On February 5:

62 AD – Earthquake in Pompeii. 

1576 Henry of Navarre converted to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France.

1597 A group of Japanese Christians were killed by the new government for being seen as a threat to Japanese society.

1649 The claimant King Charles II of England and Scotland was declared King of Scotland.

1725 James Otis, American lawyer and patriot, was born.

1778  South Carolina was the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.

1782 Spanish defeat British forces and capture Minorca.

1783 In Calabria, Italy, a sequence of strong earthquakes started.

1788 Robert Peel, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was born.

1818 Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte ascended to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.

1840 John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish inventor, was born.

1840 Hiram Stevens Maxim, American inventor (Maxim gun), was born.

1859 – Wallachia and Moldavia were united under Alexander John Cuza as the United Principalities.

1878 André Citroën, French automobile pioneer, was born.

1885 – King Léopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as a personal possession.

1867 New Zealand’s third public railway, the 27-kilometre line between Invercargill and the port at Bluff, built by the Southland Provincial Council, opened.

1900 The United States and the United Kingdom sign a treaty for the Panama Canal.

1908 – Daisy and Violet Hilton, British conjoined twins, were born.

1917 The current constitution of Mexico was adopted, establishing a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

1917 – The Congress of the United States passed the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto. Also known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act, it forbade immigration from nearly all of south and southeast Asia.

 The Asiatic Barred Zone as defined by the Immigration Act of 1917.

1918 Stephen W. Thompson shot down a German airplane, the first aerial victory by the U.S. military.

1919 Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith launched United Artists.

1920  Frank Muir, British comedian, was born.

1924 The Royal Greenwich Observatory begins broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the Greenwich Time Signal or the “BBC pips”.

 Graph of the six pips

1942 Cory Wells, American singer (Three Dog Night), was born.

1946 The Chondoist Chongu Party was founded in North Korea.

1958 Gamel Abdel Nasser was nominated to be the first president of the United Arab Republic.

1958 – A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb was lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, never to be recovered.

1962 President Charles De Gaulle called for Algeria to be granted independence.

1964 Duff McKagan, American musician (Guns N’ Roses), was born.

1972 Bob Douglas became the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.

1972 Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, was born.

1994  More than 60 people were killed and some 200 wounded when a mortar shell hit a downtown marketplace in Sarajevo.

1997 – The “Big Three”  banks in Switzerland announced the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families.

2004 Twenty-three Chinese people drown when a group of 35 cockle-pickers were trapped by rising tides in Morecambe Bay, England. .

2004 – Rebels from the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front captured the city of Gonaïves, starting the 2004 Haiti rebellion.

2008 – A major tornado outbreak across the Southern United States left 57 dead.

2009 The United States Navy guided missile cruiser Port Royal ran aground off Oahu, Hawaii, damaging the ship and a coral reef.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Mumford, NY (Jan. 31, 2010)

Millimetrik – Frederic Back

when i write a novel, half of the work is research.  this one is no different.  and in fact, in being historical, it’s a whole lot more difficult.  here is what i gleaned from one book.

Pirate Port:  The Story of the Sunken City of Port Royal, by Robert F. Marx, The World Publishing Company, 1967.

because spain had never troubled to colonize the smaller west indian islands, they were open territory to anybody who wanted them, and by the middle of the seventeenth century french, english, and dutch settlements were scattered among the leeward and windward islands. p29

in 1595 sir anthony shirley captured villa de la vega after a struggle that did not amount to much and held it for a ransom that did not amount to much either.  in 1603 captain christopher newport attacked the island; he probably would have captured it too, had his men not first captured a warehouse full of spanish wine and brandy in puerto de caguaya and rendered themselves unfit for fighting.  in 1643 a force led by captain william jackson landed well to the south of any spirits that might be stored at puerto de cahuaya, and he was as successful as shirley had been.  none of these raids was an attempt to take permanent possession of jamaica.  the word had spread that the place had little of value, and no one wanted it. p29-30

early in the seventeenth century drifters from all nations had gravitated to tortuga.  some were ships’ deserters, others political or religious dissenters forced to flee their homelands, still others adventurers seeking a life free from the restrictions of organized society.  p48

