Who’d want a pedigree?

Well it’s the end of 2009 and this year music has really surprised me. What has become widely listened to pop music is that underground synth stuff no one wanted to hear a few years ago. How strange! It’s almost as if all the weird synthpop/electronic stuff that was about for years just suddenly got a female face and became popular. I mean, I know any type of music can become popular, it has nothing to do with how commercial it is really. But I’m glad that music I like is in the charts now.

The following are in no particular order and are all equally sexual.

La Roux – La Roux

My first experience of La Roux was most unfortunate. I saw their video for In For The Kill. Oh my god, what a cheap as fuck video. Worse than Something Kinda Ooh or Wake Me Up by Girls Aloud. Worse of course because they don’t have sluts like Girls Aloud in. Instead what we have is a planecrash of a face. Really, if you ever wondered what Pyramid Head from Silent Hill looked like if he took his hat off Elly Jackson is the face you would see. Like flesh pressed into a glass corner. Jesus.

Unfair? Yes. But the songs. Oh the songs! You soon forget all of that image nonsense and in the spirit of real music let the wonderfully simple tunes win you over. Her shrill voice may irritate some, especially when Colourless Colour comes on and she sings it all in a regular voice. You stop and go, why the fuck did you not sing your whole album like that? But you know what? It works. It’s nothing new, androgynous, synth pop is like so 80s but hell every song is a single. Perfect pop without a bad moment.

Last point. La Roux are a two piece. She is not called La Roux you fucking wank buckets. There is a bloke in this band too – hell, he even turns up on the track Tigerlily and you quickly see why he keeps in the shadows. He bounds in with some goth nonsense and a sinister paedo voice. Godsake! Out damn devil – out of this pop song!

Adore: “Bulletproof”, “Armour Love”, “Growing Pains”

Florence and the Machine – Lungs

For like a good few months after Florence came on the scene with Rabbit Heart I did not listen to it and constantly told Aythan they were balls. Aythan was sure I would like them and I was like “BAWLS!”. It turns out I had confused them with Marina and the Diamonds who were also in those “WATCH OUT IN 2009 FOR” lists. Marina and the Diamonds are so bawls that they did nothing in 2009 and are now in everybody’s lists for 2010. Don’t get taken in. They are fucking gash.

Oh and I also hated them for calling their album Lungs which is the same as a Safe Search Is Off track Aythan and I wrote. I am such a petty bitch.

Florence on the other hand could have been disastrous, In fact, like La Roux if you see the artist before you hear the tunes you most likely will form the opinion that you hate them. Florence = hippynewageEnyaffffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu. On visuals alone anyway. After awhile I gave in and downloaded their album. I sat listening to it at work and when Dog Days Are Over bursts open at about 1.17 I was sold. Didn’t matter if the rest of the album was crap – this song was worth everything. But then, what’s this? It gets better?! Rabbit Heart (the single I had ignored and pre-decided to hate) is so good I began to sheepishly remember conversations with Aythan where I told him I thought they were shit. Whoops. The harp before the chorus comes in – oh god, I made a mess in my pants.

Adore: “Dog Days Are Over”, “Rabbit Heart (raise it up)”, “My Boy Builds Coffins”

My Dying Bride – For Lies, I Sire

Okay, tempo change. As you should know by now – New My Dying Bride album = free entry into my Top Albums of the Year list. I love all of their albums (except The Light at the End of the World) and Alice thinks that’s prob because all their albums are the same AND TERRIBLE. I understand that feeling of course. They aren’t the easiest listening material. Sometimes it even takes me a year or two to get into some My Dying Bride albums. For example, it was only this year I realised I liked their last album A Line of Deathless Kings which came out in 2006. Or rather, this year I realised I liked it as much as their other work.

It’s been a good many years but My Dying Bride have gone back to their roots almost. This sounds like an amalgamation of everything they’ve ever done. When My Body, A Funeral breaks and the long lost sound of a violin comes in I felt a piece of my heart break. Man, they’ve not used violins for ages – at least not like they used to when that dude who went on to join Cradle of Filth was in the band. It’s so achingly beautiful doom that I just surrender myself to it. Sure it’s ridiculous, funeral march, goth wankery and I don’t know why I like it.  Why the fuck do these guys cast a spell on me? They never even get past 2 beats per hour!  To be fair this album does have a few tracks where they burst into quicker tempos – Bring Me To Victory even starts like a Paradise Lost track! – but it only lasts a moment before it falls back down into very slow dirge again. Yay! And weirdly, the opening of title track The Lies I Sire could be a We Modern Cadets song!

Adore: “My Body, A Funeral”, “Bring Me To Victory”, “The Lies I Sire”

Manatees – Icarus. The Sunclimber

Sitting comfortably as both one of the best gigs and best albums of 2009 is the Manatees. If you haven’t already – go see these guys. They like played 60 minutes without stopping. I actually orgasmed several times during their set!

Following my love for their previous two releases “The Forever Ending Jitter Quest Of Slowhand Chuckle Walker – An Introduction To The Manatee” and “We Are Going To Track Down And Kill Vintage Claytahh, The Beard Burning Bastard” Icarus is much more immediate and the production is exceptional. Straight from the off your ears are bleeding.

Dirty bastard guitars ripping through your head and booming drums tea-bagging your stupid face. I’m always conscious of the Genre Police coming after me but I really don’t know what the fuck to call this. It fucking sounds to me like doom. I’m sure hipsters who listen to the rest of the releases from Motive Sounds have a much cleverer name for it like neo-post-rock-classical-jizz just so they don’t have to admit that it’s fucking doom. Honestly, I want to be in a band that does this stuff.

Adore: “Sunclimber”, “-”, “Out of the Sky, Into The Gutter”

Mongrel – Better Than Heavy

This album was given away by the Independent in March 2009. I bought the Independent specifically for this release as it’s a band formed from chaps from Reverend & The Makers, Arctic Monkeys & – to a lesser extent – Babyshambles. Mostly though it’s indie kids making a hip-hop/grime album. It really shouldn’t have worked as well as it does.

I got this on the way to a corporate weekend at The Old Course at St Andrews. I listened to it in my room which had a chandelier over the bed and a BOSE cd player. I can’t imagine Mongrel thought this would be the place their album would be listened to. In fact, I’m sure if Jon McClure finds out he’s going to set me on fire.

It’s like a positive hip-hop album which bounces along with some of the most critical lyrics I’ve heard in a good while. And ones you can understand. Take notice shouty political music genres: no matter how loud you shout I still can’t understand you! Great swirly synths and maybe even some cheeky wee brass sections too. Oh yes, and the drums are real because they are a proper band which makes them so much better than that American R&B nonsense which are just synthetic bumgay.

I have to admit to being well out of the loop when it comes to underground UK rappers so Mongrel was a great way of bringing new folks work to my attention. Pariz 1 and Lowkey really make a name for themselves here. Hell, they could’ve been around for decades and I’ve just not heard of them of course!

Sure, in a few years some of these tracks with their 2009 lyrical content may date badly but for now I can’t agree more with their track “The Menace”. So check out those lyrics. Actually, what do I mean the lyrics will date? Let’s be honest, is the world going to change in the next decade? Not fucking likely.

I can’t wait to hear their second album once the Tories have come in next year… Although, I do fear for all foreignkind if that happens.

Adore: “Lies”, “Menace”, “Hit From The Morning Sun”

Kasabian – The West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum

Kasabian had lost their way a little. Their last album Empire was pretty rubbish. Especially after how good their debut was. A fusion of rock, electronic, dance much in the way the Stone Roses had tried and failed to pull off. Kasabian really managed it on their debut then decided to hide all their lushly arranged synths and backing vocals on the second album. So they failed and I forgot about them.

In fact, I didn’t take much notice of their 3^rd album until I stumbled across Vlad The Impaler. This was a return to form. Fuzzy bass, stuttering guitar licks and bravado vocals. It’s like everything British music had lost was reborn here. Sure, Kasabian have quite simply the most punchable faces in the world (as bad as Henry Rollins even) – especially cos they think they’re fucking awesome. But maybe it’s okay to think you’re awesome if you are actually awesome. Hell, they wrote Ovary Stripe – what the fuck have you done?

The whole album sits together very well. Better than most albums that appear in Q or NME anyway. It has a theme and sticks to it. Sure the guitars sound like they were recorded in the 70s but it’s the synths and crazy sounds underneath that freshen it up. This is the reason Oasis split up – they realised they would never do something as consistent as this. And for making Oasis split up Kasabian must be applauded.

