#Release date: March 19th 2002 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

carnegiemuseumnaturalhistory · 3 years

Text

Pittsburgh’s Moths Reflect Environmental Impacts of Industry

by Nicholas Sauer

I began to think in earnest about industrial melanism while working at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in 2018 when the We Are Nature exhibit was on display as part of the museum’s intensive focus on the Anthropocene. There was an unassuming corner of the exhibit devoted to the fate of the peppered moth (Biston betularia) during the Industrial Revolution. Dark-colored—melanistic—peppered moths were rare in England and Germany until the Industrial Revolution and the inevitable increase of air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels. With the rise of heavy industry, pale peppered moths began to stick out like bright specks on soot-covered vegetation. These pale moths were easy targets for hungry birds. The coal-choked environment favored the moth populations that possessed a gene for darker coloration, providing an example of natural selection at work. In recent years, scientists have located the specific gene that accounts for the darker moths and can trace the changing selection on color variation in peppered moths back to at least 1819 when the burning of coal for industrial purposes began to pick up steam in the British Isles.

In 1896, English entomologist J.W. Tutt theorized that his nation’s industrial conditions profoundly affected local moth populations. He argued that lichen on trees provided camouflage for the salt-and-pepper-colored moths. According to Tutt, industrial pollution killed off the lichen and, in turn, the pollution—soot and ash—camouflaged the darker moths, particularly the dark form of Biston betularia, f. carbonaria. It was not until the 1950s that Tutt’s theory was tested. Through a series of experiments, lepidopterist Bernard Kettlewell demonstrated that when both light and dark peppered moths (f. typica and carbonaria respectively) were released in industrially-contaminated woodlands in Birmingham and Dorset, England, birds fed on the most “conspicuous” form, f. typica, the pale moths. Kettlewell’s experiment would wind up in science textbooks for decades to come as a demonstration of natural selection.

"[1931] Peppered Moth (Biston betularia) f.carbonaria" by Bennyboymothman is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In the wake of Kettlewell’s findings, similar experiments were conducted in the United States, even in the Pittsburgh area. The scientist leading the melanism study in the Eastern United States in the 1950s, Denis Frank Owen (1931-1996), pored over the moth collections right here at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History as well as those of several other natural history museums in the Northeast and Midwest. A transplant from England at the beginning of his long career as an ecologist, Owen sought to test whether or not Kettlewell's results would be reflected in his own data on the American side of the Atlantic. Owen’s own findings were very much like Kettlewell’s. This, of course, was unsurprising in the case of Pittsburgh considering the massive amount of pollutants that were emitted by the city’s steel mills. To get a good idea of how polluted the city was at that time, check out the two soot-stained squares that remain on the mural The Crowning of Labor on the second and third floors of CMNH’s Grand Staircase.

Owen discovered that Pittsburgh had some of the earliest records of industrial melanism in the Northeast—melanistic forms of Epimecis hortaria (or, the Tulip Tree Beauty) dating from 1922 and Biston cognataria dating from 1910. Owen posited in his research that the number of melanistic moths were increasing in the late 1950s and early 1960s, particularly in environs surrounding industrial cities like Detroit and Pittsburgh, even as far as outlying rural areas. At Westmoreland County’s Powdermill Nature Reserve, all eight of the peppered moths observed in a 1957 study were melanistic, according to Owen.

Unfortunately, records of industrial melanism were never kept as meticulously in the U.S. as they were in the U.K., so our understanding of how widespread the phenomenon was States-side is incomplete. However, since the 1970s, much more data has been collected on peppered moths in the U.S. than before. This data has reflected the implementation of clean air regulations and tracked the overall decline in the ratio of melanistic peppered moths in favor of the pale form, supporting the theory that these moth populations, either Biston betularia (f. typica or carbonaria) or their cousins, are subject to natural selection that is weighted by pollution. Biologist Bruce S. Grant has suggested that more recent data from the post-industrial era be put to greater educational use—not to supplant Kettlewell’s famous experiment, but to supplement it with more up-to-date scientific findings.

Regrettably, even in the “Post-Industrial” era following the birth of the Environmental Protection Agency (1970) and the Clean Air Act (1972), peppered moths are subject to human-exacerbated environmental threats. In the 1980s, when scientists sought an explanation for the continued presence of melanistic moths in rural eastern Pennsylvania, they instead discovered two major dangers to peppered moths and their habitat. First, so-called gypsy moths (Lymantria dispar dispar)—an invasive species introduced to the U.S. by humans in the 19th century—were rapidly defoliating the woodlands that the peppered moths called home. Secondly, the Pennsylvania Department of Forestry was spraying the area with the pesticides Dylox and Dimilin to combat Lymantria dispar and may have adversely affected the peppered moths in the process.

This example of the twin dangers of invasive species and pesticide use, in addition to the earlier instances of industrial pollution, demonstrate human beings’ profound effect on the natural world during the Anthropocene. The travails of the peppered moth are key to understanding the influence humans have on the ecosystems around them, so far as becoming even a variable in the way natural selection operates. The Pittsburgh area and the scientific collections at CMNH have played an important part in the study of industrial melanism in peppered moths and will continue to do so as the natural world responds in its way to human influence. The decline in melanistic moth numbers that correlates with cleaner air and more conscientious environmental regulations provides hope that that human influence is not uniformly negative.

Nicholas Sauer is a Gallery Experience Presenter in CMNH’s Life Long Learning Department. Museum staff, volunteers, and interns are encouraged to blog about their unique experiences and knowledge gained from working at the museum.

Works Cited

Blakemore, Erin. “New Evidence Shows Peppered Moths Changed Color in Sync with Industrial Revolution.” Smithsonian Magazine, 1 June 2016. <https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-evidence-peppered-moths-changed-color-sync-industrial-revolution-180959282/>.

Cook, M.L., et al. “Post Industrial Melanism in the Peppered Moth.” Science, no. 3 (Feb 7, 1986): 611. Gale In Context: College, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A4128493/CSIC?u=pitt92539&sid=CSIC&xid=56d31b9d. Accessed 17 Apr. 2021.

Grant, Bruce S. “Fine Tuning the Peppered Moth Paradigm.” Evolution 53, no. 3 (1999): 980-984.

Grant, B.S. and L.L. Wiseman. “Recent History of Melanism in American Peppered Moths.” Journal of Heredity 93, 2 (March 2002): 86-90. <https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/93/2/86/2187377>.

Manley, Thomas R. “Temporal Trends in Frequency of Melanistic Morphs in Cryptic Moths of Rural Pennsylvania.” Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 42, no. 3 (1988): 213-217.

Maynard, M. and Geoffrey T. Hellman. “Comment.” The New Yorker Magazine, 13 August, 1955: 15. <https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1955/08/13/comment-4365>.

Owen, D.F. “Industrial Melanism in North American Moths.” The American Naturalist 95, no. 883 (Jul.-Aug., 1961): 227-233. <https://www.jstor.org/stable/2458933?seq=1>. Accessed 18 April 2021.

Rudge, David Wyss. “The Role of Photographs and Films in Kettlewell’s Popularizations of the Phenomenon of Industrial Melanism.” Science and Education 12 (2003): 261-287.

Smith, David A.S. “Obituary: Denis Owen.” The Independent, 23 Oct. 1996. <https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-denis-owen-1359897.html>.

#Carnegie Museum of Natural History #Peppered moth #Moth #Inverebrate Zoology #Anthropocene

34 notes · View notes

vangoghs-other-ear · 5 years

Text

Dates in French

Writing the Date

Dates in French follow the day/month/year format.

For instance-

Post Malone est né le 4 juillet 1995.

Post Malone was born July 4th, 1995.

Le 14 september 1901 le 25ème president des états-unis, Bill Mckinley, été assasiné.

September 14th , 1901, the 25th president of the United States, Bill McKinley was assassinated.

Lilo et Stitch est sorti le 21 juin 2002.

Lilo & Stitch was released June 21st, 2002.

Notice that in French we do not capitalize the month, nor do we use a comma between the year and the rest of the date.

Saying the year aloud

Another difference between French and English is the way we say years out loud.

in English 1995 is said nineteen ninety-five

In French we can either say mille neuf-cent quatre-vignt-quinze or dix-neuf cent quatre-vignt-quinze.

in English nineteen oh one

in French, mille neuf cent un or dix-neuf cent un

In English, two thousand two

In french, this one is the same, deux mille deux

The formula is [first digit] mille [second digit] cent [last two digits as one number].

However, if the first digit is one you do not need to say un mille, you just say mille.

Writing Centuries and Decades

In English we say the 90′s

In French its les années 90

In English we write centuries in Arabic numerals, for instance, the 19th century

In French we use roman numerals (for some reason??) so its Le xixème siècle

Military Time

/so apparently/ in most of the world (including France) they use military or 24 hour time? I don’t really have much to say about this, just a heads up to my fellow Americans.

Misc.Vocab

une seconde- second

une minute- minute

une heure- hour

un Jour- day

une semaine- week

le weekend- weekend

Un mois- month

un an- year

un siècle- century

janvier- January

février- February

mars- March

avril- April

mai- May

juin- June

juillet- July

août- August

septembre- September

octobre- October

novembre- November

decembre- December

l’été (m)- summer

l'automne (m)- fall

l’hiver (m)- winter

le printemps- spring

la saison- season

#Honestly did not expect roman numerals to be one of the most annoying things about being a French major but they are #those fancy fucks #france #french #français #francais #french language #language #languages #learning languages #target language #langblr #langblog #studyspo #studystudystudy #dates #time #roman numerals

48 notes · View notes

citylightsbooks · 5 years

Text

Celebrating Lawrence Ferlinghetti at 100, complete schedule of events

MAIN EVENT

Sunday, March 24th 1-5pm

On Lawrence's birth date, the public is invited to an open house birthday party at City Lights Bookstore with concurrent programming throughout the afternoon at three other North Beach venues: Canessa Gallery (708 Montgomery St, 1-5PM), Café Zoetrope (916 Kearny St, 2-3PM), and Vesuvio's (255 Columbus Ave, 3-4PM). Free.

6PM-?: after party at Specs (12 William Saroyan Place) presented by Jessica Loos and Elly Simmon with Juan Felipe Herrera, Jerry Cimino, music by La Bolshevita, Stephen Barry, Dorothy Payne, William Taylor, Cara Vida, and Mauro Ffortissimo.

MORE INFO HERE

PLUS . . .

On view now and running through March 28th "Ferlinghetti in Photographs" at The Canessa Gallery.

Open Wednesdays in March, noon to 3PM.

On view March 24th: Film: Lawrence: A Lifetime in Poetry by Giada Diano & Elisa Polimeni and limited edition letterpress edition of A Coney Island of the Mind, produced by Arion Press.

