Fusion necklace for a delicate top layer

Two time Grammy nominee Amerie shows off her wardrobe of curve-hugging designs, thrown up against a wild array of accessories of leather and studs!  She loves contrasting the soft and the hard, as evident in her new album In Love and War, a eclectic tribute to hip hop and rock and roll.

But check out her beautiful NECKLACE LAYER in the video below!  We love the multiple lengths of small chain.  TWIST-IFY the look with the Fusion necklace for the short layer and TWO Instinct Chic necklaces hooked together for the long layer.  Add in your favorite mid-length tiny beaded necklace for texture and you have a feminine style with just enough edge to be… irreverent!

video from elle.com

Segnalo un convegno internazionale sulle “dinamiche  delle migrazioni, degli scambi e delle contaminazioni culturali” organizzato dall’Università degli Studi di Napoli Parthenope. Con l’evento si aprirà la mostra “Bellissimo Altrove”, a cura, tra gli altri, dell’artista di Ponticelli Giovanni Mangiacapra. Di seguito il comunicato stampa.

Eduardo

G. Mangiacapra

Il Centro d’Ateneo per l’erogazione dei Servizi Linguistici dell’ Università “Parthenope” di Napoli, il Dipartimento Giuridico Economico dell’ Impresa, il  Corso di Dottorato in Eurolinguaggi scientifici tecnologici e Letterari e la Caritas-Campania con il patrocinio della Regione Campania la collaborazione del Comune di Napoli  presentano il Convegno Internazionale Fusion and con-fusion: migrating cultures and the dynamics of exchange che avrà luogo, nei giorni 23 e 24 novembre nela sala Convegni di Villa Doria D’Angri, Via Petrarca, 80.

Il Convegno che ha per tema le dinamiche  delle migrazioni, degli scambi e delle contaminazioni culturali è parte  dell’incessante dibattito sull’ identità  intesa come  costruzione  dinamica,  e dialogica. Il dialogo interculturale tra la società del Paese ospitante e le diverse comunità di emigranti provenienti da altri Stati o dall’esterno dell’UE svolge un ruolo chiave nel rafforzare i valori di cittadinanza e la partecipazione alla solidarietà e alla coesione nelle nostre società e proprio Napoli è nella posizione di testimoniare gli aspetti positivi della migrazione, sia come paese di emigrazione che d’immigrazione.

Scopo del Convegno  è, dunque,  comprendere  la complessità  dell’ interazione tra  culture e l’ intricato processo di possibili incontri tra le stesse  nonostante i conflitti che segnano il nostro tempo.

Al Convegno, prederanno parte studiosi  di fama internazionale: docenti universitari, quali Francesco Marroni, Giovanni Dotoli, Xiu Gang, Zhang Jintong, Lei Lianshan e Jiang Yaming nonché esperti di  diversi settori scientifico-disciplnari (linguistica, letteratura, cultural studies, storia,  economia, giurisprudenza, antropologia, cinema, teatro, pittura, scultura, architettura, ingegneria, ambiente, cucina e moda ). Apriranno i lavori: il Magnifico Rettore dell’Università degli Studi di Napoli Gennaro Ferrara, i presidi Claudio Quintano (Facoltà di Economia), Federico Alvino (Facoltà di Giurisprudenza), Alberto Carotenuto (Facoltà di Ingegneria), Raffaele Santamaria (Facoltà di Scienze e Tecnologie), Giuseppe Vito (Facoltà di Scienze Motorie), Lourdes Fernandez del Moral Dominguez (direttore del dipartimento Giuridico Economico e dell’Impresa). Presiederanno i numerosi interventi il Cardinale Crescenzo Sepe, Don Carmine Giudici (delegato regionale Caritas della Campania), Monsignor Pasquale Silvestri (direttore ufficio diocesano Migrantes di Napoli), Colomba La Ragione (docente di lingua e letteratura inglese, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Parthenope”), Carolina Diglio (docente di lingua e letteratura francese, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Parthenope”. Nell’ambito del convegno è prevista l’inaugurazione del vernissage internazionale BELLISSIMO ALTROVE.  La mostra, presentata dal Magnifico Rettore dell’Università degli Studi di Napoli “Parthenope” e da Rosario Bianco,  é a cura di Gianfranco Erbani, Giovanni Mangiacapra, di Vincenzo Montella, e del Centro di arte cultura Il ramo d’oro. Tra gli artisti figurano Isabelle Lamaitre (Belgio), Biser Ivanov Panayotov (Bulgaria), Liu Yang, LiuWei, Wang Tiewei (Cina), Ute Illig (Germania); Hiroshi Matsumoto (Giappone), Setyo Mardiyantoro (Indonesia),  Guido Della Giovanna, Gianfranco Erbani, Laura Intrito, Giovanni Mangiacapra. Clara Menerella, Vincenzo Montella, Fulvio Moscaritolo (Italia), Jin Leng Yeoh,  (Malaysia) , Jeannette Unite (Sud Africa), Jason Bryant, Dejan Pejovic, Max Yawney (USA),  Orlando Campos, Ines De Veer , Arnoldo Diaz, Dudamel, Raul Penalver, Freddy Simona (Venezuela).