Such an enjoyable record to listen to. One for wandering the streets and finding yourself nodding like a Vault Tec Bobblehead (but not the one that gives you +10 Intelligence, obvs). Hell, I don’t give a fuck what you think – just by opening your mouth to disagree it’s already been stuffed with some Kasabian cock. Now swallow, bitch.

Adore: “Vlad The Impaler”, “Take Aim”, “Fire”

Little Boots – Hands

Let’s get the obvious out the way: I want to fuck Little Boots. She is so fucking hot. I don’t know what it is about her. Maybe that slight hesitancy in her confidence; that look that says “I’m a popstar? Really?!”. For me, that is very sexy indeed.

Another album I downloaded having heard nothing of. In fact I believe Alice told me to download it. I knew from the first explosion of synth in the first second that I loved it. New In Town is an exceptional exercise in duality. On one hand a little sinister but that chorus – holy jihad! – full on pop which if Channel 4 did a Top Ten 10 Seconds of Pop Of All Time it would win. (Incidentally, the sound of Michael Hutchinson being strangled would come 2^nd)

The album has some of the finest bass ever laid down. Not necessarily what it plays but how it sounds. Really thick and full. This is confirmed on Earthquake which again has an explosion of a chorus and again and again on Stuck on Repeat, Remedy, Mathematics, Symmetry, etc! What I like most is the drive of the album – it’s really pulsating and pushes you about like big beat dance music but with an almost-fragile vocal part. Sure there are slow bits but there’s just so many quirky melodies sneaking around here you’re never bored.

Oh and the way she sings Tune Into My Heart sounds like she sings Chew Into My Heart. H.O.T.

Oh fuck it, and further to this, back in the day when I was young my parents took me and my brother to Haven Holiday’s camp where we would be part of the Tiger Club. Chorus of the Tiger Club sounds so much like the chorus to Remedy. To me anyway!

Adore: “New In Town”, “Stuck On Repeat”, “Remedy”

Reverend & The Makers – A French Kiss In The Chaos

Having loved their debut, which was as close to despair as pop/rock music got in 2007, I had high hopes for their second release. The world view of Jon McClure is pretty bleak. Some feel their massive breakthrough single Heavyweight Champion of the World was the only good thing on the debut but people who think that probably only orgasm if their partner uses their scrotum as a guitar and plays the Wonderwall chords.

So sophomore slump? The critics certainly think so. I mean, the idea of listening to a very opinionated bloke from Sheffield who studied politics bashing you about the head may not be everyone’s cup of tea. However, he happens to be correct on the subjects he tackles. So as our world view appears to be as aligned as two humans can be I can’t say I mind. What I really despised was the way the Metro did one of those “60 Seconds With” interviews with him on the day of the album launch where they were very nicey-nice only to tear apart the album in the reviews section. Their review was pretty much this: “The music is really good but the frontman is unlikeable”. Really Metro? You’re run by the Daily Mail Group – I’m pretty sure everyone who works for your paper is unlikeable.

As an aside has anyone else noticed how many headlines in the Metro have quotation marks in them? They’re all like Auschwitz sign ordered by ‘mad collector’. Me and Alice have a game where we count how many headlines in the paper do this. Have a go yourself. It’s got a bit better but it’s still pretty lazy fucking journalism ‘written by child molesters’.

So yes, the album is stunning. Much more assured than their cracking debut. It’s paced very steadily. Starting with the wonderful Silence Is Talking and climaxing with the outrageously good Hard Time For Dreamers. Slap bang in the middle is the monumental No Soap In A Dirty War. It could be an anthem for my life. For anyone’s life in the UK right now. A slow build to a chorus that just keeps building and building right to the end.

How has this album not done well? If Oasis had done this NME would have spent the whole year helicoptering its useless limp cock in everyone’s faces about it!

Out of all the albums on this list I’ve listened to this one the most. And Kudos to Jon for jumping off stage after the gig and playing in the street. That Edinburgh gig was fucking fantastic.

Adore: “No Soap In A Dirty War”, “Hard Time For Dreamers”, “Mermaids”

Engineers – Three Fact Fader

What? Not heard of them yet? Shut up.

Not sure what this is. Post rock shoegaze I think. Man, it’s good. The basic rule for a good album is to start with a good song. Not hold it back for 5 tracks in. If your first song is bawls I DON’T HEAR YOUR ALBUM. Now go rearrange your tracklisting Lady GaGa and take some fucking songs off it too.

Clean Coloured Wire not only succeeds as being a good opening track but also is one of my favourite songs of the year. Sure, it means the rest of the album dips a little much in the same way as Ladyhawke’s debut in 2008. Luckily, the rest of Engineers’ songs are much better than the rest of Ladyhawke’s album.

They kind of sound like Porkupine Tree but more shoegazey (maybe even like the Dandy Warhols) and have sensible song lengths! Like with quite a bit of that shoegaze stuff you can forget you’re listening to it as it’s so calming. You know like the way bands like Sigur Ros can float over you – well it’s like that. I find it a remarkably enjoyable listen.

Adore: “Clean Coloured Wire”, “Brighter As We Fall”, “Hang Your Head”

Synoiz – Ambients

I’ve already written about this album earlier so you can read that for my full review. And hell yes it’s weird to know that my own brother made an album that I find so marvellous it makes my Top 10 Album of the Year. But you know what? I’m very proud of him and it’s not like it’s here unwarranted through nepotism or whatever. This is a fucking great album.

Adore: “Getting Safer”, “Of Rolling Hills”, “Darkling”

Estos días en el trabajo he estado desplegando una aplicación web hecha en Ruby On Rails, y hoy por fin acabamos con ello. La verdad que el despliegue ha sido bastante sencillo, quitando aquellos típicos errores por no saber . Hay varios tutoriales para desplegar usando Capistrano, Mongrel y Nginx, pero yo voy a postear mi propia solución.

Para empezar,supongo que tienes un servidor funcionando con Ruby, las gemas de Rails, acceso ssh y Subversion.

Vayamos por partes, como diría Jack El Destripador: instalar Mongrel y Nginx en el servidor (en mi caso un flamante Debian Lenny):

# apt-get install nginx
# ### Mongrel lo instalo como una gema de Ruby
# gem install mongrel mongrel-cluster

Ahora podemos instalar Capistrano en el equipo de trabajo local

# gem install capistrano

¿Está? Ahora comenzamos el trabajo de verdad. La documentación de Capistrano (Getting Started y From The Beiginning) son más que suficentes para hacer funcionar Capistrano como Dios manda. Vayamos a la carpeta de la aplicación y ejecuta lo siguiente (si no está en el path, no queda otra que buscarlo):

# capify .

Esto genera dos ficheros, Capfile y deploy.rb. El contenido de deploy.rb tendrá la siguiente forma:

set :application, "Nombre de la aplicación"
set :repository,  "Ruta del repositorio al código. Como no especifico nada más, Capistrano asume que es Subversion"
# Desplegar desde la rama trunk puede estar bien, pero a veces puede ser mejor crear una rama estable y desplegar de ahí, para curarse en salud

role :web, "192.168.1.192"                          # Mi servidor HTTP, Apache/etc
role :app, "192.168.1.192"                          # Mi servidor de aplicaciones
role :db,  "192.168.1.192",:primary => true         # Servidor de base de datos. Le indico también que es la base de datos primaria

set :deploy_to, "/home/deploy/apps/nombre-aplicacion/" # El sitio donde se va a desplegar
set :user, 'deploy' # El usuario que desplegará todo

# namespace :deploy do
#   task :start {}
#   task :stop {}
#   task :restart, :roles => :app, :except => { :no_release => true } do
#     run "#{try_sudo} touch #{File.join(current_path,'tmp','restart.txt')}"
#   end
# end

En el fichero Capfile no suele haber que tocar nada, pero puede que necesites especificar que usuario va a arrancar el servidor de aplicaciones. Para ello añade la siguiente línea al fichero Capfile:

set :runner, 'deploy'

Con esto, un desplegado debería funcionar, como norma general. Para mas opciones, mira en los enlaces que mencioné antes.

Ahora, con Capistrano preparado para la marcha, y el servidor con las aplicaciones necesarias, desplegar es tan sencillo como hacer desde el equipo de trabajo:

cap deploy: setup
# => Con esto se prepara el servidor con la jerarquía de carpetas
# Después de esto es mejor mirar si las carpetas tienen el propietario y los permisos que deben.
cap deploy:check
# => Un chequeo de dependencias automático
cap deploy:update
# => Hace un checkout de la última versión del repositorio y lo organiza, estableciendo la ultima versión como "current".

