's
"Wild Birds of America"
From the Warner Collection of Gulf States Paper Corporation - Tuscaloosa , Alabama
Green-winged Teal
View the
"Print status and availability page".
These images are the Copyrighted work of Basil
Ede. Reproduction of this material in any form
without the express permission of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden.


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4 hospitalized after Pamplona's running of the bulls
489 total views, 1 views today
PAMPLONA, Spain — A man who was gored and three others who were trampled in the first running of the bulls of this year's San Fermin festival were hospitalized Saturday, officials in the Spanish city of Pamplona said.
Among those receiving medical treatment is a 20-year-old Canadian man with mild traumatic injuries, the officials from the Navarra regional government said in a statement.
The other men are of Spanish nationality and include a 38-year-old who was gored and a 40-year-old who sustained serious traumatic injuries.
Overnight rain had made the route's already-narrow cobbled streets more slippery than usual, adding to the danger in the traditional race.
Many runners were trampled early on, and others were also injured as the 12 animals entered Pamplona's bullring, but no information was available about the extent of their injuries.
The runners completed the 850-meter (930-yard) course with bulls weighing 550-630 kilos each (1,100 to 1,400 pounds) in two minutes and 37 seconds.
The nine-day San Fermin fiesta was popularized by Nobel Literature laureate Ernest Hemingway.


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- By A. W. Tozer
- Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
- - Luke 15:10
- Humans, deceived by the devil and charmed by their own pride and abilities, deny that our world is a rebel
- province in God's universe. They deny that human
- society has willfully pulled loose from God's rule and the
- rest of God's domain.
- In fact, they deny that men and women are the creation of God. They deny even that they owe any allegiance to God, their Creator!
- The Bible is the record of how God deals with mankind and we can draw but one conclusion: all people are morally obligated to repent and to ask forgiveness of God. Failing to do so, they will perish.
- How rare it is in our day to hear of genuine repentance; We live amid a proud, selfish and self-sufficient people, Even in our Christian churches there are those who want nothing more than to be known as "respectable church members!"
- When repentance is real and faith is genuine, the
- atoning death of Jesus Christ is effective for pardon and forgiveness and regeneration.
- Yours in Christ,
- Paul N. F.


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Now showing items 1-1 of 1
Wandering through Guilt. Cain's Archetype in the Twentieth-Century Novel (1940-1960)
(Universita degli studi di Salerno, 2011-04-19)
"The literary fortune of the Cain-Abel couple seems to prove that the divine mark has worked". It is around this quotation by Cécile Hussherr that my thesis revolves; that is, how a story that in the original text is just ...


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"Can you give me the book that will tell me how to DO Christian education?" The Nuts & Bolts of Christian Education is designed to answer the most frequently asked questions by new as well as veteran teachers and leaders. Even though most churches provide teacher and leader training at least once a year, generally these one- or two-day sessions are unable to answer every question that arises during the year.
The Nuts & Bolts of Christian Education is a practical guidebook that leads new and experienced teachers through the challenging, and sometimes confounding, landscape of the education ministry of a congregation. This is not a collection of lesson plans--it is a chock-full survey of nearly every aspect of Christian education one could imagine. DOING Christian Education starts here.


text:
Welcome To First Eye Care West Arlington
Our team of eye doctors and eye care staff are here to care for all of your vision needs. We take pride in building lasting relationships with our patients, which is why we take the time to get to know you, your vision requirements and your lifestyle needs.
Welcome to First Eye Care West Arlington
First Eye Care, Inc. is an association of optometrists formed in 1985. Our goal is to have successful practices filled with happy patients. The original 18 doctors maintain independent optometry practices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Carrollton, Plano, Irving, Bedford, Killeen, Southlake, Prosper, Weatherford, Roanoke, Corsicana and North Richland Hills.
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The World Heritage Committee,
1. Having examined Document WHC-07/31.COM/7B.Add.2,
2. Recalling Decision 30 COM 7B.46, adopted at its 30th session (Vilnius, 2006),
3. Takes note of the State Party's efforts to put in place a Master Plan to enhance the life of residents and the experience of tourists within the Luxor region.
