Efterklang has released the opening track from their upcoming LP Magic Chairs for streaming and download at 4AD.

When we last checked in with Efterklang, the verdict was “choral and whimsical.” “Symphonic.” “As much opera as indie rock.” “An LP of only magisterial epics.” Take a quick sip just below:

That’s “Caravan,” from the tour that yielded Peforming Parades.

Now go listen to the mainstream, pretty, and — at least upon first listen — uneventful “Modern Drift,” over at 4AD. Needless to say, this represents a major departure from their work up until now.

The band has set February 23 as the U.S. release date for Magic Chairs.

I’ll have a number of my listing open this Saturday, November 28th

486 Lawton Street 10-12PM

640 Holderness Street 12:30-2PM

1841 Dorsey Ave (East Point)2:30-4PM

Come out and check our these beautifully renovated homes! All FHA Ready!

A Seaton Carew man has managed to turn his passion for caravans into a career path after founding his own business.

Ronnie McKeith set up the Caravan Medic from home and aims to help owners by providing repair, servicing and bodywork facilities for their mobile holiday homes, the Peterlee Mail revealed.

The 53-year-old told the newspaper that he has always had a fascination with caravans and got the idea after spending years looking after his own.

Redundancies at his former workplace prompted Mr McKeith to set up the business after taking a few classes to improve his skills.

He explained that while business has been good, it is starting to slow up for Christmas. However, he expects it to be “bouncing again” come February or March as people look to get their caravans in order for the holiday period.

For more information on The Caravan medic please click here.

There’s an atmosphere of slight hysteria in the office today. It might have something to do with the arrival of a scratch ‘n’ sniff Yankee Candle press release (low-lights include  ’Strawberry Buttercream’ and ‘Tutti-Frutti’…), or perhaps it’s the news that two of the most lovely home brands, Farrow & Ball and Jo Malone, are teaming up to launch an exciting new collection next week? (We’ll keep you posted!) Then again, perhaps it’s the thought of today’s annual Cath Kidston sample sale that’s getting us all a bit over-excited. For me though, it’s bell jars that are floating my boat today…

Whether it’s ogling the gorgeous bell jar displays in London’s hippest Shoreditch shops, Comfort Station and Caravan, or staring longingly at the stunning pages of Australian stylist Sibella Court’s new book Etcetera (which has just landed on my desk. Hurrah, hurrah! Hopefully we’ll show some pics on here soon – it’s due out in April in the UK. For now, check out her shop The Society Inc for a flavour or click here for a preview…), I seem to be surrounded by glass domes filled with curious objets…and I’m hooked! This all ties in with the current vogue for dark romanticism, macabre Victoriana drama and dusty museum display cases – something we’ve discussed before. All very Darwin. All very Gothic. All very dead. Of course, you don’t have to fill your bell jar with beady-eyed taxidermy or creepy skeletons…dried hydrangeas, vintage silk ballet pumps and mercury glass candlesticks would all look lovely. Or you could always opt for a little china bird. For reasonably-priced bell jars, see yesterday’s hot shop, Dee Puddy (£22 for a large 30cm one), Hibbitt, or Crocus. If you can wait until springtime, we spotted a fab little glass bell jar in the new Sainsbury’s spring/summer 2010 collection for just £7.99! Bargainous, to be sure. Of course, garden cloche bell jars DO look a bit like boobs, and they don’t come with bases – but a glass cake plate does the trick. Vintage lab bell jars with bases are REALLY expensive, even on eBay, tragically.

Here’s a cute bell jar pic from The Guardian to add yet more fuel to my bell-jar-obsession fire! I really can’t stop thinking about bell jars. Perhaps I’m actually losing the plot. Or maybe I’m just high on ‘Tutti Frutti’ scratch ‘n’ sniff…– Ellie

Alguna vez he pensado que leyendo este blog debe dar la impresión de que soy sordo, porque creo que nunca he hablado de música. En realidad, hacía tiempo que quería lanzar unos pseudópodos musicales, para no ser menos que otros blogs serios, y para aumentar un poquito la anisotropía de éste.

