#bernie barlow

[mitjalovse]

Rick Parashar was a lot of things to many musicians as we can glean from our illustrious discussions on the players he worked with, but I would suggest he molded the 90's. To be honest, him being connected with the period and those that took the wrong lessons from them should've meant he probably worked with a lot of musicians in the vein of Melissa Etheridge, whose biggest career break occurred in the period Parashar made his name. Sadly, he didn't work with any of them that much, he only helmed Melissa Etheridge's Lucky, which is not a bad album – some parts there are quite good –, yet you keep thinking how him producing her work in the 90's would've sounded like. Then again, were Mrs. Etheridge and her peers really close to the alternative rock of the time.

[katmcpheeuniverse]

Katharine McPhee attends the Barlow Respiratory Hospital's 4th Annual Bernie Brillstein Golf Classic Awards Dinner at the Wilshire Country Club on October 20, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. 

[onejazztrackaday]

Ten Part Invention – And Zen Monk

Ten Part Invention is an Australian jazz ensemble. Formed by drummer John Pochee in 1986, it was a line up of Australian jazz royalty. The band is still around today, over thirty years later, but sadly three of the original line up are no longer with us.

And Zen Monk is the first track on their self titled album from 1990. It was nominated for an ARIA award for Best Jazz Album. It was recorded in 1987 in an ABC radio studio. From the original liner notes:

One day in November 1987 Ten Part Invention gathered in an ABC Studio in Sydney to record a program for “Its All Music”, hosted by Julian Lee. It was not a session where the music would be grafted together through re-recording and overdubs; instead, the band went straight ahead, live to tape, and laid down the first eight works in the band book – all first takes. It is a measure of the brilliance of this group, not only that this was possible, but that it was done so well.

On this album:

John Pochee – Drums (leader)

Bernie McGann* – Alto Saxophone

Bob Bertles – Alto Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Flute

Steve Elphick – Double Bass

Miroslav Bukovsky – Trumpet, Flugelhorn

Warwick Alder – Trumpet, Flugelhorn

Dale Barlow – Flute, Tenor Saxophone

Ken James* – Flute, Soprano Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone

Roger Frampton* – Piano

James Greening – Trombone

All of these musicians have had a massive influence on the Australian jazz scene.

The opening riff to And Zen Monk has stuck with me since I first bought the album. It was composed by the great Australian jazz pianist Roger Frampton. Frampton’s ingenious composing skills were crucial to the viability of the inception of the group. 

In 1999 Frampton was awarded a Doctorate of Creative Arts from Wollongong University for his thesis exploring co-relations between his composition and improvisation.

Despite diagnosis with a brain tumour in 1999, Frampton continued to perform with various ensembles. He participated in the 1999 Wangaratta Festival of Jazz, performing a concert of his own music with Ten Part Invention. He died at home in January 2000. 

Other members of the group to have died in recent years are both saxophonists. Ken James, and Bernie McGann (who always has a special place In my memory, being the first live jazz act I saw, in the early eighties).

– Bozzie 🎷

[graywyvern]

( lanny: "festooned with writhing miraculous madness and strange plantean machine-animals Wayne Barlowe Eldritch Bernie Wrightson Canaletto Gustave Doré Moebius Max Ernst hegelian spirit machine entering the material void vortex roberto matta anglerfish julie mehretu art deco Gustave Doré Bernie Wrightson Max Ernst Jean Tinguely jean arp jean cocteau shadow depth lyrical the crushing force of the miracle of the Green Odyssey Richard M. Powers 1970's science fiction paperback covers Saif Azzuz Kent Monkman Leonor Fin Dibujante Nocturno: The Art of Francisco Garcés josh kirby druillet The 'Stone of Folly' is a motif that appears in several paintings, a trend started by Hieronymus Bosch. The idea depicted in the paintings was that madness might be cured through the extraction of a stone hyper-detailed" prompt )

Avenue of Poplars.

Start counting in milliseconds to midnight.

Deja Vu.

"Care Factor Zero \(!30å๑)"

nasty jolt trip & almost fall nothing harmed

tear in my pants knee small · will keep growing

Over-explaining. (Might be useful to use the Vulcan word danaya for this, in a specifically autistic sense.)

In "The Call of Cthulhu" (1926) artists & poets are all having similar nightmares during a certain time window; i can't help thinking of the birth of what we now casually think of as Modernism, & the terrible wars that soon ensued. The only difference is we want to ascribe agency to Manifestos & not Monsters. But what else is a Monster but a collective psychic disturbance? (Jung's essay "Wotan" came out in 1936.)

Autistic Pride Day. (C'mon, some other day than Melanie's birthday!)

[jlwebkinz]