G. Mangiacapra

Originally introduced as a 2006 model, the Ford Fusion is a mid-sized car slotted between the compact Focus and the full-sized Taurus.  Redesigned for 2010, the Fusion has been an instrumental part in Ford’s reinvention of itself as a quality American car maker.  I put emphasis on “car” because Ford’s F-150 truck has been the top-selling truck for a long time, but their cars, as of late, have not garnered much positive praise.  To better compete with their rivals, Ford has begun offering a hybrid version of the Fusion, the subject of this review.

The 2010 Fusion has a redesigned exterior, adding Ford’s new corporate “3-bar” grille to a newly-styled front end, and redesigned rear.  While the new car isn’t completely changed from the previous Fusion, it’s a more attractive look, which spills over into the interior.

Getting into the car, you notice the well-appointed interior, with a fair amount of soft touch materials.  If you squint, you’d almost think you’re in a 3-series BMW from earlier this decade.  The hood over the instrument cluster, the shape of the air-conditioning vents and the feel of the dashboard pay homage to the Bimmer.  Most of the hard plastics in the car are painted an aluminum color or faux carbon fiber pattern, which look good.  At night, you’ll notice the illuminated cup holders, part of Ford’s Ambient Lighting feature, along with illuminated foot wells.  Sitting in the driver’s seat, you notice how deep and supportive it is, an obvious nod to the Fusion Sport model that Ford offers, and a boon for anyone who likes going around corners, even in a hybrid.

The air-conditioning vents are at the top-center of the dash, moving the navigation screen and associated controls lower on the dash.  While not my favorite design, the designers of the Fusion at least tried to keep the most often-used buttons and knobs as high on the dash as they could, and the navigation screen is in a decent location height-wise, allowing you to view it without taking your eyes completely off the road.  With navigation being such a popular option these days, it’s a wonder more cars aren’t laying out their dashboards like the Lincoln MKS, with the vents off to either side of the navigation screen, which is at the height of the dash.  The Cadillac CTS and Mercedes-Benz C-Class also have this design, albeit their designers took slightly different routes, giving their navigation screens pop-up motors, hiding them when not in use.

The review vehicle I drove was equipped with optional SYNC, and the optional navigation package as well, which as I’ve experienced before, is well-designed and easy to use.  Alongside the SYNC system, the tester had the optional Sony 12-speaker audio system, which while not as great as some of the other systems I’ve heard, is still far better than the base stereo in most cars.  The SYNC system on the Fusion Hybrid also includes an Hybrid Electic Vehicle (HEV) screen, which gives you a visual readout of how the power is being routed through the hybrid system.  It’s a neat display, and being in the main navigation touch screen, it is in a good place for your passengers to see.  The driver gets a customizable display, split into two LCD screens flanking the speedometer.  The information displayed on them can be changed using buttons on the steering wheel, and contain all of the information shown in gauges on regular cars, as well as hybrid-specific information such as whether or not the gasoline engine is running and the state of the hybrid batteries.  The display modes can help you stay in EV, or “Electronic Vehicle” mode longer, thereby increasing fuel mileage.  Thoughtfully, Ford built a “demo” mode into the display, to get a new hybrid driver up to speed on the functions of the instrument cluster, but anyone who buys a Fusion Hybrid is going to want to spend some quality time with the manual, reading up on all the acronyms used by the car.

Which leads me to the question a lot of people have asked me: How does the Fusion Hybrid drive?  The answer is a bit more complicated than if it were pertaining to a regular car.  The short answer is that the Fusion Hybrid drove well.  The real answer, however, is that it is an interesting drive.  With the hybrid system, there are a lot of features and functionality to get used to.  Accelerating from a dead stop to keep up with normal traffic, the car stays in Electronic Vehicle (EV) mode up until about 5 mph.  Then, the gas engine starts up, providing power almost at idle, which gives it a slightly rough start, which smoothes out quickly once you’re getting up to speed.  It’s at this point that you can hardly tell you’re in a hybrid car, as the transition from gas to electric and back at any speed over 5 mph is downright seamless.  Surprisingly, once you get away from a stop, there is plenty of acceleration to be had, owing to the hybrid motor’s power.  At highway speeds, that power seems to drop off quickly, as the electric motor is no longer helping out.  The flip side of this is driving in a city, where you have to stop every block or so for stop lights and signs.  By accelerating slowly and keeping an eye on the instrument cluster, I was able to keep the Fusion in EV mode for several blocks, boosting my fuel economy by almost 2 mpg.  The disconcerting bit here is the car’s transmission.  Most people are used to regular automatic transmissions, but some cars have been offered with Continuously Variable Transmissions, or CVTs.  The difference in operation between them is slight, the most noticeable being that there are no gear changes on a CVT, so you have a constant engine noise while accelerating.

Overall, the driving experience of the Fusion Hybrid is pretty close to a 4-cylinder Fusion.  While the Hybrid may not have as much acceleration from a stop as its gasoline-only sibling, the Hybrid accelerates just as well once speeds climb, with much less fuss and noise.