4. Regrets that the State Party did not take into account the previous recommendations of the Committee to carry out studies and impact assessments in Gurnah and those of the 2006 mission regarding notably the design of the Karnak plaza;
5. Encourages the State Party to revise its Master plan 2030 to directly integrate commitment to maintaining the outstanding universal value of the property within all -projects, notably:
a) To call urgently for an international consultation for the plaza in front of the Karnak temple as well as for the Avenue of the Sphinxes and Gurnah.
b) to abandon the project of building a landing stage for tourism cruise boats on the Western Bank of the Nile close to the new bridge and to limit all such developments to the Eastern Bank;
c) to ensure that proper investigations are carried out in the West Bank before the dewatering trench delineation is finalized;
d) to provide relevant information on projects foreseen within the property;
6. Urges the State Party to prepare management plans for Karnak, Luxor and the West Bank and to set up a co-ordinated management instrument;
7. Requests that the State Party invites a joint World Heritage Centre/ICOMOS mission to the property to review the implementation of the above recommendations;
8. Also requests the State Party to provide a progress report to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2008 for examination by the Committee at its 32nd session in 2008.


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An epidemic of cell phone swiping has prompted calls for a 'kill switch' that would render mobile devices inoperable if they end up in the wrong hands.
In San Francisco, California, half of the robberies reported in the last year involved the loss of a cell phone. George Gascon is the city's district attorney and says things don't have to stay that way.
"Unlike other types of crimes, this is a crime that could be easily fixed with a technological solution," Gascon told the New York Times recently.
Apple's iPhone and other smartphone models retail new in stores for hundreds of dollars apiece, and they are far from worthless on the black market. According to the Times, smartphones sold on the street in San Francisco can fetch upwards of $500, substantially less than a brand new iPhone 5 will set a customer back. But would that be any different if, say, stolen cell phones couldn't be used again? Gascon and others think so and are calling on cell phone companies like Apple and others to implement a new technology that could remotely turn off a stolen phone for good.
"We know that the technology can be developed to prevent this. This is more about social responsibility than economic gain," he added to the Associated Press.
But that economic gain is indeed something that cell phone makers don't want to miss out on. Last year almost 174 million new cellphones were sold in the United States, totaling roughly $69 billion in sales. In cities such as San Francisco or Washington, DC — where 40 percent of last year's robberies involved cell phones — victims of mobile phone threat are stuck spending hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars a year on replacement phones. If swiped smartphones couldn't be used, Gascon said the number of incidents would likely go down.
"What I'm talking about is creating a kill switch so that when the phone gets reported stolen, it can be rendered inoperable in any configuration or carrier," Gascon he told the newspaper.
Chuck Wexler is the executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, and explained to the Times that the cell phone industry could have started taking these steps years ago.
"If you look at auto theft, it has really plummeted in this country because technology has advanced so much and the manufacturers recognize the importance of it," he said. "The cellphone industry has for the most part been in denial. For whatever reasons, it has been slow to move."
It will likely take a whole lot more than asking politely to have Apple, Google and others change the way their phones work, though. Gascon met with Apple's government liaison officer Michael Foulkes last year to discuss the 'kill switch' option and described the encounter to the Times as "disappointing."
"For me, a technical solution is probably better than just a criminal solution," Gascon said. "We can always create more laws, but look at how long it already takes to prosecute somebody at the expense of the taxpayers?"
Washington, DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier emailed the Associated Press to say she advocates new federal laws that will require wireless service providers to participate in a national stolen phone database that, while in place today, doesn't mandate that carrier subscribe to the system.
"This is a voluntary agreement and the decision makers, heads of these (wireless) companies may transition over time and may not be in the same position five years from now." she said. "Something needs to be put in place to protect consumers."
Source: rt.com


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Friday, December 2, 2011
#37 YA urban fantasy: The Defenders
GENRE: YA Urban Fantasy
Toby McGovern inherits two things when his dad dies: super powers and a double life in a secret order. However, he's much more interested in using his newfound skills to pop fakie ollies at the skate park and win over the queen of the social food chain than fighting crime—that is until the man who killed his father comes after him.
"Toby, don't be rude; people are waiting," snaps mom.
Begrudgingly I make my way downstairs. It's been two weeks since dad died but relatives I've never heard of keep coming out of the woodwork. Mom insists the more the merrier but without merriment it's just more people, and a hell of a lot more lasagna.
All they want to do is reminisce. None of them want to talk about the fact that he was killed in the highest security area of the city. Or that he was killed. Or that they haven't found who did it. But that's all I can think about.
"Ohhhhh Toby," they say in one communal breath, their eyes widening as they take me in. I'm wearing the same recycled Cage the Elephant T-shirt and flannel pajama bottoms I have every other day. I make no attempt to tame my wicked morning fro' hawk either. I feel like s***, no point in pretending otherwise.