Webkinz List! 141 webkinz :D

Webkinz

American Buffalo, Buff

Apprentice Owl, Bag of Tricks

Basset Hound, Brenna

Basset Hound (New Version), Bach

Beaver, Beavis

Black Cat, Basalt

Black Friesian Stallion, Baltimore

Black Friesian Stallion, Bentley

Black Poodle, Bonjour

Black and White Cat, Briana

Black Bear, Brody

Blue Whale, Baywatch

Bobcat Kitten, Bradley

Bottlenose Dolphin, Barton

Bullfrog, Bartholomew

Bumblebee, Buzzy

Cactus Cat, Battlefield

Charcoal Cat, Betty

Cheeky Cat, Bernice

Cheeky Dog, Bernie

Cheeky Monkey, Bethany

Chicken, Benedict

Chipmunk, Bugle

Clown Fish, Beemo

Cockapoo, Bishop

Cocker Spaniel, Brownie

Cow, Bell

Cow, Burger

Daisy Lion, Baldwin

Dalmatian, Bob

Dalmatian, Bennett

Dama Gazelle (Signature), Barnabus

Domino Cat, Button

Endangered Brown Bear (Signature), Benjamin

Fancy Flamingo, Barcelona

Fire Fawn, Belinda

Flutter Cow, Brielle

Fresh Spring Fawn, Bella

Frog, Bermuda

Gargowl, Baron

Glamour Gecko, Bling-Bling

Gold and White Cat, Buttercup

Golden Retriever, Buddy

Gorilla, Bale

Harmony Dragon, Boris

Harmony Puppy, Brian

Hedgehog, Burrow

Himalayan Cat, Bobbi

Hippo, Biggs

Holiday Silver Reindeer, Belle Noel

Holiday Red Reindeer, Bethlehem

Hopping Bunny, Bunny Buddy

Huskey, Barlow

Ice Fawn, Brigita

Icy Mist Leopard, Bea

Key Limo Dino, Bronte

King Schnauzer, Brutus

Kiwi Bird, Birdo

Lemon-Lime Gecko, Bahamas

Leopard, Brynne

Lionfish, Boba

Love Lion, BigHug

Monkey, Bananas

Nimbi Hamster, Breeze

Panda, Bamboo

Pelican, Boaty

Pink Googles, Bonnie

Pink Pony, Bree

Pink Poodle, Beth

Pink Sparkle Hamster, Bridgette

Pink and White Cat, Blueberry Muffin

Polar Bear, Barney

Poodle, Brooklyn

Pretty Elephant, Boop

Pretty Kitty, Bows

Pug, Brittany

Rabbit, Burrow

Rascally Raccoon, Beatrix

Red Velvet Fawn, Burgundy 

Red Velvet Rabbit, Barn

Reindeer, Bert

Reindeer, Blitzen

Sapphire Pegasus, Beltza

Sapphire Pegasus, Blau

Sapphire Pegasus, Bleu

Sapphire Pegasus, Blue

Schnauzer, Brunswick

Scruffy Puppy, Benson

Seal, Bubbles

Snow Leopard, Blake

Snowman, Blush

Soft Rainbow Tiger, Brilliance

Springer Spaniel, Bailey

Spotted Frog, Bart

St. Bernard, Barrel

Stormy Dragon, Baki

Sun Fox, Blast

Ten Year Magic W Pup, Birthday

Tiger, Brooke

Tiger Snake, Brad

Tinkercat, Batteries

Unicorn, Briar

Vampire Bat, Beelzebub

Velvety Elephant, Brandy

Wacky Zingoz, Be Wacky

Winter Solstice Stag, Bodhi

White Terrier, Bootsie

Wombat, Bucky

Total: 108

Lil Kinz

Lil’ Kinz Alley Cat, Beca

Lil’ Kinz Black Bear, Bearyl

Lil’ Kinz Black and White Cat, Banksy

Lil’ Kinz Chickadee, Beaker

Lil’ Kinz Clydesdale, Betsy

Lil’ Kinz Cocker Spaniel, Buster

Lil’ Kinz Cow, Butter

Lil’ Kinz Elephant, Bumbo Jumbo

Lil’ Kinz Golden Retriever, Barkley

Lil’ Kinz Google (White), Ben

Lil’ Kinz Gorilla, Bruce

Lil’ Kinz Hippo, Blueberry

Lil’ Kinz Lion, Bane

Lil’ Kinz Lioness, Bacardi

Lil’ Kinz Monkey, Begonia

Lil’ Kinz Panda, Beifong

Lil’ Kinz Pink Poodle, Blythe

Lil’ Kinz Pig, Bagel

Lil’ Kinz Pug, Bungie

Lil’ Kinz Rabbit, Blossom

Lil’ Kinz Seal, Boo

Lil’ Kinz Seal, Bounce

Lil’ Kinz St. Bernard, Bemidji

Total: 23

Zumbuddies

Peeking Zum, Zip

Lazy Zum, Zeb

Total: 2 

Kinzclips

Black and White Cat

Brown Dog

Bulldog

Charcoal Cat

Cocker Spaniel

Pink and White Cat

Pug

Siamese Cat

Total: 8

[kayjay63]

Coronation Boulevard spoilers – Linda Hancock in tall row over Joseph & Max finds all; plus Emmerdale & EastEnders info

Coronation Boulevard spoilers – Linda Hancock in tall row over Joseph & Max finds all; plus Emmerdale & EastEnders info

LINDA Hancock’s return to Weatherfield creates increasing stress staunch thru the Iciness-Brown clan subsequent week. Household drama kicks off in Coronation Boulevard as Bernie Iciness will get grasp of staunch into a mad row with the persona and it’s all about Joseph’s future. The facts comes as fans are in shock after Max Turner used to be published to be Amy Barlow’s spiker…Be taught Extra

[thenewsedge]

1. When Bernie Winter had a very strange business idea. ITV 2. When Les and Cilla were enjoying a takeaway in their new hot tub, only for Schmeichel to smell it, jump in the tub with them, and cause it to fall through the ceiling. ITV 3. When Deirdre Barlow absolutely lost it at the…

[ocioenlinea]

Terrorífica y fantástica

La exposición En Casa con mis monstruos de Guillermo del Toro visita el Museo de las Artes

Desde junio el Museo de los Artes (MUSA) acoge la exposición En Casa con mis monstruos de Guillermo del Toro y transforma sus salas en El Laberinto del Fauno, en la covacha de Frankenstein, en la sala de Poe y sobre todo en un pedacito de la imaginación del director tapatío.

En la muestra se encuentran piezas que le han servido de inspiración y otras que acercan al proceso creativo de Del Toro a través de vestuarios, libretas, dibujos, objetos personales y personajes de sus películas.

Raúl Padilla López, presidente de la Fundación de la Universidad de Guadalajara, recuerda que “cada rincón del museo y de la rambla estarán invadidos por objetos, trajes y colecciones del mundo fantástico y onírico que ha poblado la filmografía de Guillermo del Toro” y destacó que Guadalajara será el último lugar en donde se exhibirá por última vez.

Eugenio Caballero, curador de la muestra y director de arte del **Laberinto del Fauno explica que “las piezas de esta exposición están dispuestas en ocho salas que obedecen a tres ejes que se entrecruzan: El primero se refiere a Guillermo como coleccionista: está conformado por piezas de autores que son fuente de inspiración e influencia en su trabajo. El segundo, nos cuenta de su faceta como artista: piezas creadas y diseñadas por él y sus colaboradores para la realización de sus historias y películas. El tercero está compuesto por obras seleccionadas especialmente para esta exposición, en su mayoría de arte mexicano que viven en el imaginario de Guillermo o que temáticamente dialoga con su universo”.

El director de arte y ganador de un Oscar aseguró que “La obra de Guillermo está poblada por personajes singulares, espacios misteriosos y atmósferas densas; sus historias nos muestran que la belleza es muy distinta a lo que creemos y nos conectan con nuestra propia imperfección. Del Toro vive y respira sus historias”.

Estrella Araiza, directora del FICG, leyó las palabras que Guillermo del Toro envió para la última exposición: “La decisión de hacerlo en Guadalajara es obviamente personal. Recuerdo una exhibición de grabados de Piranesi en el Instituto Cultural Cabañas, recuerdo cómo me conmovió a nivel creativo”.

“Esta exposición lleva la misma intención: promover en los artistas jóvenes un amor por las imágenes y recordarles que el estímulo y la creación pueden venir de fuentes de cultura académica o cultura popular; mezclar a Julio Ruelas con Chango García Cabral o a Piranesi con el Santo, otorga validez a la latitud de las influencias con las que tropezamos en la vida y que nos hacen quienes somos. Ojalá y en algún rincón de esta visita encuentren la inspiración en lo monstruoso y la belleza de lo oscuro y lo olvidado”, concluye.

Para generar un recorrido sensorial e inolvidable, se evocan en el MUSA espacios de la casa de Guillermo del Toro; los tapices, recubrimientos y colores acercan al público a la experiencia de recorrer este laberinto, además se utiliza el ambiente sonoro diseñado por el músico y ganador de varios premios de la Academia, Gustavo Santaolalla.                                

La exposición consta de 951 piezas divididas en ocho salas que corresponden a distintas facetas y etapas de la vida de Guillermo del Toro: la infancia; el cuarto de lluvia (Poe y selección de obras originales de concept art de sus películas, así como obras de Julio Ruelas y Paul Julian; la sala victoriana; la sala de magia y ocultismo; la sala de cine comics y pop; la sala de Frankenstein; la sala Los Otros/ Nosotros/ Los Monstruos y la sala de la muerte y el más allá.

La exposición inicia en el Cubo, que está en una carpa que se encuentra en la Rambla Cataluña, a un costado del museo, que cuenta con espacio de paquetería, taquilla y cafetería, allí se encuentran los guías y habrá un pasillo que conduce al museo, La duración aproximada es una hora, visitas guiadas, en grupos de 25 personas.

Las ocho salas se distribuyen en:

Sala Uno. Infancia e inocencia

Las piezas agrupadas en esta sala evocan el universo visual que rodeó a Guillermo del Toro durante su niñez o se relacionan temáticamente con la infancia. Piezas centrales del Laberinto del Fauno se mezclan con arte original de las películas clásicas de animación e ilustraciones para oscuros cuentos infantiles.

Sala Dos. Cuarto de lluvia

En esta sala se encuentra la recreación de un rincón del llamado Cuarto de lluvia que existe en la casa de Guillermo The Bleak House en donde Edgar Allan Poe preside la lluviosa escena. También se encuentra una selección de obras originales de concept art de todas sus películas, así como obras de Julio Ruelas y Paul Julian.

Sala Tres. Victoriana

Guillermo del Toro está profundamente influenciado por la época victoriana. Esta sala lleva al espectador a la atmósfera de este periodo. Cuadros de Arthur Rackham se mezclan con piezas de utilería y vestuarios de la película Crimson Peak y una pieza homenaje al escritor inglés Charles Dickens.