The Hybrid handles almost as well as the gas-only Fusions, but the extra weight of the hybrid motor and batteries is evident, and the Fusion Hybrid pays the penalty in curves.  It still handles well, but doesn’t feel as light on its feet as the 4-cylinder Fusion.  It appears as though Ford aimed again at the BMW 3-series when it tuned the suspension and steering of the Fusion, although it’s not quite there.  With front-wheel drive and more of its weight in the front of the car, the Fusion just simply isn’t going to handle like a BMW.  When driving over speed bumps or potholes you can feel the suspension work, but it won’t spill your morning coffee, and the steering is set up to tell you exactly where the front tires are pointed, which helps when going around turns.

When ferrying passengers around, you’ll be glad to be in the driver’s seat.  Comparatively, the rear seat is just not as comfortable.  It’s not overly firm, and there is a good amount of leg room, especially on a car in this class, but the head room was lacking.  At only 5′8″, my head was too close to the roof of the Fusion, something which may cause taller passengers to complain if they have to sit there.

Opening the trunk, you can see that the engineers at Ford had to modify its shape on all sides in order to fit the hybrid battery and other components.  There are air flow vents on the sides, and the front and bottom of the trunk are covered in access panels, hiding the batteries and their cooling fans.  While the hybrid parts are intrusive, you’re still left with a sizable trunk which can easily swallow a good amount of luggage or groceries, the latter being more likely.

Conclusion:

The redesigned 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is a great car.  Based on a well-rounded platform which supports a range of options and models to meet almost any commuter’s needs, the Fusion shows Ford’s drive to be competitive in the crowded mid-sized sedan market.  Featuring a comfortable and roomy cabin, as well as all the safety and technology options todays commuters want, the Fusion Hybrid has garnered the media’s attention, and should be a strong seller for Ford in the foreseeable future.  Recently, it won Motor Trend’s Car of the Year award for 2010, one which should boost its sales even further.

Competitors: Chevrolet Malibu, Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda Mazda6, Mercury Milan, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry

As-Tested:

Year: 2010
Make: Ford
Model: Fusion Hybrid

EPA Fuel Mileage: 41/36 City/Highway

Base Price: $27,625.00

Options:

$5,215: Rapid Spec 502A (includes Navigation System – Voice Activated, Driver’s Vision Group, BLIS w/Cross Traffic Alert, Rear View Video Camera, Moon & Tune Value Package, Power Moonroof, Sony Sound System – 12 speakers, Leather-trimmed Heated Front Seats)
$345: Powercode Remote Start System

Total: $33,185

Rapid Spec Savings: $1,270

Destination: $725

As-Tested Price: $32,640

Ford has an online Window Sticker viewer.  Click here to view the Window Sticker for the actual test vehicle.

Special thanks to Steve Fransisco and Century Ford of Mt. Airy, MD for loaning the tester to Road Reality.  Click here to view their web site.

By John Suit

Restaurant Nuance, in Duffel, krijgt van Le Guide Michelin een eerste ster. Nuance wordt ook getipt voor een tweede ster, volgend jaar. Ook La Luna van chef Dirk De Koninck krijgt een ster.

Onze recensie van Nuance lees je hier.
Recensie De Pastorale.
Recensie Dôme.
Recensie De Godevaart.

De Belgische Michelin-sterren 2009:

Alle sterrenrestaurants, Het Nieuwsblad, 23.11.2009.

Drie sterren

Brugge : De Karmeliet
Kruishoutem : Hof van Cleve

Twee sterren

Brugge – Dudzele : Danny Horseele
Brugge – Sint-Michiels : Hertog Jan (Nieuw)
Brussel : Sea Grill
Brussel : Comme Chez Soi
Éghezée – Noville-sur-Mehaigne : L’Air du Temps
Ellezelles : Château du Mylord (Nieuw)
Ieper – Elverdinge : Hostellerie St-Nicolas
Mol : ‘t Zilte
Opglabbeek : Slagmolen (Nieuw)
De Panne : Hostellerie Le Fox
Profondeville – Arbre : L’Eau Vive (Nieuw)
Reet : Pastorale
Tongeren – Vliermaal : Clos St. Denis

