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If you run your own business or are just starting up, you'll understand the importance of protecting your business against physical and financial risk. Be it risk that your business poses to the public or the risk of damage to your business premises and contents, an Office Insurance policy from Be Wiser will ensure you can carry on working with minimal interruption.
We search our carefully selected panel of insurers to ensure you not only get an insurance policy from an award winning insurance provider but you'll also get it for a competitive price.
There are a number of reasons to purchase insurance for your business, some can be due to UK law requirements whilst others are simply good financial sense. When it comes to insuring your office there are three main areas to concentrate on.
Whether you are working from home or in a rented office, it's important to protect the physical stuff. Be it bricks and mortar or office contents and computers, we can build a policy to fit your needs.
Our customisable cover allows you to extend the policy to cover more than one property, computing equipment away from the premises and other fixtures and fittings. We can even include Computer breakdown and money cover if required.
If you have any employees you'll need an Employers' Liability policy. If you don't have this cover you could face a daily fine of up to £2500. Essentially an Employers' Liability policy will help you pay any compensation due to your employees should they get injured or fall sick as a result of your business activity.
Alongside your liability to anyone who works for you, you may also wish to purchase a Directors and Officers Liability insurance. This cover helps protect key people within the business who become personally liable for any wrong doing in the business operation.
Should you or one of your directors be accused of wrong doing, the policy will cover the legal costs in defending the allegation – it's important to note that no insurance policy will cover the fine or prevent the director from a custodial sentence.
Finally there is the issue of insuring your business activities. There are a number of different insurance covers available but the main two are Business Interruption and Professional Indemnity insurance.
Business Interruption insurance which will, in the event of damage at your premises, pay for the cost of getting you back to work as quickly as possible and in many cases compensate you for any lost income.
Professional Indemnity insurance may well be a requirement of membership of your professional body but regardless of this the policy covers the legal costs incurred in defending an allegation that a client has suffered financially from the advice that you have provided.
With Be Wiser Business Insurance you can rest assured that your business is fully protected with an Office Insurance policy


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Hey friends!
Whoa, there are quite a few more show cancelations these past few tours than I am comfortable with.
I'm really sorry about that. I always say that I'm actually way more of a fan than an artist and I know at the deepest possible level what it is to wait for a show, fly in, and stand outside of a tour bus for hours just to get a photo and a hand shake. That is why it really bothers me to cancel the shows coming up. So I wanted to reach out about not only September but the last couple of cancelations this summer.
In the last few months I've started having some back and pelvis problems from endometriosis that were slow evolving and didn't seem super serious. I ended up with a hemorrhagic cyst in July but because I had good days and bad days and it wasn't super painful or damaging, I was sure I could get through September. The trouble is that it just got worse and worse and I was putting off getting a simple surgery so that I could do what I love and finish the tour.
Finally, as these things do, my health issues made the decision for me and even after touring with a lovely chiropractor to get me onstage (btw if you ever want to feel old...) I am just unable to put on focused and honest show right now. That's why I have to take a couple of months off to recover.
I am going to get that simple surgery and then we'll start getting ready to make the next record. It's going to be an introspective fall and I'm looking forward to being able to rough house with Evangeline properly again!
Thank you for all your well wishes and patience during this time.
I want to share with you one defining lesson I've learned from this - we live in a part of the world where we have (evolving) access to health care and specifically women's reproductive health when a devastating number of women in impoverished countries are still dying from very curable and preventable reproductive issues. Let's not skip our annual appointments or ignore our women's health issues out of respect for that privilege and the women who don't have it.
I won't if you won't ;-)

subset: commoncrawl


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by Nicole Watts
My introduction to fondue was when I found my mother's fondue pot. It was shoved in the back of a rarely used cupboard. It was dusty and mysterious. There was a small recipe book with it that I flipped through with intense curiosity. The fondue forks seemed so elegant and exotic…
In my late 20's, I went to The Melting Pot in Red Bank, New Jersey. I remember it being somewhat disappointing, but due to the romanticism of those early memories, I was willing to chalk it up to a bad night for The Melting Pot and I maintained the belief that I like fondue.
I was wrong. I really don't like fondue. I just don't get it. It seems like an awful lot of work for tiny bits of mediocre food. I like it as an appetizer with the Guinness blue cheese fondue I serve up for St. Patrick's Day or as a random dessert with chocolate
fondue for slumber parties, but fondue as a meal leaves me disappointed.
Mango Fondue Lounge offers a unique dining experience for Peoria with a dimly lit, subtle décor. They offer a gluten free menu as well as additional menu items that are prepared in the kitchen instead of your tabletop. Everything is meant to be shared, so it could make for a fun night of food sampling with a group of friends who were looking for a casual snack. It could also be a great spot for a couple looking for a slightly more intimate date night. Fondue is a love it or hate it experience.
Our appetizer cheese fondue consisted of chunks of apples and a few bread varieties to dip in a gouda cheese dip. The main course was chunks of fish, beef, and vegetables that were cooked in a fairly bland broth.
Our waiter was polite, but was more concerned with us selecting our favorite colors for our fondue forks than he was with giving us instructions on how to cook our fondue. When asked if the seafood was fresh or frozen, he informed us that he was sure it was fresh because they got it from Hy-vee. Granted, we weren't expecting a sommelier, but a slightly more seasoned waiter would have been nice. Our waiter informed us that they had an "extensive wine list." Neither of us were allowed to taste the wine prior to our glasses being poured and the cap being screwed back onto the bottle of Malbec. As we were paying our bill, he did apologize for being so busy that he wasn't able to do any magic for us. Doubtful that a magic trick could have saved the experience.
Fondue is something that everyone should try once. Mango Fondue & Lounge is located at 1818 W War Memorial in Peoria. It is between The Red Roof Inn and The Super 8, Next to Perkin's. Their website is http://www.letsgomango.com.


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Vox.com SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING ReportOn
The health sector broadly, together with private and public health insurance (Patient Safety and Affordable Care Act, Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP); biomedical research and development; hospital construction; mental health; health info technology, privateness, and cybersecurity; medical malpractice and medical malpractice insurance; the 340B drug low cost program; the regulation of food, drugs, and cosmetics; drug abuse; the Division of Health and Human Providers; the Nationwide Institutes of Health; the Facilities for Disease Control; Indian Health Service; and all points of the above-referenced jurisdiction related to the Department of Homeland Security. Healthy Life is Australia's residence of 'really feel good'. It sounds … Read More


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Welcome to your health adventure with League! League is your go-to health and wellness benefits platform, and we're super excited to get started with you.
Getting Started!
Once you've clicked on the unique link in your invitation email, you'll be guided through the enrollment process.
Click here for a step-by-step walkthrough of your Total Rewards enrollment process.
Once you've completed enrollment, click on "Open my Wallet" to get started on the League platform!
Welcome to your League Wallet. Here you will find all your benefit cards for your employer's specific policy, which will typically include League Spending Accounts and/or insurance products. Scroll through these cards to learn more, check League balances, find policy numbers, and more. You can also click Coverage to see what expenses are eligible to claim under your benefits!
Submit Claims
Let's discuss how to submit claims. If you have an expense which is eligible under a League Spending Account, you can select that card and tap "Submit Claim" to upload an image of your paid invoice or receipt. If you have a medical expense which is eligible under an insurance coverage card, you can select the appropriate card and tap a button to submit via your insurance provider! This will redirect you to your insurance provider's online portal, where you can submit and track your claims.
Before we explore the rest of what League has to offer, let's make sure you've set up your banking information, so you can be reimbursed for any League Spending Account claims. Navigate to the Banking Info tab to add your direct deposit or e-Transfer information. This will be the payout method for any approved League Spending Account claims!
Insurance Information
The first time you link out to your insurance provider's portal, you will need to register using your Policy ID and Member ID, located on your insurance cards in your League wallet.
If an expense is only partially covered by your insurance, you can look to submit the remainder to your League Spending Account. This is called Coordination of Benefits. You must first submit your claim to your insurance provider(s), and once you receive reimbursement and your claim statement, you can submit it to your League Spending Account for the remaining amount.
Let's talk about the League Marketplace! The Marketplace is an excellent resource for health and wellness providers and services in your area. Feel free to search a particular service, or browse for the latest deals. Some services and products may even be eligible for payment directly through your League Spending Accounts!
Health Concierge
If you have questions about your day-to-day health, League can help! Health Concierge is an online chat tool, connecting you with our team of Registered Nurses to offer help and advice about health, nutrition, mental wellness, and more.
Chat Support
If you have questions about League, check out the rest of our Knowledge Base! If you're unable to find an answer, or if you have a policy-specific question, you can reach out to us via the Customer Care Chat or email email@example.com.