one of the earliest pirates to achieve notoriety was a portuguese known as bartholomew, who scored many successes against the spaniards and kept port royal’s merchants and tavern owners happy.  on his last voyage he encountered a large galleon of twenty guns bound from cartagena to havana with a cargo whose value was estimated at 250,000 pieces of eight.  though greatly overmatched (his small sloop had only four small guns and a crew of thirty), he attacked the galleon off cape corrientes on the southwestern tip of cuba.  the first attempt to board failed, but he tried again and succeded.  heading back to port royal, his treasure-laden sloop was captured by three large spanish galleons and taken to campeche which was still smarting from myngs’s recent attack.  the spanish governer, in no mood to be merciful with pirates, ordered them all hanged.  bartholomew managed to escape in a small boat and was picked up by a privateer sloop.  but luck was not with him on this voyage:  the sloop, on its way back to port royal with plunder, wrecked on a reef off the south coast of cuba and all aboard were drowned.  p54-55

another celebrated pirate was the dutchman known as roche brasilano.  a former planter who had been expelled from brazil by the portuguese, he made his way to port royal with a band of followers and started his pirate career as a common seaman on one of the vessels operating out of there.  soon he was elected captain, no doubt as a result of some feat of daring, and on his first voyage of command he captured near havana a homeward-bound spanish galleon carrying a great quantity of silver.  the carousing and debauchery that followed his riumphant return to port royal set something of a record even for that town.  brasilano probably contributed more heavily than any other pirate or privateer to port royal’s reputation for lewdness.  claiming he owed no allegiance to any government, he returned from each successful venture more arrogant and unruly than before.  a large band followed this particular leader, and there was little the jamaican authorities could do to curb his outrages.  these included striking, slashing, or throwing beer at people he encountered in the street when he was in a bad mood, and when he was feeling more sociable, buying a huge barrel of wine, setting it out in the street, and inviting passersby to drink with him – few refused, since he usually issued the invitation with pistol in hand.  everyone in town was afraid of him.  it can be no coincidence that during the years brasilano frequented port royal the governor made plans to move to spanish town (this he did in 1667 after a proper residence had been built there).  if brasilano terrified the english, he terrified the spaniards  even more, for he submitted all spaniards he captured to the most cruel and excruciating tortures.  fortunately for everybody, his career lasted only a few years – he departed on a voyage and was never heard from again. p55-56

it (port royal) was also the center of a new and thriving industry in the caribbean – treasure hunting, or ‘the wracking trade,’ as it was then called.  the treasure sought lay at the bottom of the sea on wrecked vessels, and to recover it divers were necessary.  port royal served as a base for divers, most of them escaped negro slaves who had worked in spanish pearl fisheries around several islands near venezuela.  vessels in pursuit of treasure would put into port royal, pick up divers, and depart.  in 1682 william phips, an american from boston, left from port royal on an expedition that culminated in the recovery of treasure worth three million dollars from a spanish galleon sunk on a reef off the north coast of hispaniola.  it was the greatest sum recovered from a single wreck until the present century, and we can safely assume that a fair share of the profits went into the pockets of port royal’s tavern owners. p72

in the three decades following the 1692 upheaval port royal was destined to face three more disasters, spaced at ten-year intervals.  in 1702, when the cay had filled out to about twenty-five acres, a fire broke out and spread so swiftly that almost all the town was consumed by the flames.   the governor of jamaica ordered the evacuation of the town and forbade further resettlement, but king william iii rescinded the order.  nevertheless more than half the survivors of the fire moved to kingston.  port royal, rebuilt slowly, was beginning to look like a town again when it was leveled in 1712 by a hurricane that also caused considerable damage to kingston.  the few resolute souls who elected to remain and rebuild saw the place collapse in ruins around them again as the result of a worse hurricane in 1722.  while the cay, once the hub of jamaica took a constant beating, matters were different on the island itself:  as early as 1695, only three yeas after the great quake, the planttions and sugar mills were prospering again. p79

to complicate matters further, an earthquake in 1907, jamaica’s worst since 1692, caused the majority of the buildings still standing under water to topple over, and they were soon covered by sediment:  my own excavations have turned up items from the first decade of the twentieth century under walls dating from the 1692 upheaval. p87

Yesterday was the ship’s “holiday party.” I put that in quotes because the holiday is seems to be closest to is… well, maybe New Years, but then again, we’re getting awfully close to Valentine’s Day, and to Chinese New Year, as well as Groundhog Day and Presidents’ Day… but I think since tomorrow is MLK Day, I’m going to go with that. They picked a holiday weekend.