Een ster

Aalst : ‘t Overhamme
Antwerpen : ’t Fornuis
Antwerpen : Dôme
Antwerpen : La Luna (Nieuw)
Antwerpen – Boechout : De Schone van Boskoop
Antwerpen – Stabroek : De Koopvaardij
Barvaux : Le Cor de Chasse
Beaumont – Solre-St-Géry
Hostellerie Le Prieuré Saint-Géry
Berlaar : Het Land (Nieuw)
Berlare – Donk : Lijsterbes
Blankenberge : Philippe Nuyens
Blaregnies : Les Gourmands (Nieuw)
Bornem : Eyckerhof
Braine-l’Alleud : Jacques Marit
Brugge – centre/centrum : Den Gouden Harynck
Brugge – centre/centrum : Aneth
Brugge – centre/centrum : Sans Cravate
Brugge – Sint-Andries : Herborist
Brugge – Sint-Kruis : De Jonkman
Brugge – Zedelgem : Ter Leepe (Nieuw)
Brussel : L’Écailler du Palais Royal
Brussel – Tercamerenbos : La Truffe Noire (Nieuw)
Brussel – Anderlecht : La Paix
Brussel – Ganshoren : Bruneau
Brussel – Ganshoren : San Daniele
Brussel – Elsene : Marie
Brussel – Elsene : Bistrot du Mail
Brussel – Schaarbeek : Senza Nome
Brussel – Ukkel : Le Chalet de la Forêt
Brussel – Ukkel : Bon-Bon
Brussel – Ukkel : Le Passage
Brussel – Groot-Bijgaarden : Michel
Brussel – Huizingen : Terborght
Brussel – Strombeek-Bever : ‘t Stoveke
Charleroi – Montigny-le-Tilleul : L’Éveil des sens
Deerlijk : Marcus
Dendermonde : ‘t Truffeltje
Dendermonde : Fleur Sur L’Eau (Nieuw)
Dilsen : Hostellerie Vivendum
Dinant – Sorinnes : Hostellerie Gilain
Dranouter : In de Wulf
Duffel : Nuance (Nieuw)
Elewijt : Kasteel Diependael
Fauvillers : Le Château de Strainchamps
Gent : Jan Van den Bon
Gent : C. Jean
Haaltert : Apriori
Haasdonk : Clandestino
Hasselt : Aan Tafel bij Luc Bellings
Hasselt – Lummen : Hoeve St-Paul
Heure : Le Fou est belge
Hulshout : Hof ter Hulst
Huy : Li Cwerneu (Nieuw)
Izegem : La Durée
Kasterlee – Lichtaart : De Pastorie (Nieuw)
Keerbergen : The Paddock
Knokke-Heist – Albertstrand : Jardin Tropical
Knokke-Heist – Duinbergen : Sel Gris
Knokke-Heist – Heist : Bartholomeus
Knokke-Heist – Het Zoute : De Oosthoek
Kruishoutem – Wannegem-Lede : ’t Huis van Lede
Lavaux-Sainte-Anne : Lemonnier
Leuven – Heverlee : Arenberg
Leuven – Heverlee : Couvert couvert
Luik : Héliport
Mechelen : D’Hoogh
Mechelen : Folliez
Namen : Cuisinémoi
Namen : La Bergerie
Namen – Temploux : l’Essentiel (Nieuw)
Ninove : Hof ter Eycken
Noirefontaine : Auberge du Moulin Hideux
Paliseul : Au Gastronome
Pepinster : Hostellerie Lafarque
Pepinster – Wegnez : Hostellerie du Postay
Perwez : La Frairie
Reninge : ’t Convent
Roeselare : Bistro Novo
Sankt-Vith : Zur Post
Sint-Martens-Latem – Deurle : Orangerie
Soheit-Tinlot : Le Coq aux Champs
Tongeren : Magis (Nieuw)
Virton – Torgny : Auberge de la Grappe d’Or
Vrasene : Herbert Robbrecht
Waregem : ‘t Oud Konijntje
Zolder – Bolderberg : Prêt-à-Goûter (Nieuw)

Welcome to the Owasso Fusion VolleyBall Club

We offer a competitive club with qualified coaches

With girls coming from Owasso, Collinsville, Claremore, Lincoln, and Rejoice Schools.

Our 16 Shockers are the 2009 ASA Cup Champions.

Coach Brian

Berlin Auto KFZ Gebrauchtwagen Fahrzeug Einkauf Kauf Aufkäufer Einkäufer Ankauf Gebrauchtwagenankauf PKW Barankauf Autoankauf Autoentsorgung Ankauf Unfallwagen Reifeneinlagerung Einlagerung Berlin Brandenburg
(Kein Teileverkauf)

Berliner Str. 47 10713 Berlin Charlottenburg Wilmersdorf, nähe Kurfürstendamm.
Tel. 030 89734890 & Funk 01627764728

Wir holen Ihr Fahrzeug auch während ihrer Arbeitszeit ab und bringen es spätestens zum Feierabend gereinigt zurück!

Des weiteren bieten wir Lackausbesserungen und den Beulendienst ca. 50% günstiger an.
Für Groß- und Firmenkunden werden gesonderte Preise vereinbart.

Unser Abhol- und Bringservice besteht nicht nur für Ihre Reifen, Sie können auch Ihr Motorrad, Ihren Oldtimer, Ihren Hänger oder Ihren Wohnwagen und vieles mehr bei uns sicher einlagern.

Reifeneinlagerung S&R Tel.:030 86390007

Neu Reifeneinlagerung ab 39,00€ pro Satz/Saison inklusive 19% Mehrwertsteuer

Wir lagern für diverse Autohäuser und Privatpersonen die Reifen ein, reingien sie und bringen sie bei Bedarf zurück.
Dir Reifen sind zum Neuwert versichert.

Berliner Str. 47 10713 Berlin

Öffnungszeiten: Montag – Freitag von 9:00 bis 18:00 Uhr
& Samstag von 9:00 bis 13:00 Uhr

Folkpartiet har nu ställt sig positiva till mer kärnkraft (se: 1, 2, 3). Som miljövän tycker jag att detta är ett mycket positivt besked. Oavsett hur man ställer sig till klimatfrågan står världen nämligen inför en energikris, som måste lösas av teknik och utveckling.