Ahora es una buena ocasión: después de cuatro posts tratando un tema como el de los Perros de Paja, tan denso (¿he dicho denso? ) creo que viene bien un cambio de aires. No pondré simplemente “canciones bonitas” ni “buena música”, sino música que tenga algo especial, un ingrediente que no sé definir pero que reconozco cuando lo oigo. Por ejemplo, lo tiene esta canción de Caravan, un grupo que nunca vendió muchos discos (tuvo el destino natural, haciendo lo que hacían: ser un grupo de culto):

¿Hay alguien más al que esto le parezca encantador? No me refiero a las imágenes que alguien le ha puesto para YouTube (aunque tienen su gracia) sino a cosas como esta estrofa (minuto 1:08):

So we’ll sail away
for just one day
to the land where the punk weed grows
Won’t need any money,
just fingers and your toes

And when it’s dark
our boat will park
on a land of warm and green
Pick our fill of punk weed
and smoke it till we bleed,

that’s all we’ll need

(Me atrevo a hacer una traducción libre –acepto encantado correcciones-: Así que navegaremos / sólo por un día / a la tierra donde crece la hierbamala./ No hará falta dinero / sólo dedos y tus pies // Y cuando llegue la noche / amarraremos el bote / en una tierra cálida y verde / Cargaremos la hierbamala / y nos pondremos ciegos a fumar // no hará falta más)

Esta canción salió en el disco del mismo título del 1971. Yo la debí oír por primera vez en 1985 y todavía no me he cansado de escucharla. Siempre me pone de buen humor. ( Aquí está en Spotify)

Here’s an interesting article on how the USAF’s 506th Air Expeditionary Group is getting the Iraqi Air Force ready to assume full responsibility for training its new pilots – Kirkuk Airmen Train Iraqis to Train Iraqis.

There are two training squadrons at Kirkuk. Squadron 1 provides training for new pilots on the Cessna 172 and 208. Squadron 3 provides mission training for two variants of the C-208 — the RC-208 equipped for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions and the AC-208 equipped for both ISR and ground attack using the AGM-114 Hellfire missile.

In fact, Squadron 3 completed their first successful Hellfire live fire exercise on 4 November, scoring a “shack” on a target located on a bombing range on Al Asad Air Base. Here are a couple of interesting videos from that test:

Stockton Civic Theatre Presents a musical written by the team of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice

Beginning Wednesday, November 18, and running through Sunday, December 13, Stockton Civic Theatre will present JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT, an international stage phenomenon with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. As the theater’s holiday offering, the show will feature popular actor and choreographer James Reed’s debut as a Director. Musical Direction will be by Jim Coleman.

Originally produced in 1968 as a 20 minute oratorio performed by children at a private school in London, an expanded version of JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT followed as a record album and was subsequently performed as a full-scale production in London in 1973. Joseph was first performed in the United States in 1976 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

The Biblical saga of Joseph and his coat of many colors comes to vibrant life in this delightful musical parable. Joseph, his father’s favorite son, is a boy blessed with prophetic dreams. When he is sold into slavery by his jealous brothers and taken to Egypt, Joseph endures a series of adventures in which his spirit and humanity are continually challenged. Eventually his brothers, having suffered greatly, unknowingly find themselves groveling at the feet of the brother they betrayed but no longer recognize. Set to a cornucopia of musical styles, this Old Testament tale emerges as both timely and timeless.

JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT will feature a special $15 per seat preview on Wednesday, November 18, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. A reception for opening night patrons will be held at the theatre on Friday, November 20, at 7:00 p.m., with hors d’oeuvres hosted by Kinder’s Meats, Deli & BBQ. Performances continue through December 13 on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 for adults, $21 for seniors, and $15 for students and children 12 and under. JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT is truly a wonderful holiday family show, rated “G” for all audiences and all ages.

November 18th – December 13th, Stockton Civic Theatre, 2312 Rosemarie Ln., Tickets available on www.estockton.com , 209.473-2400.

From the Caravan

Encore un peu de musique vocale. À l’image des barber shop dont j’ai déjà parlé, voici une superbe archive des mills brothers (leurs parents tenaient justement un salon de coiffure …). Belle imitation de la sonorité des cuivres juste avec la voix:

La musique est sympa, mais je vous laisse admirer les danses. Noter le danseur à 1:45. Qui a dit que le Hip Hop est né à New York dans les années 70 ?
Au passage, si vous appréciez la trompette vocale, je vous laisse découvrir ce jeune prodige:

Si par contre c’est plus la danse qui vous a plu dans la vidéo des Mills brothers, alors …. show must go on:

Papamusique

Throughout the world, where car runs, where our wheel locks(tire lock), www.cn-std.com

Egypt V Algeria from The Huffington Post

I was told by my professor, somebody I consider my mentor, that I would be getting an ‘F’ if I decided to join the protests in front of the Algerian embassy last in Zamalek.