Sala Cuatro. Magia y Ocultismo

Aquí se muestran piezas relacionadas con la alquimia y la magia, utilería de Hellboy y la Invención de Cronos así como arte religioso y popular, destacan la escultura homenaje a H. P. Lovecraft, piezas de José Clemente Orozco y las placas originales de grabados de José Guadalupe Posada y Manuel Manilla alusivas al tema.

Verán también el fantasma de Santi, personaje del Espinazo del Diablo.

Sala Cinco. Cine, cómics y pop

En esta sala se encuentran piezas de Utilería y vestuario de Pacific Rim, La forma del Agua, El Laberinto del Fauno y Hellboy.

Dibujos originales de los principales artistas del cómic dialogan con obras de Abel Quezada, Chango García Cabral y el universo de la lucha libre.

Vemos el puesto de periódicos donde Guillermo compraba sus cómics cuando era niño y esculturas sobre las películas de Ray Harrihausen.

Sala Seis. Frankenstein

Esculturas de gran formato y pinturas de uno de sus monstruos favoritos se combinan con la obra de Diego Rivera, Bernie Wrightson y José María Velasco.

Como en un laboratorio científico, hay expuestas ceras anatómicas, especímenes de laboratorio y muestras patológicas.

Junto con la mandrágora del Laberinto del Fauno está la prótesis que usó Marisa Paredes en El espinazo del diablo.

Sala Siete. Los Otros/ Nosotros/ Los Monstruos

En este espacio encontramos distintas manifestaciones de los monstruos de Guillermo, sumados a estos, encontramos el cuadro de la Bruja de Goitia, grabados de Goya y el guardián de la paz de Siqueiros.

Destacan las esculturas del Hombre Anfibio de La Forma del Agua, los personajes de la película Freaks de Tod Browning y el hombre Elefante.

Sala Ocho. Muerte y más allá

Aquí se muestran obras relacionadas con la vida después de la muerte y con la muerte misma, dibujos y esculturas de los vampiros de Guillermo creados para Blade y The Strain conviven con el cadáver que cargaba Hellboy y con los grabados de Manilla y Posada.

Los infiernos de Wayne Barlowe enmarcan al Hombre Pálido del Laberinto del Fauno.

Las libretas

Dos objetos centrales en la colección de Guillermo son sendas libretas donde él plasma sus ideas que después se convertirán en sus películas. Estas Libretas pueden ser consultadas digitalmente por los asistentes.

EN CASA CON MIS MONSTRUOS

H: L-D, de 10:00 a 18:00 h

Horario para discapacitados: 11:00 y 16:00 h

Clausura: 27 de octubre de 2019

MUSA, Av. Juárez 975, Centro, Guadalajara

Edad mínima: 3 años y edad mínima recomendada: 10 años

Precio: entrada general $180, estudiantes y maestros $150, discapacitados $150. Los boletos están disponibles en ticketmaster y en taquilla (los boletos con descuento sólo se venden en taquilla). Los lunes la entrada es gratis.

Los boletos tienen fecha y horario. Sólo se podrá ingresar a la exposición en el horario marcado; no hay reembolsos ni devoluciones. Se recomienda llegar al menos con una hora de anticipación

http://www.encasaconmismonstruos.com/

 Recomendaciones

·         Llevar ropa y calzado cómodos

·         Comprar los boletos en línea, ya que las filas serán largas

·         Llegar con anticipación de una hora. Las visitas tienen fecha y hora y no hay reembolso del costo del boleto.

·         No llevar cosas ni cargar cosas. Habrá servicio de paquetería, pero no se puede introducir mochilas, carreolas, cámaras profesionales, comida ni bebida.

·         Se puede tomar fotografías con el celular en las zonas que esté permitido

·         Se recomienda revisar las redes sociales y la página oficial, ya que habrá visitas nocturnas y el boleto del museo sirve para ver una función de película en el cineforo (cartelera www.cineforo.udg.mx/)

·         Llevar dinero en efectivo. Habrá área de cafetería y de suvenires.

Gustavo Rodríguez. No.1133. 310519

[rockleafmx]

ESTOS MONSTRUOS VAS A ENCONTRAR EN LA EXPO DE GUILLERMO DEL TORO

Guadalajara, Jalisco.- Mucho se ha hablado de la próxima exposición En casa con mis monstruos, del realizador mexicano Guillermo del Toro, en la ciudad de Guadalajara, pero poco se sabe de la distribución de salas, monstruos y concepto museográfico que manejó el Director de Arte, Eugenio Caballero, durante el montaje de esta galería.

Por ello, la Oficina de Visitantes y Convenciones de Guadalajara, te dice cómo estará distribuida esta exposición para que no dudes un día más en planear la escapada a la perla tapatía y adentrarte en la mente de uno de los cineastas mexicanos más importantes de la historia. Sin más preámbulo, así va a estar En Casa con mis Monstruos.

Las piezas de esta exposición estarán dispuestas en ocho salas que obedecen a tres ejes que se entrecruzan. El primero se refiere a Guillermo como coleccionista: está conformado por piezas de autores que son fuente de inspiración e influencia en su trabajo. El segundo, nos cuenta de su faceta como artista: piezas creadas y diseñada por él y sus colaboradores para la realización de sus historias y películas. El tercero está compuesto por obras seleccionadas especialmente para esta exposición, en su mayoría de arte mexicano que viven en el imaginario de Guillermo o que temáticamente dialoga con su universo.

Las ocho salas serán segmentadas de la siguiente forma:

Sala Uno. Infancia e inocencia

Las piezas agrupadas en esta sala evocan el universo visual que rodeó a Guillermo del Toro durante su niñez o se relacionan temáticamente con la infancia. Piezas centrales del Laberinto del Fauno se mezclan con arte original de las películas clásicas de animación e ilustraciones para oscuros cuentos infantiles.

Sala Dos. Cuarto de lluvia

En esta sala se encuentra la recreación de un rincón del llamado Cuarto de lluvia que existe en la casa de Guillermo The Bleak House en donde Edgar Allan Poe preside la lluviosa escena. También se encuentra una selección de obras originales de concept art de todas sus películas, así como obras de Julio Ruelas y Paul Julian.

Sala Tres. Victoriana

Guillermo del Toro esta profundamente influenciado por la época victoriana. Esta sala lleva al espectador a la atmósfera de este periodo. Cuadros de Arthur Rackham se mezclan con piezas de utilería y vestuarios de la película Crimson Peak, y una pieza homenaje al escritor inglés Charles Dickens.

Sala Cuatro. Magia y Ocultismo

Aquí se muestran piezas relacionadas con la alquimia y la magia, utilería de Hellboy y la Invención de Cronos así como arte religioso y popular, destacan la escultura homenaje a H. P. Lovecraft, piezas de José Clemente Orozco y las placas originales de grabados de José Guadalupe Posada y Manuel Manilla alusivas al tema. Verán también el fantasma de Santi, personaje del Espinazo del Diablo.

Sala Cinco. Cine, cómics y pop

En esta sala se encuentran piezas de Utilería y vestuario de Pacific Rim, La forma del Agua, El Laberinto del Fauno y Hellboy. Dibujos originales de los principales artistas del cómic dialogan con obras de Abel Quezada, el Chango García Cabral y el universo de la lucha libre. Vemos el puesto de periódicos donde Guillermo compraba sus cómics cuando era niño y esculturas sobre las películas de Ray Harrihausen.

Sala Seis. Frankenstein

Esculturas de gran formato y pinturas de uno de sus monstruos favoritos, se combinan con la obra de Diego Rivera, Bernie Wrightson y José María Velasco. Como en un laboratorio científico, hay expuestas ceras anatómicas, especímenes de laboratorio y muestras patológicas. Junto con la mandrágora del Laberinto del Fauno está la prótesis que usó Marisa Paredes en El espinazo del diablo.