You'd think I'd been assigned the role of grieving widow in this family drama. My mother is dressed up, her bobble-head nodding along agreeably to everything these people say. I don't know how she does it. I've heard her crying in her sleep but by day she's someone else, someone pleasant and agreeable and completely foreign to me.
20 comments:
- AnonymousDecember 2, 2011 at 10:03 AM
Wow. Great opening salvo. My only wish was there was more to read!ReplyDelete
Really liked this one. It's got pretty much everything.ReplyDelete
Very nice. You've painted a complex picture of grief with just a few choice words. More, please.ReplyDelete
I love this! You do a great job with his voice. Your word choice is perfect: "wicked morning fro-hawk" "Her bobble-head nodding along" and my favorite "More the merrier, but without merriment it's just more people." My only suggestion is "grudging" instead of "begrudging."ReplyDelete
Great job and good luck!
- AnonymousDecember 2, 2011 at 1:10 PM
I really like this, and you have a super-strong voice. My only thing-- and this is only because I'm an English teacher-- is that you should capitalize Mom and Dad, since your use of them suggests names not titles.ReplyDelete
Really fantastic opening. You have the voice nailed and the descriptions are great - I get such a clear picture of his grief. Great job and good luck!!!ReplyDelete
Great voice in this one! I like the concept--I'd be interested to see what the super powers are.ReplyDelete
Aside from some of the things others have already pointed out, I wasn't immediately drawn in by the first line because 1) It's dialogue before we've even met the MC and 2)"snaps Mom" is an antiquated way of formatting a dialogue tag. It's basically the same as saying: "said she".
Such a small nitpick because it was a great opening scene overall!
Good luck! :)
I really enjoyed your 250--I thought it got better and better as it went along. I do agree with the commenters above about capitalizing Mom and "Grudgingly" instead of "Begrudgingly," but otherwise I liked what I read a lot.ReplyDelete
The logline, however, could be cleaned up a bit. I think you should make it clear in the first sentence that the secret order fights crime; that way, in the second sentence you can focus on the stuff he'd rather do...until his dad's killer shows up. (Also, a comma between "that is" and "until the man" would be welcome.)
Good luck with this!
Love this one! You paint such a vivid picture and the voice is so strong. I feel in these brief words that I really have a sense of your character. Great opening.ReplyDelete
Totally. Hooked. Amazing job. I love the way you use slang to give me a sense of your character's voice and perspective. You're able to convey that your MC is bored without boring me--very hard to do. I love the sense of his restrained grief. You don't belabor the point into melodrama, but the hints you give let me know that he's struggling.ReplyDelete
I agree with Tara that some hint at what he's "supposed" to be using his powers for would be good in the logline. I mean, I can assume that the secret order isn't all about fakie ollies and wooing women, but maybe they are? :)
Can't wait to read more. Good luck!
Can I just say I LOVED the lasagna line?? :DReplyDelete
I think you've got nice nitpicks above.
Great job. I think you'll get bids!!
Good luck!!
- abbottjnDecember 4, 2011 at 8:40 PM
Wow! This is pretty incredible. I like Toby immediately. And how often can a reader really say that about an MC in the first 250 words? I want to read more!ReplyDelete
- Amanda SunDecember 4, 2011 at 9:05 PM
Interesting idea, and I'm excited to see what these new super powers are going to be.ReplyDelete
I had a bit of trouble believing the mom would be so flippant about things. I can definitely see her snapping at him, but I can't see her saying "the more the merrier." Everything else is spot-on, and I like how Toby's bored with it and sees through the whole social parade of people coming to the house.
I like Toby and would read on. Nice writing!
This is a really intriguing premise to me and the dry sense of humor makes it even more appealing. I love reluctant heroes.ReplyDelete
That said, I felt the first 250 were a bit flippant considering what has happened. I get the kid is angry, but shooting that anger at other people who are also grieving can come off as insensitive and makes your character less sympathetic.
I do believe this is an easy fix. To me, these types of stories are all about balance. Balancing the negative/snarky with the positive/poignant. I think this balance is super important so that these types of characters don't get annoying with their constant negativity. So it's not that you need to cut down on his snark, but beef up his sensitive side.
Of course, you may do this on the very next page. But it was something i noticed here.
Good luck!