708 Montgomery Street, San Francisco. Free.

canessa.org

On view now and running through April 27th

The Rena Bransten Gallery presents a solo show of Ferlinghetti's work, Lawrence Ferlinghetti: 100 Years Without a Net

1275 Minnesota Street, San Francisco. Free.

renabranstengallery.com

Sunday, March 17th 1pm

The San Francisco Public Library celebrates Ferlinghetti in the Koret Auditorium with Jack Hirschman, Aggie Falk, Kim Shuck, Linda Noel, Dean Rader, devorah major, Alejandro Murguía, Ginny Lim, and Janice Mirikitani reading Ferlinghetti poems and sharing stories. Hosted by Neeli Cherkovski.

100 Larkin Street, San Francisco. Free.

MORE INFO HERE

Opening Tuesday, March 19th, with a reception at 6:30PM, and running through May 3rd.

On the occasion of Lawrence Ferlinghetti's 100th birthday, the Italian Cultural Institute is hosting "Lawrence d'Italia," an photo exhibition by Walter Pescara, curated by Mauro Aprile Zanetti, featuring San Francisco's first poet laureate, painter, legendary publisher and activist as he performs FLUXUS poetry during his travels in Italy between 2002 and 2005.

The exhibition consists of a photographic body printed with silver salts, plus some pieces imprinted on nautical sails.

Istituto Italiano di Cultura, 601 Van Ness Avenue, Suite F, San Francisco. Free.

MORE INFO HERE

Thursday, March 21st, 7pm

Little Boy by Lawrence Ferlinghetti book release party at City Lights Bookstore!

Opening Statement by Peter Maravelis/City Lights with readings by Maxine Hong Kingston, Michael Krasny, Armistead Maupin, Joyce Carol Oates, Julien Poirier, Andrew Sean Greer, and Shobha Rao.

261 Columbus Ave, San Francisco. Free.

MORE INFO HERE

Saturday, March 23rd 1:30-3:30pm

Chris Felver screens his documentary Ferlinghetti at the Roxie Theater. Preceded by an interview with the filmmaker and Peter Maravelis of City Lights Booksellers.

3117 16th Street, San Francisco. Tickets available.

MORE INFO HERE

roxie.com

Tuesday March 26th, 7pm

Book release party for The People v. Ferlinghetti: The Fight to Publish Allen Ginsberg's HOWL with Ronald Collins and David Skover at City Lights Bookstore.

261 Columbus Ave, San Francisco. Free.

MORE INFO HERE

EVENTS OUTSIDE THE BAY AREA

*Sunday, March 24th, 2pm-8pm

Birthday party and Little Boy launch at Howl! Happening gallery in New York City.

Paying tribute to this historic moment and honoring Ferlinghetti's life and ongoing work, Howl! Happening is delighted to host in New York City a 100th birthday party celebration in association with City Lights Bookstore and Knopf Doubleday publishers. The day will include a launch of Ferlinghetti's new novel Little Boy.

Featuring Ed Sanders, Hettie Jones, David Henderson, Eileen Myles, Bob Holman, Anne Waldman, Helixx C. Armageddon and more to be announced as well as a schedule soon to be included.

The afternoon of celebrations will also feature a screening of Chris Felver's documentary Ferlinghetti as well as clips from Bob Holman’s United States of Poetry and the NET documentary USA: Poetry.

6 East 1st Street, NYC 10003. Free.

MORE INFO HERE

#ferlinghetti100 #lawrence ferlinghetti #city lights #city lights bookstore #north beach

25 notes · View notes

bog-o-bones · 6 years

Text

Kaiju Forecast - 2018

The new year is quickly approaching us and kaiju fans certainly will have their plates full next year. Here’s a list of some of the major movies, events, merchandise and more to look forward to in the coming year!

Movies

Obviously the main tent-pole film of the year will be Legendary’s Pacific Rim: Uprising due out on March 23rd. The sequel to arguably the forefather of the New Kaiju Boom has seen plenty of ups and downs during it’s development, including a terrifying “indefinite hiatus” stamp placed upon the film in late 2015. Thankfully, the film has marched on through production and features the return of fan favorite characters from the first film as well as a new team of Jaeger pilots, led by Star Wars and Attack The Block’s John Boyega. Although a few trailers and promotional ads have been released, kaiju groupies can probably expect a surge in marketing around February.

Second banana (no pun intended) to Uprising is New Line’s Rampage loosely based on the popular city-crushing game franchise. Another film that’s spent time in Development Hell, Rampage stars perennial popcorn flick favorite Dwayne Johnson and will be unleashed April 20th to theaters everywhere.

One can’t forget about the King of the Monsters either. The second installment in the anime trilogy will make landfall in Japan on May 5th, titled Godzilla: The City Mechanized for the Final Battle (whew). Initial details remain scarce bar the inclusion of Mechagodzilla (who can be seen in the poster above). International fans may also get the chance to view the first installment in the series on Netflix, although no details for that are available either, aside from a continuously fluctuating date on the film’s Netflix Instant listing.

Tsuburaya’s latest entry in the Ultraman franchise will be seeing it’s traditional theatrical film in the form of Ultraman Geed: The Movie. Abroad fans of the show will most likely have to wait for a fansub service to translate the film in order to see it, but it may also be subject to a small theatrical screening like it’s predecessors Ultraman Ginga S: The Movie and Ultraman X: The Movie, although those were released to coincide with the Ultra series’ 50th anniversary. Never give up hope, though!

Of course, one can’t also forget about the ever-so-secretive Cloverfield franchise, which supposedly launches it’s third film in the semi-anthology series on February 2nd. Tentatively titled God Particle, the film has been pushed back three times from its initial October 2017 release date, leaving some to speculate if it is even going to come out at all. The Cloverfield franchise is noted for its heavy use of alternate-reality games for its marketing, but God Particle has seen effectively nothing so far, even when we’re less than three months away from release. Only time will tell, however.

Not necessarily a kaiju film, but it does feature the 8th Wonder of the World and may or may not feature Ultraman and the third incarnation of Mechagodzilla, Based on a thoroughly bland and tasteless early teen novel, Ready Player One is basically this generation’s Who Framed Roger Rabbit only for “geek culture” (hard gag) and...you know, bad. Kaiju fans will most likely want to wait for the YouTube compilation of all the references instead of wasting $9.00+ on a movie ticket to see some giant monster action.

Also supposedly on the docket is a film adaption of the above novel, Steve Alten’s Meg which features a surviving prehistoric Megalodon terrorizing some form of human society (you can tell I’ve read the book, can’t you?). Yet another film stuck in development hell, although the production for this film is at least two decades old. Supposedly principal photography has been completed on this film, but who the hell knows.

Television

While Tsuburaya is most definitely working on the next main installment of the Ultra series, a short series in the style of Ultraman Retsuden or Ultraman Zero: The Chronicle will be aired starting January 6th. Ultraman Orb: The Chronicle follows the history of the titular Ultra’s alter ego Gai Kurenai. Unlikely to be picked up by Crunchyroll like it’s original show, Ultra Fans will most likely want to stalk fansub sites to view this series.

Another of Tsuburaya’s toku heroes will see an animated revival next year with Studio Trigger’s Gridman anime based on a short shown at the Japan Animator Expo in 2015. Titled SSSS Gridman, named after the original show’s Americanization Superhuman Samurai Syber Squad, the show will be released in the Autumn of 2018. Also related to Gridman, the original show is being broadcasted to nearly-impossible-to-document-channel Toku starting this December.

Aside from Ultraman and Gridman, I don’t know of any other kaiju-related television shows happening next year, so to not leave this section sparse, I should probably mention Kamen Rider Build, which while technically not kaiju based or a 2018 release, is tokusatsu-related and will be continuing into the new year. I know nothing aside from the basics of Kamen Rider, but according to the wiki it will be the last Rider show to be fully broadcasted during the Heisei era, as the next series will run into 2019 when Emperor Akihito will abdicate the throne to his son Prince Naruhito, thus beginning a new era of Japan.

Events

It would be heresy to discuss kaiju-related events and not bring up the quintessential annual kaiju con G-FEST! Next year’s convention looks to be an absolute banger and the entire guest list and schedule hasn’t even been announced yet! In attendance next year are Akira Takarada, best known for his role as Ogata in the original 1954 Godzilla film as well as his other roles throughout Toho’s library. Joining him will be Megumi Odaka, known as Miki Saegusa in the Heisei Godzilla series. This is her first G-FEST in over fifteen years, having attended back in 2000. Fans will most definitely not want to miss this event! G-FEST 2018 will be held July 13th - July 16th at the Crowne Plaza Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont, IL.

San Diego Comic Con has always been the number one hotspot for pop culture news every year, and 2018′s convention is definitely one kaiju fans want to keep their eyes peeled to. The highly anticipated sequel to Legendary’s Godzilla reboot has wrapped filming and it’s extremely likely that the film will have some sort of presence at next year’s SDCC. Whether this means a panel with the cast and crew or a trailer is anyone’s guess, but considering it’s the last major convention before the film’s release (with the possible exception of New York Comic Con in October), it’d be insane of Legendary not to promote the film here. San Diego Comic Con will take place July 19th - July 22nd at the San Diego Convention Center.

On a slightly smaller note, Monsterama is a convention in the Atlanta, GA area that seems like your average horror/monster fan convention. Of special note on the guest list to kaiju fans is Matt Greenfield, former president of ADV Films and current president of Kraken Releasing. Both companies are notable for releasing many kaiju films to DVD & Blu-Ray in the west. Kraken’s latest tokusatsu releases include The Return of Godzilla on Region 1 disc for the first time, and Garo, the creation of character and monster designer Keita Amemiya. Fans will want to keep their ears open for this convention as new information regarding possible new releases from the company could be revealed.

Merchandise

The S.H. MonsterArts line continues releasing highly-articulated and accurate representations of characters from the Godzilla franchise, including the first non-Godzilla Showa character in the form of Mechagodzilla. Reissues of the infamous Shin Godzilla figure and the sought-after SpaceGodzilla and Little Godzilla are also in the pipeline. And of course, the highly anticipated release of the 2002/2003 KiryuGoji design as well. Mechagodzilla has been licensed by BlueFin to see a stateside release, but the others will remain Japanese exclusives.

Continuing the theme of super-articulated figures, the S.H. Figuarts line will be seeing a surge of Ultra-related figures next year. On the docket are too many figures to list (see the Ultraman Wiki article) but of special note are the kaiju Antlar, Pandon, Twin Tail and Gudon (seen above). No release dates for any of the kaiju have been revealed, but it’s very likely these monsters will see release in the coming year.

In the world of vinyl figures, chances are Bandai will produce figures for the Godzilla anime sequel, but of special note are new releases in the Movie Monster Series line for 2003 Kiryu and Biollante! This marks the first vinyl figure of Biollante since the original 1990′s deluxe-sized figure. Despite the lack of pictures, the low price of only 1500 yen means collectors will not want to miss out on this one.