Sala Siete. Los Otros/ Nosotros/ Los Monstruos

En este espacio encontramos distintas manifestaciones de los monstruos de Guillermo, sumados a estos, encontramos el cuadro de la Bruja de Goitia, grabados de Goya y el guardián de la paz de Siqueiros. Destacan las esculturas del Hombre Anfibio de La Forma del Agua, los personajes de la película Freaks de Tod Browning y el Hombre Elefante.

Sala Ocho. Muerte y más allá

Aquí se muestran obras relacionadas con la vida después de la muerte y con la muerte misma, dibujos y esculturas de los vampiros de Guillermo creados para Blade y The Strain conviven con el cadáver que cargaba Hellboy y con los grabados de Manilla y Posada. Los infiernos de Wayne Barlowe enmarcan al Hombre Pálido del Laberinto del Fauno.

Adquiere tus entradas en las taquillas del Museo de las Artes de Guadalajara, o en www.ticketmaster.com.mx. Recuerda que los boletos se adquieren por hora sin cambios ni devoluciones, y la experiencia dura alrededor de tres horas. Por otro lado, para que no te quedes con la música y ya, consulta el buscador de hospedaje www.guadalajaramidestino.com/reserva y encuentra las mejores opciones para vivir esta experiencia musical.

[katmcpheeuniverse]

Katharine McPhee attends the Barlow Respiratory Hospital's 4th Annual Bernie Brillstein Golf Classic Awards Dinner at the Wilshire Country Club on October 20, 2014 in Los Angeles, California.

[rockandrollfool]

Some people say politics and sport should never mix. Michel Platini and Bernie Ecclestone have both suggested that these are quite separate endeavours and should be kept apart. They are talking bollocks obviously as sport and politics have long history of co-existence and at times the success of this marriage is obvious. Mandela utilised sport in terms of driving a moral imperative when discussing equality and inclusion which were central to unifying South Africa. Jessie Owens humiliating Germany in the 1936 Olympics is beyond question Miles (2014) Our histories are informed and influenced by the heady mix of political discourse linked to sport.

Pop music and sport that might be different matter. I am referring here specifically to football and music. With the European Championship almost upon us one is left to wonder, whatever happened to the Men's National Squad assembling pre-tournament to record a rousing and uplifting tune to strike fear and terror in the hearts of the opposition? (and the ears of the audience)

Whilst most of us would associate the blokes national squad and its musicals efforts with the World Cup there have been attempts to crash the charts during European Tournaments.

Chris Kamara (featuring Joe Public) Sing 4 England (2012) and with over three hundred and twelve likes on Facebook you get a sense regarding both quality and popularity of this tune. (https://www.facebook.com/Sing4England/)

Of course the bar was set high (apparently) by Baddiel and Skinner/The Lightning Seeds – Three Lions (1998) The tune was originally released in 1996 pre European Championships (once was more than enough honestly) but somehow found its way back down the tunnel and onto the pitch for 98 World Cup. According to the Telegraph Sport (2018) the song describes “the joy and pain of being a fan’ on the terraces at both club and international level. Honestly does it?

The repeated refrain of ‘it’s coming home’ is probably one of the most nauseating and truly horrific lines ever to be uttered by pop star or supporter. I sense supporters garner all their hopes at the start of every respective international tournament and slaughter them on the altar of a pop melody that incites ‘us all’ to dream big. At the end of every competition since 1966 ‘we’ inevitably lie slumped in a heap of disappointment crying as ‘Gazza’ did, knowing ‘we’ are at best mediocre and that it will all come again in two/four years’ time.

The other pop classic that gets a regular airing pre any international competition is The England Squad and New Order - World In Motion (1990) Leaving aside the credible association with Manchester and all things uber f*cking cool Telegraph Sport offer that “this is a stone cold electronic pop classic (2018) and Ryan Kelly suggested as recently as May 2020 that the song is “one of the most memorable England World Cup anthems”. Well Ryan let’s just check what World in Motion had to compete with shall we?

In 1986 The England Squad recorded “we’ve got the whole world at our feet” and you don’t need me to point out just how dreadful this effort was do you? In 1998 we were offered (how does it feel to be) on Top of the World. The quadrant of evil at the helm were Space, The Spice Girls, Echo and the Bunnymen and Simon Fowler. Jones (on-Line) argues this was “the least memorable song ever” (joe.co.uk) something akin to any of our recent Eurovision entries but a lot more shit.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse we had ‘we’re on the ball’ featuring Ant and Dec (2002) yep that Ant and Dec, Psyche.

Let’s get ready to rumble as 2014 brought us ‘greatest day with Gary Barlow, Eliza Dolittle, Katy B, Melc and Emma Bunton all ‘singin for England’

There was Embrace in 2006 with ‘World at your Feet’ and as Jones so eloquently offers “your brother in law probably liked them’ and may have been to see them at V Festival in 2005 (joe.co.uk) They are some footballing credentials right there. Yes they were from West Yorkshire but they knew a bit about football eh?

If you think that was grim you must remember Fat Les with a rousing rendition of Jerusalem in 2000? No. Well it was an offering to the Footballing deities in the hope of seeing England through to the European finals that year. Fail. This was of course the follow up single to Vindaloo (1998) which was an equally offensive and turgid affair. Fat Les being the alter-ego of Keith Allen, that bloke that appears in World in Motion behind John Barnes when he ‘spits them rhymes’

I am almost sure James Corden recorded ‘shout for England’ (2010) and the fact that he was alongside Dizzie Rascal doesn’t make it alright or indeed bearable. Even the fact that it is a cover of of a Tears For Fears track doesn’t get you beyond James Corden recorded a song for the 2010 World Cup. Yes James Corden. Let me repeat James Corden.

The glory day and it was only a day is surely embodied by The England World Cup Squad - Back Home (1970) I still find myself occasionally singing this song. I do ‘think about them while they are far away’ and yes I was ‘really behind them in every game they played’. Written by Martin and Coulter (1970) it is the definitive tournament song. It opens with that clap thing they do at football matches, has a brass band all over it and the team never once mention winning. As Barker (2020) observes England were champions of the world and all they aspire to is ‘to not let England down’ (everynumberone.com)

The song feels more about having a go, being part of the tournament, Barker notes the tune is atmospheric and more like a ‘charming postcard’ from a time when football was innocent and naive. I don’t agree with these sentiments but ‘the beautiful game’ wasn’t quite as fuelled by ego, corporate greed and personality. It was however fuelled by ego, corporate greed and personality. Still, what a blooming tune that was eh?

Other than the 1970’s squad the whole list is like a Eurovision nightmare that was dreamt up by Terry Wogan, with one single entrant competing against itself for last place. We can sit here and say it all just a bit of fun and that it doesn’t really matter and we would be correct. However in my world there is no room for sport and pop music, the two should never mix. I mean look what happens when they do.

The Rock And Roll Fool

[anthonykrierion]

How Digital Marketing Companies are Affected by COVID-19

Last updated on April 7, 2020 at 04:43 pm

The past few months have been rough as the infectious COVID-19 continues to plague the world. Countries affected are implementing lockdowns to prevent further spread of the virus and the economical effects are massive. Businesses are in crisis mode; some are able to continue to operate but with limitations while some have to completely halt operations.

A few weeks ago, I published an article on How the Coronavirus is affecting search and the negative effects of COVID-19 are evident for some industries. Due to companies losing profits, the service industry is massively affected and digital marketing companies are no exception

Fortunately, our team here at SEO Hacker was able to adjust accordingly to this crisis but I was curious to know how my fellow digital marketers are doing during these times so I asked them a few questions to further know how digital marketing companies are doing.