- Natalie S.December 5, 2011 at 2:23 PM
I loved this. I didn't think he seemed flippant. I thought he seemed like someone who is genuinely grieving and who is confused how everyone else can try to small talk given the gravity of what's just happened. His voice really came through to me and a lot of his grief are in ways that you "show" us rather than "tell us." For example, he's still wearing his pajamas day in and day out. He's too depressed to keep up his appearance hence the "wicked morning fro' hawk." I thought it all worked.ReplyDelete
Sure, capitalize "mom" like a couple critiques mentioned but otherwise I think you nailed it.
#37 THE DEFENDERSReplyDelete
Logline: I'm interested, though I had to read twice for meaning. There are some grammar/parallel issues in the second half of the second question. I'd edit to: "he's much more interested in using his newfound skills to pop fakie ollies […] and win over the queen [… ]than TO FIGHT crime – AT LEAST until…"
Line notes: I'm not sure the way Toby talks about his mom -- "pleasant and agreeable and completely foreign" --in the last sentence is right for a young teen voice.
Overall: In general, I don't feel the teenager here yet. I feel greif, sure, but from the opening with Mom's voice and scolding, to the word choices I highlighted above, I don't see a boy's voice emerging to pull me along into a story.
And I think I'd like to see some of the super powers (or exaggerated/out of the ordinary anything) at play from the start. If this is going to be a book that will pull in boy readers, you'll have to do even more to get them to read than you have do to get me to want to read!
Is there a better moment to start from? This scene might be more affecting elsewhere in the story.
(PS -- No kidding, the word verification is autear. Please no tears, au! Edfear.)
I was scrolling through the various entries and your logline intrigued me. It's definitely a cool premise and I'd be interested in learning more.ReplyDelete
The writing style really drew me in, the voice in particular. It's really hard to get a sense of voice and character in 250 words but you've managed to do it. Overall, everything just clicked for me. I feel like I know this kid from just this small snapshot. Great job!
- Beth HullDecember 5, 2011 at 11:47 PM
Paragraphs 2 and 3 completely brought me in. The third one, especially, hints at the overall story problem, but without giving too much background. Love it, love that tension.ReplyDelete
My one suggestion is to revise the first line - I had the same thoughts as Jessica Leake (above).
Overall, though, the voice is excellent. I like seeing the world through Toby's eyes, and that's what makes me want to read on.
- Victoria MariniDecember 6, 2011 at 11:14 AM
25 pagesReplyDelete
- AnonymousDecember 8, 2011 at 8:31 AM
This is excellent. Really engaging. I just want to read more. I love the voice. I also love the very subtle touches here in dealing with grief and losing a parent.ReplyDelete


text: A modern orchestral symphonic composition with epic brass and anxious strings and experimental elements. Modern drum rythms are played with orchestral percussion! Dramatic, adventure, mystery are revealed in this brave and energetic melody. The mood of music is: glorious fight, ancient triumph after a victory, vast lands of king' empire.


text:
You read it right!
This column isn't about piano tuning. Our focus today is on tuning the most important instrument we will ever play … our mind.
With this in mind (pardon the pun) it's fascinating to explore the basis for music's effects. Let's begin by examining some of the historical pioneering work in this field.
In 1985 Gordon Shaw, Dennis Silverman and John Pearson proposed a model of nerve cell firing patterns in the brain specifically thought to be influenced by music and other creative skills. Research later published in the journal, Concepts in Neuroscience (1991), by Xiaodan Leng and Gordon Shaw proposed the concept of music as a "pre- language," and suggested early music training might be useful in exercising the brain for certain higher cognitive functions.
Building upon this concept, additional studies furthered our understanding of the effects of music training on brain function. Researchers Frances Rauscher, Gordon Shaw and others conducted and published a number of scientific studies documenting improvements in spatial-temporal reasoning skills associated with music listening and keyboard training in pre-school and kindergarten students. Their early work utilizing Mozart sonatas suggested that music with a certain structure or complexity was more likely to be associa'ed with spatial-temporal reasoning skills improvements. In recent years, they've shown that standardized math scores can be improved in 2nd graders through a 3-component program including a specific keyboard training method.
Since this concept may be new to you, let's take a few moments to better understand spatial-temporal reasoning. Basically it allows us to maintain, transform and compare mental images in space and time. Especially suited for creating a visual picture of what's actually happening, this form of reasoning enables us to better understand mathematical and scientific principles needed to solve complex problems. Einstein utilized this approach extensively.