Pacific Rim Uprising continues to dominate off the screen with a highly anticipated line of figures from Bandai’s Robot Spirits line. All six of the film’s main Jaegers will be released for less than $40 each (and imported to America via BlueFin) and are easily available for pre-order from mainstream sites like Amazon and BigBadToyStore. Tamashii also plans to release an expensive yet extraordinarily accurate Gipsy Danger figure through its Soul of Chogokin line as well as vinyl representations of the kaiju enemies in the newly revitalized Sofubi Spirits line.

Alternatively, Diamond Select Toys is putting out their own line of Pacific Rim Uprising figures of the Jaegers and the kaiju. These figures appear to be more in-tune with what NECA released for the first film, so those who want similarly scaled figures have that option. DST is also releasing articulated kaiju, for those who aren’t satisfied with Bandai’s vinyl offerings.

Continuing with American companies, NECA has been hard at work sculpting new figures for their Classic Godzilla line. Nothing new has been revealed yet and information is reportedly coming at ToyFair in February, although NECA is notorious for not keeping their word on reveals for their non-80′s properties. Part of this has to do with Toho’s infamously strict licensing policies which resulted in NECA being only allowed to do Godzilla suits in their line as opposed to supporting monsters as well. NECA also revealed that they do not have the rights to create figures based on the 2019 designs of Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah leaving the likely scenario being similar to Pacific Rim Uprising’s toys, with Bandai doing S.H. MonsterArts figures of the three kaiju to be distributed in America via BlueFin.

In late 2017, Criterion secured the streaming rights to fourteen Showa Godzilla films, comprised of the films Classic Media released in their Toho Master Collection, Media Blasters’ two-film library of Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla vs. Megalon, and the out-of-print Son of Godzilla and Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974). The films are currently available for streaming on the FilmStruck service, but Criterion has implied that they are interested in a physical release sometime in the future. Nothing concrete has been revealed yet, so fans will want to keep an eye on Criterion’s monthly Future Releases updates to see if any of these films make the cut.

Finally, kaiju artist and fan extraordinare Matt Frank is drawing an officially licensed Redman manga! From the previews shown, it appears to be taking on more of a dark tone than the original show. No word on a US release yet (although it’s likely copies will be offered at his G-FEST Artist Alley table).

With each passing year, the kaiju fandom grows bigger and bigger and more and more kaiju-related media is being released every month. It’s truly a new age for the genre and definitely the best time to be a fan. Here’s to a happy 2018!

#kaiju #2018 #daikaiju #kaiju fandom #daikaiju fandom #godzilla #redman #ultraman #criterion godzilla #criterion collection #bandai #robot spirits #tamashii nations #pacific rim #pacific rim uprising

77 notes · View notes

classic-rock-roller · 6 years

Text

The Van Halen Timeline

Mostly Taken from Everybody Wants Some: The Van Halen Saga by Ian Christe, everything after March 2007 is from my own research

October 13th, 1947: Sammy Hagar born in Monterey, California

May 8th, 1953: Alexander Arthur van Halen born in Holland

October 10th, 1953: David Lee Roth born in Bloomington, Indiana

June 20th, 1954: Michael Anthony Sobolewski born in Chicago, Illinois

January 26th, 1955: Edward Lodwijk van Halen born in Holland

July 26th, 1961: Gary Cherone born in Malden, Massachusetts

Winter 1962: Jan van Halen emigrates with his family to California

1967: Edward gets $100 Teisco Del Ray guitar from Sears

1971: Alex and Eddie Van Halen form the Trojan Rubber Company

Autumn 1973: David Lee Roth joins the Van Halen brothers in Mammoth

1973: Sammy Hagar joins Montrose, records two albums, and tours heavily

Spring 1974: Mike Sobolewski joins Van Halen, becomes Michael Anthony

May 1976: Gene Simmons “discovers” Van Halen at the Starwood, finances unsuccessful demo tape

1976: Sammy Hagar leaves Montrose, launches solo career

May 1977: Ted Templeton rediscovers Van Halen, signs band to Warner Bros.

February 10th, 1978: Release of Van Halen; leading to tours with Journey, then Black Sabbath

October 10th, 1978: Van Halen goes platinum

March 23rd, 1979: Release of Van Halen II; first headlining tour runs through October

March 26th, 1980: Release of Women and Children First

August 29th, 1980: Eddie Van Halen meets Valerie Bertinelli

April 11th, 1981: Eddie marries Valerie

April 29th, 1981: Release of Fair Warning

April 14th, 1982: Release of Diver Down

May 29th, 1983: Van Halen paid $1.5 million to play for four hundred thousand people at US Festival ‘83

January 4th, 1984: Release of 1984, featuring band’s first number 1 singe, “Jump”

September 2nd, 1984: Final show by classic lineup in Nuremberg, Germany

December 31st, 1984: David Lee Roth releases Crazy from the Heat

1985: Cherone’s band the Dream wins MTV’s Basement Tapes

April 1985: David Lee Roth exits Van Halen

September 1985: Eddie Van Halen announces at Farm Aid that Sammy Hagar is Van Halen’s new lead singer

November 19th, 1985: Sammy Hagar’s ninth studio album, VOA, becomes his first platinum-selling disc

March 24th, 1986: Release date of 5150; first “Van Hagar” album sells triple platinum by October

July 4th, 1986: Release of David Lee Roth’s platinum solo debut, Eat ‘Em and Smile

December 1986: Jan Van Halen dies

May 24th, 1988: Release of OU812, followed shortly by Roth’s Skyscraper

Summer 1988: Eddie attempts sobriety while Van Halen tours with Metallica, Scorpions, and Dokken

February 1989: Tone Lōc;s “Wild Thing” reaches number 2, a rap single that samples Van Halen’s “Jamie’s Cryin”

April 22nd, 1990: Van Halen performs at opening of Cabo Wabo Cantina in Mexico

June 8th, 1990: Extreme’s “More than Words” single hits number 1

February 2nd, 1991: Release of David Lee Roth’s A Little Ain’t Enough, his last gold record as a solo artist

March 16th, 1991: Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen born

June 17th, 1991: Release of For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge, Van Halen’s third-straight number 1 album

January 1991: Eddie debuts the EVH Music Man guitar and the Peavey 5150 amplifier line

April 20th, 1992: Gary Cherone joins surviving members of Queen at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in London

February 23rd, 1993: Release of first official live album, Right Here, Right Now

October 16th, 1993: Van Halen’s manager since 1985, Ed Leffler, dies

March 14th, 1994: Sammy Hagar releases solo collection, Unboxed

October 2nd, 1994: Fresh from rehab, Eddie Van Halen announces he will never drink again

January 24th, 1995: Release of Balance, the fourth consecutive number 1 studio album

April 7th, 1995: Eddie arrested at Burbank Airport carrying a loaded gun

April 26th, 1995: Van Halen returns to Europe after eleven years, as an opening act for Bon Jovi

Fall 1995: David Lee Roth appears in Reno and Las Vegas with a fourteen-piece band

November 29th, 1995: Sammy Hagar marries second wife, Kari

June 1996: Eddie and Sammy fight during a phone call; Sammy Hagar leaves Van Halen

August 7th, 1996: Van Halen certified diamond for ten million sold

September 4th, 1996: Original members of Van Halen appear together at MTV Video Music Awards, leading to renewed quarrels

October 4th, 1996: Alex and Eddie announce that Van Halen’s new singer will be Gary Cherone

October 22nd, 1996: Release of Best of Volume I, with two new songs featuring Roth; despite the recent split with the band, it is his first number 1 album

March 17th, 1998: Release of Van Halen III, the first VH . studio album not to go platinum

November 5th, 1999: Gary Cherone leaves Van Halen

May 2000: Texas hospital confirms Eddie in outpatient cancer prevention

Summer 2001: Van Halen completes at least three new songs with David Lee Roth

January 2002: Van Halen’s partnership with Warner Bros. ends after twenty-three years

April 15th, 2002: David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar announce joint forty-date summer concert tour

May 2002: Doctors declare Eddie Van Halen cancer free

July 2002: Eddie and Valerie Van Halen announce separation

April 2004: Sammy’s Cabo Wabo Cantina opens a branch in basement of a Lake Tahoe casino; Cabo Wabo tequila ships over 110,000 cases for the year

June 11th, 2004: Van Halen launches reunion tour with Sammy Hagar; relations sour by the end of the summer

November 19th, 2004: Eddie smashes two Peavey Wolfgang guitars, ending his thirteen-year partnership

December 6th, 2005: Eddie and Valerie officially file for divorce

January 2006: David Lee Roth replaces Howard Stern as morning radio DJ; lasts through April

September 2006: Eddie Van Halen announces that Van Halen will tour in 2007 with his son, Wolfgang, playing bass

December 2006: Roth rehearses with a new all-Van Halen lineup

March 2007: Van Halen inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

September 27th, 2007: Van Halen started their new tour in Charlotte, North Carolina

March 5th, 2008: World Weekly Entertainment to CBS News reported that the reason the tour had been interrupted was Eddie Van Halen’s needing to reenter rehab

June 2nd, 2008: The tour ended at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan

July 3rd, 2008: Van Halen headlined the Quebec City Summer Festival

August 2010: Warner/Chappell Music extends its administration agreements with Van Halen

January 17th, 2011: Van Halen enters the Hensen Studio C with Producer Jon Shanks

December 26th, 2011: Their official website is updated, announcing that tickets for their 2012 tour will be available beginning January 10th, 2012

January 5th, 2012: Van Halen plays an intimate gig at Café Wha? in New York City

January 10th, 2012: Van Halen’s single “Tattoo” makes it’s premier on radio stations

February 7th, 2012: A Different Kind of Truth is released

August 30th, 2012: Eddie Van Halen is diagnosed with diverticulitis and undergoes surgery, which postpones the shows in Japan

April 20th, 2013: Van Halen performs it’s first show outside North American with Roth since 1984

February 2015: Van Halen fansite, VHND.com, announces that Van Halen is releasing their first every live album with David Lee Roth, Tokyo Dome Live in Concert

March 24th, 2015: Van Halen announces a 39 date tour with Roth that will take place between July and October across North America

March 31st, 2015: Tokyo Dome Live in Concert is released

April 2015: Eddie Van Halen tells Rolling Stone that the band “will probably hunker down and do a studio album” after their tour

January 16th, 2016: Michael Anthony clears up the rumor that he might be rejoining Van Halen

February 26th, 2016: David Lee Roth clears up some rumors about his recently released song “Ain’t No Christmas”, saying that it has nothing to do with Van Halen

May 25th, 2016: David Lee Roth says he believes he’ll be back with Van Halen

August 17th, 2016: Sammy Hagar apologizes to Van Halen

December 23rd, 2016: Rumors start to fly about Van Halen reuniting for album and 2018 tour

March 12th, 2017: Michael Anthony says that it’s time for Roth/Hagar Van Halen tour

June 22nd, 2017: Michael Anthony says that now is a perfect time for a reunion of the classic lineup of Van Halen

November 2nd, 2017: Sammy Hagar says that there is no chance of a Van Halen reunion

January 5th, 2018: Michael Anthony is interviewed for upcoming Van Halen documentary

January 20th, 2018: Van Halen is rumored to have new music and 2018 tour

January 29th, 2018: Eddie Van Halen sues to stop release of “5150 Vault” documentary

#van halen #eddie van halen #alex van halen #david lee roth #michael anthony #sammy hagar #gary cherone #wolfgang van halen #van halen timeline

25 notes · View notes

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

Amazon Prime Video UK March 2021: Invincible, Coming 2 America and More!

https://ift.tt/2PdZXUu

This month on Amazon Prime Video UK sees the final three episodes of Neil Gaiman fantasy drama American Gods arrive, along with the first three episodes of new comic book animated series Invincible, adapted from the books by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman (it’s three of those up-front on the 26th, and then one a week for the five weeks after that).