Work Setup

One of the advantages of working in the digital industry is that most of the resources that you need to operate are accessible through the internet. That is why most companies, as well as our team, have transitioned to working remotely.

David Langton’s team at Langton Creative Group Ltd makes use of various tools to make it easier for their team.

“We are set-up remotely with access to our server and catalog of past and present work. So much is available via cloud-services that working remotely is not as challenging as it once was. We meet weekly via Zoom to touch base and coordinate work schedules.”

Additionally, they also use some of the free time they get from working remotely to produce more materials. Langton said, “Currently, we are using this time to create new case studies, update our website and address some long-term marketing goals.” 

But working remotely is a huge adjustment for some companies that are used to having their team together in one office. Taylor Cimara, Principal and Strategic Director of Digital Third Coast said that communication takes the most adjustment needed.

  “Our entire team is working remotely and has been since March 13th. While we let employees have flexibility in working from home, we’ve never had to have the entire team work remotely for an extended period of time. Communication is the biggest change – many more intentional touchpoints with the team, and more mindfulness with management and what everyone is going through individually at home.”

However, for some companies, working from home isn’t really new. Some digital marketing companies run their operations remotely even before the quarantine. For Juan Pablo Diaz, Founder of Krows Digital, business is just as usual.

“The quarantine didn’t have much impact on our day-to-day work as we have been working remotely since the early days of the company. We usually meet once or twice a week in a shared open space in Tokyo but now we prefer to do our meetings through Discord.”

Juan also sees something positive in the situation. Having their meetings online actually makes their meetings more productive. Juan said “In a way, it is actually a good thing for us as we tend to always talk about many things that are not relevant. Doing online meetings forces us to get straight to the point and to prepare our report presentations”.

Speaking of positivity, Graeme Barlow’s team over at Iversoft found a way to keep things fun and transition their office culture to their now fully remote workforce.

“We are fortunate to have a pretty fun culture in our office and it’s been absolutely amazing to see what people have done to bring that virtual. From pet photos to gaming hangouts to hosting video social hours, it’s been fantastic to see how we’ve translated the atmosphere from an open office to a remote equivalent.”

How Their Clients are Affected

The impact of the COVID-19 varies from one industry to another. Some may experience gains, but most industries are expected to suffer from the crisis.

According to Nate Nead, CEO of SEO.co, their clients that are in the retail industry were hit the most. Nate said,“Client budgets have definitely shrunk quickly, regardless of size. Clients hit the hardest have been local clients in retail, while larger, national clients have been more engaged, but are proceeding cautiously.”

The tourism industry is one of the most affected as well with people being forced to stay at home. Amy Draheim of ABD Creative LLC discussed that their clients are suffering from the crisis.

“Our hotel clients are experiencing extremely low occupancy. They’ve redeployed their housekeeping staff to high touch areas, and focus on deep cleaning instead of daily tidying for travelers who are still traveling (few and far between). Our restaurants are only offering delivery/take out services, and have laid off most of their employees as a result. Business is slow across the board.” 

Similar for Brogan Renshaw of Firewire Digital, clients are being affected across the board but their team was quick to react and give solutions to their clients.

“Approximately 30% of our clients’ businesses have been significantly impacted by COVID-19. A further 20% have been partially impacted by a drop in revenue. 

As the crisis was in its early stages we were proactive and offered all our clients the opportunities to pause and reduce contracts for a period of time. We wanted to be on the front foot and reduce any stress or anxiety for our clients. I would rather see clients come out the other side of all this and still be operating and for them to know we helped them get through it.” 

However, for Erika Thomas’ clients at Coveted Portfolio, there are clients that are looking to take advantage of the situation and are shifting their focus on transitioning to e-commerce.

“Some are experiencing a delay in launching their brands and physical locations in this current market, some are still “guns blazing” to take advantage of this very unique time for e-commerce. It really depends on who they are and what they can offer at this moment”.

Did They Lose Clients?

During these times, some companies are forced to cut their marketing budgets to allot the money for payroll and other operational expenses. This means digital marketing companies are in danger of losing contracts.

Aliza Sherman, CEO of Ellementa and Spark the Creative, has lost clients but made quick adjustments with their pricing to retain some clients.

“We’ve lost most of our clients. To maintain the ones we still have, we’ve reduced our fees drastically, looking at the long term relationship. We’d rather make sure we all stay in business than trying to gouge clients in the short term. If we can all support one another and weather this crisis, we’ll be stronger and thrive in the long run.”

I could say this is a good strategy because some companies are still looking to continue their digital efforts amidst the crisis. Those who can’t afford the same budget they had before may look for alternatives. Bernie Clark of Majux Marketing has the same thing in mind.

“We have had a few clients who have been forced to put projects or initiatives on a temporary hold.  We are lucky enough to have not lost any accounts so far, but we have been getting calls from businesses who had to leave their previous agency because of an over-reliance or singular offering of paid media. Nobody wants to dump tens of thousands of dollars into Google Ads or TV right now, so if that was your agency’s sole offering or the large piece of your previous agency’s strategy, you’re going to be looking for a new agency that focuses on a more balanced strategy.”

Some companies have handled the situation well. They didn’t lose any clients but contracts are put on hold. This gives them faster recovery once the COVID-19 crisis is over. Monica Smith, CEO of Marketsmith, believes that this is a time to have empathy for their clients and be good partners.

“We have not lost any clients at this time.  We are working with our clients to be the best partner we can be.  If that means extending their terms or allowing campaign shifts and pauses we are committed to that.  We specialize in bringing companies up during challenging times – we are working on strategic plans and initiatives for each client to make that possible”. 

What is Their Plan Moving Forward?

We don’t know for sure yet when this pandemic will be over but it is important to be positive and make plans moving forward. We’re also not sure yet how the world will look after COVID-19 but I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be business as usual. 

Erico Franco, Senior Manager at Agencia de Marketing Digital, managed to negotiate with their current clients but they are still looking for prospects to keep their business going.

“We are cutting costs and negotiating with our already customer to see what we can do to help them and so not losing the account. We keep trying to prospect new customers even a lot of them don’t want to talk now. We don’t know how long this crisis will take but we are trying to prepare to the worst and keeping moving forward and in a positive way.”

Olga Gonzales, CEO of Pietra Communications, believes this is a good time to expand their agency’s capabilities.

“Our agency is known for our print and digital placements, but the virus really has taught us that digital is the basket to put more eggs in. Therefore, we will be looking into more ways to expand our capabilities, and continue to focus on growing editorial relationships here in “think outside the box” ways. “

On the other hand, Khaeleelah Jones, founder and CEO of Careful Feet Digital Agency is innovating that would allow them to tap more companies.

“We are in the process of creating a tool that automates many of our services, so we can offer our services at a lower price point, for companies of all sizes and budgets. It allows us to scale and democratize access while continuing to offering higher-cost boutique services for those companies that should need it.”

Because of the COVID-19 crisis, Clement Conor, COO of Smartboost, believes that companies will realize more the importance of having an online presence once the crisis is over.

“We would like to educate the market that a digital presence is now an essential aspect of the business. Transitioning your business to a digital platform now can be useful and will likely make your operations more cost-efficient. A lot of our clients will realize first hand that their ROI online is a lot better than you see with traditional marketing.”

Key Takeaway

COVID-19 has caught the world off-guard and I’m really glad to see other digital marketing companies are able to go through this crisis. It’s amazing to see that digital marketing companies are doing what they can to help their clients and I pray that we can all recover from this crisis. It is really important that we all stay positive during these tough times.

If you own or work in a digital marketing company, let me know how you’re doing in the comments and I would love to talk about it.

How Digital Marketing Companies are Affected by COVID-19 was originally posted by Video And Blog Marketing

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

Graphics by Rachael Dottle

Terry Wolfe has a dog, three cats and a deep desire to help elect members of Congress who will check President Trump.