In addition to boosting problem solving abilities, music-making has also been shown to affect our biology through what is termed the mind-body connection. While many tend to believe our minds reside within our brains, leading scientists throughout the world agree the mind exists throughout the body and includes nervous, endocrine and immune system components. It is now well-established that over 100 chemicals or neurotransmitters (signaling substances) previously thought to exist specifically within the central nervous system are actually produced by circulating white blood cells.
In 1999, a research group led by Dr. Frederick Tims, Chair of Music Therapy at Michigan State University, found that group keyboard lessons given to older Americans reduced stress, loneliness and anxiety. Levels of human growth hormone were also boosted – an important finding considering this substance's implication in aspects of the aging phenomena which includes osteoporosis, energy levels, wrinkling, sexual function, muscle mass, and aches and pains.
A recent research study in press for the January 2001 edition of Alternative Therapies demonstrates an important first step in understanding potential biological benefits of group drumming music therapy for reversing specific immune system effects of the classical stress response. The team I led at the Mind-Body Wellness Center with Loma Linda University Medical Center researchers, Lee Berk, DrPH, David Felten, MD, PhD and others scientifically determined the following: a single group drumming session conducted in a light-hearted manner fostering self-expression and camaraderie can boost the activity of Natural Killer (NK) cells that seek out and destroy cancer cells and virally-infected cells.
Using carefully screened normal subjects (111 male and female volunteers) our research team analyzed blood samples drawn prior to and after several group drumming sessions. Comparing a variety of drumming strategies, we also included listening controls (subjects who listened to drumming music performed by another group) and resting controls (subjects who read newspapers and magazines) in order to eliminate other potential factors that could have affected our results.
Our initial findings represent a crucial first step for better understanding how this form of music-making impacts an important immune system component. While we're pleased with the preliminary results from multiple perspectives, we are not suggesting that drumming is a cure for cancer or any other disease. Further research is needed to better understand the real life impact and duration of these immunological changes. Additional studies are required to establish the scientific basis for including group drumming as a complementary strategy that can be used along with conventional techniques to help people meet the challenges of many ongoing illnesses.
While the scientific foundations of music and the mind are in their infancy, prospects for utilizing music to improve the human condition seem extremely promising. There's much we need to learn in order to better incorporate music-making into our daily lives. I'm personally convinced that enhancing learning, reversing the effects of stress in our lives and boosting immunity is only the beginning.
There's no better time than the present to introduce or reacquaint yourself and your family with the joy of music-making. After all, our grandparents didn't need science to know music is simply good for you – Mind Over Matter!
MD all rights reserved


text:
It's About Time – But Also Much More
DOC Guest Blog by JILA and University of Colorado Student Ben Bloom with JILA/NIST Fellow Jun Ye. JILA is a joint institute of NIST and the University of Colorado Boulder.
40° 0.435', -105° 16.116' -- that's where I work. I know this because my smart phone says so. The same phone that woke me up in the morning, reminded me to give my dog his heartworm medication, and that I routinely use as a flashlight. But how does this small, everyday piece of technology know where I am? Sixty years ago when somebody set out to build atomic clocks, surely they had different goals in mind, something big and of a national scale you would think. Nobody could have imagined a handheld box for every citizen good for watching cat videos and also for advanced communications of all sorts.
My phone (and yours!) knows exactly where on Earth it is and how to drive to the nearest gas station because of atomic clocks. The Global Positioning System (or GPS) is an intricate dance of many atomic clocks floating in the space above our heads, declaring to the world what time they read. By listening to a few of these clocks, your phone can pinpoint your exact location. But the most amazing part of all of this is the fact that those atomic clocks whizzing by, orbiting our planet, are already dinosaurs in the context of today's technology.
Research results published today showcase a new type of atomic clock built by a team of NIST and JILA researchers in Boulder, Colorado. I am privileged to be part of that team, led by Jun Ye. The new type of atomic clock is 10,000 times more precise and stable than the clocks used in space today. By creating a clock based on a few thousand strontium atoms, a metallic element, trapped by laser light, we have been able to demonstrate a radically different alternative to standard atomic clocks that define the international unit of time, the second. These new experimental clocks will allow for a new set of applications that could excite technology enthusiasts and serve the nation. Applications we can only dream of today.
Imagine being able to understand the composition of the ground underneath you by flying an atomic clock over a landmass, "teleporting" huge amounts of information across a quantum network supported by these clocks, or maybe even listening to the subtle gravitational waves emitted by a binary star as the wave sweeps by an array of these clocks. A network of these clocks will be the ultimate probe of the still mysterious space-time of our universe, and will help explore the frontiers of the bizarre quantum world. I don't know if or when our clocks will re-define the second, be used in a new GPS that could pinpoint my location to an inch, or be some integral piece to a quantum computer, but one thing is for sure: I can't wait to find out.