Movies-wise, there’s the sequel to John Landis’ 1988 comedy Coming To America, which follows the story of Eddie Murphy’s Prince Akeem as he’s drawn back to the US ahead of taking on Zamunda’s throne. Also, in his most anticipated role since he put on a beanie for those Kia car ads, Robert de Niro plays a granddad fighting with his young grandson over the use of a bedroom in The War With Grandpa.

Also – tennis, and a collection of existing movies including the very good Call Me By Your Name, which lands on the 26th. We’ll update this guide as new release dates are confirmed and changes are made.

Weekly Episodes

American Gods Season 3, new episodes Sundays Neil Gaiman fantasy adaptation starring Ricky Whittle, Ian McShane and Emily Browning

This Is Us Season 5, new episodes Thursdays US family melodrama following the Pearson family

Invincible, new episodes Fridays from March 26th Eight-part animated series from Robert Kirkman, the comic book creator of The Walking Dead

New Movies

Coming 2 America – Friday March 5th Eddie Murphy-starring sequel to the 1988 John Landis comedy

The War With Grandpa – Friday March 19th Robert de Niro in another baffling family comedy role

Made In Italy – Friday March 26th Liam Neeson-starring comedy-drama about an artist who restores an Italian villa with his estranged son following a death in the family

Old Movies

1 March The Breakfast Club (1985) Ghostbusters II (1989) Lion (2016) Rogue (2020) The Hooligan Factory (2014) The Witches (1990)

3 March Argo (2012)

4 March The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

5 March Inception (2010) Hall Pass (2011) The Mule (2018)

New on Netflix UK March 2021: The Irregulars & Moxie Streaming This Month

By Louisa Mellor

Sky Cinema: What’s New in March 2021?

By Kirsten Howard

8 March Magic Mike XXL (2015)

10 March Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

12 March Aquaman (2018) Life in a Year (2020)

14 March The Lucky One (2012)

15 March Babe: Pig in the City (1998) Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)

19 March Papillon (2017)

21 March Get Hard (2015)

22 March Batteries Not Included (1987)

23 March How To Be Single (2016)

24 March The Notebook (2004)

26 March Call Me By Your Name (2017) Chick Fight (2020) The Bounty Hunter (2010)

28 March xXx (2002)

Live Sports

ATP – Qatar Total Open – 1st to 8th March ATP – ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament – 1st to 7th March WTA – Dubai Tennis Championship – 8th to 14th March ATP – Abierto Mexicano Telcel – 15th to 22nd March WTA – St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy – 15th to 21st March WTA – Miami Open – 22nd March to 4th April ATP – Miami Open – 24th March to 4th April

Coming to Amazon Prime Video UK in April & May 2021

The Mauritanian – 1st April A Kevin Macdonald-directed thriller starring Jodie Foster, Benedict Cumberbatch and Shailene Woodley.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

The Underground Railroad – May 14th An alternative history drama adapted by Moonlight‘s Barry Jenkins from Colson Whitehead’s acclaimed novel.

Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give In – May 29th A documentary exploring the football manager’s eventful career.

The post Amazon Prime Video UK March 2021: Invincible, Coming 2 America and More! appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3kzS8Eh

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

0 notes

k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9 · 2 years

Audio

Hypocrisy - Another Dead End (For Another Dead Man)

#Hypocrisy #Catch 22 #Another Dead End (For Another Dead Man)#Release date: March 19th 2002 #Full-length #Genre: Death Metal (early); Melodic Death Metal #Lyrical themes: Satanism (early); Aliens New World Order Science fiction #Sweden

5 notes · View notes

socialjusticeartshare · 3 years

Text

The facts about how the U.S. processes unaccompanied migrant children at the border

The treatment of migrant children taken into custody along the U.S.-Mexico border has become a focal point of the national debate over immigration policy.

Over the past decade, Democratic and Republican administrations have struggled to adequately and safely process large numbers of unaccompanied minors, who have special legal protections under U.S law.

Since 2013, U.S. authorities along the southern border have taken into custody more than 445,000 unaccompanied children, including 72,000 in 2014 and 80,000 in 2019, according to Department of Homeland Security data.

The U.S. government has, for the most part, sought to discourage these children, many of whom come from areas in Central America plagued by poverty and violence, from journeying to the southern border, highlighting the often dangerous trek north.

Earlier this week, the Biden administration reopened an influx facility to house migrant teenagers in Texas in response to a marked uptick in interdictions of unaccompanied children that has severely strained the shelter bed space the U.S. government has for them.

The move sparked condemnation from critics with different political and policy views. Some suggested the U.S. government should not be in the business of holding minors in any facilities like the one opened in Texas. Others madeaccusations of hypocrisy, inaccurately equating influx holding facilities and state-licensed shelters with a border center featuring chain-linked partitions resembling "cages."

To provide clarity on the current situation, here's an overview of the legal authorities and policies that govern the care of unaccompanied children, as well as the facilities where these minors are housed while in U.S. government custody.

What is the current legal process for unaccompanied children?

U.S. law defines unaccompanied migrant children as minors who don't have legal permission to be in the country and who are taken into government custody without an accompanying parent or legal guardian.

The Homeland Security Act of 2002 charged the Office of Refugee Resettlement, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services, with housing unaccompanied migrant children until they could be placed with vetted sponsors, who are typically family members residing in the U.S.

Another law, passed with bipartisan support in 2008, requires all government agencies to transfer most unaccompanied migrant children to the refugee office within 72 hours, absent extraordinary circumstances.

Unaccompanied children are typically first taken into custody along U.S. borders by Customs and Border Protection (CBP), a law enforcement agency whose facilities were largely designed to hold single adult men for short periods of time.

Internal CBP policy dictates that all migrants, especially unaccompanied minors, should be transferred out of the agency's custody within 72 hours of apprehending them.

Once in the custody of the refugee office, migrant children have access to lawyers and, in some cases, child advocates. The agency is bound by law and a landmark federal court settlement to continuously pursue the release of these minors to sponsors who are willing to care for them. The refugee office is allowed to release children to parents and legal guardians, as well as immediate relatives like siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts and first cousins. In limited circumstances, children can also be placed with distant relatives or unrelated sponsors if no other caretakers are located. The agency requires all prospective sponsors to undergo background checks.

In some circumstances, the refugee office is unable to identify any sponsors for children. The agency can't house minors once they reach legal age, which has, on some occasions, led to teenagers being transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers for adults on their 18th birthdays.

Under the Flores Settlement Agreement of 1997, the U.S. government committed to house migrant children in the "least restrictive" settings possible and provide them basic necessities like water, food, toilets and medical care.

Do unaccompanied children have a legal right to stay in the U.S.?

Unlike migrant adults and families, U.S. law does not require unaccompanied children to seek asylum through an adversarial courtroom setting. Instead, they are allowed to undergo child-sensitive interviews with asylum officers. Unaccompanied minors are also shielded from expedited deportations.

In addition to asylum, unaccompanied minors can request visas for trafficking victims, as well as a protection known as Special Immigrant Juvenile Status that can place undocumented children who were abandoned, neglected or abused by one or both parents on a pathway to U.S. green card status.

If they lose their legal cases, unaccompanied children can be deported to their countries of birth. However, Department of Homeland Security data shows the vast majority have not been deported in recent years.

Are unaccompanied children held in "cages"?

Border Patrol oversees police-like stations with cinder-block cells that government officials and advocates agree are not adequate to hold children. Migrants have called these facilities "perreras," or dog kennels, as well as "hieleras," due to the cold temperatures experienced while sleeping on concrete floors.

During surges in border crossings in 2014 and 2019, these border stations became dangerously overcrowded, garnering national attention. Children were held for prolonged periods of time in cells with one toilet and border agents even used parking lots as makeshift detention areas.

CBP has also opened "soft-sided" tent complexes specifically designed to hold unaccompanied minors and families with children during upticks in border apprehensions. While migrants have more accommodations and space in these facilities, they are still secure structures designed for short-term custody.

In 2014, the Obama administration converted a warehouse in McAllen, Texas, into a detention facility and installed chain-linked fencing to divide populations, like teenagers and families. Photos from the facility provoked a massive uproar in 2018 when the public became aware of the Trump administration's policy of separating thousands of migrant families.

The notion of "kids in cages" gained traction and was subsequently used to criticize the Trump administration's hard-line border and immigration policies, during and after the family separation crisis.

Where are unaccompanied minors housed after leaving Border Patrol custody?

The Office of Refugee Resettlement oversees shelters and foster homes that are licensed by states to house children.

Private nonprofits and for-profit groups operate more than 170 housing facilities in 22 states under grants from the refugee office. In limited circumstances, some youth are transferred to facilities that are more restrictive.

The refugee office offers unaccompanied youth in its custody food, educational services, access to legal counsel, recreational activities and medical services, including vaccination.

During influxes of border apprehensions, Republican and Democratic administrations have placed unaccompanied children in large temporary facilities. Unlike shelters, these facilities, used or built on federal property, have not been subject to state child welfare requirements.

The Obama administration used three Department of Defense installations to temporarily house unaccompanied children in 2014 and opened a temporary holding facility in Homestead, Florida, in 2016.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, opened two additional "influx" facilities in Texas in 2018 and 2019. Along with the Homestead facility, the facilities in Tornillo and Carrizo Springs — which were ultimately closed — came under withering criticism from advocates who objected to the housing conditions and the hiring of for-profit companies to run the installations.

On Monday, the Biden administration reopened the Carrizo Springs facility and is considering reopening the dormant Homestead facility to respond to the marked increase in apprehensions of unaccompanied minors along the southern border in recent days.

Children are not being held in cells at the Carrizo Springs facility, which does not have chain-linked fencing.

While the refugee office oversees more than 13,000 beds for migrant children, it has said it can only use about 8,000 because of COVID-19 mitigation protocols. As of Monday, more than 7,100 of the available beds — or about 90% of them — were full.