He said I would be failing my profession and turning my back on everything he has taught me – Journalism is coverage and not participation.

I am a journalist in training, but I am also a human being and an Egyptian. My sense of morality tells me that I should not remain silent when I witness such brutality practiced against other human beings, let alone my own countrymen.

On Wednesday night, Nov 18th 2009, Algeria “beat” Egypt 1-0 on alleged neutral ground–Khartoum, Sudan. But, right after the match, the Algerian hooligans committed a major crime by attacking the Egyptian crowds, right after the Algerian team had won. Without any premise or justification, the crowds stormed the Egyptian buses and violated their sovereignty. I was one of millions of angry people, praying for action to be taken, I wanted to go out and join the protestors, overcome with emotion, with anger but what good would that have done…? To the protestors and to myself? I had to put my emotions aside and think with rationality, think of how we can get justice without doing anything stupid that would take away every right we might have had.

The Algerian team won the game but it was not a clean or fair one. They left proud, dignified and did not look back… didn’t ask for anything in return. But, they got attacked and that opens up a whole set of issues. First, that FIFA needs to investigate. Second, the Algerian crowds that committed these crimes need to be identified and punished for their mistakes. Third, the Egyptian government needs to be reproached for the lack of care and respect they showed their people–as impossible as that may sound.

Life is all about choices, and I made my choice. I chose journalism because I believe in the power and ethics of this profession, it is my job to witness what people do and then cover it, expose it to the rest of the world, let them know that the Egyptians will not sit by and let their rights be violated in such ways. Of course I am angry, and writing these words now requires a lot of self control on my part, despite the fact that I have stated my opinion, that I do say ‘No it is not fair.’

The Algerian team does not deserve to go to the world cup in 2010 because no respectable team would play by their standards and in such aggressiveness. These are my words, my objective and controlled words. Words of an observer, and a human. This should not go by unnoticed. The screams of the people over the phone are my evidence.

There are a lot of blogs, tweets, and articles attacking the Egyptians, saying they destroyed the Algerian bus in Egypt, saying we attacked first, and making unsubstantiated claims…Let us answer to that, with pride and objectivity… let’s not be rash, but let’s fight back, without the cheapness that they have so courteously saved just for us. If this would have happened with a different team, one of the European teams, nobody would have let is pass quietly.

I am no sportsperson and I am at all familiar with the rules and regulations of football, but I do know wrong when I see it. What happened on the field was wrong, what happened after was wrong. It was against human rights to say the least, simple, basic human rights, and that I know all about.

I will report, write, and speak about this because it is my job as a person and a journalist, and those are my weapons.

One of my closest friends, and also my editor-in-chief on the AUC paper was given the same talk, but she also channeled her anger into something more productive. She wrote an article on last night’s protests. She covered it, she exposed our voices and she allowed them to be heard. She told the truth.

Owning a caravan from new or deciding on a second-hand caravan is all the same when it comes to repairing the caravan blinds. For what ever purpose your caravan blind stops working it can be more than a easy job to repair. More often than not the reason for blinds to break is towing the van behind you with the blinds down putting extra force on the springs.

Additional pressure on the clips with in the long run have the result of snapping them off or in some cases the repeated movement of the clip in its pocket will affect the space into which the clip fits to become so large the tiny clip can no longer stay in place. If the blinds spring lose their tautness it is easy to tweak tighter but not always. At some point after nonstop modification no more tightening will be possible and replacement will be your only alternative.

Looking for used caravan blinds or accessories shouldn’t be too complicated and you would have two easy options, either a caravan breakers or on eBay. The latter is a famous place to find those tiny accessories like caravan blind end inserts or a spring roller blind end piece. An additional option would be to look for second-hand caravan blinds on eBay where there is always a big selection of spare parts for caravans from something as small as a clip for your blinds all the way up to the big boiler for heating the caravans water. You may be astonished to find that a lot of these parts are being sold by local traders as well and depending on the item you can collect them.

If you are lucky you can mix eBay with a local caravan breaker. On these rare occasions the traders will list all the parts they have for sale even if they don’t actually have a shop or yard for you to visit.

Caravan beakers were by no means as widespread as car breakers however in the recent years with the increase in health and safety many car breakers have had to close up shop and in the same way caravan breakers have followed as well.

These somewhat recent rules have not forced the caravan breakers to disappear totally and with online auction sites like eBay, as well as posting on superstore notice boards, or local classified ads many breakers still operate today. After you weekend away in the caravan if you become aware of a fairly limp looking blind get online and see if there is someone in your local area selling used caravan blinds parts.