“I just cannot really tolerate that man,” he declared.

Wolfe is putting his money where his mouth is.

Since January 2017, Wolfe, a 68-year-old retiree in Morgantown, West Virginia, has contributed more than $14,000 to Democratic congressional candidates.1 Like millions of other Democratic donors, he’s been giving via ActBlue, a fundraising platform designed to allow grassroots donors to easily give to Democratic candidates. His average contribution? Less than $11.

Wolfe is one of the most active members of an army of grassroots donors shoveling a mountain of cash into the coffers of Democratic House and Senate candidates on the November ballot.

ActBlue, a nonprofit whose online fundraising tools have been used to varying degrees by nearly every Democrat running for Congress, says it has raised more than $2.9 billion for Democrats and progressive organizations since its founding in 2004. September was the biggest month in its history.

An analysis of campaign finance data by FiveThirtyEight and the Center for Public Integrity, a nonprofit investigative news organization, shows that ActBlue is handling more political contributions than ever before. Between January 2017 and Sept. 30, 2018,2 nearly $564 million, or about 55 percent of all contributions from individual donors to Democratic congressional candidates, passed through the platform, compared to about 19 percent at this point in the 2014 election.

Democratic congressional candidates have collectively raised more than three times as much in small-dollar contributions (amounting to $200 or less) as they had at this point in 2014 — jumping from about $81 million to $276 million. Republicans haven’t matched that increase, and ActBlue is a big reason why.

To get a better sense of the role ActBlue is playing in the Democratic party, the Center for Public Integrity and FiveThirtyEight analyzed almost 38 million Federal Election Commission records of contributions to federal political committees that were sent through ActBlue since January 2017, along with the records of contributions made through ActBlue up to this point in the 2014 and 2016 elections. Donors are using the platform to reshape the map of competitive races, becoming a powerful force that could sway Democratic politics beyond November’s election.

Information about donors giving $200 or less is often hard to come by because campaigns aren’t required to publicly disclose those records if the money is given directly to the candidate’s campaign committee. But because ActBlue operates as a legal conduit — a federal political committee that passes contributions through to other committees — it does have to disclose the donors who give to federal political committees through its platform, regardless of the size of the contribution, which provides a window into the small-donor boom.

Our analysis of ActBlue’s filings since January 2017 found:

Donors in California and New York combined to contribute roughly one-third of the dollars that have flowed through ActBlue to House and Senate candidates since the beginning of 2017. For comparison, those two states provided about one-fifth of the national popular vote for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Fifty-seven percent of dollars directed to congressional candidates via ActBlue went to out-of-state races. Take Rep. Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat who has set fundraising records while challenging Republican Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas. Most of the $45 million in individual contributions O’Rourke raised through ActBlue came from Texas donors — 52 percent. But even though less than half — 48 percent — came from outside Texas, O’Rourke is still the biggest beneficiary,3 in sheer dollars, of out-of-state cash routed through ActBlue because he’s raised so much in total.

Since the beginning of 2017, donors in states Clinton won have given $157 million to support House and Senate candidates running in states Trump won. That’s more than five times the amount of cash flowing from Trump states to Clinton states.

Erin Hill, ActBlue’s executive director, noted that the states sending the most money through the platform are, generally, also the states with the highest populations, so it makes sense that they are the source of so much cash. For example, donors from Texas, a red state and the second-largest in the nation by population, give the third-largest amount to Democratic congressional candidates via ActBlue — slightly more than 8 percent of all the money going to congressional candidates through the platform. A little more than half of that Texas cash comes from three large, blue cities: Houston, Austin and Dallas.

The analysis conducted by the Center for Public Integrity and FiveThirtyEight did find, however, that ActBlue donors across the country give more money in states that Clinton won by a higher margin. In states where Trump won, donors gave an average of $2.39 per vote cast in the 2016 presidential election via ActBlue, a little more than a third of the $6.35 per vote that Clinton states gave. But the states where Clinton won by a margin of less than 20 percentage points gave an average of $4.16 per vote, while places where Clinton won by a margin of 20 percentage points or more4 gave an average of $8.64 per vote. In other words, the bluer the state, the more money came from it, regardless of size.

It’s clear that what Republicans have taken to calling “the green wave” of cash to Democratic candidates is counteracting the large-donor advantage that Republican groups continue to boast over Democrats, with billionaires such as casino mogul Sheldon Adelson funding super PACs that then make ruthless decisions about which GOP candidates get a boost — and which candidates must fend for themselves.

Of course, candidates with the biggest fundraising haul don’t always win, though cash can still make or break campaigns and strong grassroots fundraising can indicate voter enthusiasm. Democrats are hoping the cash haul and donor growth reflect real momentum heading into next month’s midterm elections. The money could also allow Democratic candidates to outspend their Republican rivals, even those with support from cash-flush GOP super PACs, and force Republicans to actively defend more seats than they would have otherwise.

The surge in individual donations also sets the scene for the 2020 presidential campaign. “The pool of small-dollar donors keeps growing,” said Hill. How big that pool will get is still an open question.

ActBlue, founded in 2004 by two friends and based in Somerville, Massachusetts, is a fundraising tool that outlasts the mayfly-like lifespan of any single campaign by establishing relationships with donors that bridge the lull in enthusiasm between elections. Any Democratic candidate5 or left-leaning organization can use its tools to raise money, but the organization itself doesn’t fundraise for any candidate, it just processes and forwards individual contributions. (ActBlue does give users the option of giving “tips” that go to ActBlue itself — these tips are the organization’s primary source of revenue.) Donors who save their credit card information online can make future contributions with a single click.

That has led to a swell of donations from Democrats who don’t have a vote in the races they’re contributing to.

Sibylle Barlow’s outgoing voicemail message puts you on notice: “I do not promise to give to any organization over the phone.”

Most people hang up when they hear that, she said.

It’s no wonder people are calling Barlow, 91, for money. So far this election cycle, she’s given money via ActBlue at least 4,800 times,6 the analysis of federal filings showed. She gets at least 50 online appeals per day, she estimates, and said she tries to keep her contributions to $20 or less at a time — in part because she worries about triggering a fraud alert on her credit card.

She lives in Concord, Massachusetts, but nearly all of her contributions go out of state to recipients including Rep. Jacky Rosen, a Democrat running for a Nevada Senate seat, and Gina Ortiz Jones, a House candidate in Texas.

“Massachusetts is, I think, safer for Democrats,” she said, so she gives instead to places where a progressive candidate seems to need a boost. “I think it seems really important for the Democrats to win this time,” she said.

This election cycle, there are lots of Sibylle Barlows living in blue states and giving in varying amounts and at varying frequencies, looking to take action in hopes of putting a check on the president or boosting Democrats. Many of them have decided the best action they can take is giving, often in small amounts.

“I’m not a big-bucks contributor, but I did know what I could do is try to be as effective as possible by looking at races around the country,” said William Nottingham, 68, a retired newspaper editor who lives in Los Alamitos, California, and has given $7,600 since the beginning of 2017. Nottingham said he looked for races in the South and Midwest with “good candidates.”

“I can’t get in the car and drive to Kentucky and campaign for someone like Amy McGrath,” a high-profile Democratic challenger campaigning for a House seat, “but I can sure send her a couple of bucks now and then,” Nottingham said.

His thinking isn’t unique. An analysis of money McGrath has raised from people who gave more than $200 shows the largest amount came from Kentucky donors, but many of her smaller donors come from the coasts. An analysis of the $4.3 million in contributions made to her committee through ActBlue — which includes smaller contributions that aren’t in the FEC’s analysis — shows California at the top of the list in terms of both total dollars and the number of donations.