Were unaccompanied children treated differently under Trump or Obama?

The Trump administration, and to some extent the Obama administration, argued that the legal safeguards Congress created for unaccompanied children encouraged teenagers and other minors from impoverished areas in Central America to enter the U.S. without authorization.

Both administrations urged Congress to change the law, which drew opposition from advocates.

Over four years, the Trump administration instituted several unprecedented policies to deter unaccompanied children from coming to the U.S. border, including a broad ban on asylum for non-Mexican minors and efforts to prosecute undocumented immigrants who sought to sponsor children in the refugee agency's care.

During its "zero tolerance" crackdown, the Trump administration also incorrectly designated thousands of children it separated from their families as unaccompanied and sent them to shelters alone while their parents were prosecuted for crossing the border illegally.

In March 2020, the Trump administration invoked a public health authority dating back to the late 19th century to authorize border officials to expel migrants, including unaccompanied minors, without letting them apply for U.S. refuge. Thousands of unaccompanied children, including victims of gang and domestic violence, were expelled until a federal judge blocked the practice in November.

While an appeals court lifted that order late last month, the Biden administration has since announced it will exercise its discretion to not expel unaccompanied children. Instead, it will continue transferring them to the refugee office.

That policy choice, which White House press secretary Jen Psaki called a "human and moral objective," could prove to be an early logistical and political test for the Biden administration. The alternative, Psaki said Wednesday, is off the table for now.

"We can send them back home," Psaki said. "We're not doing that." Article Source

#unaccompanied migrant children #border #U.S.

0 notes

fayewonglibrary · 4 years

Text

Faye's Back (2011)

by: Boon Chan

For Faye Wong fans, her concert here tomorrow is an eagerly awaited affair, despite criticisms of earlier shows on her tour

As comebacks go, Beijing born singer Faye Wong’s return to the music scene is one of the most eagerly anticipated.

Turn back the clock to 2004 and the 42-year old was one of the biggest stars in Mandopop. She had released her 19th full length album, To Love, in November and then during the last concert of the subsequent tour in January 2005, she remarked: “If I ever retire from showbiz, I hope you all forget about me.”

Later that year, she married actor Li Yapeng and they had a baby girl Li Yan in 2006. Since then, she has kept a low profile, emerging occasionally to perform for charity.

And now, she is back - on stage, at least. Her comeback tour kicked off in Beijing in October last year and has taken her to Shanghai, Taipei, Hong Kong, Nanjing, Changsha and Wuhan. She performs at the Singapore Indoor Stadium tomorrow, seven years after her last gig here. Over 95% of the 6,500 tickets have been sold.

For the fans, it does not matter one bit that there is no new material or that Wong is famously reticent on stage.

Telecommunications regulation officer and self-professed Faye-natic See Chee Cheng, 29, says: “We don’t need a new album or new songs from Faye as she has too many to-die-for classics. Faye’s performances are electric and so alive. This is a priceless experience and will not be downplayed by the fact that there are no new songs.”

As for the lack of banter, packaging designer Qiu Wubing, 31, says: “I am not really bothered if I receive a little ‘Hello’ or not. Let the first word she sing be the hello and the last word be the goodbye.”

Financial analyst Carmen Leung, 31, is paying “way too much” to fly in from San Francisco just for the concert. She puts it this way: “Isn’t it better to have her spend the precious stage time on what she’s best at?”

Despite her lack of interaction and slick dance moves, Wong’s live performances certainly leave an impression on those who have watched her.

Ms. Lynette Chiam recalls that the first time she saw Wong was in Singapore when she was a teenager of 14 or 15: “The stage was moving and she wasn’t. She would sing and let the stage do the moving.” The second time, Ms. Chiam was 19. She recalls: “She sang even better than she did on the CD, that’s for sure.”

The 28-year-old merchandise manager at a bank declares admiringly: “She is her own genre. She’s like the Bjork of Asia.” Bjork is an Icelandic singer songwriter with a very distinctive personal style.

Wong’s imperfections only make her seem more human to her fans. Copywriter Mervyn Chan, 31, says: “I think her voice quality has deteriorated, not that she’s not a good singer anymore but it’s just an age thing. But her voice is still beautiful and I still enjoy listening to her.”

Even criticism of her going off pitch in early performances do not faze her acolytes.

Marketing manager Esther Leck, 31, searched for video clips to see what the fuss was about and says: “It’s not as bad as it was made out to be in the press, no one can be perfect always. Especially in this industry, it takes a lot of guts and willpower for someone like her to challenge herself on the big stage again.”

Mr. Jeffered Leow, who is in sales and marketing, says: “I think, there were some glitches in Beijing. Even Faye Wong is not perfect and she has not been giving public performances for so long. This is a live show so there are bound to be some problems.”

The 29-year-old adds that there is no need to clamour for new material. He says: “I was definitely very disappointed when she stopped making new albums but I have to respect her choice.

"We should be relieved she’s coming back to give a concert and not demand more.”

Some fans here could not wait till she performed in Singapore and jetted off to other stops on her tour. Mr. Qiu traveled to Hong Kong with friends to catch her concert on March 6. He spent under $1,000 in total including airfare, accommodations and the top-tier ticket of about $200. The most expensive tickets in Singapore cost $580.

He had some idea of what to expect as he had watched clips of her earlier gigs on YouTube.

The fan says: “The costumes were nicer than the previous concerts and there were also the 3-D laser effects and the lighting. The special effects were totally different. It was worth it.”

And yes, he will be attending the show tomorrow to show his support.

The visual for Wong’s comeback tour were created by Taiwanese music video director Muh Chen, with input from acclaimed Hong Kong film-maker Wong Kar Wai, Japan’s Mitsumasa Hayashi, a renowned lighting designer, was also part of the creative team.

Other fans will be catching Wong’s comeback in Singapore for the first time.

It will, in fact, be project manger Vitali Zabayrachny’s first time seeing her in concert. The 29-year-old is flying in from Moscow and tying in a vacation in Singapore together with the gig.

He says he is a fan because she sang the English number Eyes on Me for his favorite game, Final Fantasy, and adds: “She is beautiful and talented, how can I not like her?”

For copywriter Mr. Chan, this will be the third time he is watching her perform live. He says that there are two facets to her appeal: “Her sound was unique for an Asian singer and her fashion sense was always very cool, a bit quirky and very different form other artists.”

He adds" “It’s quite an experience to hear her sing live. It’s for the vocals and to see her in person. She’s been very reclusive and doesn’t make a lot of appearances, so on the rare occasion that she does, I will want to take a look”.

10 CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

MYSTERY (1994) Faye Wong had previously sung in Mandarin, most notably on the track No Regrets off the 1993 album of the same name. Mystery is her first all-Mandarin disc and is best known for the ethereal ballad I’m Willing. However, it contained too many remakes of her Cantonese hits, including a new cover of Tori Amos’ Silent All These Years. Regardless, it was a huge hit and sales went past the 800,000 mark in Taiwan alone.

RANDOM THOUGHTS (1994) At this point, her Cantonese releases were more daring and playful both musically and in terms of packaging. Unusual for a release by a major pop star, there was no sign of her face anywhere on the CD. Instead, there were fragments of phrases such as “No new image” and “No photo booklet”. While the anglicised name Faye had already appeared on 1992’s Coming Home album, this was the first time she used her actual Mandarin name Wang Fei.

CHUNGKING EXPRESS (1994) Critics say that Faye Wong can only act as herself. True, but given the right role and director, her natural charisma comes through on the big screen as well. Her turn as a quirky snack-bar worker in Wong Kar Wai’s stylish drama won her the Best Actress award at the Stockholm Film Festival. Wong’s Cantonese cover of The Cranberries’ Dreams is played over the end credits.

DECADENT SOUNDS OF FAYE WONG (1995) This is how a covers album should be done. Wong took the songs of her idol, Taiwanese songbird Teresa Teng, and made them her own. It helped that the two share the same clear and sweet vocal qualities but the appeal also lay in the unexpectedness of the arrangements. They even breathed new life into the dated folksiness of a track like Sentiments of A Native Village. On the poetic, Wishing We Could Last Forever, though, little more than Wong’s pure voice was needed.

RESTLESS (1996) The title song clocked in at under three minutes and the lyrics consist of just 22 words, and it was probably one of the more conventional tracks here. Given the experimental nature of the disc, it did not sell as well as previous albums. It was critically acclaimed though and after its release, Wong became the first Chinese singer to feature on the cover of Time magazine. The headline: The Divas of Pop

SCENIC TOUR (1998) She has never looked as serenely beatific as she does on the album cover here. And the record also contains several classics including the tender Red Bean and the showstopping Face, which sees her exploring different ways of singing on one track. The track Tong was written by Wong for her daughter with her first husband, China musician Dou Wei. Gurgles of that daughter (Wong has two) Dou Jingtong, can be heard on it. The album sold more than 2.5 million copies in Asia.

EYES ON ME (1999) It was the first time a Japanese video game, Final Fantasy VIII, had a Chinese singer performing the theme song. The single sold over 400,000 copies in Japan and paved the way for her entry into that market. She later became the first Chinese singer to perform at the Nippon Budokan venue. She even starred in a Japanese TV series Usokoi (Love From A Lie) and recorded the Japanese theme song, Separate Ways, for it.

FABLE (2000) Her regular collaborators, Hong Kong’s Lin Xi and China’s Zhang Yadong, both play prominent roles here. And while the cycle of five songs written by Wong marked another step in her growth as a composer, it was Cantonese track Love Letters to Myself which set tongues wagging. The ballad was supposedly about Hong Kong singer-actor Nicholas Tse, whom she was dating, and the fact that he never sent her love letters.

CHINESE ODYSSEY 2002 (2002) Faye Wong had as silly side to her as well and this was perfectly captured in the loony Chinese New Year comedy by director Jeffrey Lau. She was once again paired with her Chungking Express co-star Tony Leung Chiu Wai and their easy chemistry showed on-screen. Wong won the Hong Kong Film Critics Society award for Best Actress for her role as a runaway cross-dressing princess.

TO LOVE (2003) Despite the widespread acclaim for her singing and music, it was not until 2004, on her fifth nomination, that Wong won the prestigious Golden Melody Award for Best Female Vocalist. She quipped in typical straightforward fashion: “I’ve known that I can sing, therefore I will also confirm this panel’s decision.” Not counting the six low -cost cover albums she released in China as a high school student, this is her 19th and, to date, final full-length studio album.

------------------------------------------------------------------

SOURCE: THE STRAITS TIMES

#2011

0 notes

yridenergyridenergy · 7 years

Text

History of Dir en grey’s tours

The title may sound presumptuous as this post is nowhere near complete, however I just studied Dir en grey’s whole timeline section and made some interesting discoveries. Some of them might already be common knowledge, especially among Japanese fans, but I doubt the full scale of the connections between older tours and the recent Tour 2016-2017 FROM DEPRESSION TO ___ [mode of X] shows has ever been highlighted.