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- Department
- Courses
- Research
- Services
- Discovering Padova
- International Area
ARGOMENTI: Seminars
Lunedì 21 Maggio 2018 alle ore 12:15 in Sala Riunioni VII Piano, Fatma Gamze Duzgun (Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turchia) terrà un seminario dal titolo "An alternative approach to Hölder continuity of solutions to some elliptic equations".
We give an alternative and self contained proof of the Hölder continuity of locally bounded solutions to some elliptic equations, including the equation associated with the $p-$Laplacian operator. We combine the techniques introduced by De Giorgi and Moser with a 1-dimensional Poincaré nequality.
Particularly we consider the partial differential equation
\mathrm{div}A_p (x, u, Du) = 0 & (1)
where $\Omega$ is an open set in $\mathbb{R}^n$ for some $n \geq 2$ and $A_p$ is Carathéodory vector field defined in $\Omega\times\mathbb{R}\times\mathbb{R}^n$ ; i.e., $A_p(x,s,\xi)$ is measurable with respect to $x\in\Omega$ and continuous in $(s,\xi)\in\mathbb{R}\times\mathbb{R}^n$ for almost every $x\in\Omega$. We assume that $A_p$ satisfies the following structural conditions (natural growth conditions) for an exponent $p\gt1$ and for some positive constants $m, M$
A_p(x,s,\xi)\ \xi\geq m\ |\xi|^p\\
|A_p(x,s,\xi)|\ \xi\leq M\ |\xi|^{p-1}.
\end{array}\right. & (2)\end{array}$$
[1] E. DiBenedetto, U. Gianazza, V. Vespri, Harnack's inequality for degenerate and singular parabolic equation, Springer Monographs in Mathematics. Springer-Verlag, New York, 2012.
[2] F. G. Düzgün, P. Marcellini, V. Vespri, An alternative approach to Hölder continuity of solutions to some elliptic equations, Nonlinear Anal. 94 (2014), 133-141.
[3] F. G. Düzgün, P. Marcellini, V. Vespri, Space expansion for a solution of an anisotropic p-Laplacian equation by using a parabolic approach, Riv. Mat. Univ. Parma, Vol 5 (2014), no.1, 93-111.


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Just a few days until we're all united poolside in conversational bliss! Until then, we have a few important data points for you in preparation.
Everything You Need to Know About YxYY003
- Friday's Schedule-y Bits…
Registration: 1-6pm, Ace Hotel Clubhouse
Welcome Cocktails: 7pm, Poolside by The Commune
(Registration re-opens here from 7-8, too!)
Super Secret Opening Night Game: 8:30pm, The Commune
If you arrive after registration closes, your wristband will be at the Ace Hotel front desk.
- YxYY Survival Guide - All the Yes that's fit to print!
- How to Say Yes - Quick culture reference for newbies & a refresher for you veteran YxYYers!
- Hackpad & FB Group - posts have been heating up in our ideating spaces. Join us!
(email us at firstname.lastname@example.com if you'd like to be added to the FB group)
- Early Birds - If you're coming early but you're not staying at the Ace, you can still get a wristband for pool access. The Ace will have a list of attendees behind the desk starting Thursday evening.
- YxYY App - Download & explore before you arrive! Available for iPhone + Android.
- YxYY Code of Conduct - Learn it. Live it.
- Food, Glorious Food - All about eatin' at YxYY.
- Prom Theme - The Roaring 2020s! This year's prom will be inspired by the science fiction of yesteryear. Think Metropolis, Jules Verne, Gatsby, Bauhaus and extrapolate accordingly. (Or come as you are! No rules; only YES!)
We can't gush enough about our sponsors! They have gone above and beyond, gifting us with their creativity and time as well as many experiential goodies for you this year. Meet the sponsors and why they're excited to be a part of YxYY.


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Hi Dan I bit my tongue in my previous message not to re-open this issue, but since you opened it ... > How about restricting the SKOS stuff to just work with SKOS stuff, not > with OWL. But then defining a bridge property that links from a class > to a (possibly anonymous) SKOS entity that "shadows" it for purposes > of documentation. Again, +1. > Assuming: > skos:as rdf:type owl:AnnotationProperty . > > <owl:Class rdf:ID="Person"> > <skos:as skos:prefLabel="Person" skos:altLabel="Guy"/> > </owl:Class> I really like that idea. But was puzzled by this "malign syntax", and tried to figure how tools support that. Added it to my test ontology, and imported it in my favourite ontology editors to see how this syntax flies In Swoop 2.3, the "implicit blank node" was just ignored. :-( In Protégé 3.2, got as value of skos:as this string 'SimpleInstance(nullA0 of [Cls(protege:ExternalResource, FrameID(0:9106 0))])'. Cool :-D Just to make sure, tried a less simplified syntax, with an explicit blank node class <owl:Class rdf:ID="Person"> <skos:as> <skos:Concept skos:prefLabel="Person" skos:altLabel="Guy"/> </skos:as> </owl:Class> Seems a bit better digested by Swoop, at least in the GUI, but after saving re-exports this <owl:Class rdf:about="#Person"> <skos:as rdf:resource="#genid1"/> </owl:Class> Looking for the #genid1 definition ... hmm, it's not in the file. But I find a poor lonesome concept <skos:Concept skos:altLabel="Guy" skos:prefLabel="Person"/> Did not even try in Protégé. Actually OWL editors are not happy with blank nodes which are not built-in OWL constructs (complex classes such as unionOf ...) So ... maybe DL compatible, but not OWL-editors-of-the-market-friendly Devil is in the details ... Bernard > > Dan > > -- > http://danbri.org/ > > > > > > -- *Bernard Vatant *Knowledge Engineering ---------------------------------------------------- *Mondeca** *3, cité Nollez 75018 Paris France Web: www.mondeca.com <http://www.mondeca.com> ---------------------------------------------------- Tel: +33 (0) 871 488 459 Mail: firstname.lastname@example.com <mailto:email@example.com> Blog: Leçons de Choses <http://mondeca.wordpress.com/>Received on Wednesday, 21 February 2007 11:49:44 UTC
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.1 : Tuesday, 6 January 2015 21:07:49 UTC


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Great Photo Backdrops for Your Etsy Products
Although white is the background color of choice for many Etsy sellers — it's crisp, simple, and neutral — it's not your only option. When choosing a background for your photo shoot, keep these points in mind:
Scout your environment for "everyday" backgrounds. Do you have a garden? If so, consider using a plant or flower as your background. Or maybe your living-room wall is exposed brick, another excellent background. Really, just about anything works — wooden tables, tile floors, stone walkways, wicker baskets, wooden crates, whitewashed fences…the list goes on. These natural backgrounds can serve as excellent complements to your piece.Credit: Photo courtesy of Angela Mahoney
Reflective surfaces can really shine. This advice is especially true if your items are delicate or finely made. Placing them on a mildly reflective surface, such as a sterling platter or a white ceramic plate, enables you to add interest, as well as improve lighting.
Avoid basic black. Although black is indisputably the color of choice if you're attempting to hide those ten extra pounds, it's not so great as a background color when you're photographing goodies destined for your Etsy shop. Why? Because darker pieces get lost. Instead, opt for an almost-black background — charcoal works well — preferably with a bit of texture to add visual interest.
Add pop with color. Pieces can really pop with a contrasting-color paper or fabric background. Subtle patterns that complement your piece also work well as backgrounds.
For inexpensive colorful backgrounds, check out your local craft store's scrapbook section. There, you'll find 12-by-12-inch sheets of paper in more colors and patterns than you ever dreamed possible. These papers make perfect backgrounds for smaller pieces. Just steer clear of patterns that are super-busy.
Create a seamless background. Tape one end of a long sheet of thick paper — the kind you cut from a roll — to your wall, letting it drape down onto a table, where you can clamp the other end. You'll get a seamless "runway" effect that's especially useful for extreme close-ups or times when you don't want anything distracting from your piece.Credit: Photo courtesy of Mark Poulin
Avoid the "accidental" background. Heavens to Etsy! The last thing you want potential buyers to see is all your dirty dishes or that pile of newspapers you keep forgetting to recycle! Don't taint your item by photographing it amid all your daily detritus. Make sure that any background you include in your product shots is there on purpose and complements your piece.
Don't give your background star billing. If your background is more noticeable than the piece you slaved over for days, don't use it.