Meanwhile, ActBlue raises the classic chicken-and-egg question: Are Democratic candidates able to raise more money because ActBlue makes it easy, or are ActBlue’s tools simply equipping Democrats to better capture a surge of anti-Trump enthusiasm?

It’s impossible to know for sure — especially since conservatives have no single comparable fundraising platform for small-dollar donors. But many insiders are convinced that ActBlue has brought more donors to campaigns.

Who’s benefiting most from ActBlue?

Active candidates who raised the most from individuals using ActBlue, by share of all individual contributions made via ActBlue, since January 2017

Individual contributions Candidate Chamber Race Rating Total ActBlue ActBlue Share Danny O’Connor House OH-12 Lean R $6.5m $6.1m 93.1% Andrew Janz House CA-22 Likely R 7.1 6.2 87.5 Kirsten Gillibrand Senate NY Solid D 15.6 13.2 84.5 Conor Lamb House PA-17 Likely D 7.8 6.5 83.3 Mike Levin House CA-49 Solid D 4.0 3.1 77.8 Katherine Porter House CA-45 Lean D 4.1 3.1 76.4 Harley Rouda House CA-48 Lean D 4.1 3.1 75.1 Randy Bryce House WI-1 Likely R 7.1 5.3 75.1 Josh Harder House CA-10 Likely D 5.3 4.0 75.0 Beto O’Rourke Senate TX Likely R 61.6 45.4 73.8 Amy McGrath House KY-6 Toss-up 5.9 4.3 73.5 Christopher Murphy Senate CT Solid D 10.3 7.0 68.2 Jacky Rosen Senate NV Toss-up 13.6 9.2 67.5 Heidi Heitkamp Senate ND Lean R 9.3 5.8 62.4 Joseph Donnelly Senate IN Lean D 8.3 4.9 58.7 Claire McCaskill Senate MO Toss-up 23.5 13.6 58.0 Kyrsten Sinema Senate AZ Lean D 12.6 6.7 53.0 Elizabeth Warren Senate MA Solid D 19.8 10.1 51.2 Tim Kaine Senate VA Solid D 8.7 4.3 49.5 Robert P. Casey Jr. Senate PA Solid D 12.6 6.1 48.1 Bill Nelson Senate FL Lean D 20.0 9.3 46.4 Jon Tester Senate MT Likely D 12.2 5.2 42.9 Sherrod Brown Senate OH Solid D 16.1 6.7 41.8 Debbie Stabenow Senate MI Solid D 8.9 3.6 40.2 Tammy Baldwin Senate WI Solid D 21.2 8.4 39.8

Source: federal election commission

If ActBlue disappeared tomorrow, it would be “an absolute disaster for Democratic party fundraising,” said Tim Tagaris, a digital fundraising consultant who worked on Sen. Bernie Sanders’s presidential campaign and who said he’s been using ActBlue since 2004.

But ActBlue isn’t going away — it’s just getting bigger. And despite several Republican efforts to create an “ActRed” of sorts, no such system has taken flight.

“Obviously that’s an advantage” for Democrats, said Rebecca Donatelli, the president of the firm Campaign Solutions, who recalls raising money online for the GOP New York gubernatorial candidate George Pataki in 1998. “I wish we had something a little more seamless like that, but we don’t.”

The fact that any Democrat can use ActBlue’s infrastructure also makes it easier for outsider candidates to generate money without support from party gatekeepers, said Michael Malbin, a political science professor and executive director of the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute. “As long as you’re a Democrat, they’re not running ideological litmus tests,” he said of ActBlue.

The lure of online fundraising forces candidates to pay close attention to the policy priorities of the base, said Tim Lim, a consultant who has worked on digital advertising for Democratic presidential and congressional campaigns.

The downside: Some candidates catch fire, some don’t, and there is no real way to ensure that resources go to the most competitive races.

“It’s a mixed bag. We’ll see how we do this cycle,” Lim said.

For example, earlier this month, Andrew Janz, a California Democrat challenging Republican Rep. Devin Nunes for a House seat, touted the $4.3 million he raked in during the third quarter. “That’s quite a lot for a Solid R race,” tweeted Dave Wasserman, a FiveThirtyEight contributor and the House editor for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

FiveThirtyEight recently gave Janz a 5 percent chance7 of winning the seat, but his campaign has nonetheless ranked among the top recipients of dollars given to House candidates through ActBlue this election cycle. That could be because Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, is a high-profile Trump ally — and a tempting target for angry grassroots Democratic donors, even if their money isn’t likely to bring him down.

Even Democrats have been shocked at the totals that some of the party’s candidates have been raking in. Earlier this month, McGrath’s campaign in Kentucky said she had raised $3.65 million during this year’s third quarter. A little more than $2 million came through ActBlue.

Alixandria Lapp, head of House Majority PAC, a super PAC working to ensure Democrats take control of the House, sounded a note of incredulity on Twitter. “How do you even spend that much money in KY-06?? Wow!” she wrote.

To be sure, Democrats continue to have their share of super PACs and billionaire benefactors (check under, for example, Bloomberg, Michael and Steyer, Tom). But Corbin Trent — a spokesman for Democratic breakout star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a former Sanders campaign staffer and one of the leaders of Justice Democrats — said the grassroots fundraising this cycle is showing candidates that there are alternatives to soliciting contributions from corporate PACs and big donors.

Hill, the ActBlue director, credits grassroots donor activity for pushing Democrats to prioritize special elections around the country last year, even though Democratic candidates weren’t always favored to win.

“The grassroots donors were there before other donors were there, before institutional donors were there, saying, ‘We want to contest these races,’” she said.

Wolfe, the West Virginia donor, doesn’t himself live in a competitive congressional district.

He has given about $230 — spread across nearly a hundred contributions — to Richard Ojeda, a Democrat running for an open House seat in a neighboring district rated as “likely Republican” by FiveThirtyEight.

Wolfe says he about fell over when Ojeda took the time to call him not once, but three times.

“He just wanted to say about how he was interested in representing the common man,” Wolfe said. Ojeda told Wolfe he wasn’t taking corporate dollars, something Wolfe liked. “For him to take his time on small donations to thank me — to me, that is a man of character,” Wolfe said.

Madalin Sammons, the Ojeda campaign’s communications director, confirmed that the candidate spends a few hours every week calling donors who give less than $100 — a sign of the importance the campaign places on such small contributions.

“It’s really hard for us to call everyone — we have a lot of small donors,” she said. “We try once a week to have him call anywhere between 25 and 100 people and thank them.”

[universallycrownpirate]

The Moody Blues im Jahr 1970 im Flughafen Schiphol(v. l n. r.: Mike Pinder, Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward, Ray Thomas, John Lodge)

Ray Thomas (* 29. Dezember 1941 in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire; † 4. Januar 2018 in Surrey war ein britischer Pop-Musiker, der vor allem als Mitglied der Moody Blues bekannt wurde.

Ray Thomas hatte Ende der 1950er Jahre als Kontrabassist bei der Skiffleband Saints & Sinners angefangen und war ab 1959 als Sänger und Mundharmonikaspieler Frontman von El Riot and the Rebels, wo er den Gitarristen John Lodge und Mike Pinder kennenlernte, der zeitweilig Keyboarder der Band war. Die Gruppe war recht erfolgreich, hatte einige Fernsehauftritte und spielte 1963 im Vorprogramm der Beatles. Thomas beschloss daher 1963, vollends Profimusiker zu werden und schloss sich mit Pinder, der inzwischen seinen Militärdienst absolviert hatte, für einige Monate den Krew Kats an, die sich jedoch nach wenigen Monaten während einer Tournee durch Deutschland wieder trennten.