text:
The shadow of Watergate falls only lightly across the U.S. political landscape. Instead, the epic scandal is discernible mainly in the absence of the evils that engendered it. Even during the panicky post-9/11 era, when the temptation to ignore the law at times overwhelmed good judgment, never were even the most zealous of Bush-Cheney toadies accused of using the machinery of state to punish partisan adversaries.
No, that was a uniquely Nixonian response to political challenge: Shadowy operatives with national security credentials tapped phones of columnists; dissidents were burgled and bullied; critics had their taxes audited; black bag operations were authorized at cabinet level and above.
That was Watergate, and since it cost Richard Nixon his presidency it seems now to have been banished from the political sphere, an absence that is rarely noticed. So Watergate touches the political culture only faintly.
But for journalists it's quite a different matter: For them, Watergate remains the defining event of the past half-century. It was a towering moment of heroism, an episode of legendary stature in which journalism's foundational purposes were triumphantly validated and a drift toward despotism was stopped, all thanks to a single-minded dedication to the craft of determined reporting.
And it has been a powerful inspiration for the two generations of journalists that came since. "We're all the sons and daughters of Watergate," as Jeff Leen, investigations editor of The Washington Post, told a gathering at the American Society of News Editors annual conference in Washington last week.
Leen's comment came during a remarkable panel marking the 40th anniversary of the Watergate break-in, when burglars hired by the Nixon re-election campaign were busted while trying to plant listening devices at Democratic Party headquarters. (The anniversary isn't until June, but nobody seemed to care.)
The ASNE panel included both reporting stars of The Post's historic investigation, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein. No less important, in the front row of the audience were their then-editor, Ben Bradlee, now 90, and Donald Graham, CEO of the Post organization, whose late mother Katherine, then publisher, stood firm before the fierce counterattack of the Nixon cabal.
The panel's ostensible topic was how the media would handle that affair today, in a radically different informational world. Now, with cascading opportunities for news to come to light and for informants to go public at dizzying speed, and with a burgeoning corps of amateur and semi-pro sleuths and commentators, wouldn't the secrets of the vast conspiracy have surfaced months sooner, with no need for two reporters to place calls, ring doorbells and trudge along with notebooks and questions?
Surely nowadays an election-season break-in at opposition headquarters would trigger an informational avalanche, and the mystery would unravel in days, rather than the nearly two years of courthouse and congressional hearings that it took to eviscerate Nixon's administration and force him out.
But the panel was skeptical, and it was hard not to wonder whether, paradoxically, exposing a conspiracy of that scope might actually be harder now. For one thing, Bernstein suggested, he and Woodward were writing for an audience that was interested in facts. Today's readers are looking more single-mindedly to confirm what they believe. "I'm not sure the story could withstand that cultural reception," he said. "It'd get ground up."
For another, he and Woodward both spoke reverently about the steadfastness of the institution that sheltered them. Watergate, Bernstein said, "was about a newspaper." Faced with the possibility they might be compelled to turn over their records, Woodward recalled, Katherine Graham responded, "They're not their notes, they're my notes."
That kind of resoluteness is in short supply in an era when newsroom staffs have shrunk and public mission is a line item on a quarterly marketing plan.
And there's yet another reason to wonder how readily Watergate would be exposed today. That's the capacity of authorities to identify and move against sources. The warm reception President Obama received from the editors conference a few hours before the Watergate panel was ironic in view of the unprecedented six Espionage Act prosecutions his Justice Department has mounted against people who leaked information to the press—information that while institutionally embarrassing, was miles from constituting any detectable security threat.
Nowadays, those sources are being ferreted out and shut down with 21st century techniques of surveillance and digital information retrieval. It's good that Nixon's henchmen didn't have those tools to roll up the network of sources so patiently cultivated by Woodward and Bernstein.