Rent matematiskt kommer traditionell vattenkraft och vindkraft med största sannolikhet inte att räcka till, särskilt inte om man vill bevara en del av den orörda naturen. I mina ögon är det kärnkraft och solkraft som är framtidens hopp för att tillgodose en växande befolkning med elektricitet och samtidigt ta hänsyn till djur och natur. Vågkraft är också en intressant teknik som teoretiskt skulle kunna ha en hyfsat hög potential.

Men om man ska försöka vara realistisk är det främst atom- och solenergi som gäller, menar jag. Den senare behöver dock mycket mer forskning och behöver bli långt mer effektiv än vad som är fallet idag. Min förhoppning är dock att de solenergivillor som idag utvecklas i Storbritannien – som värms upp helt på solenergi – i framtiden kommer att kunna bli vardag och verklighet för världens medelklass.

Samtidigt är det dags att tvätta bort miljöskadestämpeln från kärnkraften, som har tagit jättekliv sedan 1980-talet och fortfarande utvecklas i mycket snabb takt. Bland de mest intressanta tycker jag är de prototyper som drivs på fusion av väteisotoper från tunga vattenslag. Detta är också bland de mest effektiva sätt att omvandla energi på; ett badkar med tungt vatten som används för fusion uppskattas täcka en medelbritts energibehov under hela sju år.

För övrigt är denna slags fusion ungefär samma princip som får solen att brinna. Så man skulle faktiskt man kunna säga att framtiden är solenergi – på ett eller annat sätt.

Simon Hedlin Larsson

Utwory: Galois; Code, Anticode; Reflections; Megrez; Singularity; Redemption’s Way; Komm Süsser Tod, Komm Sel’gel; Rivers Dancing; Srikara Tal; Grace;

Wykonawcy: Trey Gunn – Warr guitar; Sean Reinert – drums; Ron Jarzombek – guitar; Glenn Snelwar – guitar; Sean Malone – bass; gościnnie: John Myung – Chapman Stick

Wydawca: Laser’s Edge

Rok wydania: 1999

Data napisania recenzji: 27.08.06

Subiektywna ocena (od 1 do 10): 8

Widać czasy się zmieniają i dawni gitarowi, i nie tylko, wymiatacze zamiast czarować swoją grą w kapelach metalowych tudzież techno thrashowych czy grających techniczny death metal zakładają zespoły grające czyste fusion (Alex Skolnick Trio) lub kapele z pogranicza fusion, rocka progresywnego czy thrashu (ale raczej z przedrostkiem post-) jak Spastic Ink braci Jarzombek (Ron grający dawniej w techno-thrashowym Watchtower, a Bob w całej masie projektów na czele z zespołem Roba Halforda), który nagrał dwa świetne, pełne technicznych popisów albumy ”Ink Compatibile” i ”Ink Complete”. Do tego grona zalicza się również Gordian Knot, który jest  stricte studyjnym projektem Sean’a Malone’a i Sean’a Reinerta (dawniej przede wszystkim w Cynic), których wspomagają zaproszeni goście na czele ze wspomnianym Ronem Jarzombkiem, Treyem Gunnem czy Johnem Myungiem, których przedstawiać raczej nie trzeba.

Płytę wypełnia blisko godzinna dawka muzycznej “masali” najwyższej próby, pełnej wirtuozerskich popisów, połamańców rytmicznych, a wszystko osadzone gdzieś między czystym fusion a rockiem progresywnym z delikatną domieszką klimatycznych przerywników w postaci ”Galois”, ”Komm Süsser Tod, Komm Sel’ge” czy ”Grace”, któremu blisko do wspólnych ambientowych dokonań Davida Sylviana i Roberta Frippa z czasów ”Gone To Earth”. Świetne ”Code, Anticode” to porywająca, dynamiczna kompozycja z niesamowitymi solówkami, w “Reflections” mroczny riff jest rozjaśniony przez czyste gitary, których partie to wspaniała uczta dla ucha. W ”Singularity” ponownie powraca cięższe riffowanie, muzycznie jest to chyba utwór najbliższy poprzednim projektom muzyków Gordian Knot. Przesycone orientalnym klimatem ”Redemption’s Way” i ”Srikara Tal” są z kolei polem do popisu dla perkusyjnego kunsztu Seana Reinerta. Ozdobą ”Rivers Dancing” jest bez wątpienia porywające gitarowe solo Rona Jarzombka, prawdziwa perełka gitarowej wirtuozerii. Na pewno ewenementem na tej płycie jest jednak udział, aż trzech nominalnych basistów, którzy grają tutaj na Chapman Sticku lub Warr Guitar instrumentach charakterystycznych choćby dla King Crimson i Tony’ego Levina.

Debiut Gordian Knot to naprawdę kawał świetnej muzycznej mieszanki, polecam wszystkim miłośnikom instrumentalnej wirtuozerii, pełnej łamańców rytmicznych, ciekawych melodii i niezwykłego klimatu. Warto przesłuchać, pomimo pojawiającego się czasem wrażenia, że muzyka Gordian Knot to taka trochę, brawurowa a jakże, ale sztuka dla sztuki. Jednak odrobina muzycznego masochizmu wiecznie nienasyconych artystów nikomu nie powinna zaszkodzić.