I have to say, this was the most low-key holiday party I’ve yet attended courtesy of a Navy command. Though I am told it varies from place to place, the holiday parties we went to in Virginia were something along the lines of a bad wedding reception, assuming you didn’t know any of the other guests. Imagine, if you will: a ball room in a hotel downtown, decorated with greenery and such. Everyone dresses up because it’s an evening thing, and a couple of times we even got our portraits taken by a professional photographer. I say portraits because we sat down in front of a white drop cloth, and not in front of a Christmas tree, or something that might put it in context. Anyway, the next step was to go into the ball room itself. The room, as with any large wedding reception, is filled with round tables that seat 10 to 12 people, though you might not know anyone else there, so you have to navigate the mostly-full tables to find a mostly-empty table where you won’t be caught in the middle of, say, the divers, who are the Navy’s equivalent of frat boys. No joke. After finding a reasonably deserted table, you head to the buffet, where the food is again wedding reception standard: mashed potatoes, either asparagus or green beans, chicken and some type of beef product, with dinner rolls. Maybe there’d be salad. Maybe. So you eat, and then maybe dance (of course there is a DJ and a dance floor, I told you it was a standard big wedding reception!) and then get dessert. We usually stick around for the raffle, though we have yet to win anything at one of these, and then head home around eleven.

I would like to say that last year, we didn’t even go to the one in Virginia. At $25 a person, or whatever the cost was, it just wasn’t worth it.

This brings me to yesterday. The Port Royal’s holiday party was the complete opposite of anything described above. It was at the beach at Bellows Air Force Base, it was family friendly (including those bouncing castle things, a balloon artist and toy giveaways), and it was free. It’s hard to beat that. There were, however, two things that seem to be constant– bad food, and trying to find a reasonable table. I won’t talk about the food, but I do think it’s interesting that at both the previous command and this one, there is no sense of unity. The people who are in shops together kind of sit together, but it was just… quiet. I know morale is low, but it seemed quiet even considering that. What didn’t help is that we’re still fairly new and don’t know many people on the ship.

We spent a little time down at the beach, though the water was cool so we didn’t get too close, and headed home about mid-afternoon. We took the long route, down toward Diamond Head (the party was on the windward side) and stopped to sea the turtles at the Blow Hole and then at the overlook where you can see whales… and we saw three or four, still a good distance out, but very active. One was huge– you could tell from the size of his spout when he came up for breath. Very cool. I’m excited about them being here. ^_^

About twenty minutes from home, we stopped at a kayak launch park and watched the sun set. It was a nice way to end the day. Photos from yesterday are in the photo blog, if you want to see what we saw. ^_^

Rockwood Music Hall (Jan. 9, 2010)

Delphic – Ephemera

Mumford, NY (Jan. 2, 2010)

port-royal – i used to be sad

No guest compiler for isolatedmix 05. Instead, a selection of my favourite tunes from the past year. Thank you to all the artists who feature and here’s to even more great music in 2010.

isolatedmix 05 – best of 2009 by astrangelyisolatedplace

1. Bibio – Fire Ant
Ambivalence Avenue – one of the albums of the year. Daft-punk’esque Fire Ant is the stand-out track.

2. Mux Mool – Ballad of Gloria Featherbottom
Released as part of the 30th SOS Mix, this track reminds me of Aphex Twin’s Polynomial C.

3. port-royal – Balding Generation (Losing Hair As We Lose Hope)
Possibly my favourite album of the year, I could have picked all the tracks from ‘Dying In Time’. 2009 has seen my hair rapidly recede. Fitting.

4. Fever Ray – Keep The Streets Empty For Me
Fever Ray will appear in a lot of people’s top albums/records of 2009, but few will pick this track. My favourite vocal off the album.

5. Jonsi & Alex – Boy 1904
Hard to single out a track from the Riceboy Sleeps album, but seeing as it’s Christmas, this choir sounding tracks fits perfectly.

6. Lightsway – Risen
Taken from Fugues Unreleased tracks 2009, Lightsway lead the way, and the rest of the album isn’t far behind.

7. Klimt – Pozegnanie
Featured a couple of weeks ago, Klimt is my find of the year. Look out for an exclusive isolatedmix from him coming soon.

8. Yagya – Fimm
‘Fimm’s’ beauty is best suited when accompanied by the full album – ‘Rigning’. But, it would have been wrong not to include it.

9. Echaskech – Shatterproof
The one album i was looking to most in 2009 didn’t disappoint. Echaskech’s ‘Shatterproof’ arrived full of dark beat-heavy electronica. This track, the darkest of the lot.