text:
One of the most notorious and successful bands of the hair metal era, Los Angeles rockers Mötley Crüe burned through the '80s in a blaze of drugs, debauchery, and platinum hits. Their glammed-out image, hard-partying reputation, and a knack for melding pop hooks to heavy metal theatrics took the band to the top of the charts repeatedly throughout the '80s, with records like 1985's Theatre of Pain and 1989's Dr. Feelgood bringing them to sold-out arenas around the world. Their wild lifestyles took a toll, however, and by the early '90s the band imploded, with lineup changes, legal turmoil, and generally shaky times. They still remained one of the more beloved bands of their pop metal heyday, and the 2000s brought a renewed success with the reunion of the original lineup. New albums like 2008's Saints of Los Angeles arrived sporadically, and they toured constantly, and in 2019 were immortalized in The Dirt, a full-length biopic focusing on their infamous early years.
Formed in January 1981, Mötley Crüe was originally the pet project of bassist Nikki Sixx (born Frank Ferrana), vocalist/guitarist Greg Leon, and drummer Tommy Lee (born Thomas Lee Bass). Leon was a veteran of the Hollywood scene, having replaced Randy Rhoads in Quiet Riot two years prior. He butted heads with the strong-willed Sixx, however, resulting in his departure from the lineup several months later. Local guitarist Bob "Mick Mars" Deal joined in his place, bringing the moniker "Mottley Krue" with him. After altering the name and adding a pair of umlauts (allegedly a tribute to German beer), the trio began efforts to recruit Vincent Neil Wharton, vocalist for the L.A.-based band Rock Candy. Neil initially refused the advances, only joining the band after his Rock Candy cohorts announced their decision to transform their group into a new wave act. With Neil now on board, Mötley Crüe became a cult favorite on the L.A. circuit, infamously known for such theatrics as setting Sixx's pants on fire mid-song.
The band soon secured management with Allan Coffman, who financed recording sessions for a debut album. Initially released in November 1981 by Lethur Records -- a small, independent label launched by Coffman and the band -- Too Fast for Love sold a surprising 20,000 copies. It also prompted a Canadian tour, where the musicians made headlines by wearing their spike-laden stage attire onto the plane, carrying suitcases of pornographic material through airport security, and fielding death threats from incensed fans in Edmonton. Such exposure only served to fuel Mötley Crüe's sensationalist appeal, generating the sort of shocked press coverage that the band desired.
Back at home, Elektra Records was impressed by the band's popularity in local venues, prompting the label to sign Mötley Crüe before releasing a new, remastered version of Too Fast for Love. Following the band's return to California, Elektra also released their sophomore effort, Shout at the Devil, in 1983. The video for "Looks That Kill" became an MTV hit, broadcasting the group's glammed-up theatrics to an audience unfamiliar with Mötley Crüe's popularity on the club circuit, and the record went platinum as a result. Shout at the Devil sold an additional million copies in 1984, but the party was brought to a temporary standstill when Neil crashed his car on December 8, killing passenger Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley of Hanoi Rocks. The other victims emerged with broken bones and brain damage, while a relatively unscathed Neil was found guilty of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence. He was ultimately incarcerated for 15 days in 1986, in addition to performing community service and paying a large cash settlement. By the time Neil was sentenced, however, the group's newest record, Theatre of Pain, had already enjoyed a lengthy stay on the charts, cementing the band's mainstream status and producing Mötley Crüe's first Top 40 hit with a cover of Brownsville Station's "Smokin' in the Boys' Room." Neil's stint in jail was brief, and the band was free to continue its decadent reign.
Under the management of Doug Thaler and Doc McGhee, the latter of whom also managed Bon Jovi, Mötley Crüe's popularity expanded throughout the latter half of the '80s. "Home Sweet Home," a power ballad from Theatre of Pain, yielded another popular music video, while a 44-minute home video cassette titled Uncensored was issued in 1986 to multi-platinum sales. Meanwhile, Lee married actress Heather Locklear, and the band returned to the studio to record a fourth album, Girls, Girls, Girls. Released during the band's substance-addled heyday in 1987, the album debuted at number two, with the raunchy title track becoming Mötley Crüe's second Top 40 hit. They quickly embarked on a headlining tour, but the European dates were canceled when Sixx suffered a near-fatal heroin overdose. He was pronounced legally dead en route to the hospital, only to be revived by two shots of adrenaline to the heart. Upon returning home, Sixx immediately shot up once again. Shocked, Thaler and McGhee urged their clients to enter a drug rehabilitation program, and Mötley Crüe remained out of the spotlight while the bandmates cleaned up their act.
They returned in 1989 -- clean and sober this time -- with the release of Dr. Feelgood, a muscled album that became Mötley Crüe's first release to top the Billboard charts. The title track became the band's first Top Ten hit, and a string of additional singles -- "Kickstart My Heart" (inspired by Sixx's brush with death), "Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)," and "Without You" -- made Dr. Feelgood the most successful Crüe album to date. After another worldwide tour, the compilation album Decade of Decadence arrived in 1991, propelled to multi-platinum status by a new version of "Home Sweet Home" that became the band's final Top 40 hit.