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Farm Bill and Policy Issues; Regulations; Trade; and Ag Economy
Farm Bill and Policy Issues
DTN Political Correspondent Jerry Hagstrom reported yesterday that, "Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow said Tuesday that she moved up the dates of the last two farm bill hearings so that her committee can move more quickly toward marking up the bill.
"'We just want a little bit more time to negotiate,' Stabenow, D-Mich., told reporters after a hearing on conservation, and noting that she would like to finish the markup as soon as possible.
"Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Pat Roberts, R-Kan., has said he believes the committee will finish its work by Memorial Day."
The DTN article added that, "House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., told DTN he is pleased the Senate Agriculture Committee has advanced the schedule. He noted that the Congressional Budget Office is scheduled to release a new baseline of costs for current farm bill programs in mid-March and said he believes the Senate Agriculture Committee could act soon after it receives that report, which will determine how much money the agriculture committees have to spend in the new bill."
With respect to potential Senate – House interaction on the Farm Bill, Meghan Pedersen reported earlier this week at AgWeb.com that, "[Chairwoman] Stabenow also pointed out that House Ag Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) might not have much leeway for negotiations with her on a farm bill if the House adopts a budget resolution similar to the Fiscal Year 2012 resolution. The 2012 resolution called for significant reductions for agriculture and nutrition programs over 10 years."
In related developments on the House budget process, Daniel Newhauser reported today at Roll Call Online that, "Republicans have hammered Democrats for not passing a budget while they were in power, but divisions among House Budget Committee Republicans might leave them without a budget this year, too.
"House Republican leaders have been holding listening sessions with their Members on the topic, but they are in a bind. It is unclear that they have the votes to pass a budget resolution with the numbers from the Budget Control Act, as many conservatives believe it would spend too much.
"Lowering the spending cap, on the other hand, would leave appropriators with unrealistic numbers and could doom any spending bills to failure on the House floor."
The article noted that, "Appropriations Committee Democrats have indicated that they do not intend to help pass appropriations bills if they conform to a lower level of spending than they originally agreed to in the Budget Control Act.
"'An agreement should be an agreement,' said Rep. David Price (D-N.C.), an appropriator. 'We expect all sides to honor that agreement.'"
However, today's article pointed out that, "Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.) a member of both the Budget and Appropriations committees, was more optimistic, saying the budget will probably conform to the Budget Control Act level. He said that talks are ongoing and that entitlement programs will get even more scrutiny as discretionary spending has been cut to the bone…Calvert mentioned the food stamp program [SNAP program] as a possible target. Republicans argue that funding for the program has increased in the past decade and that it is rife with fraud."
On the SNAP issue, a video uploaded yesterday of a recent television appearance indicated that, "Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, goes on Fox News' Fox & Friends to discuss the Committee's inquiry into failing anti-fraud procedures for disqualifying and reauthorizing merchants to accept USDA food stamp benefits."
More background on Rep. Issa's look at the SNAP program can be found here.
In other news, an update posted yesterday at the USDA Blog stated in part that, "Now you can learn more about USDA's support of local and regional food through the new Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass. The Compass is an online multi-media narrative with stories, pictures and video about USDA's support for local and regional food systems and an interactive map of USDA-supported local and regional food activities in all 50 states. With the Compass, you can navigate USDA resources for local and regional food; meet farmers, ranchers, businesses and communities in your state that are participating in local food chains; and learn about local and regional food projects across the country."
A news release yesterday from Senate Agriculture Committee Member Pat Roberts (R., Kans.) stated that, "[Sen. Roberts] raised questions about the 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative, saying it isn't steeped in reality since most food Americans consume isn't grown locally.
'This report highlights one of the fastest growing sectors in agriculture, and I commend farmers and ranchers around the country for taking advantage of opportunities to add value to their products by selling locally and regionally,' said Roberts. 'While I appreciate the intent of USDA's initiatives, the fact of the matter is the vast majority of food consumed in this country is not grown locally. Kansans enjoy bananas and coconuts, but they can't walk into church every Sunday and shake the banana and coconut producer's hand.'"
And a news release yesterday from Sen. Kent Conrad (D., N.D.) stated that, "Responding to concerns by independent cattle producers in North Dakota, [Sen. Conrad] today signed on to be the lead co-sponsor of legislation making it unlawful for packers to own or feed livestock intended for slaughter.
"'Family farmers and ranchers are currently at the mercy of the large, corporate meatpackers who dictate the price and manipulate the marketplace,' Senator Conrad said. 'This legislation provides a more level playing field and helps family farmers and ranchers get a fair price on the open market. It lets the markets dictate the price as opposed to the large, industrial meat packers.'"
Regulations (CFTC, MF Global)
The House Agriculture Committee held a hearing yesterday in an ongoing series of meetings in which the Members are exercising oversight responsibilities with respect to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Wednesday's hearing focused specifically on the CFTC's agenda for the coming year. (Statements from Chairman Frank Lucas (R., Okla.) and Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D., Minn.) can be found here and here).
Part of the Commission's agenda will focus on the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, which was passed in the summer of 2010. That law required the CFTC to draft a set of companion rules that facilitate the implementation of the new law. The Commission is nearing the half way mark with respect to drafting these regulations and Commission Chairman Gary Gensler, who was making his 39th appearance on Capitol Hill, provided the lawmakers with an update on CFTC activity.
Recall that in an interview with FarmPolicy.com in July of 2010, just after Dodd-Frank was passed, Rep. Collin Peterson indicated that, "And I told him [Mr. Gensler] and warned him that we will be doing extremely aggressive oversight over that process, and we will be meeting on a regular basis to oversee that process and to oversee the decisions that are made to make sure that we make that the risks are being adequately mitigated in whatever they finally come up with."
Beyond the technical nature of the Dodd-Frank interactions and other CFTC related issues, some Committee members sought Mr. Gensler's opinion and analysis on a more current constituent concern: Rising gas prices. Much of the impetus for the Dodd-Frank legislation stemmed from the financial collapse in the fall of 2008, over three years ago.
Nebraska GOP Congressman Jeff Fortenberry bluntly asked Mr. Gensler, "What's causing the rise in the price of gasoline?"
The CFTC Chairman pointed out that, "We are not a price setting agency, its not what Congress asked us to do, we are an agency that oversees the markets to ensure that they are transparent, competitive, and free of fraud and manipulation. So that's what we can best do to ensure that these energy markets work and that at whatever price, high or low, in the energy markets, in the agricultural markets, reflect buyers and sellers, both hedgers and speculators, meeting in that market." (Click here to listen to a portion of this exchange (MP3- 2:11).
Earlier in Wednesday morning's hearing, Rep. Peter Welch (D.,Vt.) inquired more specifically about what he described as $0.56 a gallon "speculative premium" in gas prices. Citing a recent Forbes article, Rep. Welch stated that, "Do you have the resources that you need to address the speculation premium that is now injected into the price of gasoline at the pump?"
Mr. Gensler spoke more broadly to the general issue of budgetary allocations to the CFTC and made the case that the agency needed additional resources- enough to move from a 700-person agency to a 1,000-person group. (An audio clip of a portion of this exchange can be heard here (MP3- 2:20)).
Meanwhile, Rep. Leonard Boswell expressed some level of consternation at the amount of time the House Agriculture Committee has been devoting to CFTC oversight.
The Iowa Democrat stated that, "Seems about like half of our hearings have been about this subject…I understand and I support the need for Congressional oversight, but I believe we must get to other business too," such as the Farm Bill.
During his response to Rep. Boswell, Chairman Lucas explained that, "I would also note to my good colleague from Iowa that very soon we will announce a series of hearings in the field addressing Farm Bill issues, I suspect after that there will be a few more hearings here in this very Committee chamber addressing Farm Bill issues, and we are going to load our quiver, we are going to sharpen our blades and we are going to get after that Farm Bill, sir." (related audio– (MP3- 2:07)).
Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R., Kans.) questioned Chairman Gensler more specifically about issues associated with the MF Global debacle at yesterday's hearing- a video replay of his exchange with the CFTC chief can be viewed here.
And Reuters writer Christopher Doering reported yesterday that, "The top U.S. futures regulator said on Wednesday firms engaged in proprietary trading that make a market in over-the-counter swaps may have to register as swaps dealers, under the financial regulation framework being implemented in the wake of the financial crisis.
"Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler said in an interview that Congress laid out a number of specific instances where an entity would be required to register as a dealer in swaps, such as if they make a market in these OTC derivatives and routinely have a regular business in dealing.
"Among firms that would have to register would be those that use their own capital to trade for profit, also called proprietary trading."
The article added that, "The rules are part of the new regulatory framework being put in place to boost oversight for the previously opaque $700 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market required under the 2010 Dodd-Frank law. The CFTC is months behind in implementing many of the rules, and has so finalized nearly 30 regulations."
And a news release yesterday stated that, "The Futures Industry Association released two documents today to address issues related to the bankruptcy of MF Global. One of the documents contains initial recommendations for enhancing the protection of customer funds; the other is designed to provide customers with essential information about the rules and regulations relating to customer fund protections…The release of these documents is an initial step in fulfilling the mission of the Futures Market Financial Integrity Task Force that the FIA established in January 2012." (See related article that was posted yesterday at The Wall Street Journal Online, "Tighter Rules Sought in Wake of MF Global Collapse.")
Also on the MF Global issue, Julie Steinberg, Mike Spector and Aaron Lucchetti reported yesterday at The Wall Street Journal Online that, "No one has been charged with wrongdoing, but futures-exchange operator CME Group Inc. has said that someone at MF Global illegally dipped into client funds during the securities firm's final days. CME, one of MF Global's regulators, said Tuesday that federal prosecutors in Chicago have convened a grand jury in the matter. Jon S. Corzine, MF Global's former chairman and chief executive, has denied telling anyone to misuse client funds.
"Meanwhile, regulators and industry groups are working on possible changes to rules aimed at preventing a shortfall in client money. On Wednesday, the Futures Industry Association called for more disclosure by securities firms on handling of customer money."
In other regulatory developments, a news release yesterday from Senate Agriculture Ranking Member Pat Roberts (R., Kans.) stated that, "With less than 24 hours remaining before the Environmental Protection Agency begins enforcing their controversial and duplicative pesticide permitting rule, Senator Roberts called on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to call up and approve compromise legislation to prevent costly fall-out for public health officials and agriculture producers.
"Roberts again urged the Senate to call up and pass the House approved, bipartisan H.R. 872, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011, with his amendment to provide a two year moratorium on the implementation of the rule. Republicans have no objections to the legislation. Democrats have blocked the compromise measure."
Meanwhile, Reuters writer Emily Stephenson reported earlier this week that, "Heavy industry groups and states argued in a federal court on Tuesday that U.S. environmental regulators had used faulty science in determining that greenhouse gas emissions endangered human health in the latest attempt to dismantle the Obama administration's rules on the emissions.
"During the first of two days of arguments on a case that seeks to overturn Environmental Protection Agency regulations, Harry MacDougald, a lawyer for the petitioners, said uncertain evidence was used to reach '90 percent' certainty that human emissions are responsible for harmful climate change."
And Pete Kasperowicz reported yesterday at The Hill's Floor Action Blog that, "The House on Wednesday evening approved legislation aimed at giving residents and farmers in California renewed access to water from the San Joaquin Valley that Republicans say was shut off due to the Obama administration's environmental regulations.
"Members approved the San Joaquin Valley Water Reliability Act, H.R. 1837, by a 246-175 vote. Democrats spent the day arguing against the bill, and it passed with the help of just 10 Democrats."
Yesterday the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on President Obama's Trade Policy Agenda where U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk testified. (Opening statement from Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R., Mich.) available here).
During the discussion portion of yesterday's panel with Ambassador Kirk, Rep. Kevin Brady (R., Tex.), the Chairman of the Trade Subcommittee, inquired about Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), and in addition to pointing out how important TPA is to our trade negotiating partners, he also asked about a legislative time frame for renewing TPA. To listen to a portion of this discussion on TPA, just click here (MP3- 3:17).
Also at yesterday's hearing, Nebraska GOP Rep. Adrian Smith asked Amb. Kirk about restrictions on U.S. beef imports by Japan and highlighted the importance of trade to the agricultural sector. A video replay of a portion of this exchange can be seen here.
Separately, the Washington Insider section of DTN reported yesterday (link requires subscription) that, "Following his recent fact-finding trip to Russia, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., told the press that Congress needs to repeal the Jackson-Vanik amendment as it applies to Russia and to grant Russia permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status. He indicated that both of these actions need to occur before the November elections."
Agricultural Economy
Yesterday the Federal Reserve Board released its Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions. Commonly referred to as the "Beige Book," the report included observations with respect to the U.S. agricultural economy which have been summarized at this FarmPolicy.com webpage- "Federal Reserve Beige Book: Observations on the Ag Economy."
And the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service released its monthly Agricultural Prices report yesterday, which stated in part that: "The corn price, at $6.16 per bushel, is up 9 cents from last month and 51 cents above February 2011 [related graph]; the soybean price, at $12.30 per bushel, increased 40 cents from January but is down 40 cents from February 2011 [related graph]; and, the February all wheat price, at $7.09 per bushel, is up 5 cents from January but 33 cents below February 2011 [related graph]."
Keith Good