Autor: Tomek “BlaKcThrone” Jałukowicz

The other day an absolutely riveting little contretemps erupted on Twitter between Will King, King of Shaves supremo and a member of staff from Porter Novelli, a company that represents arch-rival Gillette. A wonderful Twitter bitchfest (who says men aren’t catty?) it was an example of macho posturing and feather fluffing at its absolute best and an example of how febrile the current ‘Blade Wars’ have become of late.

Will King, I suspect, rather fancies himself as leader of The Rebel Alliance squaring up to Gillette’s evil Empire (his Azor razor being a X-Wing fighter pitted against Gillette’s mighty Tie Fighter Fusion). And in typical insurgent fashion, the King of Shaves founder  isn’t one to miss an opportunity to take a pop at his opponent. This particular digital duel (how terribly modern?) ensued after the Thierry Henry handball debacle, with King tweeting:

@kingofshaves Gillette stick with Henry.  Many others not sticking with Gillette, but going to King of Shaves, Azor. Good!

Provoked by such shocking schadenfreude the person from Porter Novelli (who I suspect innocently thought he was sticking up for one of his clients) chipped in with …

@charliedm Well done for turning the misfortune and misery of as entire nation into a publicity drive. That’s not at all cheap”.

Now, I must say, I’m on the side of the Empire here. As someone who’s on Twitter myself and who follows Will’s tweets religiously I have to admit he is rather provocative. In fact, he’s like the Simon Cowell of Social Media – annoying beyond belief but utterly compulsive at the same time. Not even Katie Price can top him when it comes to blatant opportunism and self-promotion. But then, I don’t suppose you get where he has by hiding your light under a bushel (or your blade under a shaving brush) and as I said, it’s so shameless you can’t help but love it. In fact, of all the people I follow he’s one of my favourites. But I digress… back on the frontline, the war of words was escalating ….

@kingofshaves “Don’t Porter Novelli look after Gillette’s PR…?”

@charliedm “It’s great for the kind of razor you might get in a Christmas cracker…

Sorry, but I did laugh at this. It must have stung Will, too, because….

@kingofshaves “Um, you would say that given you handle Gillette’s PR. The King of Shaves Azor is a GREAT razor

All credit to Will here – to bitch and product place at the same time is no mean feat.

@kingofshaves “Surprised that as chief strategist you make such a negative, public comment. wait until you see our october sales – bit worried?

Now, with all due respect this is a wee bit naughty of Will given that he could probably teach The Republican Party a thing or two about negative campaigning (and even they’d be coy about some of his tactics). Anyway, clearly offended, The Empire struck back with this….

@charliedm “Does a lion find a dormouse worrying? Anyway, this isn’t work – this is jousting”

Good jibe but I know Will and  there’s nothing he likes more than the David and Goliath/Tortoise and Hare/Jordan and Jodie Marsh comparison so this was a red rag to a bull. In fact, at this point things had got so silly I was seriously expecting “Well, your mum stinks!” to be used as a line of attack. But no, a business history lesson was lobbed in to the battlefield and a gauntlet thrown down…

@kingofshaves “BA used to think that way. And learned the hard way. Joust away, my friend”.

@charliedm “Interesting. That’s just the kind of thing XL Airways used to say…”

As always happens in public brawls, it was now time for some annoying busy body to chip in with their two penneth worth …

@shedmenshealth  Playground bitching on twitter? / Charlie,consumers can read!  You should know better in PR. Will, stay strong fella!

Then it was time for the obligatory voyeur…

@peterdean1 “*enjoying* @kingofshaves tweet jousting with Gillette PR’s > @charliedm.

Sensing that they were now being watched by a baying crowd (or perhaps just realising that they had work to do) both parties withdrew from the fight, with the poor fella from Porter Novelli probably wishing  he’d have Tweeted about I’m a Celebrity instead, attemped to diffuse the situation by saying he thought they were all just having a bit of fun (which is a bit like Darth Vader saying he only thought The Death Star would cause minor damage).  But that’s just as well really because who knows what might have been said in the heat of the moment?

So what happened next? Well, later on the MD of Porter Novelli, issued an apology to King (which was duly Tweeted of course) stating that criticising the competitor’s products was in violation of  their company’s Social Media policies and was the agency’s – not the client’s – responsibility. In other words it was an apology to Gillette as much as it was to King of Shaves.

You may see this as a victory for King. Personally I do not. At least Porter Novelli explicitly oppose rival-knocking. The whole King of Shaves Azor campaign, on the other hand, has been based upon it. I’m not judging the merits of negative campaigning (it’s a staple technique in politics after all and is a strategy that has so far worked in increasing the Azor’s market share) nor am I going to come out and say who was right and who was wrong in the row over razors.

What I will do though, is draw everyone’s attention to the obvious dangers of such public spats (seemingly the whole incident will be immortalized as part of Porter Novelli Social Media training now). It’s all too easy to get carried away when you’re tweeting and to forget that rowing with someone on Twitter is the equivalent of having a slanging match in the street. That’s all very well if you’re Gail and Eileen from Corrie but just isn’t dignified if you’re professional, responsible grown-up men. Frankly, nobody comes out a winner. So come on guys – from now on play nice, okay? If you don’t I’m gonna send my friend Boba Fett round to kick  your butts.