Ahora damos respiro a este equipo, ya que tenemos que crear la base de datos. para ello nos conectamos a la base de datos de turno para la producción, creamos usuarios y todo lo necesario y desde el servidor mandamos hacer las migraciones:

rake RAILS_ENV=production db:schema:load
# = > Cualquier error aquí vendrá por que falta algo por hacer, o database.yml tiene algún dato incorrecto

Con todo esto, ya debería funcionar la aplicación web. Podemos probarlo con “script/console production” o con WEBrick

Para que Capistrano pueda arrancar el servidor de aplicaciones, hay que crear un script en la carpeta script del proyecto. Lo llamamos spin, y para funcionar con Mongrel, ha de tener lo siguiente (cambiando por tus datos, claro ^_^):

EDITO: Para usar estos ficheros hace falta instalar el plugin irs_process_scripts:

script/plugin install irs_process_scripts

#!/bin/sh

/home/deploy/apps/mvweb4/current/script/process/spawner \
 mongrel \
 --environment=production \
 --instances=1 \
 --address=127.0.0.1 \
 --port=8000
Si quisiera ejecutar más mongrels, en distintos puertos, solo tengo que repetir ese comando en el fichero.
Ahora, solo queda que en el equipo se mande a capistrano que arranque los Mongrel con:
# cap deploy:start
Gracias a todo esto tenemos el servidor de aplicaciones escuchando, desde local todo funciona, pero nos queda el servidor web. Como este post esta quedando muy largo, dejo para el siguiente finiquitar esto y dejarlo 100% funcional. Si llegaste leyendo hasta aquí ¡enhorabuena!

I’d like to share my workflow, as it has proven efficient for me. I’m running two ’servers’ locally (!). Hang on, I said it was efficient, even though it surely doesn’t sound like it. The workflow should gain teams of any sizes, in my opinion.

I am developing an app it in rails and it also exposes some RESTful web services,  with_feed :through => :third_party. The third parties aren’t necessarily third parties, as we develop these too, but they are external apps collecting and sending data to my app. Part 2 will cover the creation of dummy clients that send randomish data to the core app.

OK, I will share the script and procedure I did to have a running server locally alongside developing my app. I wanted to have the server running locally, being able to receive request to the web server, testing the app manually, fast. To distinguish this local server (say localhost:3001) from your development server (sat localhost:3000), I decided to name it experimental, for simplicity. This is my workflow cycle

1. developing, creating migrations and so on, running mongrel at localhost:3000
2. git commit -am “I commit small changes, often!”
3. back_to step 2 if more_should_be_done
4. relaunch experimental server at localhost:3001, continuously receiving WS requests.

git pull and git push is performed frequently as well, but not as frequent as the above.

So, why would you I want that last step?

• It’s a great way of proving your migration scripts work. That server is supposed to be running all the time, containing more data, and old data.
• proving that your code works (which you of course also have extensive unit and integration tests for)
• prove that the clients still submit data through the web services as expected. (more of this in Part 2)
• better break experimental than staging?

What? isn’t this just the same as Cap and a staging server?

Well, not exactly, but yes, very similar. Experimental is something in between of staging(pretty stable) and the development server(unstable). If stableish was a word, then that’s what it is;) Differences better explained:

• The staging server is shared, experimental is not.
• The round trip is shorter. ‘git commit’ is sufficient. For staging I bet you have agreements to perform ‘git push’  to share code before deploying to the server (or ‘cap uses git pull’)
• Local development server is too unstable to have other apps sending data to it every hour. So you wouldn’t normally do that, you’d set it up for staging.
• Breaking staging messes up for more people than yourself. Also, you checked the code in with git push, probably.
• With the local experimental server you may mess around as you see fit, without becoming an impediment in your team.

Script deploy_to_local

To do this locally, you can’t use Capistrano (if you can, please educate me), so I created my own super-simple script to automate it. Say I have this file structure :

dev/myrailsapp/ (with .git, app/, etc.)
dev/temp/myrailsapptest/ (.git, app/, etc.)

where myrailsapptest is a duplicate of myrailsapp, except of the standard configuration files, like database.yml and such. These must be ignored by git, in .gitignore, or they will be overwritten.

#script deploy_to_local
rm -rf ~/dev/temp/myrailsapptest/.git
cp -rf .git ~/dev/temp/myrailsapptest/
pushd ~/dev/temp/myrailsapptest/
echo "git checkout ."
git checkout .
echo "rake db:migrate"
rake db:migrate
echo "Note: remember that the server must have been started with 'mongrel_rails start -d --port 3001' (daemon mode)"
mongrel_rails restart
echo "Restarting backgroundrb workers"
script/backgroundrb restart -e development
popd

Pretty simple, right? You can’t do this with svn, though, as it infects every directory you’ve got. Git stores everything in .git/ and a ‘git checkout .’ will automatically replace, add or delete everything as long as they’re not listed in .gitignore.

I’m using backgroundrb for scheduled tasks, if you’re not, remove backgroundrb restart from the script.

Notice that ‘git commit’ must be done first. This is why I consider the experimental server more stable than the development server. You may argue that it could be done without performing git commit first, but I guess nobody will. To me, committing is a small, important task that should be done often.

First step

Backtracking a little, the first thing you have to do, a one-time effort, is

• copy your whole rails app project directory to ../temp/railsapptest so that you also get the ignored files.
• Or, copy the .git and fix the ignored files manually. Whatever suits you.

Note (as in the script): to be able to perform a mongrel restart, you have to start it in daemon mode.

mongrel_rails start -d --port 3001

I’m saying this, because it’s poorly explained and I struggled for hours with it stating “PID file log/mongrel.pid does not exist.” when trying restart after a standard server start (script/server).

Last note. Exposing the local experimental app over the internet.

You don’t need any other server than your own mac/linux/win to show off your app to other people through the internet. Why deploy to staging before showing off your changes?

I did this at home, logged into my router, set up port forwarding of port 3001 to my computer (I’ve set up my router to recognize my mac and always  give it the same local ip address)

Then, given the IP address of the router is abc.def.ghi.jkl I would call or email whomever and say, check out the app at abc.def.ghi.jkl:3000 and tell me what you think! This guy would see exactly the same as I would on localhost:3001, which is cool. I’m sorry if you’re a corporate guy with routines, rules or other a bureaucrazy environments, hehe. Well, of course you can’t go port forwarding to thousands of people, this one is just a snack for those of us wanting to show of stuff we make at home in our spare time;)

Hope somebody find this useful! In the next post I will talk about the dummy client apps I wrote to feed my app, using RESTful web services. Maybe something about the backgroundrb jobs I’m using, if I feel like it. Should I?

WTF?! Why do I keep doing this electro type music for? I guess it’s because its fun to mix. I feel like I’m going on a journey when I mix electro tracks. I like finding those transitions that just sound perfect together and let them ride for a good 32, 64, or more bars sometimes.

Yeah, I don’t really listen to electro by my own powers but I love it in the club when the bass is hittin’ and the DJs are killin’ it. I sift through a shitload of it too when I am listening to music blogs. At that point, I just get into a “this works, this doesn’t work” mode as I pick songs that I could potentially use in a mix. I never really look for it though. I never search the artists. My trusted blogs, which I probably follow for hip hop, downtempo, bmore, indie, and so on, just seem to love electro as well, so its right in my face. Being the thorough person that I am, I got to listen to all the tracks that the blog is offering up, if I trust the blog. So you see, electro is always in my face, I will always be previewing and downloading tracks, and eventually making more electro mixes. Just hope somebody out there appreciates my work. I do appreciate mixing electro though, because it brings out a lot of my musical creativity that can’t be seen when I am mixing hip hop. Thank you electro, for bombarding me with your hits.