My curiosity was piqued when the host of the guesthouse I stayed at in Kouchi this summer mentioned that he had remembered that the local newspaper had covered Dir en grey’s concert many, many years ago and that that was why the name rang a bell. I had found Kouchi to be quite a weird place for Dir en grey to tour, not to mention that the tour started there of all places. And then, that MC Die did at the last show in Iga apparently, a place that was very isolated, it seemed; the weird seated venues Dir en grey was playing at in the [mode of MACABRE] tour; those perfect 8月3日木曜日 and 8月5日土曜日 shows; the random locations Dir en grey would visit besides the regular cities; etc. It seemed like too many coincidences.

It turns out that someone among Dir en grey’s team might be doing their best to drop easter eggs from the past within these tribute tours, because:

[mode of MACABRE]

August 26th 1999 - Kouchi Caravan Sarai → July 15th 2017 - Kouchi Prefectural Hall, Orange Hall

Not the perfect example, but Kouchi was first visited around GAUZE - MACABRE, and Dir en grey missed the opportunity to go there again during Tour 2014 PSYCHONNECT -mode of GAUZE?-. The island of Shikoku in general was visited a few times back then, but more rarely in the recent years, if my memory serves right.

January 14th 2001 - Ueno Municipal Hall → August 5th 2017 - Iga City Cultural Center

Thanks to Die for that precision that they came 16 years ago to Iga (and kyotakumrau for reporting his words), otherwise somehow I had not found this hah. The one time Dir en grey went that far, in that remote location, was in 2001 for the tour 00>>01　MACABRE　brain gain(er) brain drain(er). Again, too weird a location to end a tour, if there are so few people who travel there that the train only has two wagons. This show was affected by a transfer, in the past.

August 17th 2001 - Grand Cube Osaka → July 17th 2017 - Grand Cube Osaka

August 18th 2001 - Grand Cube Osaka → July 18th 2017 - Grand Cube Osaka

Immediately following the release of 改-KAI-, which contains remixes of MACABRE songs, Dir en grey played twice literally at Grand Cube Osaka. Sixteen years later, they play twice at that venue too, and on the same days one month earlier. Osaka is a very common Dir en grey stop, so I was not expecting to find such a glaring evidence of the connections here. Wow. This was one of the venues I found weird for Dir en grey to be playing at.

[mode of 鬼葬]

Chinese tour 2002 → October 28th 2016 - KITEC Rotunda Hall 3

From what I recall, Hong Kong fans remembered in 2016 that Dir en grey had visited them for 鬼葬 too. On top of that, it was literally in the same venue: Kowloonbay International Exhibition Trading Center. They went out of their way to emulate the 列島激震行脚 2002　-亜細亜- (Archipelago Fierce Episode Gang 2002 - Asia-) The Japanese Fxxker Family tour in at least one venue.

March 6th 2002 - Club Citta Kawasaki -a knot only- →

March 7th 2002 - Club Citta Kawasaki → November 7th 2016 - CLUB CITTA’ [MALE LIMITED] -｢a knot｣ & ONLINE only-

October 29th 2002 - Club Citta Kawasaki -a knot only- → November 8th 2016 - CLUB CITTA’ [FEMALE LIMITED] -｢a knot｣ & ONLINE only-

October 30th 2002 - Club Citta Kawasaki -a knot only- →

The abundance of CLUB CITTA shows following the release of the 鬼葬 album (for tours 列島激震行脚 2002 The Japanese Fxxker Family and 列島激震行脚 2002 5 UGLY KINGDOM) has translated into at least two concerts at that venue again for the [mode of 鬼葬] tour, following the tradition of having them be a knot only for the most and going one step further by dividing fans into male and female groups. It was not the first time Dir e grey did this, back in 2002, but they missed the opportunity to replicate that during Tour 2014 PSYCHONNECT -mode of GAUZE?-.

[mode of VULGAR]

October 21st 2003 - Kurashiki City Art Tribe Museum → June 19th 2016 - Kurashiki City Art Tribe Museum

Dir en grey staff is good at publishing banal messages like: “It’s been x years since we played in this venue, wow! Hope to see you all rock out with us again!”, but they do not make you realise exactly when and for what occasion Dir en grey played there. In this case, this is no coincidence: if I remember correctly, this was the only time they went there at all, and it was the first time they had gone to Okayama at all, back in Tour03 OVER THE VULGAR SHUDDER. So, you connect the dots and it makes so much sense that they would return to that location exactly during the tribute tour to the same album.

[mode of THE MARROW OF A BONE]

September 18th 2008 - Miyazaki WEATHERKING → April 29th 2017 - Okinawa Music Town Sound Market

Not that Dir en grey had never before traveled that down south in Japan, but during the tour THE ROSE TRIMS AGAIN in 2008, Dir en grey visited Miyazaki for the first time. As if wanting to push even farther, they went further south in 2017 and played in Okinawa for the first time.

Overall, it really looks like they realised that they missed some occasions during Tour2014 PSYCHONNECT -mode of GAUZE?- and that they tried their best to catch up on that in the tours for albums released close to GAUZE anyway. It makes you wonder if they had planned for the tribute tours back then or if they thought the GAUZE tribute tour would be all and quickly done with.

I know that some of those things are a stretch sometimes, but you do have to take into consideration that booking venues is not easy, and this could be why some regions were ignored or they had to improvise and go with the closest alternative, like in that Miyazaki - Okinawa case. People definitely sat down at a table and agreed to do their best to revisit areas they had ignored for many years, and to reproduce what had been iconic about some of the old tours.

Hopefully not too much of what I mentioned is already written and announced in the Dir en grey fan club magazines, which I have not had the opportunity to translate for myself yet...

Key points for Dir en grey’s tour history globally:

We are so lucky that Kyo has stopped having medical issues. Years 1997 to 2004 or so are punctuated by frequent tonsillitis, hearing loss and other similar illnesses, and Dir en grey had to postpone so many concerts back then. Kyo’s surgery also dates back to so many years, wow.

It was in 2007 that Dir en grey started playing a lot less across Japan. Before that year, the majority of their tours had easily double the number of shows as their current tours do. In 2007, it was due to committing to play across the world, in Europe and in North America, but I do not know what is stopping them from playing in all of Tokyo’s surrounding regions again like in the old days... Hopefully not age hah.

What a journey.

Let me know if you find other parallels!

#Dir en grey #fromdepressionto #tour #history #analysis #Kyo #京 #mode of MACABRE

88 notes · View notes

longforgottenunofficial · 7 years

Text

That’s My Queue

The back half of the queue area for the Disneyland Haunted Mansion has a long and curious history. Major additions to the berm took place in September of 2016...

...but the queueing area down below remained the same, still looking much as it does in these older photos:

"That's my favorite brass knob. That one, right there."

That last one from Daveland has some magic in it, so stay tuned. (A big tip o' the hat to Dave.)

I'm old enough to remember this section when it hosted the family plot graveyard, a short-lived minor masterpiece remembered today by few. Back in the opening year, when a much higher percentage of riders had no idea what lay in store for them, the queue graveyard was virtually the only clue you had as to the tone of the attraction. Plus, the lines were longer and slower back then, so you had plenty of time to contemplate the epitaphs (and if you were a geek, to memorize them). If you're a Mansion fan, you really ought to know about this long-forgotten gem. In the original version of this post (which has been rewritten umpteen times as new material has come to light), I was content at this point to simply remark that there aren't many photographs of the little cemetery, and I threw this meager montage at you before continuing:

I also mentioned that you could get a glimpse of the old graveyard in the 1970 Osmonds Disneyland Showtime episode, which featured the HM.

But in August of 2016 Gregg Ziak published these spectacular photos of the original graveyard at the "Vintage Disneyland" page on Facebook:

So I figure I'd put up some of the better photos I've got rather than that ugly little montage. I'm not at liberty to show you every photo I've got, but these are among the best. This first is actually a bw photo by Athenamama that I've colorized and processed in various ways. Turned out nice.

You know this one.

"It's the backside of Wathel!" (Some of you will get that; some won't. Some who do will wish they hadn't.)

As it happens, one of the extant photos of the family plot was taken from exactly the same spot as the Daveland photo above. Not only that, but this 1996-98 photo by Allen Huffmann at DisneyFans...

...was taken from almost the same spot as a publicity shot of the Osmonds in the old cemetery, one of several pubbies released to the papers before their March 1970 TV program...

...and from that wretched photo a serviceable rendition of the boneyard sans Osmonds (and Kurt) can be made.

Between the two sets, a pair of cunningly-crafted animated gifs should show you exactly where the old graveyard was located. And since Long Forgotten is all about cunningly-crafted, here y'go (with our thanks to Captain Halfbeard for the gifs).

There were eight stones in the family plot, arranged like this:

I've put the best photos I currently have of each of the eight original stones side-by-side with the new, 2016 versions in the post on that topic, so there is no longer any need for a miserable montage here. Check 'em out. Did I hear someone say they wanted "magic eye" 3D's? We got 'em, in two groovy sizes. Dude, it's like being there.

As many of you know, the epitaphs were composed by show writer X. Atencio as wry tributes to various Imagineers who worked on the Haunted Mansion. Here are the original Disneyland eight, left to right in the layout above, with the Imagineer thus honored:

The WDW set was probably created at the same time, but it is not identical to the DL set. Orlando has only five of the DL eight, leaving out Cousin Victor, Phineas Pock, and Rolo Rumkin. On the other hand, they have several others that Anaheim did not have originally:

RIP Good friend Gordon Now you've crossed the river Jordan Here lies a man named Martin The lights went out on this old Spartan Rest in peace, Cousin Huet We all know you didn't do it RIP In memorium [sic], Uncle Myall Here you'll lie for quite a while Here lies good old Fred A great big rock fell on his head RIP RIP Mr. Sewell The victim of a dirty duel Peaceful Rest Dear departed Brother Dave He chased a bear into a cave

In 2002 a new animated tombstone was added at WDW:

Dear sweet Leota, beloved by all In regions beyond now, but having a ball The Imagineers being honored in these WDW epitaphs are listed here, if you're interested. I'm too lazy to duplicate all that info now, and we've got other ground to cover. (I do give some special attention to the Martin stone HERE, because it's often misattributed.) You hear these epitaphs described as "witty" and even "frightfully funny," an example of Boot Hill-type gallows humor ("Here lies Lester Moore. Four slugs from a .44. No Les. No Moore."). Okay, many of them are, but let's face it: in others the whimsy is so subtle as to be practically non-existent. "In memory of our patriarch, dear departed Grandpa Marc." "Master Gracey laid to rest, no mourning please at his request." I have to stop here as my laughter becomes uncontrollable. No, really, if there's humor in there, it's so dry that even an Englishman might miss it. Don't get me wrong; I love it. It's the comedic equivalent of watching someone trying to see how slowly he can ride a bike without falling over. The family plot was actually constructed in June of 1969, and so it was there by opening day in August, but the park quickly realized that they needed more room for crowd control, and the graveyard was doomed almost from birth. The current arrangement of back-and-forth queueing replaced the little cemetery at the beginning of May, 1970, less than nine months after the Mansion opened. X wanted to award the stones to the Imagineers to whom they paid tribute, and so they ordered up a fresh batch of headstones for installation up on the berm. As it turns out, the only guy who took his tombstone home (as far as we know) was X himself. It's still sitting in his backyard today. Marc's sat by his desk for a time, until he finally couldn't stand having his own tombstone staring at him while he was trying to work, and he got rid of it. Rolly's stone ended up inside the ride, in the graveyard scene, not far from the singing bust that also goes by the name of Rollo Rumkin [sic]. Wathel Rogers' and Vic Greene's stones went onto the berm, along with Phineas Pock, which wasn't a tribute to anyone. The fates of "Master Gracey" and "Brother Claude" are unknown. It's possible they went up on the berm too, but according to "Anonymous" in the Comments section below, who claims to have intimate knowledge about the subsequent history of the stones, only three were recycled. Take it FWIW. Exactly where the berm transferees were located on the hillside, we don't know, but don't worry: I'll devote a whole post to the berm graveyard one of these days.