Six original compositions and several familiar pieces give Lonnie Plaxicos ™ eleventh album a heavy dose of spontaneity. With pianist George Colligan, drummer Kenny Grohowski, tenor saxophonist Gary Thomas, trumpeter Alex Norris and several influential guests on board, the session rocks hard with a contemporary edge.

On his fifth solo outing, Plaxico combines all his influences into a sharp, focused statement that keenly displays his electric thumb chops as well as his straight-ahead side. On tracks such as “Emergence” and “Red Light District” Plaxico’s slashing sax/trumpet melodies ride his upright’s broad strokes and Lionel Cordew’s funk backbeat.

A little funk, a little M-Base, a little gospel, a little Latin, a little balladeering, a little Miles, a little bop, Melange, in spite of its complexity, reveals just a hint of the talent and experiences that lonnie Plaxico has gained through music in the twenty-five years of his professional life. At the age of forty, Lonnie Plaxico has paid his dues, and now it’s time for him to mold what he has learned into an infectious and unique whole.

01 – Cha Cha
02 – Bulgarian Chicks (ft. V. Tomova, M. Alexieva)
03 – Adir Adirim
04 – The Ladies 9or 4
05 – Shushan
06 – Ya Man
07 – Grass feat. Boom Pam
08 – Sunday Arak
09 – Hassan’s Mimuna
10 – Meboli
11 – La Bush Ressistance feat. Tomer Yosef

Download Here!! / Bajar de acá!!

Primer disco de esta banda neoyorquina. Hacen una fusión de ritmos balcánicos con hip hop, todo gracias a la electrónica. Gracias franja por recomendarme esta banda y enseñarme a apreciar el arte de estas fusiones…

Zondag heb ik me op enkele Amruts geworpen. Ik zette de nieuwe botteling voor Crombé tegenover de Fusion. De Blackadder op 46% toonte zich een ideale sparring partner.
Zoals ondertussen gemeenzaam geweten, is Amrut een beetje een hype de laatste tijd. Door het Indische klimaat rijpt de whisky er een pak sneller dan in Schotland, wat resulteert in erg mature vier-, vijfjarige whisky’s. Gezien de gigantische Angel’s Share zullen we waarschijnlijk nooit een Amrut 20Y of 30y kunnen drinken, tegen die tijd zal er immers niet veel vocht meer in het vat overblijven.
Thuishaven van Amrut is Bangalore. Managing director is Neelakanta Rao Jagdale, Ashok Chokalingam is er International sales manager en als dusdanig het sympatieke gezicht van Amrut in onze contreien.

Ik begon met de Crombé, voluit Amrut 2004/2009, 52%, OB for Crombé, cask 2930, 221 bottles. Mijn eerste impressie was “mwa, ja, niet slecht”, maar na een tijdje werd die “niet slecht” toch een serieus understatement. Hij heeft een zeer subtiele neus, die zoet en bloemig start. Honing. Daarna krijgen we gras, hooi en hars. Vervolgens komen er kruiden door, speculaas en noten, tabak ook. Opgelegde peren. Ja, die neus evolueert echt héél mooi. Op de tong is deze Amrut fruitig (citrus vooral) en kruidig (peper). Ook hier komt wat hars bovendrijven, wat een aangename bitterheid geeft. Hij blijft lang hangen, gaat naadloos over in een lekkere bitterzoete afdronk.
Wel, ik vind dit geen gemakkelijke whisky, hij heeft echt wat tijd nodig om zich volledig te geven, maar dan toont hij zich een beauty.

De Amrut Blackadder die ik tussendoor dronk, moet het meer hebben van zijn pure fruitigheid, zoete fruitigheid, zalige zoete fruitigheid. Ja, ik blijf deze een absolute stunner vinden.

Dan de Fusion, Amrut Fusion, 50%, OB 2009, batch #01, die al door heel wat mensen de hemel in is geprezen. De naam Fusion verwijst naar het gebruik van twee verschillende soorten malt, nl. geturfde Schotse malt en niet-geturfde Indische malt. Deze laatste komt van gerst geoogst in de provincies Punjab en Rajasthan, aan de voet van de Himalaya. Beide maltsoorten werden apart verwerkt, gedistilleerd én gerijpt. Het geheel werd na een viertal jaar rijping vermengd in bourbonvaten en dit in een verhouding van 25% geturfd en 75% niet-geturfd distillaat. Het resultaat is een zeer zachte whisky die inderdaad een mooie mix biedt van subtiele turf en rijke fruitigheid. In de neus geeft dit naast de fruitige turf nog heel wat zoete associaties, ik denk aan kandijsuiker, cake, rozijnen (op rum!) en crème brûlée. Vooral dat laatste wordt na enige tijd zeer duidelijk. De eveneens zachte en frisse smaak bouwt hier wat op voort: turf, fruit, vanille, hout, bloemen ook. Gho, ik weet niet of het mij ligt maar dat laatste nijgt een beetje naar iets geparfumeerd dat ik niet onmiddelijk kan thuisbrengen, zonder echt te storen evenwel (het is geen jaren tachtig Bowmore). Behoorlijk lange finish met terugkerend hout, fruit en turf.