Studio Fitty Foe (Week of 11.09.09) – Click to Download

Tracklisting:

1. Bounce Camp – Good Beat
2. U-Tern – Gwen Guthrie vs. Daft Punk
3. Duck Sauce – Anyway
4. Bumblebeez - Rio (Jimmy2sox & U-GO-B Remix)
5. Black Kids – I’m Not Gonna Teach Your BF How To Dance (Twelves Remix)
6. Barbara Tucker – Stop Playing With My Mind (Full Intention Dub Mix)
7. Dorfmeister vs. Madrid De Los Austrias – Boogie No More
8. Stardust – Music Sounds Better (In Miami Horror Remix)
9. DumBass vs. Flapsandwich – Fuck The Poor
10. Armand Van Helden – I Want Your Soul (Fake Blood Remix)
11. Superpose – Button
12. Bloc Party – Signs (MMMatthias Remix)
13. Bobby LaBeat – Click Clack
14. Glitch – Stringles
15. Ludacris - Move Bitch (Disco Villians Remix)
16. Mongrel – HIt From The Morning Sun (DJ Beware and Motorpitch Remix)
17. DJ Mujava – Township Funk (DJ Rob 3 Remix)
18. Blaqstarr – Hands Up Thumbs Down (Degree Remix)
19. Drlkt Freddie – Airtight (Sonic Truth Remix)
20. Round Table Knights – Freak From Desire
21. A-Trak – Say Whoa (Minus Remix)

Haircuts and Racism in Small Town America.

I needed a haircut.  In fact, it has been nearly five months, I’m starting to look like I did in the 70’s (at least from the ears up – I can only dream about the remainder),  and I still need a haircut.  But I am NOT getting it done at Walmart: the thieves of just about every honest business in small-town America.   The old Italian gentleman who cut my hair the first few times I came up here has arthritis too painful to continue working.  He really didn’t want to retire, but eventually the decay of old age forces us all out to pasture.  There is not, so far as I can tell, another old-fashioned barber between here and Poughkeepsie!  Well, maybe there is, and I have a place that I will try on Thursday, an hour’s drive from here.  That’s only about half way to Poughkeepsie.

Anyway, last week I went to just about the only other non-Walmart barber in town (there are a couple of so-called beauticians, but I shy away from perms and frostings).   The place is called Norwich Haircutting & Hairstyling, on 86 East Main Street  in Norwich.  They do business on the first floor of an old house.  I walked in without an appointment and there were three older White gentlemen in front of me.  A normal scene in upstate New York, since this county I live in is probably 95% White, at least apparently.   There was another room off to the far side, and a woman beautician giving a permanent to an older female customer.  Strike one, I hate the smell of that gunk!  On the side of the house where the entrance was, I passed an empty barber’s station to get to the backroom, where the three men were awaiting a female barber who appeared to be from the Philippines .  I can make that estimation, since I knew hundreds of those people as a youth back in New Jersey.  Well, that’s at least two strikes.  I might suffice getting my hair cut by a woman – especially since I’m looking more and more like a commie war protestor.  But a Filipina?  Extremely unlikely.  Maybe one day I will write about my up-close-and-personal observations of them.  Anyway, I decided to hang around a few minutes, thinking I’d get lucky.  There was an empty barber’s station and it was early afternoon. I hoped that perhaps whoever worked there would return from having lunch.

So I began my wait by looking at the covers  of the magazines laying around the room , none of which I would read (if only for the sake of mental hygiene), and then at the placards and any other distraction I might find to amuse my thoughts with.  Then I noticed a bookshelf sitting next to that empty barber’s workstation.  Looking at the titles of the books on the shelves, I was surprised to see quite the collection of what certainly appeared to be anti-European, or at least anti-Colonialist, hard-cover tomes.  I then came upon a book entitled “White Devil – A True Story of War, Savagery, and Vengeance in Colonial America”.  Well, that’s at least strike three – and probably four.  There was no way I was staying here.  I looked on the wall opposite the bookshelf at the barber’s license hanging there.  It belonged to someone with the surname Vasquez (a name that, incidentally, originally belonged to White Spaniards).

I immediately took my large, White, blue-eyed frame the hell out of there.  There is no way I am going to let an alien who possesses such books anywhere’s near the back of my head while holding a pair of sharp scissors.  But there’s more to it than that.  I descended from some of those Colonial Americans.  I’ve also read a lot of their literature, and my view of the early days of European settlement in this land is quite different than that Latino’s.  I wish I’d have written down the names of the other books.  This Latino is obviously quite full of anti-White sentiments.  Little does he (or perhaps she, since I never did stop to read the first name on the license) realize that if it weren’t for the White man, he would NEVER have a nice comfortable job in such a nice place, in such a peaceful little town as Norwich.  In fact, he and his kind would all still be wearing loincloths and cutting their hair on a stone with a piece of jagged obsidian, amongst all the other discomforts of their primitive, savage lives.  This Latino has a lot of nerve, making a comfortable living around White folk while at the same time despising those very people he depends on for that living!  He should go cut hair in the Bronx, and see how he is treated there.

I often get scoffed at by my own kinsmen for my feelings about race and culture.  But how many of them could see what I saw in that barbershop, and understand the implications of it?  While the “White Devils…”  book was written by a White man, he is a self-hating liberal living in the Netherlands, an Englishman who has never had any real knowledge of the American Experience, or the experience of all the pre-Columbian White men who settled this land, whom he does not even consider.  I have lived around the Latinos, Negros and Filipinos all of my life.  I can claim to know exactly what they are thinking of Whites, and it isn’t very nice.  And evidently now it’s no longer only down in the city, but also here in rural upstate New York.  Since I got here last December, even I hadn’t expected that.

William Finck

http://williamfinck.net

http://christogenea.org/

Happy Diageo Day – and the greatest Irish marketing campaign of all time by the multinational owners of Guinness. The 250-year anniversary of the birth of the Black Stuff has been counting down for months, and it’s good copy for papers everywhere. Portraits of Arthur Guinness have been beaming out from behind bars all over the country, and he’s been turned into some lovable old uncle. Thousands of online campaigners have even signed a petition to turn September 24 into a national holiday, a Paddy’s Day II. Cynicism aside, Guinness have lined up an impressive range of acts for intimate gigs around the capital’s pubs and clubs, with David Gray, Razorlight, the Kooks and Richard Hawley among the big names. They even organised a proper piss-up in a brewery – Tom Jones and Kasabian are playing a one-off show in the legendary Guinness Storehouse at St James’s Gate. Tripod gets seven top acts for a ticket price of EU17.59 (of course), and there’s already a buzz when the doors open at 5pm.
The Harcourt Street venue has been turned into a TV set for the evening, so Dublin can link up with simultaneous gigs in Lagos, Kuala Lumpar and New York for the toast at 17.59. The host MC makes invites the crowd to toast for the camera – “and make sure it looks like this is the biggest party in the world”. Glasses are raised, Arthur’s name reverberates around Tripod, and after a few attempts it’s deemed worthy for broadcast. Tonight’s host is model and TV presenter Michelle de Swarte, who poses with a perfectly poured pint of stout, while her new male fans in the front row engage in some good-natured hormonally-charged heckling. The MC reads out the list of acts performing tonight, and there’s a huge roar when Kelly Rowland’s name comes over the PA – it seems like the US starlet was a late addition t the bill.
Jamie Cullum, who still looks like he’d need a fake ID to get served a pint of plain, opens up proceedings by playing snatches of the ‘Imperial March’ from Star Wars, before kicking things off with a bluesy cover of Rihanna’s ‘Please Don’t Stop the Music’. He then gets the cliché-generator out for new number ‘I’m All Over It’, a Queen-esque piano stomper with lines like “I cursed and I cried and I said I would change but I lied”, before tossing aside his suit jacket to the swoons of the ladies in the front row.
Cullum is a gifted pianist all right, never missing a note while battering the keys. But his voice is so polished and clinical, so X Factor, we half expect one of the TV cameras in Tripod to very slowly zoom in to a close-up of a single tear dripping off Cheryl Cole’s eyelid. You can’t really fault his enthusiasm though, there’s plenty of pleasant banter and he even leaps off the piano as the band close with a jazzy version of Jimi Hendrix’s ‘The Wind Cried Mary’. He was teetering for a good minute though, as if he was about to jump off a skyscraper. Sort it out Jamie – 60-year-old Bruce Springsteen pulls off that piano-jump stunt 10 times a night.
After Jamie exits stage right, we get the first ‘interval’ of the night while the stage is prepared for the next band. With seven acts playing 20-minute sets there’s an awful lot of hanging around between bands. Just as well there’s a certain beverage to keep the crowd occupied.
If there was any justice, Soul II Soul would be higher up the bill, but the London soundsystem collective say they’re proud to be invited along for the toast. Caron Wheeler’s soulful voice is still perfect, while the two girls on electric violins add some atmospheric touches to Jazzie B’s dubbed-out beats. Jazzie has settled nicely into the role of soundsystem elder statesman, and even though he keeps telling us, “we’re gonna take it back to 1990”, it’s hard to believe dance anthems like ‘Keep on Moving’ and ‘Back To Life’ are 20 years old. It’s positive vibes all round as Jazzie takes the mic for ‘Feeling Free’, and when they finish with ‘Get a Life’, as Wheeler sings “elevate your mind”, Soul II Soul already have. It’s all too short of course – promoters should get them back on the Irish festival circuit next year.
After Soul II Soul’s positive raps and reminiscing, Mongrel are here to tell us what’s wrong with the big bad world. “Mongrel is a celebration of everything that is good about Britain at the same time as pointing out its flaws,” according to their own blurb. The UK indie-hip-hop crossover act is a super(ish) group featuring members of Arctic Monkeys, Babyshambles, Reverend and the Makers, Lowkey and whatever other MCs they can nab. Tonight they’ve brought along London female rapper Tor Cesay and two local Dublin MCs for the “soundclash”, a word Reverends singer Jon McClure says about 20 times in their short set.
They definitely look the part and get the crowd going, especially when the Dublin MCs do the pogo thing while telling the “people on the left and right to say ho-oh”. McClure, wearing a builder’s donkey jacket with the collar turned up, has the indie wide-boy Liam Gallagher/Ian Brown swagger down to a t, and for some reason keeps cocking an imaginary pistol and pointing it at the crowd. The cringey soapbox politics of their debut album Better Than Heavy is a lot better live, a raspy “soundclash” of grimey squelches and clipped indie riffs. Barcode and Hit From the Morning Sun even get a minor moshpit going for a few seconds, and Mongrel win the crowd over. They’re good, if a little self-important – McClure said recently they were “kind of like Public Enemy or something”, and wants to record their second album in Venezuela and work with Hugo Chavez. Sure why not rope in Castro on decks as well.
“It’s four or five years since I was here – the energy is always the best” gushes Kelly Rowland – a true superstar in the eyes of this crowd – and only one degree of separation away from a certain Beyonce, the high priestess of R&B herself. She’s genuinely taken aback at the adoration as fans roar her name, a touching bout of humility from Ms Kelly. The former Destiny’s Child star’s dishes out slick pop candy like ‘Love, Need & Want You’ while all the (single) ladies holler out the words karaoke style. It’s just Kelly, two dancers and a blinged-up hip-hop dude on decks, a more pared-down affair than she’d be used to. She drops the hit ‘Daylight’, before the DJ ushers in the piano intro to her David Guetta collaboration ‘When Love Takes Over’, and with a whoosh we’re transported into an Ibiza Uncovered montage on the crest of a cheesy synth wave.