After creating their own record label, Mötley Records, the bandmates signed a renewed contract with Elektra for $25 million. The music industry had begun to devote most of its attention to grunge music, however, and the pressure to keep pace with changing trends took its toll on the band's camaraderie. In 1992, sessions for Mötley Crüe's next album turned ugly, leading to the dismissal (or departure, depending on the source) of Neil, who was replaced by the Scream's John Corabi. The revised band issued Mötley Crüe in 1994, which peaked at number seven in the U.S. and eventually went gold. Such an attempt to embrace a new, grungier sound proved to be a commercial disappointment, however, as did the band's supporting tour. Corabi was fired in 1997 at the label's behest, and Neil returned to the lineup for the release of Generation Swine. The subject of a heavy marketing campaign, Generation Swine debuted at number four, although it failed to generate any significant singles. Meanwhile, Corabi resurfaced alongside former Kiss guitarist Bruce Kulick in the group Union.
Shortly after the release of Greatest Hits in 1998, Tommy Lee was arrested for spousal abuse of Pamela Anderson. He spent most of the year in jail, effectively killing any momentum generated by the gold-selling status of Greatest Hits and Generation Swine. Meanwhile, the group's contract with Elektra fell apart, prompting Mötley Records to switch its affiliation to the Beyond label. The band acquired the rights to its back catalog in the process.
After numerous bitter encounters with Neil, Tommy Lee left the band in 1999 to form Methods of Mayhem, which released a self-titled debut album later that year. He was replaced by former Ozzy Osbourne drummer Randy Castillo, and the revamped lineup celebrated its acquisition of the Crüe catalog by issuing remastered editions of every studio album, as well as the rarities collection Supersonic & the Demonic Relics. A collection of new material, New Tattoo, appeared in the summer of 2000 to a lukewarm reception, and Castillo was stricken with an undisclosed illness on the eve of the requisite tour. While he recuperated at home, the band temporarily enlisted Hole's drummer (and lifelong Crüe fan), Samantha Maloney, to handle percussion duties.
In May 2001, the band issued a best-selling, tell-all biography entitled The Dirt. During the downtime that followed its release, Neil launched a brief solo tour of U.S. clubs and Sixx wrote material for other artists, including Tantric, Meat Loaf, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, and James Michael. Sadly, Castillo succumbed to cancer the following spring, prompting the band to continue its hiatus. Although Sixx speculated publicly about the possibility of a reunion tour, Tommy Lee quickly rebutted such rumors, claiming that his relationship with Vince Neil was simply too poor for any sort of reconciliation. Controversy surrounded the band again as former producer Tom Werman sued for unpaid royalties, Neil's former wife Heidi Mark publicly accused him of physical abuse, and Neil was kicked off a nationally syndicated radio show for being too drunk to maintain an interview.
Rumors of a reunion continued to swirl throughout the following two years, even as Mötley Crüe's members remained loyal to their individual projects. Both Tommy Lee and Vince Neil participated in celebrity TV shows -- Lee as the focus of an NBC series that featured the drummer attending college classes, and Neil in the first season of The Surreal Life -- while Sixx toured and released an album with his new band, Brides of Destruction. In late 2004, however, the four original members announced a full-scale reunion tour for the following year, marking their first outing since the late '90s. The tour coincided with the February release of Mötley Crüe's double-disc greatest-hits collection, Red, White & Crüe, which went platinum within six months of its release. The reunion tour was further celebrated by the release of a concert album, Carnival of Sins Live in 2006, while a record of new material, Saints of Los Angeles, arrived in 2008. In keeping with their dedication to the road, the bandmates subsequently unveiled plans for Crüe Fest, a summer package tour that netted over $40 million during its inaugural year. After a second Crüe Fest in 2009, a world tour co-headlining with Kiss followed in 2012 and lasted through 2013. In 2014 the band announced a farewell tour with Alice Cooper as guest. The 70-date retirement tour coincided with the release of Nashville Outlaws, a Crüe tribute album featuring country artists like Rascal Flatts, the Mavericks, and Big & Rich. In 2018 Mötley Crüe recorded four new songs for the film adaptation of the band's biography. The tracks appeared on the soundtrack for The Dirt, which was released in March 2019.