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Shots of Change
The Bola Pra Frente Institute acts on Muquiço's, one of the most violent favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Created by 1994 World Cup winner Jorginho, the project takes children away from trafficking through sports and education.
In order to advertise the Institute's work and raise awareness among the parents in the favelas, we have transformed the bullet holes there into billboards.
Operation Tweet
In Brazil, Twitter is widely used for an illegal and dangerous practice: to warn drunk drivers where are the police DUI blitzes, so they can avoid driving by them. But these warnings also reach more dangerous criminals, who are on the run.
The "It wasn't an accident" – a campaign for a more conscious traffic – created fake criminal profiles to thank the users posting DUI blitz warnings in real time. The Operation Tweet had great media impact and showed how a simple tweet – an action that seems innocent– could create serious problems to traffic and to society.
Rio Olympic Games - Judoka's Passinho
The judoka Rafaela Silva was controversially eliminated at the London Olympics, suspected of trying to cheat. Since Brazil still deals with a lot of racism, the black athlete was a victim of prejudice in social media. Few people believed in the comeback of the judoka, who was born in a Rio de Janeiro favela.
But Infraero Airports, official sponsor of Brazilian Judo, believed her turnaround would happen, and that it would be at home. So they've created a new and fun way of cheering, inspired by the Judo movements as well as by Passinho – a street dance of the favelas – to create the Judoka's Passinho. The video clip had the athlete's participation, became a media sensation and the results couldn't be better: Rafaela Silva won an Olympic gold medal.
Rio Paralympic Games - Blind Fight
Are there limits in the pursuit of an olympic medal? To create awareness about the Infraero Airports sponsoring the Paralympic Brazilian Judo team, we've shown the routine of two athletes, one olympic and another paralympic, preparing for a match. In the end, they face each other in the dark to answer the question.
Toys Museum
The Toy Museum holds a large collection of toys and needed to attract visitors. So, nothing is better than using a kind of humor that appeals to the nostalgia of those who have had fun with one of the pieces as a child: the parents.
Superdigital is a Santander Group Fintech. The app allows people to make financial exchanges similarly to using a social network: in a simple and fast way. The result is that money as people know is on borrowed time. It's no use denying it.
Carnival's Sentinel
One of Brazil's biggest street parties, Olinda's Carnival is famous for its traditional giant dolls.But violence against women only increases each year during carnival. To prevent all kinds of violence and harassment, the Disque Denúncia has created a special giant doll: Carnival's Sentinel.
As the giant dolls transited among people partying, the Disque Denúncia used the Sentinel to identify offenders, generate evidence and transmit real-time information to local police.
Cinema Songs is a radio show that only plays the best movie soundtracks. To show this intrinsic combination between music and movies, the singers were placed in movies posters as their main characters. I was responsible for the art direction and illustration of the posters.
Pornstar Against Water Crisis
Personal project during one of Brazil's most severe water shortage crisis. To encourage water saving measures, we've contribute in a unusual way. We've invited one of Brazil's most famous porn actress to make an appeal for her fans: not to think about her when they took a shower.


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This Sunday (10th June) Usain Bolt's Soccer Aid World XI will go head to head with Robbie Williams' England XI for the eagerly anticipated Soccer Aid for Unicef 2018 match at Manchester United's Old Trafford Stadium.
Soccer Aid for Unicef 2018 will see two teams made up of a host of famous faces from the entertainment industry and some of world football's most iconic legends, all set to walk out onto Manchester United's Theatre of Dreams pitch on Sunday 10th June.
This year's Soccer Aid for Unicef features an impressive line-up of celebrities and former sportsmen, including: Robbie Williams, Usain Bolt, Sir Mo Farah, Eric Cantona, Gordon Ramsay, Olly Murs, Mark Wright, Brendan Cole, Joe Wicks, Clarence Seedorf, Robert Pirès, Yaya Tourè, Jaap Stam, Patrick Kluivert, Edwin van der Sar, Kevin Pietersen, David Seaman, Phil Neville, Jamie Redknapp, Danny Murphy, Ben Shephard, Nicky Byrne and Robbie Keane.
The UK government will match every £1 donated by the public through its UK Aid Match scheme, doubling the difference for children in danger around the world.
Robbie Williams, Unicef UK Ambassador and co-founder of Soccer Aid, said: "I am buzzing that Soccer Aid for Unicef is back. Reclaiming the title for England this year is going to taste so much sweeter with Usain leading the Soccer Aid World XI. He's giving it all the big talk and showing off his lightning bolts right now, but come Sunday 10th June at Old Trafford, he'll be left quaking in his big size thirteens! I can't wait to lead out the England team in what really is a game like no other. With your support, we will help children in danger around the world."
Usain Bolt, Soccer Aid World XI said: "It is my dream to make it as a professional footballer, so to be able to step out onto the pitch at Old Trafford in June, and play against some of football's biggest legends is going to be remarkable. I enjoy the thrill of competition in front of a crowd, so Robbie and his England team better watch out as I won't be going easy on them! I've got a pretty special celebration planned for when I score, by the way. My team is going to be unbeatable – and Soccer Aid for Unicef is counting on your support to make a difference to thousands of children around the world. Come and join in the fun!"
International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, said: "We are excited to be involved once again this year in what promises to be the biggest Soccer Aid for Unicef to date. The UK government will match public donations pound-for-pound, meaning that, together, we can double the difference for children around the world."
100% of all public donations to Soccer Aid for Unicef will go towards supporting the vital work protecting children in the UK and globally. The money raised through profits from ticket sales and viewer donations during the match will add to the incredible £24 million that has already been raised through Soccer Aid over the last 12 years.


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National Student Nurses Association, Nicholls chapter
Nursing students who are involved do better. We want out students to participate in their career while in school. The Nicholls Association of Student Nurses gives students that opportunity.
The official purpose of NASN is to aid in the development of the individual student of nursing as a future health professional as well as to be aware of and to contribute to improving the health care of all people. Nursing is a service-oriented profession, and the rewards are great.
Both faculty members and students join together and work to better the community through educational efforts. The students teach every aspect of health care to any aggregate in any setting. They touch the lives of many through participation in the heart walks, American Cancer Association Relay for Life, cystic fibrosis walk, blood drives, food drives, donations to organizations, health screenings, service-learning, community Easter egg hunt, Christmas Toy Drive and more.
NASN allows the student a "voice" in a professional nursing organization. This entry-level membership affords students opportunities for networking, communication, legislative awareness, the development of good citizenship and professional unity.
By joining NASN, the student is affiliated with the National Student Nurses Association and the Louisiana Association of Student Nurses. ALL nursing majors are invited to join!
Join NASN…Make the difference!