Without a big dumb summer smash to coast along on, Roots Manuva has a tough job following Kelly. It also doesn’t help when the host MC’s mic cuts out as he comes on stage, so the crowd miss out on his introduction. He walks on during the mass exodus to the bar, and one girl beside State asks her pal: “Is that Dizzee Rascal?” Things aren’t looking up for the Banana Klan. It’s a pity – Manuva MC has dressed for the occasion, wearing a white shirt, bow tie and a skull cap. He trades rhymes with legendary reggae toaster Ricky Ranking on a reworked version of 2001’s ‘Bashment Boogie’ from the Run Come Save Me album, before a rare live outing of ‘Colossal Insight’. It’s all good from one the UK’s most gifted rappers – his trademark stoned flow is bang on, his goofy dancing is in check and Ranking is hitting all the high notes in ‘Again and Again’. This is a singalong crowd though and he just doesn’t have the hits. He’s saved by the faithful at the front pulling all sorts of shapes, especially during the crazy dancehall workout ‘Butuff Nuff’. He leaves without playing his biggest song ‘Witness (1 Hope)’, which is a bit of an oversight. Still, he was having the banter and supping the Black Stuff. He even posted a bleary-eyed update on his website the morning after: “Here’s to 250 more years of Guinness… phew… Dublin is up for the crack…”
More karaoke shenanigans as local heroes Republic of Loose take to the stage, with the ramshackle gang looking more and more like the Irish Blockheads as time goes by. Singer Mick Pyro doesn’t exactly have Ian Dury’s roguish charm, but he wins the award for outfit of the night – he’s wearing a miniature dress coat that looks like it’s made out of clumps of grass, or maybe the Guinness is taking over.
Pyro’s pretending-to-be-pissed or plain pissed schtick is getting a bit tired, but at least the Loose have the decency to play songs people can sing along to. They even have a hit called ‘You Know it’. They kick off with ‘Aaagh!’, their raucous call to arms with its overblown heavy metal breakdown and dirty funk bass. The one-two pop punch of ‘Comeback Girl’ and ‘You Know It’ does the business as usual – two perfect soul numbers that will always be aces up their sleeve. Still, you get the impression they’ve been treading water with these two songs for a few years now.
With the crowd getting increasingly tired and emotional, it’s up to electro pop pin-up Calvin Harris to spike Arthur’s Day with a dose of glowstick-waving pseudo rave. He nails the crowd straight away with his insanely catchy ‘Acceptable in the 80s’. He has a full band in tow, playing live keys, guitars and drums, while he’s flailing about twiddling knobs, singing and getting very sweaty. ‘Ready for the Weekend’’s nursery rhyme piano and croony chorus is beefed up for the live show, while ‘The Girls’ has all the girls chanting along. It’s funny, I’ve never realised the song’s casual misogyny before. “I like them black girls/ I like them white girls/ I like them Asian girls/ I like them mixed-race girls” could be straight from the filthy mouth of NWA’s Eazy E, but it’s not really offensive, just a bit stupid. The trancey keyboard stabs of ‘I’m Not Alone’ might reek of Euro dance cheese like Cascada, but it’s the perfect floor-filler. It’s the biggest song of the night and has everyone in Tripod pogoing, from the dancefloor to the balcony. Hands are in the air, Guinness is spilled, and it’s a rousing finale. There’ll be a huge clean-up, there’ll be some hangovers in work the day after, and the cloud of Guinness farts could lead to toxic smog over the capital, but Arthur’s Day has been a big hit. Let’s sign that petition.

Hey folks,

We have just confirmed 2 bands for the next show. More to be announced soon:

On The Stoop

A dangerous uncompromising energy propels this group of Sydney minstrels.
Romance, anguish, exuberance and an overdose of caffeine fuels this group of fantastic Sydney folk rockers.
With original compositions and a tendency towards the subversive, the songs of Serge Stanley and his band On The Stoop bind together infectious Eastern-European rhythms, some exotic Tango, some Balkan madness, all with an irrepressible punk zeal.

Billygoat and the Mongrels

Towards the end of the eighteenth Century, a mysterious society called “the Mongrels” was brought to light in Newtown. The members met at night in a secret chapel, and after infernal orgies at which they paid divine honours and homage to Satan, put on masks likes goats’ heads. After enveloping themselves in long mantles, they went forth in bands to plunder, rob, and destroy all they met with..

Yes, hello again my muppets, it is I, checking in with you all again.

So today as I was catching the train back from uni, there were these two guys sitting near me who were of Middle Eastern/Arabic origins. I barely even noticed until a bogan sheila in a bikini top (who hadn’t regained her figure after having children) asked them if they thought it was rude to speak their own language with other Australians around. A ‘gentleman’ who I can only assume was her partner in some capacity, kept calling out that they should return to Iraq and speak their own language there.

The two guys were explaining how it was their mother tongue, and the two bogans were insisting that they should speak English to each other. Well, I decided enough was enough, and joined the debate. I said that if they went overseas to a non-English speaking country, they would speak English amongst themselves, wouldn’t they? Well, Mr and Mrs Bogan said “oh no, I would learn their language.”

Yeah, right. They wouldn’t even learn to say “coffee” in French. (It is café, for the benefit of the more dim-witted.)

As any fool knows, I have been to Japan a number of times. Did my comrades and  I speak in Japanese amongst ourselves? That would be a no. Did we speak Japanese when conversing with the citizens? Yes. Well, those that were fluent enough to.

Mr and Mrs Bogan were probably just scared that the two Middle Eastern/Arabic guys (who seemed fine upstanding gentlemen) were plotting to blow up the train. People such as Mr and Mrs Bogan are rather too easily swayed by mass media exaggerations and lies. I mean, if the two gentlemen were instead from, say, Spain or Germany, would Mr and Mrs Bogan be quite so upset?

I think not, baby puppies. Why? Well, because, in the words of Fiyero Vinkus:

People are so empty-headed, they’ll believe anything

But I digress (mostly because I wanted to slip a Wicked quote into the works).

