sorensenmandolins - Tumblr blog

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Here’s a playlist featuring Sorensen mandolins!

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So when are you going to quit hanging around and join the Sorensen Family?

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If you’ve been hankerin’ to hear that blue-hot new Sorensen Stealth in action, here’s Danny Roberts giving it the very first notes after finishing.

Learn more HERE

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Real connoisseurs know that the freshest new designs, and tastiest early summer varieties, may only be harvested from the most carefully tended Mandolin Orchard. 

Tucked away, in the quiet corner of a sunny California's temperate Santa Susanna mountain valley known to locals as Santa Clarita, the Sorensen crop is allowed to mature and ripen without the rushed urgency of stressed production quotas and impatient executive oversight.

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Three Sorensen Sprite Two-Point mandolins ready for finishing.

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Typical Tuesday morning - binding a Sprite Two-Point fingerboard as ClayBank's "Queen of Carolina" pops up on SiriusXM Bluegrass Junction with that great Sorensen VX mandolin break by Zack Arnold.

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Waiting for Waverlies . . .

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When you’re hungry for something MORE . . .

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Impressive response.

We’re taking steps to protect against future interference in our political conversation by state-sponsored propaganda campaigns

Hi Tumblr,

We’re all grappling with the influence that state-sponsored disinformation campaigns can have on our political conversations—and how wide-spread that interference turned out to be. So please take a moment to read this, think about it, and talk about it.

Last fall, we uncovered 84 Tumblr accounts linked to the Russian government through the Internet Research Agency, or IRA. These accounts were being used as part of a disinformation campaign leading up to the 2016 U.S. election. After uncovering the activity, we notified law enforcement, terminated the accounts, and deleted their original posts. Behind the scenes, we worked with the Department of Justice, and the information we provided helped indict 13 people who worked for the IRA.

Now that the investigations are done, we want to let you know how we’re going to help protect Tumblr in the future and what you can do to help.

Here’s what we know about these accounts

The IRA employs more than 1,000 people who engage in electronic disinformation and propaganda campaigns around the world using phony social media accounts. Their goal is to sow division and discontent in the countries they target. What makes them so difficult to spot is that they’re not spambots. They’re real people who get trained and paid to spread propaganda.

As far as we can tell, the IRA-linked accounts were only focused on spreading disinformation in the U.S., and they only posted organic content. We didn’t find any indication that they ran ads.

Remember, the IRA and other state-sponsored disinformation campaigns play off our zero-sum politics. They want to drive a wedge between us so that we spend our time fighting with each other instead of building towards the future. We’ll be watching for signs of future activity, but the best defense is knowing how they operate and how to judge the content you see.

What we’re doing in response to the interference

First, we’ll be emailing anyone who liked, reblogged, replied to, or followed an IRA-linked account with the list of usernames they engaged with.

Second, we’re going to start keeping a public record of usernames we’ve linked to the IRA or other state-sponsored disinformation campaigns. We’re committed to transparency and want you to know everything that we know.

We’ve decided to leave up any reblog chains that might be on your Tumblrs—you can choose to leave them or delete them. We’re letting you decide because the reblog chains contain posts created by real Tumblr users, often challenging or debunking the false and incideniary claims in the IRA-linked original post. Removing those authentic posts without your consent would encroach on your free speech—and there have been enough disruptions to our conversations as it is.

What we’re doing to stop future disinformation campaigns

You’ve probably read that U.S. intelligence officials expect foreign agents to try similar propaganda campaigns in the future. We’ll be monitoring Tumblr for signs of state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, and if we see anything we will…

Terminate the accounts and remove their original posts.

Notify you if we determine that you’ve liked, reblogged, replied to, or followed a propaganda account.

Add the username to the public record.

Alert law enforcement.

There are also things you can do to help stop the spread of disinformation and propaganda.

Be aware that people want to manipulate the conversation. Knowing that disinformation and propaganda accounts are out there makes it harder for them to operate. The News Literacy Project has this handy checklist for spotting their tricks.

Be skeptical of things you read. Disinformation campaigns work because they know people don’t fact check. Look for reliable sources, and double-check that the source really says the same thing as the post. You can also check Snopes and Politifact. Both are award-winning resources and usually have the latest viral claim fact checked on the front page. 

Correct the record. When you see people spreading misinformation—even unintentionally—politely say something in a reblog or reply. If it’s your friend, send them a message to let them know.

One last note: Please vote.

Transparency won’t mean a thing if we don’t participate in the process. Whatever your political stance, voting ensures a government that represents your interests. For our U.S. users: You can register online or by mail, and many states are holding primaries right now.

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The first Sorensen Sprite Two-Point mandolin to be owned in Japan!

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The next Sorensen Stealth ready to head into finishing.

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So proud and delighted that CMT's "Favorite Albums of 2017" list includes TWO new albums featuring Sorensen VX mandolins ! ! !

The Grascals' "Before Breakfast" with Danny Roberts on his Sorensen VX prototype. Flatt Lonesome's "Silence In These Walls" with Kelsi Harrigill on her custom Sorensen VX mandolin.

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Santa always appreciated a Stealthy Christmas.

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The world needs more push-back against hate.

Trans activists in Mexico City, protesting violence against the LGBTQ community.

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Yep, that’s a Sorensen Sprite Two-Point mandolin that Liam is playing.