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PART ONE: The prep...
" I've got this great wood yard you could use for your next shoot"
"er...? Thanks!"
And that was that for about three months until...
izombie. if you haven't watched it you should.. it's funny and quite addictive, oh.. and it's on Netflix so how hard can it be?
But I digress.. slightly. izombie's heroine is Liv Moore and it gives little away to say she's a changed woman and fortunately for me, changed in a rather fabulous way. As soon as I saw her super white hair and snow white tan I knew I has a basis for my next shoot and furthermore that her look transposed to a nighttime setting with say logs and smoke would be rather cool, see where I'm going here? that's right.. I'd found a reason to shoot in the wood yard!
So began what was to be probably my most ambitious shoot to date. Once I'd decided on the idea of beautiful zombies floating around the wood yard at night I just needed to think of a concept.
After a quick message to my friend Charlotte Howard, she of the opening line of this blog and one short car journey later I found myself staring at Great Chalfield Manor, which for those of you not addicted to historical dramas or from outside the UK, is a stunning Tudor Manor house situated about ten miles outside Bath and the backdrop for Wolf Hall and any number of period TV epics.
The aforementioned wood yard is situated a few hundred meters along a track from the manor and at the time of my visit, cold and impressively muddy. I have to confess, that covered in lurid plastic sheeting and littered with mechanical machinery of every description I did start to wonder if I'd made a mistake, but once I got home and looked at my shots of the recce I realised it just might work.
One of the things that caught my eye on the recce was the large earth mover to the left of the yard, I was very wary of leaving anything in the shots that might force an unwanted colour palette on the shoot. However something told me that its inoffensive brown and cream hues might be OK. I can't recall exactly when the light bulb moment struck regarding the my idea to cover the digger in ivy and flowers, but strike it did and then we were off!
It's at this point I need to mention Chris Liversidge, not only the man who's yard we were shooting in, but a complete dude to boot. When I called him up to ask if it was OK to use the digger in the shoot and that not only did I want to hang lights off it, but that I wanted it to be covered in plants, he simply replied, " so you want it to look like something from The Lost world as if it's been reclaimed by the undergrowth'?!
Anyhoo location duly located it was time to find some models. I had been shooting with Ellie and Angelica recently as I'd got them into the studio to shoot some head shots for my new website ( www.theportraitprofessional.co.uk if you're interested) so I got in touch and discovered Angelica was about to go traveling... FOR SIX MONTHS! suddenly my relatively large portfolio of possible dates had shrunk to roughly one weekend..
Not good...
Next I set about contacting Lucie Rose Donlan. Lucie is a model and pro surfer based in Cornwall and we had shot together a few months previously when I did some tests for her agency Mustard Models in Bristol. Lucie is fab and has a great look and despite living so far away, when I mentioned the concept to her she was in without a second thought. My last model was via the school of scouting as I like to call it or as my girlfriend likes to call it " did he spot you in Waitrose"?.. cheeky bizzum ! Enter Chloe, who despite many misgivings trusted me to turn her into a creature of the night time world and very beautifully she did it too.
So...location... check ...models... check.... concept...mostly check there can only be one thing I needed to do next..
I LOVE Pinterest. The sheer simplicity of being able to search for pretty much anything you can think of with just a few clicks is a Godsend. Add in the ability to create a board and the share it with everyone involved is invaluable. A few days later and I had what would become the mother of all mood boards and it did it's job perfectly as people began to e-mail me with a variety of "ooh and wows" that made it clear my ideas were hitting the spot.
I decided that in the tradition of shows like The Walking Dead and Survivor this would be a world in which the social order had collapsed and those who survived would just inhabit anywhere that took their liking. Following on from the neat twist of i Zombie, the zombies didn't need to be decaying, so once I had decided that my zombies would be beautiful zombies, not " bits hanging off zombies" we went looking for what they should wear. I am a big fan of photographer Gregory Crewdson's beautiful otherworldly Americana and for a time I considered having vehicles in the shots, car headlights in smoke are a pretty cool look in any scene and thus I wondered if our heroines should have a mixture of modern clothing. Eventually I decided that I wanted the colour palette to be soft and ethereal and closer to something someone else I admire, the brilliant Tim Walker might shoot.
I talked extensively with my long term collaborator Felicity Keefe about what kind of look we should go for with regards to the dresses. We decided that we wanted predominantly long dresses that would trail behind the models or at least reach the floor and that the colour palette would be whites and creams and very pale tobacco colours. I was extremely fortunate to have been recently introduced to Alice Pickup who agreed to come on board to help with the Styling as Felicity was on this occasion unable to spend as much time as usual on the day of the shoot and I wanted a female eye on the proceeding's to reign in my "Smoke and Wolves" tendencies! With Felicity's brief duly noted I took Alice Angelica and Ellie to Bath Theatrical Costume Hire in Frome in Somerset. Despite planning to take four outfits per model we ended up leaving with around 40 dresses! not to mention feather headdresses, bags, ruffs and anything esle that wasn't nailed down or so it felt.
I had decided that I was not going to go into a night shoot with no idea if the dresses worked, so I'd arranged for Ellie and Angelica and Chloe to come to my studio for test shots. This gave Felicity the chance to see the girls in the actual outfits and with a quick and brutal " no.. no..no" to about half the dresses, we had the choice narrowed down to three looks per model. Once outfits for the absent Lucie had been picked and test shot with the other outfits we had our section.
PART TWO: The Rig....
Sometimes when I look back at all the preparation that goes into shoots like these I'm amazed any of us actually do them at all! It's the little things like "how am I going to stop four girls who are only wearing dresses from freezing to death stood on a wood pile for hours on end" or " how do I power sixteen lights and five smoke machines and a microwave and kettle and a Winnebago from a few 13A sockets in a barn" ? or " how much food do I need to feed up to sixteen people from Saturday lunchtime through to Sunday evening." or " how do I get half these people to a wood yard in the middle of nowhere when most of them don't drive and more importantly how do I get them home"?!! it's this kind of stuff that keeps you awake at night and it's nothing to do with creativity it's all just sheer logistics, and logistics on a very tight budget at that.
Logistics resolved as best I could it was time to start rigging the shoot. I am indebted to my friend of many years Robbie Wood, who despite knowing this would not be a short day, agreed to help me on the Saturday. We eventually arrived at the site around 1pm after I had been to Bristol to collect the lighting. At this point we were joined by the lovely Charlotte Howard and here equally lovely husband Moray McDonald. Robbie and Moray set about running power cables to the various lighting positions I had pre visualized while Chris and I set about rigging " The Crate" with narrow beam profile spotlights. The Crate had evolved from an idea I had to hang a wooden pallet from the jaws of the digger to hopefully create rather splendid shafts of light through the smoke. I had done this when shooting with fashion students at Bath Uni for a Bowie inspired shoot and it had worked really well.
As we rigged the crate Charlotte set about the rather Herculean task of fixing flowers and ivy to a net to then affix to the digger. The net would be added the following day by the ever awesome Dave Johnson who gamely rode a digger bucket armed with nothing more than a fistful of cable ties and a smile!
Around 6-7 pm the lighting was mostly in place and our intrepid volunteer test lighting models Chloe and Angelica had arrived together with Felicity and our 11 year old son Jamie. Jamie had spotted the smoke grenades I'd ordered and was very excited about being in a photo with his beloved Nerf gun and a cloud of green smoke. Sadly the pyro company failed to send the green grenade so we had to make do with white.. Sorry Kiddo!
The lighting in the crate did look atmospheric and the idea of putting a haze machine in the crate to force a plume of constant smoke in front of the beams also worked ( Thanks Will!) but the sheer distance combined with some of the light having to be be blocked to create the slots of light meant that the amount of light that made it to the models was somewhat underwhelming. As complete darkness fell I tried some test shots with Angelica and Chloe and realised Robbie's prediction that it was going to be along day was proving right. By the time I dropped Robbie home it was clear that my lighting concept was going to need some fairly serious re-thinking. At Cleveland Pools the back lighting had worked because we had endless amounts of room to position the lights until the perfect rim light was achieved, whereas at the wood yard we could barely move them back a meter before we were in danger of them and us tumbling down a ten foot earth slope in the next field. Also Cleveland Pools is comprised of light Bath stone that reflects even a small amount of light quite efficiently whereas the wood yard on the other hand is dark and comprised of big dark logs and little else.
PART THREE The Shoot...
Sunday morning saw the welcome arrival of Dave Johnson and his girlfriend Ella who is also a lighting technician. Once I explained to them the shortcomings of Saturday's tests we set about tweaking my approach to get more light onto the set and the girls. While Ella and I rigged more lights Alice advised DJ on the application of the ivy and flowers to the digger. Alice was a huge help as despite the initial attempts looking quite passable, Alice has good eye for detail and kept gently insisting to DJ and I that it needed more. and she was absolutely right. She was joined by Hope Taylor who had assisted me on the Winter Is Coming Shoot and Hope was tasked with everything from spraying mud on to the (very green) ivy to finding ways to stop the girl's head dresses from either slipping off or digging into their foreheads.. thanks Hope!
One of the best things that materialized on this entire shoot was an offer from Chris and his wife to let us use their Winnebago. I was genuinely worried about how to keep the models warm and the potential for people to get really cold and understandably miserable. Not only did the Winnebago provide warmth but it doubled as a hair and make up HQ and almost equally important a place to cook pizza! never underestimate the importance of hot food on a night shoot outdoors people..
As the day wore on we were getting closer to our finished looks thanks in no small part to the fab Clairelouise Bender on hair and make up. Claire runs House of Bendy and is the nicest person you'll meet, always up and super talented ( http://www.houseofbendy.com). Felicity had designed some great head dresses to give the first look a more earthy pagan feel. They reminded me of Natasha Khan AKA Bat For Lashes which is always a good thing in my book.
Much excitement greeted the arrival of Mandy Partridge and her friends from Surrey Search and Rescue and their gorgeous " Direwolves" or wolf/ dog crosses as the actually are. Those who read my previous blog will recognize the dogs from the infamous " you can't bring wolves into a girl's boarding school " line.. This time there were no school officials to pacify and the dog's arrival made for some joyful scenes as my zombie girls cooed over them and the dogs lapped up the attention.
Just before we started shooting with the dogs we took advantage of the beautiful setting sun that lit up some equally striking cedar logs on the opposite side of the yard to where our main set was located. Despite a rather hair raising experience with one of the smoke grenades we got some great shots and Ellie showed no fear perching atop the pile, although keeping her headdress in place proved quite the challenge..
By this point we were ready to start shooting on the main set and much hilarity ensued as the girls kept warm by dancing to 70's disco which Angelica had on her iPod and somehow ended up replacing for a time my very different moody playlist, but hey.. if kept them warm and happy who was I to complain?...
We shot with the dogs and without, Mandy having come up with the cunning plan of hiding doggie treats in amongst the logs to try to get them into some kind of position that I could use.
I'd always loved the look of wolves roaming in urban cityscapes, the scene in the film Collateral where Tom Cruise sees a lone wolf crossing the highway at night whilst wrestling with his own feral nature made a big impression on me. In real life not Hollywood life we had the rather more ungracious issue of trying to avoid endless shots of the hounds with their bum's in the air whist foraging to contend with but hey..that's showbiz!
In the end the girls were amazing, I'd pre warned them that although we had the lovely Hope Taylor just out of shot with their dressing gowns to cover up between shots, there were going to be long periods where they would just have to endure the cold and " dig deep". Dig deep they did and I can't praise them enough.
It took me months of planning ( even in a blog of this length I've skipped a huge amount of what actually had to be out in place) and two very long days to rig. re -rig and shoot not to mention the logistics of getting forty costumes collected and returned and chosen and labelled. But in the end it was worth it. It took five smoke and haze machines and three braziers of constantly burning wood to get the amount of consistent smoke i needed and the unfailing support of sixteen people many of whom came as far as three hours drive away to make it happen but happen it did and the reaction has been amazing. so..
The next time a friend calls you up to offer you a shoot location.., just be careful what you're watching in the days that follow!
Enjoy the pictures and until the next one.
Peace Out...
The eagle eyed among you will notice I've captioned some of the images with song titles. A shoot like this isn't everyone's cup of Earl Grey especially in the fickle world of fashion but I just finished a book on business by Gene Simmons of Kiss fame and infamy and he pointedly remarked that if he'd been put off by the naysayers in their early days, Kiss would never have become the most commercially successful band in the history of rock. Love 'em or hate 'em it's quite a thought. So I realised that whilst my style is often referred to as overtly theatrical it is MY style and what's the point in doing anything if you just copy everyone else? Kiss were never music biz darlings in fact quite the opposite but their audiences loved them and if they'd been swayed by what was trendy I wouldn't be taking my 11 year old son to see in two weeks time as they'd have long since hung up their platform boots so.. Gene and the boys you keep playing it Hotter Than Hell while I drink my Cold Gin and keep shootin'... after all I've Got Nothin' To Lose!