My point to writing this whole blog, is to encourage you all to shake off the narrow-minded-ness displayed by Mr and Mrs Bogan. I mean, for pete’s sake! We’re Aussies! We are, by our very history, mongrels! (And by mongrel, I mean mixed-breed.) Get over yourselves!!

Peace out, Bris-Vegas!

Lady North. xoxo

It is of utmost importance that the dog chosen fits into the home environment comfortably. Consider not just how the dog would fit into your own way of life, but also how your lifestyle would affect the dog.
Choosing the right breed is an intensely personal matter but there are some broad guidelines.

Size of the Dog

The size of the fully grown dog is an important consideration. If one is living in a small flat, one should keep a small dog. Large dogs need open space so only people with big houses should opt for such breeds.

Breed or Type Behavior

This is probably the most important element in choosing a dog than other characteristics. The temperament of the dog should be compatible with that of it’s owner’s. For instance – an enthusiastic and an extrovert owner should select a puppy which suits his lifestyle. Such an owner will never be happy with a docile, quiet and a sleepy puppy.

• The Terrier dogs such as Bull Terrier, Border Terrier are lively, not easy to train, but very responsive dogs. They are good with children if properly trained.
• Toy dogs such as Pomeranian, Apso are very good as companions but can seldom provide a sense of security to their master. They are very alert. They bark at the slightest noise. All toy dogs will be happy with as much exercise as you can give them, but they may be equally happy with only a moderate amount.
• The gun dog (sporting) breeds – Golden Retriever, Labrador, are very generally easy to train and settle into the human environment without difficulty. They need exercise and lack of exercise shows! These dogs could be skillfully trained.

The Cost of Keeping a Dog

This not only includes the initial cost of buying a puppy but also the cost of rearing it. The domesticated pet becomes a member of the house and additional expenditure has to be incurred on it. The expenses on the dog vary according to the breed you prefer to own. On an average, 75 percent of the expenditure on dog maintenance is accounted for by the food while the remaining 25 percent is accounted for by medical care and accessories like chain, belt, other equipment, etc. The cost of keeping a toy dog is probably the same than for a big breed. This is because toy dogs require special diet and special medical care.
A fair return for the cost of keeping a dog may be the exercise it encourages its owner to take.

Pedigree or Mongrel

The breeds are classified into 2 segments – Pedigree and Mongrel.

• Pedigree: These are pure bred dogs and the family history is clear. The most important advantage in having a pedigree pet is that they are highly cultured. The advantage of picking a pure bred dog is that you know what you are getting. From a reputable breeder, a Cocker Spaniel puppy will grow up into a Cocker Spaniel dog, of a size and weight that is within the breed norm, and with potential behavior characteristics typical of the breed. There is, or should be advice available to deal with whatever problems may arise as a particular feature of the breed.
• Mongrel: is one which has no purity of breed and is nothing but a street or stray dog. Mongrels differ from pedigree dogs in the sense that no hierarchy of the breed is known or its record is not properly maintained. Culturing mongrel breeds becomes the responsibility of the dog owner who intends to groom them.
  For these reasons, it is always preferable to have a pedigree dog at home rather than a mongrel.

But the main factor that governs all aspects of keeping a pet dog is the relationship between the dog and the master. Matching psychological wavelength between the two is more important than the breed and pedigree of the dog.

Dog or Bitch

It is generally and individual’s choice to decide whether to keep a dog or a bitch.
Dogs: The dogs are possible more outgoing, on an average a little harder to train, but often more responsive once trained. According to the law of nature, the male dog looks more attractive in comparison to the female.
They do not, of course, come into season twice a year, with the attendant bother of oestrous discharges, and the attraction of all the dogs in the neighborhood. But don’t forget that they are the ones who can create problems when they get the scent of a bitch in heat, in the neighborhood.
Bitch: A bitch is naturally a more calm and loving creature by nature. A bitch is also naturally more obedient than the male and gets easily attached to the members of the household.
She is less likely to be aggressive, although dominance is as much a breed characteristic as it is related to the sex of the dog. Bitches are much less likely to try to wander for most of the year and they are inclined to be more loving to their human family. The only problem with a bitch is that she comes in heat twice in a twice in a year and the owner has to guard against stray mating.

The video (at the link below) has a little more detail.

http://www.ksn.com/news/local/story/Dogs-DNA-saves-its-life/cwLXohaiok6FK4UW9STZFQ.cspx

Dog’s DNA saves its life

Last Update: 9/01/2009 6:21 pm

SALINA, Kansas – What happens when you have a dog but nobody seems to know its breed and that dog resembles a pit bull in a city where pit bulls are illegal? It’s a situation that’s been playing out in Salina and now has a happy ending.

Lucey is now relaxing at her north Salina home after an ordeal that almost forced her to leave town – or worse.

“It is just our procedure, if it’s a pit bull or looks just like a pit bull, if noone’s claimed it, then they are euthanized,” said Rose Base, Salina Animal Shelter coordinator.

Since 2005, owning a pit bull in Salina has been illegal. But that didn’t bother Angie Cartwright, who was convinced her dog Lucey wasn’t at all pit bull breed.

“She looked half pit and half Lab to me,” Cartwright said.

About two months ago, animal control officers got a call that a pit bull was on the loose. They located Lucey and brought her to the Salina Animal Shelter, holding her until they could get a professional opinion from a veterinarian.

“I took a look at the dog and I said, ‘I’m sorry but this dog looks like it is majority pit bull,” said Veterinarian Karen Young.

But a second opinion from a Veterinarian wasn’t enough for Cartwright.

“People who love animals, they’ll do anything to save their lives,” Cartwright said. “I was standing in the vet saying, ‘what else can we do, is there DNA?’ — I was being sarcastic.”

But Young said yes and pulled blood from Lucey. She, along with Cartwright, was surprised by the results.

“Everyone was wrong including me,” Cartwright said. “She wasn’t just lab and pit bull. She wasn’t even a Lab. She was like a Heinz 57.”

“We haven’t done that many DNA tests because most people aren’t willing to shell out the money to do it,” said Young. “I give her a lot of credit for taking that risk financially that she may still lose her dog.”

“I wonder how many dogs passed away because the owners did not know about DNA,” Cartwright said.

Veterinarians say in the majority of cases, A DNA test is the most reliable way to determine a dog’s breed. There are 38 million mixed breed dogs in the United States.

HOW TO PLAY TUG OF WAR WITH YOUR DOG

By

VIKRAM KARVE

There is no better stress buster, health tonic and joyful activity than playing with your dog.

Here are a few games I play with my pet girl Sherry.  Her mother is pure Doberman and father the Caravan Hound, who prowled next door. Please see her picture below – isn’t she beautiful?

Sherry is not a cute cuddly indoor lapdog, nor is she merely an excitable watch dog who only barks at intruders – she is a superb guard dog, strong, fast, active and ferocious, ready to attack in order to protect what she considers her territory, which includes our house and family, especially her Master – woe betide anyone who comes menacingly to close to me for her comfort, particularly approaching joggers, cyclists et al.

Whenever Sherry wants to play, she invites me to play by adopting the “playful pose” – her front legs lowered, her butt raised up in the air, her tail high up in the air wagging friendly, her eyes looking upwards invitingly into mine, her ears up alerts and her mouth is open in a “grin”.

Normally I respond immediately, but sometimes if I am preoccupied and inadvertently do not notice her, Sherry will some near me, raise her paws, giving cyclic shake hands, beckon me with friendly entreating sounds, and if even that doesn’t work, she will run and get her ball [to play “fetch-the-ball], her toy bone [for the “ bone game”] or just run round and round at top speed in our garden [for the chase game] – now all these are vigorous outdoor games.

Indoors, our favourite game is “tug of war”, for it too is a spirited, energetic, rough and tough game; robust mental and physical exercise both for Sherry and me.

After a long hiatus, it is raining incessantly out here in Girinagar, so we’ve had to call off our evening walk up the hills, and Sherry is getting restless, so I suddenly command: “Pusa…Pusa…Gheun Ye…” [Now, Sherry is a Maharashtrian Doberman, and in Marathi, Pusa… Pusa means “wipe… wipe” and refers to her towel…when Sherry was a baby I would give her a bath and then say Pusa…Pusa while wiping her vigorously with her Turkish towel so she associates Pusa…Pusa with a towel or any such cloth and Gheun Ye means get it].