10. Alla Farmer – Elektrik Sunrize
Featured as part of the latest Kilchurn Sessions, as soon as I heard the piano mid way through this Alla Farmer track, i was hooked.

11. The Field – The More I Do (Thomas Fehlmann mix)
The Field’s latest album ‘Yesterday and Today’ didn’t blow me away as much as the first, but ambient maestro Thomas Fehlmann sprinkles his magic on ‘The More I Do’ to great effect.

12. The Toy Library – Once The Dust Settles
The second track taken from the Fugues Unreleased Tracks 2009 compilation. Told you it was good.

13. Alva Noto – Xerrox Monophaser 2
No mix would be complete without some beautiful beatless ambient.

14. Aphex Twin – Rhubarb (Addled’s edit)
Yes, Rhubarb is featured a lot. But, it’s an amazing track And the Addled edit released by the ISO50 Blog, means i mention it yet again. Vote for your favourite Rhubarb remix here.

15. Tycho – Coastal Brake
From one ISO50 to another. Tycho’s much anticipated release for 2009.

16. Jon Hopkins – The Low Places
Another eagerly anticipated release for 2009. Jon Hopkins mixes infamous delicate pianos and distorted breaks.

17. Jesse Somfay – Algonquin
Taken from ‘A Catch In The Voice’, Somfay takes us on one of his epic journey’s.

18. port-royal – I Used To Be Sad.
Should i feel sad for featuring port-royal twice? I used to, then i listened back to the mix and thought this would be a perfect ending.

Album artwork courtesy of Yes Studio.

See all isolated mixes
isolatedmix 01 – Ulrich Schnauss
isolatedmix 02
isolatedmix 03 – Milieu
isolatedmix 04 – Jesse Somfay
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The stockings were hung by the, well by the TV with care (after all, let’s be honest, shall we?),
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon will be there.

It is still Christmas Eve for me, though for almost everyone who reads this it’s already Christmas morning or even solidly into the day. That’s okay, though; I’ll get to enjoy Christmas a little later than you tomorrow. ^_^

This evening has been interesting, since J has duty today and tonight. I went and had dinner on the ship with him (which involves lots of carbs, always, and yet they worry about too many sailors being overweight… hmm), which was nice. Apparently I’m allowed to do that any day that he has duty and they’re not swamped with drills or jobs or anything, which is good to know. I can also take him dinner and still eat on the mess deck with him, too. The “dining room” (this is not its real name, but “mess deck” just sounds odd) reminds me of the cafeteria in elementary school, with the sectioned trays and the buffet-style serving. The food is even similar, though someone in there knows how to make some yummy macaroni and cheese. We sit at diner-style tables in a little room surrounded by TVs, usually with sports shows playing, and which was decorated for Christmas tonight. There weren’t many people there, as it’s a holiday and only the people with duty had to stay, so it wasn’t too crowded. We sat with the four other people in his shop who were there for a while, and then he took me on a little tour of part of the ship I hadn’t seen.

After that, I went home and got him a change of clothes because he had gotten permission to come across the street with me to the base chapel and go to Christmas Eve service with me. It was so nice of them to let him go, though I suspect he may have been the only person to ask. We walked over there and had a Lessons and Carols service with plenty of music and even a hula performance to “Silent Night.” Then we walked back to the ship and said goodnight. I’ll pick him up in the morning.

This is one of the ways the Navy makes life interesting; holidays are sort of scheduled, and you have to make the best of them. I’m spending Christmas Eve mostly by myself, but I’m okay with that. I have the cats and I have music and plenty of good movies to watch, and I’ve got a nice big mug of hot chocolate, so it’s going to be a relaxing night. And I think that might be exactly what I need tonight.

Silent night, holy night, all is calm all is bright.

Merry Christmas, Mele Kalikimaka, and all the best to you and yours. ^_^

Today I had the chance to view the crash scene of American Airlines flight 331. It’s amazing that all the passengers on board made it out alive with a few injuries. Jamaica is truly a bless country. No matter how bad you think you got it, just remember there is always someone else who has it worst. To all the passengers on board American Airlines Flight 331 and to everyone else Merry Christmas.

American Airlines Flight 331 Final Destination

American Airlines Flight 331 Final Destination

American Airlines Flight 331 Final Destination

Perhaps it’s an indication of how the internet was breaking down national barriers and making it easier to hear stuff from all over the globe, or perhaps it’s just happenstance, but my ten for 2005 includes artists from the US, Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Sweden and the UK.