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About Slone Gear
Slone Gear International provides Gear Production and Measurement Solutions for the North American Gear Market. Our Gear Production offerings include Manufacturing and Tooling/Workholding devices and our Gear Measurement offerings include both Analytic and Functional Measurement solutions. Slone Gear also provides Service and Support including Design and Troubleshooting, Gear Inspection, and multiple Training offerings. Please contact Slone Gear International for all of your gear related needs!
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- Spline Gages/Master Gears, Spline Arbors, Electronic Bore Gages
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- Roundness Machines, High Precision Positioning Systems
- Work Holding, Arbors
- Broach Tooling, Spline Rolling Racks
- Automatic Gaging and Machine Monitoring Systems
Internal Span Mic Video GT Extras (Gear Technology, July 2014)
Dayton Business Journal Business of the Year Winner!
GearSolutions Q&A with Brian Slone
Actual vs. Effective Involute Tooth Size by Brian Slone
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11/20/13 New Double Flank Software Available
12/12/12 Slone Gear International Open for Business!
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Contact us for all your gage / gear inspection needs including spline gages, helical master gears, spur master gears, component replica gears, rolling master gears, lead masters, FTT masters, center distance CD master gears, setting master, setting discs, plain diameter discs, lead and involute masters, ring gages, plug gages, spline gauges, hydraulic arbors, variable spline gages, versa gages, DUB and DOP gages, double flank gear roll testers, arbors, major diameter minor diameter gages, parallel spline gages, go no-go spline gages, go / no-go thread gages, bore gages, rotalock arbors, thread ring gages, thread plug gages, and many more. Contact us to see how we can help provide a solution to your gear inspection needs at 507-401-GEAR.


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New York Times Launching Daily Deals Site
The New York Times Company is throwing its hat in the daily deals ring with the launch of TimesLimited.
TimesLimited will deliver deals to your inbox when you sign up on the site. It will peddle special offers in limited quantities for set amounts of time. Unlike Groupon, the deals won't get better when more people buy them. Many reports about the launch of Times Limited have described it as a "Groupon clone." But All Things D's Peter Kafka noted that it's less like Groupon and more like Gilt City.
The TimesLimited site says it will offer deals on dining, travel, events, and more.
"We're going for a more experience-based version, more of a curated, upscale offer," head of ad sales Denise Warren told Kafka.
Other media companies have tried to ride the group-buying wave, too. PaidContent said that "newspaper companies like Tribune, McClatchy, and Media General have gone in by partnering with Groupon." But the Times is trying a different approach.
"We realized that we have the assets, the consumer reach, and the relationships with the advertisers to do this on our own," Warren said.
New York Times subscribers and registered users have been sent invitations over the past few days via e-mail. The service will launch in the greater New York area, but paidContent said it will eventually expand to other places.
"Right now, we're building our email list and making sure we have users' permission and interest," Warren also said.
No launch date has been made public for TimesLimited, but Kafka said it's coming later this month.


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S&W plus Cut-Ups…
cleric samurai, or a medieval lady. because they are the ruler or monarch. the character prays for a certain set must be either lawful (good) or chaotic (evil). there clerics unless the referee decides the magic-user is a turning undead, page xx).
establish temple: at spell scrolls during an adventure, cleric another who chooses to build and dedicate great kingdoms and equipped of all the character classes to dish out alignment. the character might be a particular daggers or staves, and are not allowed the use of only fighter
the fighter is a warrior, trained that an "baroness" or "baron," otherwise. chaos, law, armor restrictions.
spell round.
saving throw: absorb damage, fighters often end up on the front swear artifacts.
table 5: magic-user casting: party members. toe-to-toe with dragons, goblins, and evil able only the prime attribute for magic-user's mind, and must be prepared again before hierarchy. since many of the cleric's abilities are receive a 10% to experience, 5% as normal, the holiness advancement
exp. points
hit dice (d6)
saving to a deity may attract a body of loyal best list. down-and-dirty work is up to you.
table 4: fighter the healing and protecting, they tend to magic-user
the spell list.
saving throw: clerics she can copy them into her spell book.
saving throw: (d6)
saving may choose to attract a body of class abilities
weapon and armor restrictions: because arcane powers and spell casting. they can be fighters mysterious figure, a used).
banishing might have able to create wondrous magical of spells, choosing any of the saving throws vs. poison armor.
spell casting: unlike the cleric, the are no for magic-users, which means play a support (see reading from this book, the magic-user presses a receive magic-user owns a book of spells—which does most powerful of the character followers who come later an additional 5% experience.
the reached the vs. death not face a mutiny).
experience bonus for wisdom: it is sinister witch-hunter, an exorcist of demons, a opponents. however, at lower levels, they use blunt weapons (club, flail, mace, etc.) and weapons. your engage in physical combat. magic-users disappears from the cleric and 5% because it is the character might be a ferocious viking raider, a roaming tomes and scrolls. as such, they have little who to "turn" the undead, causing them to flee select possible to prepare a spell multiple times using the restrictions on the kind of weapons or armor they can the character. if the class each combat clerics have no to train with weapons or learn how to properly the throw
Doing weird things to old-school seems cool.


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Salad with Warm Soft-Boiled Eggs/
Today has been nice. I haven't been outside yet and I am still in my pajamas, but I have been basking in the warm sunshine streaming through the dining room windows while I happily cross various tasks off of one of my many lists (yes, I am one of those people).
I *may* have gotten a really nice job yesterday. More on that in a few weeks. I can tell you it has to do with bread though. . .!
I made myself a huge salad to graze on while I give my full attention to the computer. Salads typically do not excite me. However, when they have mixed greens, broccoli, carrot, tomato, and (these are the really important parts) cold, boiled potatoes, avocado, and warm, soft-boiled eggs it becomes a real meal. I made some dressing with mustard, alfalfa honey, balsamic, and olive oil to accompany the runny yolk.
I have also been enjoying one of Tanya's many orchids that bloomed recently. It is a rare event, but a gorgeous one.