Sherry rushes off delightfully and brings her towel in her mouth and offers it to me to start the tug-of-war game. A thick Turkish towel is the best tug of war toy – it is sturdy yet soft, good for her teeth and easy for me to hold, and even when the going gets rough, Sherry loves the vigorous feel of the towel rubbing against her neck, head and body.

It is a rough and tough game of strength and skill – you just don’t pull – actually it is not a tug of war, but rather a jiggle, wiggle, waggle, jerk, squirm, twist and turn, and shake of war so I do all sorts of manoeuvres, shaking, teasing, loosening and improvising; in fact Sherry thinks up numerous ways to win this tug of war.

We play in a large area without distractions, clutter or dangerous objects. Outdoors is great, but the beauty of tug of war is that it can be safely played indoors if you have a bit of space. Make sure there is room for you both to move about and that there is nothing in the way should one of you back up.

As the game of tug of war hot up, Sherry [and me too] gets highly excited, wags her tail briskly and mock growls, so I rub against her and say in her ear…baba la gurr…baba la gurr – dogs love body contact and speaking in their ears.

With experience I learnt tricks of the trade – you cannot always win by pulling alone – it is like flying kites – you have to give dheel sometimes followed by a jhatka – and then jittery shakes – the possibilities are endless.

Conventional wisdom says that the “owner” must win all the time to assert his dominance in the “pack”. But I let Sherry win sometimes. I don’t need to “establish” my place in the “hierarchy” – do you need to establish your place in the hierarchy with your daughter, or son, or wife?

A tough dog needs to bite. Biting is in a dog’s natural instinct and temperament and it is one of the best natural ways for dogs to release pent up stress and energy. It is better Sherry happily releases her pent up stress and energy on the inanimate tug of war towel than some hapless animate object, isn’t it?

Also I don’t want my Sherry to be a sissy – she must be her natural aggressive self – after all she is a top quality guard dog and I must not curb too much her natural preying instincts. That is why I simulate quite an energetic tug of war game with a lot of growling, grunting and shaking on both sides.

If things get too rough, or I am tired and want to end the game, I just softly say: “Drop it” and Sherry lets go of the towel and then I give her a tit-bit.

I love playing tug-of-war with Sherry – it is a mentally and physically stimulating game for Sherry and me and is a great form of aerobic exercise too. And it is so much fun – playing tug of war with Sherry is a most enjoyable and satisfying pastime.

Tug of War is a rough game so only I [or my  son who is also a tough guy] play tug of war with Sherry – I never allow small kids near Sherry, let alone let them play tug of war with her.

As I write this on my laptop, Sherry is calling me to play tug of war, enticing me with her Pusa…Pusa towel in her mouth rubbing against my thigh, so here I go to play a vigorous bout of tug of war with Sherry.

Play a lot with your dog. You dog will be happy and healthy – and you too!

Bow Wow!

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2009

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com

http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

vikramkarve@sify.com

Prior posts about Denmark: http://stopbsl.com/?s=denmark

Published by Independent Newspapers (Ireland) Limited at: http://www.independent.ie/world-news/in-brief-dog-cull-proposal-provokes-outrage-1867033.html

In Brief: Dog cull proposal provokes outrage

Saturday August 22 2009

A proposal in Denmark to cull all mongrel dogs has provoked a furious response from owners, animal welfare groups and MPs.

Denmark is considering a new law that would ban aggressive breeds, such as pit bulls and mastiffs, but an MP has gone one step further and suggested that all cross-breeds be killed. Flemming Moller, from the governing Liberal Party, is steadfast in his calls for a mass slaughter. “We will surely see lots of press photos of sweet puppies being put down but we must be determined,” he said.

[irrelevant text elided] …

Vou ser bem direto: Webrick não é uma opção para servidor Ruby on Rails. Nem para testes.

Recentemente trabalhei no desenvolvimento de um sistema de indicações de oportunidades de negócios. O sistema era bem simples, e o desenvolvimento só não foi mais rápido pois foi o primeiro projeto adotado a ser desenvolvido em Ruby on Rails pela empresa. Como já citei num artigo anterior, “as primeiras semanas foram doloridas. Pensar tudo de trás para frente, uma nova linguagem, e tudo o mais que uma migração assim nos permite sofrer, pode ser um pouco dolorido, mas vale a pena.”

Uma das coisas que passei mais sufoco foi, com certeza, a dificuldade de configurar um servidor de entrega. Diversos fatores entraram em questão, a própria decisão de qual máquina seria escolhida, a criação da máquina virtual (já haviam outras máquinas virtuais instaladas) e outras particularidades que não dizem respeito ao RoR.

Se tratava de um servidor simples, que seria utilizado apenas para mostrar aos clientes o sistema funcionando e permitir que eles pudessem “brincar” um pouco com o sistema. Pensei logo: “ora, já usamos o Webrick para testes locais, logo não encontraremos problemas.” Mas não foi bem assim.

Rodar o Webrick localmente pode fazer tudo o que você pretende, mas tente rodar de um IP remoto. Pensando bem, tente rodar utilizando seu póprio IP da rede (não vale 127.0.0.1). No caso do nosso sistema, o carregamento de uma página simples de login durava cerca de 3 min. Quando entrava, enfim, no sistema, além da demora, alguns elementos (imagens) não eram carregadas. O Webrick era a grande dor de cabeça.

Parece besteira de iniciante. E realmente era, mas naquele momento eu simplesmente não poderia ter perdido tanto tempo com isso.

A segunda tentativa que nos parecia óbvia foi instalar o Passenger: um mod_rails para o Apache que supostamente seria a opção mais viável. A instalação não foi tão diferente quanto qualquer mod para Apache, e suas configurações. O problema foi a inconstância do pacote e das gems. Primeiro que é quase impossível desinstalar a gem. Quando assim o fiz, simplesmente a gem continuava lá na “gem list”, mesmo desinstalada. Depois de formatarmos a máquina virtual e instalarmos tudo do zero novamente, funcionou perfeitamente. Nos demos por satisfeitos.

No dia seguinte, sem maior explicação ou alguém ter sequer acesso ao servidor, o passenger não funciona mais. E isso já era véspera da entrega do sistema. Algo assim não poderia falhar. Não era uma opção.

A essa altura, depois de muitas tentativas de correção, já havíamos desistido de entregar através do servidor de testes. Continuamos o desenvolvimento do sistema, pois alguns tópicos precisavam ser finalizados.

Dia seguinte, dia de entrega. Lendo alguns artigos em blogs que tratavam de Rails, me veio a possibilidade de testar o Mongrel. Fui meio sem esperança, pensando se tratar de algo “como o Webrick”, que serviria apenas para testes locais. A instalação é bastante simples, não passando de um “gem install mongrel”. Para rodar, bastava digitar “mongrel_rails start”. Nenhuma configuração foi necessária, nenhuma palha foi mexida, nada mais foi feito. Simplesmente duas linhas e lá estava meu servidor de testes funcionando e rodando a aplicação perfeitamente.

Em 2 min concluí uma operação que me custou cerca de 20 horas sem sucesso. Mais tarde, ao me aprofundar e ler casos de uso, descobri que o mesmo servidor Mongrel é o servidor Rails utilizado pelo Twitter. Sem sombra de dúvidas, poderia ser facilmente utilizado no servidor final, de produção.

All those who have or had small children and dogs as pets know how mischievous these can be.  I found this sweet article which I would like to share with you

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20090808/tsc-dogs-as-canny-as-two-year-olds-4b158bc.html

I have a 12 year old mongrel who is still very strong and acts like a puppy and lately he has made friends with a puppy that comes to my garden and makes a mess of everything.

The Saxon and Keltic peoples who colonized the North American continent in the 17th and 18th centuries were self-reliant Christian men and women, who for the most part were moral and faithful, whose God was the God of the Bible and whose guiding light was Yahshua (or Jesus) Christ. As Christians everywhere should do, they looked to their God for His inspiration of their own ability and initiative to solve all of their problems and to meet all of their challenges. From these ideals alone came the founding documents of this nation – some of the greatest political documents Man has ever devised – and in short time the greatest, most ingenious and productive nation which the world has ever known emerged upon that sure foundation: for these United States are the only nation (properly a federation of nation states) in the history of Man which was ever founded wholly upon Christian principles.