Zurück in England gründete er 1964 mit Pinder die Gruppe Moody Blues, zu denen 1966 auch wieder Lodge stieß, und gehörte ihr bis zu seinem lange angekündigten Ausscheiden 2002 an. Er wirkte als Sänger und Songwriter mit, seine wichtigsten Instrumente waren Querflöte und Mundharmonika. Kultstatus erreichte sein Timothy Leary gewidmeter Titel Legend of a Mind aus dem Jahr 1968.

Während der „schöpferischen Pause“ der Moody Blues zwischen 1973 und 1978 veröffentlichte Ray Thomas zwei Solo-LPs, deren erste kommerziell einigermaßen erfolgreich war, während die zweite in den Charts nicht notiert wurde. Weitere Solo-Projekte hat er nach der Reunion der Band oder später nach seinem Ausscheiden nicht verfolgt, doch gab es 2010 eine Neuveröffentlichung beider Alben als box-set mit dem zusätzlichen, neu aufgenommenen Song The Trouble With Memories.

2002 verließ Thomas die Band und zog sich ins Privatleben zurück, teils aus gesundheitlichen und Altersgründen, teils wohl auch wegen einer gewissen Entfremdung von den Moody Blues, in denen er seit Jahren keine zentrale Rolle mehr gespielt hatte. Während er als Flötist durch die US-Amerikanerin Norda Mullen hervorragend ersetzt wurde, vermissten ihn viele Fans der Gruppe als Songwriter und „walisischen Bariton“.

Auf seiner Website gab Thomas 2014 bekannt, seit 2013 an Prostatakrebs zu leiden. Er starb im Januar 2018 im Alter von 76 Jahren.

The Moody Blues sind eine britische Rockband. Sie gelten als maßgebliche Wegbereiter des Symphonic Rock, wurden aber auch anderen Sub-Genres wie Art Rock oder „Lush Pop“ (Starostin zugeordnet. Unter den noch aktiven Bands der so genannten British Invasion sind die Moody Blues nach den Rolling Stones und The Who die dauerhaft erfolgreichsten, vor allem in den USA, wo sie nach wie vor jedes Jahr touren. Selbst bezeichnen sie sich gern als Schnittmenge diverser Stile und Fan-Projektionen; dennoch sei „That Sound“ unverwechselbar.Bis heute haben die Moody Blues nach eigenen Angaben rund 70 Millionen Alben weltweit verkauft.

Im (mittlerweile geschlossenen) Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach wurde ein Dark Ride dem Song Nights in White Satin gewidmet. Mit einer neu aufgenommenen Version des Liedes und entsprechenden Spezialeffekten ist Nights in White Satin: The Trip ausgestattet.

Die USA-Sommer-Tournee 2009 begann am 21. Juli vor vollem Haus in San Diego, 45 Jahre nach der Bandgründung. Als zweite Keyboarderin war wieder Bernie Barlow, 2010 erneut Julie Ragins auf der Bühne. In diesem Jahr wurde auch der langjährige Sideman Paul Bliss durch einen neuen Keyboarder, nämlich den vom Jazz kommenden Alan Hewitt, abgelöst.

Im Dezember 2017 wurden The Moody Blues mit der Aufnahme in die Rock and Roll Hall of Fame geehrt. Die offizielle Veranstaltung wird voraussichtlich am 14. April 2018 stattfinden.

Moody Blues 2017

Letzterer Satz endet neuerdings im past perfect, weil die Band fünfzig Jahre nach der Erstveröffentlichung von Days... dieses Album 2017 in voller Länge live präsentiert. Hayward und Lodge singen alle Songs, auch die von Thomas und Pinder; Edge spricht die eigenen Texte selbst. Mittlerweile ist ein bisher unveröffentlichter, damals live präsentierter Song aus der Days...-Zeit im Web aufgetaucht: (Our) Beautiful Dream.

Birmingham, England Genre(s)Progressive Rock, Symphonic Rock, Psychedelic Rock Gründung 1964

Website www.moodybluestoday.com

Gründungsmitglieder Gitarre, Gesang  Denny Laine (bis 1966) Querflöte, Mundharmonika, Gesang  Ray Thomas (bis 2002, † 4. Januar 2018 in Surrey)) Bass Clint Warwick (bis 1966, † 15. Mai 2004 in Birmingham) Piano, Mellotron Mike Pinder (bis 1979) Schlagzeug Graeme Edge

Aktuelle Besetzung Gitarre, GesangJustin Hayward (seit 1966) Bass, GesangJohn Lodge (seit 1966) Schlagzeug Graeme Edge

Ehemalige Mitglieder Bass Rodney Clark (1966) Keyboard Patrick Moraz (1978–1991)

[footyplusau]

Rohan Connolly: The Last Word on round 13

Rohan will be blogging here live from 12pm on Monday. Leave a comment now or join the conversation from midday.

THE PERFORMANCE

High flyer: Happy Melbourne fans with Sam Frost after their win over the Bulldogs. Photo: Robert Cianflone

You could best surmise how much Melbourne still have to prove in the pundits’ eyes by checking out our footy tips for this round. Out of 24 tipsters, just two backed the Demons to beat the Western Bulldogs despite the fact they’d won three of their previous four games compared to the Dogs’ one win from four. On Sunday, form lines looked a lot more reliable than hunches, Melbourne’s 57-point win the result of relentless pressure and far slicker ball use. If consistency was an issue earlier in the season, it’s one which seems to have been overcome, the Dees’ midfield again on top despite the absence of a genuine ruckman, a problem no longer next week with the return of Max Gawn. This is a team growing not only in confidence, but finals credibility.

THE CHAMP

Shirt front: Lance Franklin tussles with Richmond’s Alex Rance. Photo: AFL Media/Getty Images

There’s plenty of talk around about Alex Rance’s place in the pantheon of all-time great key defenders. Given their longevity, I reckon it’s a stretch to be comparing him to David Dench, Geoff Southby, Steve Silvagni and co. just yet, but the Richmond man is certainly closing in, his performance against Lance Franklin more evidence. Rance was practically a one-man band as Sydney launched assault after assault in the final term. Midway through the quarter, he’d had seven possessions, four of which were intercepts. Unable to hold back the tide on his own, eventually the Tigers’ defences gave way, but it was a superb eff ort nonetheless. Rance an all-time great? The idea is growing on me.

THE QUARTET

Free choice: Melbourne’s Bernie Vince is dispossessed by Liam Picken. Photo: Robert Cianflone

The AFL’s mid-season experiment with four field umpires during the bye rounds has been interesting, but doesn’t seem to have won a lot of fans. One of the major issues seems to have been the “too many cooks” syndrome, with non-controlling umpires coming over the top to pay free kicks more regularly, causing a bit of confusion. The upside has been more occasions on which they’ve been able to spot infringements unsighted by umpires closer to play, a free for high contact to the Western Bulldogs’ Liam Picken in Sunday’s game against Melbourne a good example. Do we want fewer frees or more which haven’t been picked up spotted? It’s not necessarily an easy choice. I think the trials might be worth persisting with.

THE FRUSTRATION

Sunset: Gold Coast leave the field after losing to Carlton. Photo: Chris Hyde

One step forward, two steps back seems to be the recurring theme with Gold Coast, and Saturday night’s loss at home to Carlton has further enshrined that unwanted reputation for the Suns. Just twice in 144 games in AFL company have Gold Coast been able to win more than two games in a row, squandering another opportunity to do so against the Blues just a week on from an important win on the road. Not for the first time jumped at the start, the Suns did enough hard work to hit the front, then promptly conceded the next three goals and the game. Using Michael Barlow’s horrific and untimely injury as an excuse is too convenient. Gold Coast’s inability to keep the momentum going after that spoke volumes.

The post Rohan Connolly: The Last Word on round 13 appeared first on Footy Plus.

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[covers-on-spotify]

"Down by the Sea"

Original by Men at Work

Covered by Bernie Barlow