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"What gives me the greatest satisfaction in our work is to make a connection between an architect or designer and a material previously unknown that becomes part of a building project-the timeliness of it when it happens! I also love discovering the next latest and greatest material or technology that I can share with our clients. The world of material technology has exploded during the last decade making it an exciting time to be in this industry."
Brenda's interest in art and design through all her primary and secondary education years eventually led her to study interior design and architecture, first at the University of Missouri, earning a Bachelors in Interior Design, and then to the Boston Architectural Center and Washington University in St. Louis where she earned her M.Arch. Her professional career included a year with Cambridge Seven Associates and 16 years at The Architects Collaborative. During her years as a practicing architect, her skills evolved from design to mastering the process of programming and planning--collecting, assembling and disseminating information, which would become the foundations for new and renovated building projects. These skills are the ones she put to use in her own business, Building and Design Resources, launched in 1993 as a resource for information, designed to serve all those in the building industry. It was her own need for information during the recession of the early 90s that was the inspiration for this business, but it is her love of information and the desire to share it, along with her practical experience, that keeps it relevant.
Donna has worked in the architecture, design, and art industries for over twenty years. She earned an MArch in Architecture from the University of Virginia, a BFA in Communication Design from Parsons School of Design, and has completed numerous specialized study and professional development programs, such as the Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies. Her work at Building & Design Resources has refined her skills in library management, product research, and online database maintenance, as well as helped to strengthen communication between professionals in BDR's vast network.
Her understanding of architecture and design allows her to better suit her research and maintenance models for the architects and interior designers she supports. Her other interests include exhibition planning, architectural photography, environmental psychology, and art education, each of which she has pursued in equal measure.
As an architectural historian and an experienced archivist with over 10 years of experience with Massachusetts architectural firms, Jenya knows the importance of the complete life cycle of records, whether organizing active project paper and digital architectural and administration documentation or sorting through old moldy blueprints. For legal, historical, design and construction administration purposes, she creates and implements record management and archival systems tailored specifically to the needs of each of our architectural firm clients. She coordinates and maintains materials in off-site storage, making both security and accessibility her top priorities. Once Jenya's Record and Information Management (RIM) and Archival Systems are in place, they can easily be maintained by office staff, for which she provides orientation and training.
Jenya's sunny personality, combined with her efficient and systematic approach to records management, has made her essential with many of our clients. While wearing her "historian" hat, she has even featured some of the architectural projects, with which she has been involved, in publications. Jenya takes pride in preserving the legacies of the firms she serves. She is a member of the Society of Architectural Historians as well as of the Society of Americans Archivists.
Originally from St.-Petersburg, Russia, Jenya is currently a PhD candidate at the Russian Academy of Arts working on a dissertation on H.H. Richardson. While in Russia, she also taught at the Academy of Arts and at the European University, both in St. Petersburg-courses on the History of New England Architecture and on Historic Preservation in New England. She has been living with her family in Boston for the past fourteen years.


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Welcome to Business Contact Manager Team blog. This is our first blog entry. We hope that you will find our future posting interesting and useful.
Over last couple of weeks I read pretty much all the posts on BCM newsgroup and one question came up repeatedly-Where is Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2007? I hope to address questions related to getting and installing Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2007.
Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2007 is not part of Office 2007 installation. It needs to be installed separately after valid Office 2007 SKU is installed. Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2007 is available in Microsoft Office 2007 Professional and Microsoft Office 2007 Small Business editions. When it releases to retailers later this month, Business Contact Manager will be available on Office CD2.
You can get a fully functional 60-day trial version of Office 2007 from trial download site http://us1.trymicrosoftoffice.com/default.aspx?culture=en-US. Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2007 is available as "Download 2" on the download page of Office 2007 Professional or Office 2007 Small Business Suite. You can download the file and run it after you have installed Office.
If you participated in Office Beta program and installed pre-RTM release of Business Contact Manager, you will need to upgrade it to RTM version whenever you update Office to RTM version. Beta version of Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2007 will not function with RTM version of Office.
Please feel free to send your comments if you have questions on getting Business Contact Manager for Outlook 2007. We have greatly improved this version from our previous version with several new and exciting features. You can get more information about new version from our product information page at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/contactmanager/FX101674171033.aspx


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Helen's Fourth Blog
Thurs 17th Jan
I went to the Pilates class at Garstang. I regularly go to Yoga and at first I thought Pilates was abit too as I didn't feel like I was working as hard as I usually do at Yoga, but this morning (the day after) I can really feel where I was stretching and it feels like the class has really helped me tighten and tone. It's great because it clearly does work but it doesn't feel too strenuous!
So onto week 3 now..can't wait to see what class I'm trying next week!


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This Crazy Weather!
Suzy Hartford
1) Tim Malinich poetically notes, there will be a "Loss of bloom for precocious bloomers". For the sparsely flowering forsythia and the spotty blooms on rhododendron this will probably not even be noticeable in the spring. For the flowering cherry Dan noted, ornamental effect may indeed be a low show for spring.
2) For woody plants, the first test of the winter season will be how rapidly temperatures drop. Freezing of water into ice crystals for intercellular water even of dormant plants in unusually warm winter weather is always a concern. Concern may be multiplied this year due to the missing autumn, but the closer to normal 30s-40s in the day and 20s at night that during New Year's week succeeded the 50s-60s of Christmas week was probably useful, providing more normal fall-ish weather. Naturally, this issue will possibly repeat, and all depends on the January-March weather to come.
3) Tim Malinich also brings up an interesting dilemma with regard to weed control. He notes: "Winter annuals are loving this, lots of new germination and growth. Should be a bumper crop waiting for the landscapers in April. If it doesn't slow down a bit they may be in seed before the crews can get them out next year meaning extra weed problems for the next couple seasons; plan on proper identification and precise timing of pre-emergent applications next spring AND fall. This goes for containers in production as well. Make sure beds are clean prior to mulching."
4) Bee gardeners should note the words of Barb Bloetscher, from ODA, who notes that: "The honey bees have been active through fall and Nov-Dec. reports of them bringing in pollen during the first 2 weeks of December. With honey bees still active and very little nectar/ pollen available, they are eating stored pollen and honey which could deplete the amount of food necessary to survive winter and early spring. Researchers are seeing and predicting losses throughout the northeastern and northern U.S. "
5). On the turfgrass side, Joe Rimelspach (OSU-Plant Pathology) notes a similar concern with sudden temperature drops: "On the lawn side of the landscape, at this point we should not see any serious problems. One exception would be newly seeded lawns with juvenile seedling. These could be injured if there is a severe and sudden drop in temperatures or if covered in ice (standing water that freezes). Turf type Tall Fescues are usually the most vulnerable." Hopefully, we shall enter more traditional winter weather with a continued moderation of the transition that occurred in late December.
Sudden drops from seasonably unusually warm weather is usually the biggest culprit in killing stem tissue, though severe low temperature freezes that affect stem and root survival is also a concern, but will simply just be "what we get". Mulching can provide some moderation.
Suzy Hartford
From OSU Extension agent and OSU Professors, some thoughts on what this crazy winter weather means for us. (written in late January)


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BAC Monos Drifting on Swedish Frozen Lakes
Watch highlights of BAC's hugely successful inaugural Mono Ice Driving Experience trip on the frozen lakes of Are, Sweden, in three of its One-of-a-Kind Mono supercars.
Despite battling intense cold weather, the three Mono performed amazingly well on the ice and BAC came away having achieved its ultimate goal: giving its clients the raw Mono experience and having plenty of fun along the way.
Drivers of various walks of life and skill levels headed to ?re, but thanks to the expert advice from Co-Founders Neill and Ian Briggs and Drive Team Leader Oliver Webb, all attendees were drifting like pros when it was time to say goodbye.
The Mono is renowned for being one of the most accessible cars on the planet, and how quickly guests leaned to take the perfect drifting line in a corner is testament to exactly that.
Company Co-Founders Neill and Ian Briggs gave their thoughts on a dream coming true in Sweden.


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Welcome to Pilgrim Youth Fellowship!
Pilgrim Youth Fellowship Vision Statement
Provide the youth of the Plantsville Congregational UCC with fun and with experiences helping others in the local and global community, while providing an atmosphere that encourages Christian fellowship and support.
Plantsville Congregational UCC strongly believes in the value of our youth members and the many special gifts and contributions they bring to the life of our congregation. Because of this, the church seeks many ways to be supportive of youth activities.
If you are a young person or you are a family who is searching for a church experience that welcomes youth presence and participation, you are invited to join Pilgrim Youth Fellowship (PYF). Together, we are seeking ways to deepen our relationship with God, grow our faith and discipleship, and discover new and exciting ways to BE the church, now and into the future! You are welcome at Plantsville UCC!
Senior PYF, for grades 9 - 12, traditionally gathers together on most Sunday evenings from 7:00pm until 9:00pm. There are times during the year when youth are encouraged to participate in "all church" activities as well. Those activities take precedence if they fall on a Sunday evening. Our time together is often a mixture of games, group activities, bible study or hot topic discussions, worship, service projects, outings, and snacks.
Junior PYF, for grades 6 - 8, traditionally gathers one Sunday evening per month from 5:00pm until 6:30pm. Our time together usually includes games, service projects, group activities, outings and snacks.


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Recap: The White House Film Festival San Francisco Screening
Last night I had the pleasure of partnering with Betsy Corcoran and EdSurge and host a special San Francisco screening of the White House Film Festival at the GitHub HQ. The turnout for the event was awesome, the BBQ was delicious, and the drinks were out of this world!
The event was complete with special White House Film Festival video messages from the President, First Lady, and Conan O'Brien!
Most importantly, we were able to showcase some amazing student work (see some of my favorite films highlighted below).
Thank You
I wanted to give a special thanks to the following people:
- Joe Polastre for deciding that we should do a SF screening of the event and getting an amazing host in GitHub and bringing some amazing people together.
- Chelsea Miller for handling all the logistics, setting up the event, getting the website up, working with our online partner, and take care of all registration.
- GitHub for going above and beyond in providing the space, the food, and the amazing cocktails. Having an Oval Office gave it the perfect White House feel.
- EdSurge for allowing this to be your August MeetUp, getting the word out and coming representing strong at the event.
- Betsy Cochran! If it wasn't for you, the White House Film Festival would not have been possible. You're amazing and I'm so grateful for begin able to work with you on some awesome projects like this.
- Kara, Ryan, and Ricardo for proving fantastic introduction to the films. Your stories were inspiring and it was a great addition to the event.
- The White House Digital Strategy office, 18F and the Presidential Innovation Fellows program. Getting to work for and with you has been one of the biggest pleasures of my professional life.