Investigating the writings of the founders of this nation, the ideas of plurality which they had did not include any thoughts of multiculturalism or a diversity of aliens which are the supposed ideals of this day, but which in reality are little more than a fulfillment of the perverse fantasies of the anti-Christ jews. Rather, and for example, Benjamin Franklin in the 18th century had hypothesized concerning how many Englishmen could populate such a large country in little time, even at the exclusion of their kindred Germans, whom he called “Palatine boors”. Discussing the importation of African slaves, Franklin further stated “Why increase the sons of Africa, where we have so fair an opportunity, by excluding all blacks and tawnys, of increasing the lovely red and white? (See Benjamin Franklin by Carl Van Doren, The Viking Press, New York, 1938, p. 216-218. On these same pages it is also fully evident that Franklin saw the White man alone, from his ruddiness, as being the “red and white”, and he counted for these only the English and the Saxon Germans to the exclusion of most other Europeans – even the Swedes.) While Franklin’s express views may not reflect all of the beliefs of all of the founders of this nation, they are a true and clear reflection of the general principles among them: that “freedom of religion” meant a freedom of Christian religion, and that any reference to plurality meant a plurality of White people.

However, by the second half of the 19th century much of the political class in this nation was already composed of corrupt men, who read Marx rather than Paul of Tarsus, and who worshipped the jewish gods of secular humanism rather that the Aryan God of Abraham and David. The reasons for this rather abrupt change in the quality of American leadership are succinctly described in the parable of the trees of the forest told by Jotham, as recorded in Judges Chapter 9 of our Bibles. It is no coincidence that a single American president – the first to fully and publicly grasp onto the ideas of jewish internationalism – gave this nation not only the jewish-owned and operated Federal Reserve Bank to be the stewards of our economy, but also our first zionist and radical jew Supreme Court Chief Justice, our first involvement in a European war, and had also relented to the so-called “right” of women to vote, which is clearly anti-Christian. (The proper reading of 1 Cor. 14:33-34, from the Greek and read literally, is with certainty: “… As in all of the assemblies of the saints, 34 the women in the assemblies must keep silent, indeed they are not to be entrusted to speak in them; rather they are to be obedient, just as the law says.” A vote is exactly the same as having a voice in the assembly.) No outside enemy could ever have damaged the Republic the way Woodrow Wilson damaged it from the inside, while also paving the way for many of those who came after to damage it even more.

The so-called “Great Depression” was the direct result of the turning over of the economy of this nation to the international jew under the guise of the “Federal Reserve” banking system. And with the depression, a different form of politics – that of giving ones vote to whoever could promise one the largest portion of other men’s money – finally allowed the unscrupulous to consistently capture majorities of the electorate. This phenomenon was assisted greatly by both the woman voter – the vast majority of which make such decisions based upon empathy, and the introduction of large numbers of aliens into the electorate once the immigrants from the fringes of Europe started coming to America in significant numbers. Franklin Roosevelt was the first great beneficiary of this change in the makeup of the nation.

How far we had already fallen by this time, from the ideals upon which our Republic was founded. The founding fathers of this nation were certainly readers of the Greek and Roman Classical Histories. Surely they must have been aware of the way politicians quickly learn to use promises of favors or money to aliens and minorities as a means of helping to secure votes at the expense of the Patrician class (in this nation, that would have at that time been the true “middle class”), from whom most of the funds available to the State are actually raised. Livy tells the story of one Spurius Cassius, a Roman politician of the 5th century BC, who had attempted to curry the favor of certain divisions among the people by promising them monies from the state treasury, and how the people of Rome condemned and executed him for that very reason – thereby setting an example for centuries to come. (Livy, History of Rome, 2.41.8-12.) Who knows how high the course this nation may have taken, if Americans had been so vigilant in 1913 when the Federal Reserve was formed, or in 1933 when the Marxist “New Deal” was launched, or in 1964 when the “Great Society” speech was given.

Now this simplification of American history is provided for a purpose other than to discuss politics at all. Rather, it is how Christians even make political decisions which must be discussed, because that is the root of the problem. For over a hundred years now, politicians have been running on platforms promising giveaways of one sort or another, or security of one form or another, and this trend has done nothing except plunge our nation deeper and deeper into tyranny. When Christians relied on their God for sustenance and security, they were relatively free to live and work as they chose, and this great nation resulted from that very freedom which our founders intended for us to have: an economic freedom to the fruits of our labors, and the freedom to live in an environment adapted to our own state of morals, in which we worship our God in the manner in which we ourselves choose, and not at the dictation of either Rome or the State. But when people rely upon the State for sustenance and security, the State seeks in turn to regulate the lives of the people. The State then gains the right to dictate morality and the terms of acceptable behavior. The State becomes the god of the people, because the people grant to the State that authority to solve their problems. Subsequently, the State demands more and more of the fruits of the labors of the people. Americans paid relatively very little in taxes up until the time of the “Great Society”, and now over half of our income is eaten away by both direct and hidden taxes. The God of the Bible only asked for a tenth, at most, and that of one’s increase, not of one’s income.

Over the past one hundred or so years, at the same time that the State has slowly become the god of the people, the State has also slowly torn down the moral barriers of the old God – the God of the Bible – and has replaced the morality of Christianity with a new morality: that of Diversity, Inclusion, and Multiculturalism. Old taboos such as divorce, homosexuality, and miscegenation have become the norm, and are even protected from Christian admonishment by legislation. The momentum of the growth and development of this nation which has lasted into this century was spurred by the many freedoms achieved upon our foundation, and while White Christians are still the backbone of all meaningful progress today, that backbone now has severe deficiencies, and is gravely ill due to the many parasites which infest the body, as it gets weaker and weaker with each passing year. Finally the aliens are on the threshold of overrunning the founding race of this nation, while an alien sits in its highest political office.

From this situation, there is no political redemption. The Saxon has only one choice for salvation: to abandon the government god and the religious doctrines of jewish capitalism and humanism, along with the rites of wanton consumerism, and to return to the God of the Bible and Christian foundations with a humble and contrite heart.
William Finck

http://christogenea.org/

       Nov 6th, ‘09

      De day didnt seem like a nice day at first, it was ethnic day at B-blah-blah-IT college, i had left home early and had travelled 30-odd km by car with my twin bro after picking up some of his college friends who didnt want to squeeze up their traditional clothes(beats me how salwaar is actually any specific traditional dress when the whole country wears it! ). I got off at college but about an hour or so earlier than i should have..the day was really getting worse! I walked to the quiet little tea shop (owned by a small mozy family) thats just outside college campus which is a safe haven for smokers,dopers,boozers and ppl who just like tea(me). Around lunch time its more like the busiest tea shop you’ve ever seen,the fact that they server biryanis,soft drinks,bajjis,vada pavs,chapathis and various chicken dishes definitely helps.

       After sitting there for about 15mins the tea shop lady shows up and says “tonty minutes mey tea milega” ,to me that was like..as the foreigners say everytime something wrong happens in their lives “KARMA”! God was smiting me and probably spitting at me too..but then came the “tea shop kid” named Shahid running and yelling my name and even though hes just about 6 or 7yrs his hindi abusive vocabulary was vast! He just jumps on to my lap and starts blabbering about school and then bikes (Hayabuza which in his notebook is actually a R1 is his favourite for the day) ,then jumps to playing football with my leg and then before you know it hes pulling his HUGE pet mongrel which is a cross between a stray and a lab to the shop and keeps thumping its head. “Santosh” the mongrel doesnt do much..just sits there and wags its tail. I love dogs and i know how dogs too have a line which humans shouldnt cross..and thts catching their tails. And ya Shahid did just that…Santosh was pissed..he jumped up and you could just see it on his face what he was thinking “one more time you touch it u little midget and ill tear you apart!” or probably that was me thinking like a dog.

        Santosh darted to bite the kids hand..but it was just a bluff..he was giving the kid another chance. Shahid being pretty stubborn and stupid went into a tail pulling frenzy. Santosh was going nuts! He kept pecking Shahids hand to make him stop but no the kid was crazy! At that moment it occured to me dogs really try hard not to bite the hand that feeds it! But this was too much for him..Santosh lost it and kinda bit the kids thumb just a small nip though and  this next part was one of the funniest stuff ive seen in a while.. it was the crazy kids turn to be pissed now..there was some crazy loud abuses and the kid just hammered the dog’s head like it was a side drum..the dog just bolted and stood behind some trees far away watching the strange kid for about 15mins before he decided to come back.

         And in the meantime i tried cooling the kid down..by playing nuts and crosses..i let him win a few to save myself from hearing anymore abuses. At the end of about 6 rounds he was cheery as ever. And my tea was ready! Finally!