(©Disney video) Pock Marked "Phineas Pock" may have originally been the name they were going to give to the Ghost Host. Reportedly, there's a blueprint around of an unused WDW tombstone reading "Phineas Pock, Lord and Master." Be that as it may, they got a lot of mileage out of the name. One of the singing busts is "Phineas P. Pock." It's on the blueprints and on the leaders for the film strips they used to use for the effect, so that one is as official as it can possibly be.

The purported author of the popular old souvenir booklet, Magic from the Haunted Mansion, is a certain "Phineas J. Pock."

And then there's the "Phineas Pock" who died in 1720 and starred in a radio ad when the Mansion first opened in 1969: Phineas Pock Radio Ad [Audio Link]

In the spring of 2011, up popped a Phineas stone in the expanded graveyard at WDW:

For the sake of completeness, I suppose I should mention that one of the new crypts in the WDW queue is for "Prudence Pock." No doubt some people associate Mr. Pock with the rotund hitchhiker, who is also known as "Phineas," but that name actually originated with a cast member who probably was influenced by the plethora of Pocks already there. If you want to try to sort out this peck of Pocks, feel free. It's just a funny name. Plots That Follow The Plots There is a great deal of logical continuity to the mass of data presented to you with the HM. It's hard to know how much of it is deliberate, how much is dumb luck, how much is the Imagineering team's artistic instincts firing on all cylinders, and how much is the Haunted Mansion Muse, overseeing the project at all times and eliminating patent absurdities as they arise. The two human graveyards are a good example (there are two pet cemeteries too). In your imagination, the queue graveyard—in either its ground level or its original berm incarnations—was not to be confused with the graveyard scene that provides the ride's climax. That graveyard is a very old public cemetery, next to which the Mansion was built sometime during the 19th c. It's "out back" in some vague sense, behind the berm and the trees, not visible from the front. The Caretaker is not connected with the HM but is a public employee, caring for that old municipal cemetery. That's why you go through that big iron gate to get into it, and that's why Collin Campbell put a sign on the gatepost in his painting of it.

It's "something-something Glade Cemetery." Maybe "Whispering Glade"?

The headstones back there are uniformly in the style of 16th-18th century New England grave markers, and many of them are dated accordingly. They're much older than the house, in other words.

There are hidden tributes on those, too, but that's yet another blog post. In contrast, the boneyard out front was, as I've already called it several times, the family plot, the private family burial grounds. That explains the relatively modern (i.e., 19th c.) tombstone designs, and that explains the familial terminology: "Grandpa," "Brother," "Cousin." How carefully all of this was thought out—like I say, I can't tell. But the coherence in details like this, even when it isn't strictly necessary, is one of the things that embolden me to reach for the word "art" without embarrassment. There is an unexpected imaginative unity in the whole presentation. Whether or not the new (2016) berm graveyard follows suit is debatable. The stones are, for the first time, made to look old. They're worn and cracked. That, together with the wall-top fencing, might encourage guests to assume that the berm graveyard is simply the "back there" graveyard spilling over the hilltop and down to the wall. Be that as it may, our little tour of the short-lived, original, long-forgotten, front yard cemetery is now completed.

Originally Posted: Friday, July 16, 2010 Original Link: [x]

#long forgotten #haunted mansion #hm queue #graveyard queue

5 notes · View notes

welovesp-blog · 7 years

Photo

Simple Plan

Stoked to announce the #NPNHJBTour 15th anniversary tour with @setitoff and @seawayband ! Tickets & VIP go on sale this FRIDAY 10am at simpleplan.com *** It's hard to believe that this year, we will be celebrating the 15th anniversary of our debut album "No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls". To commemorate this very special milestone, we are extremely excited to announce that we will be heading out on tour performing our entire first album all over the US. Even cooler, the tour kicks off on March 19th, the exact date the album came out, back in 2002. These last 15 years have been an incredible journey for us. From rehearsing and writing songs in our parents' basements to selling millions of albums and playing shows all over the world, we got to live so many of our dreams and we couldn't be more grateful. The best part is that we got to do it all with the same 5 friends who started the band together; we couldn't be more proud of that. After releasing our 5th album last year and playing more than 100 shows in over 40 countries, we felt it was important take this opportunity to look back and celebrate the amazing adventure we've had as a band and as friends. It felt important to do something special, something we've never done before to mark this landmark in our lives. This is why we wanted to do this tour. "No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls" changed everything for us and we are so excited to play all these songs again and relive a time in our lives full of so many amazing memories. More than anything, we wanted to do this tour for you, our fans, who have been there since day one supporting us. So many of you have told us how much these songs have meant to you over the years and how this record had a big impact on your lives. We hope these shows can make you feel like you're just a kid again, make you want to sing your heart out and bring you back to a time where nothing mattered except listening to music, hanging out with friends and going to concerts. 2017 is gonna be an amazing year of celebration and we really hope you'll be able to join us for these very unique shows! See you soon! Pierre, Chuck, Sebastien, Jeff and David.

Chuck Comeau

So stoked to announce the 15th year anniversary #NPNHJBTour with @setitoff and @seawayband Tickets & VIP go on sale this FRIDAY 10am at simpleplan.com For everyone asking, we want to bring the #NPNHJBTour around the world so stay tuned for more announcements!

Jeff Stinco

I'm so excited about this! I'm always down for an excuse to tour the US but this one if a solid one: 15 years since No Pads...what?!? Stoked to announce the #NPNHJBTour 15th anniversary tour with @setitoff and @seawayband ! Tickets & VIP go on sale this FRIDAY 10am at simpleplan.com

5 notes · View notes

micaramel · 4 years

Link

Artist: An-My Lê

Venue: Marian Goodman, London

Exhibition Title: Silent General

Date: January 24 – February 29, 2020

Click here to view slideshow

Full gallery of images, press release and link available after the jump.

Images:

Images courtesy of Marian Goodman, London/Paris/New York. Photos by Tierry Bal.

Press Release:

Marian Goodman Gallery London is pleased to present the first solo exhibition of An-My Lê in London, featuring a major presentation of her ongoing project Silent General (2015– ), together with selected works from 29 Palms (2003-04).

Born in 1960 in Saigon, Vietnam, photographer An-My Lê is recognised internationally for exploring the layered histories, aesthetic conventions and ethical considerations of photojournalism. Having fled Vietnam with her family in 1975 to settle as a political refugee in the United States, Lê specifically engages with how memory, place and geopolitics form part of media representations of war, national identity and community. Informed by the histories of 19th and 20th-century landscape photography, documentary reportage and conflict journalism, Lê’s work offers a reflection on how reality and myth are portrayed and contested.

Lê’s expansive Silent General project (2015– ) documents a symbolically charged strand of recent history in the United States. Comprising six fragments or photo essays, the work was prompted by the June 2015 mass church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine African Americans were killed and subsequent calls were made for the removal of Confederate flags and statues from official buildings and public spaces. Concerned with extending reflection beyond the breaking-news cycle, Lê embarked upon an extended road trip to document the complexity of representing history. One of the resulting photographs features statues of secessionist generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard sequestered in temporary wooden housings at the Homeland Security Storage. Suggesting an iconography of conquest and power that has its roots in broader contexts of colonialism and migration, the photograph pointedly conveys realities of displacement within the identity and diversity of the United States.

Silent General also explores contested histories of people and place, extending the artist’s interest in the fluid space between landscape photography and social portraiture. It includes photographs of the sometimes demarcated and sometimes invisible border between Mexico and the United States; female border patrol officers who stand either side of a transnational bridge; migrant workers who move between labour, land and culture; and churches and national holidays which memorialise tradition, religious belief and congregation communities. The title takes inspiration from a fragmentary passage in Walt Whitman’s Specimen Days (1882) whose subject is the American Union General Ulysses S. Grant. Part-biographical, part-idealist, this short text eulogises a common man who rose to a position of great power and influence, whilst remaining humble and grounded. This familiar ‘American dream’ narrative signifies for Lê a literary and historical reference suggesting the ‘experiences of a shared past in an unfolding present tense’.(1)

The upper floor of the gallery will feature a selection of photographs and a video work from 29 Palms (2003– 04), which more specifically addresses the history of war and landscape photography. Documenting the expansive, arid environment of a US Marine Corps camp in the Mojave Desert, the photographs portray training activities – stagings and rehearsals for combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lê’s photographs of abandoned dwellings, camouflaged officers, night strikes and the diffusion of explosive devices evoke both the theatre and deadly reality of war. Alluding to historical war photographers such as Roger Fenton and Matthew Brady, Lê used a large format field camera (5 x 7 inch) and undertook long observational sessions. In contrast to combat photography, where risk and violence are an inherent part of reporting from the frontline, 29 Palms reflects on the role of re-enactment, simulation and technological distance which has become an increasingly common attribute of contemporary warfare. Produced during a period when media reporting of the Iraq War was driven by live coverage and breaking headlines, 29 Palms prompts us to question how our proximity or separation to the action and consequences of war are directly tied to media representations.

An-My Lê lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. A graduate of Stanford University, she holds a Masters of Fine Arts from the Yale University School of Art and is Professor of Photography at Bard College in New York where she has taught since 1999. Lê will have the first comprehensive solo exhibition of her work at the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh (USA) in March 2020, having previously had solo exhibitions at the MK Gallery, Milton Keyes (England) and Museum Aan de Stoom (Belgium) in 2014; Baltimore Museum of Art (USA) in 2013; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (USA) in 2008; Dia: Beacon in 2006–07; and MoMA PS1 Contemporary Art Center in New York in 2002.