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Cascade Challenge
Top Wish List from past years leaders: Things we wish we we had done, or brought or thought of:
- I wish we had read the packet more than once, and used it as a training guide.
- I wish we had brought the packet with us
- I wish we had trained in all types of Northwest weather
- and so on….click on the link for more…..
- Do you want to add to this list? Email us!!


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This Sunday G and I spent some time in Downtown Los Angeles after I took some headshots for a client. There was barely any traffic and we got to walk everywhere since the streets were pretty empty! I genuinely enjoy walking around and really don't love driving so it's nice to just park and walk.
We stopped by Olvera street for a little bit of shopping (I love their huaraches!) and walked over to Little Tokyo to grab some pastries and shop some more. :)


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ScanS → Remix Magazine Interview
Download Archived Folder Of These Images (Part 1)
Download Archived Folder Of These Images (Part 2)
Publication Date: April 2003
For any musician, the only thing worse than wallowing away in obscurity is trying to build upon years of unqualified success. For the members of Massive Attack, the pressure became almost too much to bear. From nearly the moment they appeared on the scene, Massive Attack has been heralded as one of the few truly revolutionary forces in modern music: Many credit them with putting the Bristol trip-hop scene on the map and paving the way for artists such as Portishead and Tricky. Massive's sound synthesizes the most important aspects of electronic music, dub, hip-hop and even guitar-driven modern rock. More important, though, the members have always sought to infuse their music with a human, emotional component that makes their work connect with a far more diverse audience—an approach that has always set them apart from many electronic-music artists. Their dark, ambiguous, almost faceless public persona and careful attention to visual detail have also worked to solidify their reputation as consummate multimedia artists.
Massive Attack's last album, Mezzanine (Virgin, 1998), which sold in excess of 3 million copies, catapulted the band from its status as a music-critic buzzword to a worldwide musical enterprise. Through the inclusion of tracks such as "Teardrop"—featuring vocals by Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins—and "Inertia Creeps" on numerous film soundtracks and because of heavy media rotation, the hypnotic, processed guitar sound of Mezzanine became difficult to escape, and it produced Massive's most tangible level of success here in the States. Success on that level forced the band into a difficult situation: Demanding promotional schedules and the extensive touring eventually forced the members of the band— 3D (born Robert del Naja), Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles and Grant "Daddy Gee" Marshal—to come to terms with what the band's future may hold. "We'd all gone off in different ways in our heads," 3D explains. "It was very difficult after Mezzanine, because it was a whole year of resolving issues and splitting up effectively."
Although Daddy Gee used the opportunity to invest time in his personal life and prepare himself to rejoin Massive Attack at a later date, Mushroom's permanent departure from the project centered mostly on conflicting visions of where the band should take its sound. As 3D would reiterate numerous times, the band had always sought to frame each album as a reaction to its predecessor—a way for Massive Attack to distance itself from what was expected of it.
"I wanted to get away from the kind of more soulful elements we were getting into," 3D continues. "I felt that the music I was listening to was all about safety and warmth, and I wanted to do something a bit colder. And it eventually brought around the split between me and Mushroom because we completely disagreed on that subject." With both Daddy Gee and Mushroom out of the picture for the time being, 3D and longtime producer Neil Davidge were left with the task of sculpting the next Massive Attack album entirely on their own.
The writing process for what would become the most recent Massive Attack album, 100th Window (Virgin, 2003), began at a residential studio outside of London called Rich Farm. 3D had already spent some time constructing a blueprint for how he wanted the sessions to proceed. Armed with a collection of tiny loops, samples and odd keyboard and guitar lines, he wanted to build up a pool of sounds and ideas based on live, improvisational jams—a process he likened to classic late-'60s studio experiments. To help the process along, 3D and Davidge brought along members of Lupine Howl (Sean Cook, Mike Mooney and Damon Reece)—who are better known for their work with Spiritualized—to add live guitars, bass and drums.
"We spent two weeks of recording just hours and hours of jams," 3D explains. "And we set up lights and strobes. When we felt the track was getting slow, we'd turn up the lights, and everyone would get a bit fucked up and try and get that old '60s or '70s jamming atmosphere. And we got some amazing psychedelic sort of journeys or bits of music, and we had hours and hours of this stuff, which was amazing. We proceeded to reconstruct it in the studio in Bristol, which was a fucking very long-winded process. We sat there with Pro Tools and tried to put the jams back up and sort of tried to tidy them up a bit. We were going back in to pull little bits out—like drums, bass and guitar parts— and we ended up with lots and lots of quite interesting tracks."
With more than 100 hours of material tracked during those sessions, 3D firmly believed that it was going to be the album's foundation. Much of the impetus behind this approach stemmed from a conscious decision to eschew any use of samples or material that wasn't their own—both for legal and artistic reasons. Unfortunately, through the course of editing the material into usable bits, 3D felt that the essence of the recordings got lost when they were removed from their original context.
"As the year went on," he continues, "what was apparent was that by the very nature of the process, we were destroying the moments we'd created live. And the little parts, individually, didn't have the magic when they weren't working alongside the other parts. When it came to sampling and rebuilding, we thought we'd created a master source of material, a big well to draw from. But it didn't actually quite work out. I think a lot of the things I was feeling was that the bits sounded slightly post-Mezzanine, as well: very guitar-driven. And as much as I thought it was great, I wasn't turning us on to write new songs."
Massive Attack spent the better part of 2001 attempting to create a workable foundation from the Rich Farm sessions, which, once edited, yielded an untold amount of material. "We went through a whole period in 2001, after we'd done this, not really coming up with songs and developed tracks, but lots of hapless instrumentals, which were starting to bring us down a little bit," 3D says. It wasn't until the beginning of 2002 that 3D realized he had been heading in the wrong direction all along.
"It came to the end of that year, 2001," 3D recalls, "and it was just back over Christmas. We were in the studio, listening to the little bits we'd done. And [we were] floundering a bit and coming to terms with the fact that what we were doing wasn't very good, which is a pretty difficult place to be when you started with an idea that you thought was bulletproof. And after Christmas, myself and Neil came back into the studio with the guys, and we said, 'Look, we just have to start again and write some new things from scratch.'"
Once 3D and Davidge had made the decision to begin rebuilding the album from scratch, they progressed quickly. The group owns their own facility in Bristol, which houses a full-fledged Digidesign Pro Tools TDM-equipped studio, as well as a secondary writing room for 3D. The secondary space comprises a Mac-based Pro Tools LE system and functions as a simple workspace. One of the most important aspects of the studio, according to 3D, is the Ethernet connection that runs throughout the facility. Ideas, sessions and files can be quickly shared between the various rooms—an ability that proved to be vital to the writing process.
"We bought a lot of spare drives, so we constantly keep things backed up on drives," he explains. "We do a lot of restoring drives to get old sessions back up, and it gets quite complicated. But we're kind of upgrading things at the moment because we're always running out of bloody DSP power. It's always the same story. But everything is on [Pro] Tools, which is quite weird because everything ends up going into the same place whether it's vocals or keyboard parts or live jams; it always ends up in the same place.
"We used everything [on this record]: Moogs, Junos, Roland keyboards—stuff like that—and basic plug-ins like Absynth inside [Pro] Tools," 3D says. "And we used things like GRM Tools and Speed and Amp Farm, all the usual kinds of toys, really. Damon Reece would bring his electronic drums up here, and we'd sample sounds into that, or we'd use a live kit and mike that."
During the course of just a few short months, the band wrote the majority of the record. "We took two of the tracks with us from the previous year's work, which was 'A Prayer for England,' which we recorded with Sinead O'Connor in London, and the instrumental for 'What Your Soul Sings,' which we liked too much to want to discard. We took that with us into last year and basically rewrote the album. We started with 'Future Proof' and then went into 'What Your Soul Sings' then 'Special Cases,' 'Small Time Shot Away,' 'Everywhen,' 'Antistar;' and then it kinda slowly developed. By February and March, I was booking studios for June and July because I was confident we were going to finish it."
In direct contrast to the improvisational approach, 3D took the writing process back to a much more familiar place: Many of the tracks on 100th Window began as simple keyboard or guitar lines, sparse arpeggiator patterns and drumbeats. Although it may not be immediately noticeable, 3D explains that this album is far and away the most complex piece of work the band has ever put out. Where Mezzanine showcased more stripped-down arrangements and relied on heavy guitars and drums, the new album is designed to be a more intricate and exacting piece of work.
One such example of this new approach is the closing track, "Antistar." The band booked time at Sony Music Studios in London to record the string parts that build toward the middle of the track. To achieve the Eastern-influenced feel that the group wanted, each discrete track had to be edited, and individual notes had to be pitch-bent to precise quarter tones—an exhausting process that Davidge had to complete entirely by ear. To finish the song, however, the group used a simple breakbeat rhythm that was programmed with a Korg Electribe drum machine.
"We started to work in the way we normally worked, which was to start with very simple ideas rather than lots of ideas," 3D says. "We'd start with a couple of guitar parts with a beat put to it, sound waves or keyboard parts, and then start writing some vocals and writing some lyrics for songs. And that was just how we kind of ended up going, rebuilding everything from scratch but with very minimal moments.
"So now, of course," 3D continues, "it does seem like it was meant to be. It was fated, but at the time, it didn't feel that [way] at all. It felt utterly miserable, and if you look at the album budget, it will testify that. It's going to cost me a lot of money, that whole two years working with 80,000 pieces of music we didn't use."
Following the release of 100th Window, Massive Attack is gearing up for its first tour in several years. Rejoining 3D on the road is founding member Daddy Gee. And if their current plans hold up, they plan to release their fifth album sometime inside of the next year.
Written By Robert Hanson