BOOKS – Lost and Safe (Tomlab)
Some found the addition of vocals to the (so far) most recent Books album distracting, but I thought it added an extra dimension to the New York duo’s playful electronic folk.

DIRTY THREE – Cinder (Bella Union)
A great sprawling 19 track collection from the trio saw them exploring many areas that had lain untouched before, including two tunes with guest singers Cat Power and Sally Timms. The power remains undimmed. It always seems like messrs. White, Turner and Ellis are all playing in their own bubbles, and yet the results never seem awkward or dissonant.

KRAFTWERK – Minimum-Maximum (EMI)
With a group as precise as Kraftwerk, you’d have thought a live album would be a bit pointless. But Minimum-Maximum shows off gleamingly retooled, and in some cases completely remodelled, takes on the classics, as well as punchier versions of the Tour de France Soundtracks material. If you just wanted one Kraftwerk album (and I don’t know why you would), I’d say that this was almost a perfect primer.

MONO / WORLD’S END GIRLFRIEND – Palmless Prayer / Mass Murder Refrain (Human Highway)
“Full of sound and fury; signifying nothing”. That quote from Macbeth would sum up the opinions of Mono’s critics, and I do have some sympathy. The thing is, the sound and fury is just so damn gorgeous and exciting! Katsuhiko Maeda’s contribution to the band added a new neo-classical element to the sound – one which they would push even further.

MURCOF – Remembranza (Leaf)
Album number three from the Mexican genius, and the brew of dark beats and classical samples was as heady and intoxicating as ever.

NATIONAL – Alligator (Beggars Banquet)
The National’s breakout album. Simply a collection of brilliant, uplifting songs dominated by Matt Berninger’s desperate baritone. It climaxes with “Mr November”, one of the most cathartic songs I’ve ever heard.

BJ NILSEN – Fade to White (Touch)
Props to Scott at Mapsadaisical whose glowing testimony led me to check out Benny Nilsen’s music. “Fade to White” is essentially an ambient drone collection, but the somnambulant drift is punctured by moments of terrific sonic violence.

PORT-ROYAL – Flares (Resonant)
This came out of nowhere. A collection of instrumental rock and electronic atmospheres that verges between heady post-rave to serene ambience and holds the interest throughout. It’s still an album I play fairly frequently, and can pick up new nuances every time.

SHINING – In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster (Rune Grammofon)
Try sticking this in a pigeonhole. Avant-prog-jazz-metal? There’s nothing Shining like more than twisting your expectations into knots. Oh, and battering you over the head with a sound like a runaway train. Not that they don’t do subtlety too. Genuinely exciting music.

VEX’D – Degenerate (Planet Mu)
Disc one is the album proper, disc two a collection of singles, but it works perfectly well as a whole. Dark, creaking monstrous dubstep with skeleton rattling bass frequencies. The balance of the rhythms seems so precarious, like the whoosh you get in your head when you stand up too quickly.

You Like We Like have just published an interview with port-royal and a neat accompanying podcast.

For me, combining classic tracks and the relatively unknown is an essential first step towards a great mix that you can revisit again and again. Particularly when the unknown tracks turn out to be little gems which you feel compelled to share with everyone else.

After all, that’s the point of a mix isn’t it? So job well done on this one…I like, and i am pretty sure you will…

01. Solvent – A Panel of Experts
02. Herrmann & Kleine – Her Tune
03. Magnétophone – Frankholmes’ Drive
04. Nathan Fake – You Are Here
05. Fizzarum – Phut of Plex
06. port-royal – Deca-dance
07. Bowery Electric – Soul City
08. The Field – Everday
09. Daft Punk – Veridis Quo
10. Ulrich Schnauss – Suddenly the Trees Are Giving Way
11. Figurine - Way to Good
12. Xela – Afraid of Monsters

Download the podcast and read the interview with port-royal here

Here’s a few of the standout tracks from the mix…

Bowery Electric – Soul City. 1990’s Shoegazers Lawrence Chandler and Martha Schwendener go DJ Shadow/Massive Attack style for this classic track.

Fizzarum – Phut of Flex. First time i have heard this. So many elements from so many artists. BOC, Aphex, Tyco, Milieu, Freescha…I’ll be hunting down more of from Fizzarum.