Scores? 86/100 voor de Fusion, 89/100 voor de Crombé. Aan nog geen 40 euro de fles… kopen die handel!

This was earlier before I end up at One Rochester, on a Friday night last week with less than 1/2 of the Nobles.

Situated at a quiet corner of Pasir Ris Park, this small chill out place proves to be a hidden gem in the serene nature of Pasir Ris Park. The beach, which is about approximately 3 minutes walk from this place, was rather near to my surprise. But we didn’t head there because of rather heavy downpour that night while heading there.

Anyways, grabbing our umbrellas, the four of us safely end up at the restaurant with a warm welcome by their staff. What ambience it was. With shadowy structures of their unique lamps with a overall blue and purplish background light, it’s no wonder it makes you feel calm and cool. Accompanied with their comfortable looking seats and sofa (which is really comfortable), it was no wonder there are people still patronising this place even on a wet and rainy day.

We took a look at their menu and they offer a extensive variety of main courses, finger food and drinks. Their wine list is not too bad as well, though I don’t drink, at least it offers quite a bundle of names there. Not too bad as their steaks are actually less than $20.

So we ordered Nuggets, Fries, Buffalo Wings and Topshells to top it off. My drink was just a Cranberry juice whereas the Muq and Colin had Ice Latte and Xueli with her Camomile Tea (I think.)

Fries were alright, commendable enough. Buffalo Wings were good as well. The sauce was rather thick, but it’s better than a thinly-nourished sauce right. Well done to the wings. Then came the Spicy Topshells. Frankly speaking, I don’t really know what Topshells are. The word shells spell seafood and prolly sluggish meat. But then I didn’t know what I was eating, but it felt like eating chewy abalone mushrooms. With the spiciness, one can’t help but wonder why is this so darn good. Haha.

Overall, ambience was fantastic, service was commendable, and finger food turn out alright still. Will be back to try their main course someday, when it isn’t raining. =)

RATINGS (Out of 10 Stars)

Customer Service – 9
Ambience – 9
Food (Outlook) – 7
Food (Taste) – 8
Cost – 7

01 – Parate Compadre
02 – Manifestación
03 – Mensaje
04 – Apaga La Luz
05 – Enredados
06 – El Tigre
07 – Mercado Central
08 – Don Roberto
09 – Tratamiento
10 – Superpinito
11 – Puta Realidad
12 – Anaranjados Soles
13 – Seguiremos

Download Here!! / Bajar de acá!!

Este es el disco de la agrupación que antes se hacían llamar Rey Kaníbal. En este disco crecen mucho musicalmente en donde no solo hacen hip hop con un sonido crudo como era en su anterior disco sino que complementan con mas instrumentos a sus temas logrando estilos que van del ska, funk, hip hop, reggae, rock pesado, cumbia, folklore, etc. Letras inteligentes y de contenido social. Aparecen como invitados gente de Kapanga, Un Kuartito, Karamelo Santo, Yicos, Camilo Carabajal y el Pity de Intoxicados.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Guest Post by Ron Dawson

To see Part 1 in this series, go to : http://photofocus.com/2009/11/16/primer-for-still-to-video-shooters-part-1/
To see Part 2 in this series, go to : http://photofocus.com/2009/11/17/primer-for-still-to-video-shooters-part-2/
To see Part 2 in this series, go to: http://photofocus.com/2009/11/18/primer-for-still-to-video-shooters-part-3/

Editing Your Project

Now that you have your footage “in the can,” it’s time to do the editing. I won’t go into any details regarding editing systems. There are too many. Unless you’re a pro, you’ll most likely use Movie Maker on a PC or iMovie on a Mac. In any case, the concepts are the same.

• Capture all of your footage to the computer.
• If you have the ability to categorize and separate your footage, do so by creating general topics (e.g. childhood, college life, career, family, etc.)
• As you watch and listen to the interview footage, set aside the takes that are the most “meaty.” These are the part of the interviews that say the most in the least time, are the most emotionally powerful, most funny, etc.
• Whittle the interviews down to the best takes and reveal the essence of the story you want to tell.
• Order all the takes based on how you want to tell your story. For instance, do you want to start with childhood then go through marriage. Or is the video just about the subject’s family life, so you’ll start with their wedding and go through the birth of their latest child.
• As much as possible, add photos to spice up the video. A talking head can be boring. Zoom in and out of the photos to give them movement. This is often called the “Ken Burns Effect,” named after the technique used in the famous historical documentarian’s many films. Also, throw in all that juicy b-roll I told you to get while on set.
• Add music and sound effects to round out the video. Try to time the music crescendos and beats to fit with the interviews so they complement each other.
• Make your DVD, pop it in the player, then sit back and enjoy.

This whole series is a very simplistic overview. You could take a class for a whole semester on making these kind of films and still only scratch the surface. And as I mentioned in the beginning, these techniques are applicable to just about all kinds of filmmaking/video work. Like anything else, the more you do it, the more you’ll learn. Have fun.