An-My Lê is the recipient of numerous awards and grants: in 2012 she was awarded the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship; in 2010, the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award; in 2007, the National Science Foundation, Antarctic Artists and Writers Program Award; in 2004 the John Gutmann Photography Fellowship; and in 1997 the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation fellowship.

Link: An-My Lê at Marian Goodman

Contemporary Art Daily is produced by Contemporary Art Group, a not-for-profit organization. We rely on our audience to help fund the publication of exhibitions that show up in this RSS feed. Please consider supporting us by making a donation today.

from Contemporary Art Daily http://bit.ly/2SzzKyS

#micaramel

0 notes

thomasroach · 5 years

Text

Top RPG News Of The Week: March 3rd (The Outer Worlds, Kingdom Hearts 3, Pokemon and More!)

The post Top RPG News Of The Week: March 3rd (The Outer Worlds, Kingdom Hearts 3, Pokemon and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

Happy weekend from Fextralife! If you’ve been too busy to keep up on the latest in the games we cover or are looking for a refresher we’ve got you covered! Here’s a bite-sized version of the Top RPG news of the week. Taste all the latest news across the Fextralife Wiki Network.

Check out the video above and read on for the text!

Rumour: The Outer Worlds Release Date Leaked On Steam?

A highly anticipated game this year is the release of The Outer Worlds, a sci-fi action RPG by Obsidian. While details of the title have been many, the release date has not been shared. A recent change on their Steam page however may have just outed the release date.

According to the Steam DB website, an added release date popped up on February 22nd, detailing a launch on August 6th 2019 for The Outer Worlds. However, this was removed later that day, but can still be seen on the Steam DB changelog. The fact that is was added and then hastily removed, could leave us to believe that this date might be true.

If this date is true, we could be seeing more of the game at E3 2019 as this takes place before August. Nothing has been confirmed by either Obsidian Entertainment or Private Division. Until then we will keep you posted with any details we learn. The Outer Worlds will be available with a physical version for PS4 and Xbox One, while PC will remain digital.

To read more about this news find it here in Rumour: The Outer Worlds Release Date Leaked On Steam?.

Fallout 76

In a post on the Bethesda website, the developer has outlined the upcoming updates for the Fallout 76 while addressing some of the player concerns. They acknowledge the rough start the game has had, and want to help improve the title “together”.

In addition to continue to make adjustments to the game, Bethesda have a year long plan for updates which will be free content for players. The plan is split into three parts, the first called Wild Appalachia coming in Spring 2019, the second Nuclear Winter that is set to launch in Summer, and lastly Wasterlanders coming in Fall.

These include the new survival mode that was announced back in January, which comes with quests and new features for Spring. High level vault raids, new mode called Nuclear Winter for Summer, as well as further quests, events and features towards the end of the year.

To read more about this news find it here in Bethesda Reveal Fallout 76 Roadmap Of Free Content For 2019.

The Division 2

Running up to the launch of the The Division 2 beta, Ubisoft release a new trailer highlighting the roles players can choose in the endgame and more about the group infiltrating Washington called the “The Black Tusk”.

The new trailer featuring what players will be able do in the endgame of The Division 2. Not only teasing raids, new quests but highlighting the three choices of skill specialisations: Survivalist, Demolitionist or Sharpshooter. The trailer talks about The Black Tusk, a group that are wreaking havoc, “this army was designed to eliminate Washington’s last line of defence”.

Not only concentrating on content for the release but also post-launch content which includes a “full year of free additional story-driven missions, map expansions and gameplay modes”.

It’s a positive sign that the developers are thinking about the longevity of the game, focusing on what players can do after the main campaign has finished. Hopefully they can bring enough to keep players coming back for more.

The Division 2 comes to PS4, Xbox One and PC on March 15th 2019 with the beta coming March 1st until March 4th.

To read more about this news find it here in Ubisoft Release The Division 2 “Endgame” Trailer.

Sekiro

The new boss revealed via the Sekiro official Twitter account and the Playstation Europe Youtube channel shares The Chained Ogre. Much like the previous bosses we have seen in trailers before, such as the Lady Butterfly and General Tenzen Yamauchi, we get to see a teaser of what’s to come.

The Chained Ogre’s most outstanding feature is his glowing red eyes that burn with rage. This brute draws his strength from anger and looks like he has a good punch or two considering his hand is larger than Sekiro’s head. Emerging from what appears to be a prison, he bursts onto the scene breaking away from his bonds already enraged.

Players will have to come up with strategies to beat this brutish Ogre, while being wary of combat features including Posture which depletes as you strike your enemies as well as perform finishers. If you want to know more about combat you can find out more in our Sekiro Gameplay And Hands-On Gameplay And Impressions.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice will be releasing on March 22nd 2019 on Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC.

To read more about this news find it here in Sekiro New Boss Trailer Featuring The Chained Ogre.

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom DLC

After almost year after its release, Level-5 and Bandai Namco Entertainment are still adding some content to the fantasy RPG game Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom. The upcoming DLC called The Tale of a Timeless Tome will be coming March 19th.

The DLC will focus on “new memories of Evan’s friends, more fighting methods, new locations, and characters.” Not only introducing a new story but new combat methods that will “enhance the players’ battle abilities: the Wizard’s Companion and Martha’s Method”. Players will be able to explore a new location the Solosseum Slog.

Ni no Kuni 2: Revenant Kingdom’s The Tale of a Timeless Tome DLC will be available on March 19th PC and PS4 for $14.99 or is free if you purchased the season pass.

To read more about this news find it here in Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom DLC The Tale of a Timeless Tome.

Dead Cells DLC Rise of the Giant

The action-platformer Dead Cells is going to receive a free DLC which has been in production for nine months by the developer Motion Twin.

The new DLC called Rise of the Giant is now accessible to those who opt-in beta for PC for Dead Cells. In a video that was released by Red Bull, it shows off the gameplay gaining a closer look at what went into making the DLC, but warning as it contains some spoilers. We get to see the new final area called the Cavern which can be unlocked after beating the game for the first time after defeating the colossal skeletal boss.

Motion Twin share some of the details in their latest patch notes for The Rise of the Giant DLC update and it will be a big one. Not only including the Cavern area and boss, but also a second new area and boss to beat as well. Both are only accessible once you have reached Boss-Cells 5 which is a more challenging difficulty requiring you to beat the final boss five times.

You will also encounter ten new enemies, some of which will appear in certain new locations, and some that will pop up when you play in a higher difficulty. There’s also a new Skinning system, gain over 50 character outfits that can be sought out by collecting blueprints. Motion Twin are also adding three new skills which includes a flying pet, as well as ten new weapons, these include Giant Killer and Boï Axe.

So far Twin Motion have not revealed a release date for the Rise of the Giant update but it will be available for free to those who own Dead Cells on PC, PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

To read more about this news find it here in Dead Cells Gets Free DLC Rise Of The Giant.

Pokemon Sword and Shield

A special Nintendo Direct which took place on Pokemon Day, the developer finally share the reveal of the upcoming Pokemon games to hit the Nintendo Switch which is part of Generation 8. Rumours have been flying whether this special Nintendo Direct would share the next game and I guess the netziens got it right as that’s exactly what they did. The trailer was shown and also shared that the games will release “late 2019”.

Not only showing some of the environments trainers will be exploring but also some of the Pokemon that will inhabit them. We get to see new Pokemon which included monkey type creature called Grookey, a bunny with flames aptly called Scorbunny, and a lizard type that has the ability to go invisible in water called Sobble. Some gameplay was seen in the Direct but not extensively, showing that the grassy plains will bring back random encounters that has been a part of the series since the beginning.

Sword and Shield are directed by Shigeru Ohmori who was behind the Sun and Moon entries of the game, and has been working on the series since 2002 Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire. However, this might not just be it for The Pokemon Company in terms of Pokemon games, they teased there may be others in works for the franchise, but no details have been shared as of yet.

To read more about this news find it here in Nintendo Reveal Pokemon Sword And Shield RPG For Switch.

Kingdom Hearts 3

In an interview with the Japanese website Dengki Online, Kingdom Hearts 3 Direct Tetsuya Nomura reveals that a paid DLC will be coming at the end of this year.

Not only will the DLC be quite large in size, a Critical Mode will be added to the game. So far Tetsuya hasn’t specified if the Critical Mode will be coming as part of a free DLC or as part of the paid DLC.

Critical Mode will be coming soon, but it won’t be an artificial difficulty level which makes enemies deal higher damage, it will actually include a lot of changes and has been described as “fun like only Critical mode can be”.

Nomura has also solidified the fact that Kingdom Hearts 3 will not have a Final Mix version like others in the series, but instead gain new additions that will be coming in the form of DLCs. There will be free DLCs and paid DLCs. Free DLCs will be released now and again, but the purchasable DLC will come in a pack. The aim for the KH3 team is to complete the DLCs before the end of 2019 and to start working on the next game. But it looks like Nomura has a busy year ahead, with a full schedule of projects, so he has not begun to plan for the next Kingdom Hearts game.

To read more about this news find it here in Kingdom Hearts 3 To Get Large Paid DLC and Critical Mode Announced.

Darksiders 3

The first DLC for Darksiders 3 is now available to purchase for $6.99, bringing a wave-based challenge mode which sets players to try survive “101 waves of gruelling combat, fit only for the toughest and steadfast of warriors”. Players will also have a chance to pick up new armor sets, all new enchantments and even rare crafting materials for weapons and enhancements.

New items can be gained in-game from Targon the Crucible Overseer, also known as the brother of Kargon who appeared in the Darksiders 2, master of The Crucible.

Gunfire Games have also revealed some of the details of how the wave mode will work, explaining that you will face 25 waves at a time, each time being offered a choice to take the reward or to continue on, risking the chance of losing everything.

Darksiders 3 released last year in November and is available to play on Playstation 4, Xbox One and PC. You can now pick up the DLC The Crucible for PC, Playstation 4 and Xbox One for $6.99, £5.99, €6.99 depending on your region.

To read more about this news find it here in Darksiders 3 Releases DLC The Crucible.

Well, that’s it for the Week in Wikis. Please join us next week for yet another great week of gaming! Remember to check out our VIP program for some exclusive supporter benefits, and budding writers should take advantage of our Become an Author initiative! Thanks again for being a part of this great community. Keep checking in with us for news, reviews, YouTube streams and vids, and general wiki goodness!

Follow us on social media for all the latest and greatest. The more followers we get, the larger the army of the Fexus grows:

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

The post Top RPG News Of The Week: March 3rd (The Outer Worlds, Kingdom Hearts 3, Pokemon and More!) appeared first on Fextralife.

Top RPG News Of The Week: March 3rd (The Outer Worlds, Kingdom Hearts 3, Pokemon and More!) published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/

0 notes