The Field – Everday. Without doubt, the best track from his album ‘From here we go Sublime’ and one I love to hear as loud as it will possibly go.

I’m having great difficulty with the idea that Deru’s record was pushed to 2010. I wrote about his Mush outing for Remix Magazine this year, and it was an absolute shoe-in for my favorites of 2009 lists. So I guess it’s been shifted to next year. Anyway, I’m recommending Say Goodbye to Useless if you shuffle past it in the digital or physical stores. It’s one of the more beautiful beat records out there. Or not yet out there. Here are a few more of my favorite electronic, etc. albums for 2009.

15. Port-Royal, Dying In Time (n5MD)
14. Mokira, Persona (Type)
13. Bibio, Vignetting the Compost (Mush)
12. Voodeux, The Paranormal (Mothership)
11. Black Moth Super Rainbow, Eating Us (Graveface)

I think what I find most compelling about the Mokira record, which I hope I made clear in my PopMatters review, is that each avenue explored by Swedish producer Andreas Tilliander (Mokira is but one of his pseudonyms) is almost miles away from the next — Persona is literally all over the place. Restless droning forms, long-echoing chords, and lots of decayed textures, as if worn by time. A diverse and very rewarding experiment.

As I write this, I’m spending a little time now listening to Aphex Twin (“Fingerbib,” specifically), and it’s fairly upsetting that some of the best early-morning electronic albums that I own often sit untouched on my hard drive because of the amount of stuff I’m consuming on a daily basis. Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste discussed this problem with contemporary music consumption very eloquently earlier this year (“Pitchfork Interviews Grizzly Bear,” June 29, 2009). I’d like very much for Bibio’s Vignetting the Compost to not be one of these records; although his own output in 2009 — 2 EPs, 2 full-length albums — isn’t sweetening the odds any.

Because there is so much about Bibio’s delicate art that is manipulated and accented with technology (be it very old technology), I lump him in with favorite electronic records issued this year. He’s an electronic artist, but the music he makes, primarily, is folk-centric, with gorgeous layers of rolling, intricate guitar melodies that are then heavily gummed up via tape reel manipulation. His Warp debut that I wrote about for Remix Magazine in June of this year challenges my “primarily” statement with an unforeseen J Dilla influence popping up between all of his regular game, but I happen to revisit Vignetting more often than the other one. Honestly, the Ovals & Emeralds EP is absolutely stunning but alas, it’s merely an EP, so I couldn’t logically dump it into this list.

Port-Royal’s Dying in Time is a far cry from blurry folk compositions, but there is definitely a deep focus on atmospherics. I covered this album for PopMatters’ Short Takes section — Dying in Time is a late ‘09 entry for my favorite electronic releases, but like Mokira’s album, I’m fond of how often the Port-Royal landscape changes, from post-rock to a blitz of drum programming (speaking of Aphex…) to propulsive, new wave-influenced dance music. It’s a bumpy listen at first, but it really grew on me.

The energy that Voodeux harnessed for its Halloween-charged The Paranormal outdoes the heavy focus on imagery that this very adept producer duo tends to communicate. I had a problem with the getup, and I mentioned as much for my review in Remix earlier this year, but the fact that The Paranormal is a fascinating, aurally haunting techno record is undeniable. Equally creepy, as usual, is the Black Moth Super Rainbow album. I posted about Eating Us when it came out; I had little trouble deciding whether or not to include this for a Best Of pick. It’s a much stronger-sounding, more fully fleshed-out BMSR. A completely psychedelic pop record from a bunch of keyboard- and vocal effects-obsessed weirdos. Recipes for good records really don’t get better than that.

On a completely unrelated and random note, I’m pretty certain that some heartless cretin stole my umbrella a few weeks ago from wherever. I really liked that thing, and it’s a necessity this season. Email me for my PO box address if you took my property. How do you sleep at night, man?

Check back for more thoughts on my favorite electronic and overall albums for 2009.

Read Part One of this series here.

No, the wicked city wasn’t Sodom or Gomorrah — it was Port Royal, Jamaica.

The English, after failing to capture Hispaniola from Spain for Oliver Cromwell, grabbed up Jamaica instead in 1655. In the later part of the century, Port Royal was one of the biggest English cities in the Americas (along with Boston).

Port Royal had a lucky location, trade-wise: right at the separation between Kingston Harbor and the Caribbean. The deep water near the shore also made it easy for ships to unload and reload cargo.