Resulta que el 19 de Noviembre recibo una llamada sorpresa de Tono, manager de ‘Platos Rotos’, un excelente grupo de pop-rock. Tomamos contacto por primera vez cuando debimos tocar con ellos en el concurso de rock de la sala Gruta77, pero al final no fueron por coincidirles la fecha con otro concierto, aunque sí tuvimos ocasión de intercambiar teléfonos por si podríamos hacer futuras colaboraciones.

sala caravan

Me comenta que tienen programada una actuación en la sala Caravan el sábado 28 de Noviembre a las 22:00 h. y les ha fallado el grupo que iba a tocar con ellos, así que acude a nosotros para ver si podríamos actuar ese día, además desde la sala les están metiendo prisa para imprimir los anuncios con el nombre del otro grupo que toque con ellos. Vamos, que teníamos que contestar esa misma mañana pues si no les dábamos el ‘SI’ tenían que buscar otro grupo con urgencia.

Rápidamente me pongo en contacto con todos los ikoneros, pues solo tenemos 9 días para preparar el concierto. Las opiniones son diversas, las hay a favor y en contra, pero ninguno se niega. Tenemos la ventaja de que los temas serán los mismos que tocamos en Gruta77 y posiblemente incluyamos ‘Qué has dejado de mí’ y ‘El Espía’, que son los que estamos trabajando últimamente en el local, además retomaremos los otros temas, que están un poco olvidados. Pero solo tenemos tres tardes de ensayo, ¿serán suficientes?.

Le confirmo a Tono que daremos el concierto, pero al ser tan precipitado no podemos hacer una convocatoria de nuestra peña, por lo que apenas podremos llevar público.

A continuación he llamado a Manuel, el programador de conciertos de la sala Caravan, para decirle todo esto, y sobre todo comentarle que no llevaremos mucho público y que en este momento nos estamos preparando poquito a poco para el concierto que cerramos con él el día 12 de Marzo. Manuel lo ha entendido perfectamente e incluso me ha dicho que da igual, que así nos conocemos y vamos tomando contacto, que le corría prisa también por el tema de imprimir los folletos con anuncios y demás …

Al final el concierto será el sábado 28 de Noviembre a las 22:00 h., saldremos los primeros para tocar 8 ó 9 temas, o los que nos apetezca, hasta las 23:00 h. mas o menos. Podemos incluir temas propios y versiones.

Las pruebas de sonido serán a partir de las 18:00 h. y como siempre, los bateristas deberán ponerse de acuerdo para llevar una sola batera. El resto del back-line, excepto el equipo de voces, lo lleva cada grupo.

Me acuerdo de un tema de ‘La orquesta Platería’, lo recordaréis también vosotros, se llama ‘Pedro Navaja’ y el estribillo dice:
“SI NACISTE PA’ MARTILLO DEL CIELO TE CAEN LOS CLAVOS “

Por lo que veo a nosotros nos está pasando lo mismo:
“SI NACISTE PA’ TOCAR DEL CIELO CAEN LOS CONCIERTOS “

¡Pues ojalá siga la racha!

Sucesso absoluto!

É assim que pode ser resumido a 2ª OpaLapa, realizada na cidade de Lapa – PR.

Com 227 carros presentes (entre Opalas e Caravans) tivemos o maior encontro de Opalas já realizado na região sul do País, consagrando-se assim, novamente, como referência quanto a encontros da nossa região. Com uma exepcional organização, o evento com certeza não poderia ter sido melhor. Atrativos inovadores, como a cronologia dos Opalas de 1969 a 1992, foram um charme a parte. A bela cidade de Lapa, com seu cento histórico também contribuiu para aumentar ainda mais o glamour do evento.

Mais informações, fotos e notícias? Confira o site oficial do evento: OpaLapa

Confira as fotos tiradas pelo Tiago Wotroba:

For decades, a unique collection of historic photographs of the Orient lay forgotten at the Hamburg Museum of Ethnology. Now, the stock of 18,000 pictures has been catalogued and made accessible to the public in the form of an exhibition. Nimet Seker reports

Unique and rare glimpse into the world of Kazakh nomads around 1900: on his 1899 scientific expedition Samuil Martinovič Dudin (1863–1929) travelled Kazakhstan, Russia, China and Mongolia

A huge store of historic photographs from the Islamic world accumulated at the Hamburg Museum of Ethnology over generations, and although it is difficult to believe, for decades, it was entirely disregarded by museum staff.

It wasn’t until 2004 that a group of scientists – with the support of the ZEIT Foundation Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius – began the process of categorizing, digitalizing and reconditioning the collection of 18,000 photographs. This was a detailed and scholarly undertaking lasting a number of years, and the results can be seen today in the form of a richly illustrated catalogue of more than 700 pages, published in conjunction with the eponymous exhibition “Mit Kamel und Kamera” (With Camera and Camel).

Read full article at source

->>>>><<<<<-

The photo’s above and below display different products from a store in London, England called Caravan. The owner and freelance stylist of Caravan gets most of her quality items at flee markets (yea flee markets!).  Her small boutique store is elegantly designed with vintage items for purchase.  As much as I would like to, I know I will not be heading to London anytime soon, but you can shop the lovely Caravan online.  How great would it be to check out this shop in person.

I feel that many have their own definition of the word vintage.  I found many different definitions of the word vintage online, it can be defined as anything outdated and now back in style. Others say it means anything older than a certain number of years or known as antique.

Well, as a lover of vintage things and the vintage style, I have my own definition. Vintage means more to me than just a collectors item or a style. I define a vintage item as anything that is from the past that inspires creativity, something that when combined with the idea of old age becomes beautiful, giving off an appealing style of being fragile and enduring colors that are peaceful.

I’m sure many of you are aware of the new online market system called Etsy. Well there is a new little vintage shop out called Mushroom and Moss Vintage. The seller’s items are 100 uniquely a vintage style and she is extremely affordable. Like this adorable blue robin for only $10. She updates her “market” site weekly so her items come and go quickly. Check it out soon!

New image in the lightning storm photoshop contest

photo of train from shorpy.com, rat rod I took at a show then duplicated it 6 times. levels to darken and layer mask to erase unwanted parts. Fairley …
Rat Rod Caravan photoshop picture

Delamere Forest was awarded five stars by VisitBritain

Nearly one in five of the sites run by the Camping and Caravan Club (CCC) have now been given five stars on the Tourist Board ratings from Visit Britain.

In another successful year for the club, both its Delamere Forest site in Cheshire and its Cannock Chase site in Staffordshire have been given five stars, taking its number of top-rated caravan holiday destinations up to 19, out of a total of 109 across the UK.

At the same time, Bakewell, Dartmoor Barley Meadow, Derwentwater and Tavistock have all been given four stars by Visit Britain, meaning 83 per cent of the CCC’s network now boasts either a four or a five-star status.

 Welcoming the news, director Bob Hill said: “This is not just great news for the individual sites but also for the club as a whole, which is continuing to move from strength-to-strength.

 ”These ratings provide the reassurance campers and caravanners need about what to expect before they arrive.”

 Other five-star sites include Hereford, Barnard Castle, Scarborough and Windermere.

 This comes soon after the CCC announced that 24 of its sites are to remain open over the Christmas and New Year period.

For further information on the Club please click here for details

Yeah the problem still rages, hey I could quote you hundreds of instances where some traders have stuck the knife in us and I will do in future posts.

But here we go again. They decided to leave us out .. there are five food venues in and near town.  The Gum Tree Cafe (just out of town), The Yackandandah Cafe & Take away ,  the Yackandandah Bakery  Java Cafe ,Sticky Tarts Cafe (all in high st Yackandandah) The Bakery was asked but declined.

Yackandandah Cafe and Gumtree Cafe were’nt even asked (and not put on the flyer) even though they are always open until 8.00pm

But all their opposition were asked and put on the flyer.  This reeks of “my mates can be on our flyer but no one else”

This isn’t the way to improve your business or have a very good reputation with the townsfolk of Yackandandah. By the way, the Townsfolk of Yackandandah are by and large the greatest bunch of people you could ever meet, but they are not aware of what sort of things go on in their main street.

Certain Yackandandah traders….grow up and stop playing your games.

Andy

This is just one small example of how some people treat you.

Someone came along and said ” Hey guys would you be interested in being involved in Friday night late night trading for two weeks in November?”

We said “Yes of course we would”  next thing you know .. there is a small flyer put out with other businesses on the list that are involved.  BUT NOT OUR BUSINESS !!

This sort of stuff just keeps going on and on and on.. of course we questioned the person who put out the flyer.. as to why we weren’t on it.. oh SHE.. the one we said a resounding YES to.. said we were’nt interested.  Passing the buck..WHY DON’T YOU LOSERS JUST ADMIT… you don’t want us involved.. get a life and get over it.

Andy Stevens