The city became very wealthy, largely due to privateering and piracy. (Listen to the SYMHC podcast on Blackbeard for more on pirates.) Spain’s looting kept the money coming, and the city’s trade in slaves and sugar grew rapidly. In 1692, about 2,500 of Port Royal’s 6,000 or so inhabitants were slaves, according to the Historical Museum of Southern Florida.

The city got its wicked reputation from the pirates, prostitutes and other colorful characters who inhabited it, but the idea of its wickedness is interesting when you look at the religious tolerance Port Royal enjoyed — Quakers, Catholics, Jews, Anglicans and Puritans, all coexisting side by side.

Port Royal was riding high and just beginning to understand what kind of money could be made from plantation owning as opposed to piracy when tragedy struck.

Although the city’s location was lucky for trade, it was disastrous in terms of stability: It was located on a sand spit not far above the water table.

An earthquake hit on June 7, 1692 and the sand turned to liquid. A New Scientist article reports that two-thirds of the city simply sank. Two thousand people died instantly, with 3,000 more following due to disease and injuries, according to TAMU’s Port Royal Project. The eerie detail oft-repeated is the discovery during an excavation of a pocket watch frozen at 11:43 a.m., the exact moment the earthquake struck.

Much of the commentary at the time painted the Port Royal disaster as divine punishment, a smiting from a vengeful God for the city’s sinful ways. That mindset is still au courant — preachers and other public figures have identified God’s wrath as the will behind events ranging from AIDS to tsunamis to the 9/11 attacks.

Fire, earthquakes and hurricanes have slammed the city again and again over the years. The Port Royal of old isn’t in evidence any longer — the city today is a small fishing village, but with a sunken city in its harbor to rival Pompeii.

Thanks to Rob Sheppe for the New Scientist link.

What are oil sands?
How to Survive an Earthquake
Can you really fight fire with fire?
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No I’m not talking about a Championship football club from Berkshire. Instead, I’m referring to an Italian electronica group from Genova, Italy. Why? Because their latest album ‘Dying in Time’ is immense, and I’ve had a non-stop ear hammering week listening to nothing else. And, looking back i cant believe i haven’t even mentioned them on the blog before now… It’s about time to share the love with everyone Reading.

port-royal manage to touch on just about every aspect of music that gets me excited. The kind that transfers you from wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, to wherever you like. It’s glitchy and melodic, haunting and atmospheric, loud and delicate. There are nine minute journeys, twisting and turning into different sounds. Changing but always the same. Full on assaults to your ear drums that you can help but turn up extremely loud.

M83, Schnauss, Portishead, Boards of Canada. All, yet none of the above. Dare i say it, but a big reason for my love of port-royal may be the enormous pads, synths and sequencing in some of the tracks, reminiscent of 90’s trance, such as the Three Drives, Bedrock and Michael Woods remix era.

Granted, not everyone will be a fan of port-royal for these very reasons. You can’t really put you’re finger on it. But then that’s why i love it.

Here’s the stand out track from ‘Dying In Time’ – Balding Generation (Losing Hair as we Lose Hope). For those of you that do know me…my favouritism to this track has nothing to do with my ever thinning top!

port-royal – Balding Generation (Losing Hair as we Hope)

If that blew you away and you want a taste of Port Royal’s more ambient side, check out this video of Hermitage 3 (Dedo remix).

You can purchase ‘Dying in Time’ from the n5music website. I would recommend getting the hard copy featuring some nice artwork by Tim Ingham of Winterlight.

Become a fan of port-royal on Facebook

Linda Bjalla FTW!

“Pirate Latitudes” reminds you more of “Eaters of the Dead” or “Timeline” (minus the time travel aspect) than Michael Crichton’s more famous books like Jurassic Park, Prey. And, like many historical novels starring pirates, it is a bit cheesy in pieces.

Port Royal, the lonesome British colony in the Caribbean seas, is surrounded by the Spanish waters. The undeclared (and unacknowledged) war on the Spanish empire is being carried out by the privateers, who find support from the colony’s influential citizens, including the governor. So, when the governor comes to know about a treasure nao possibly kept in the Spanish harbour of Matanceros, he brings the lucrative venture to Capt. Hunter.

Unfortunately, Matanceros is an impregnable island fortress led by a vicious Spanish commander, Cazalla. Hunter and his crew is well motivated to carry out the raid, many having personal grudges against Cazalla. But the waters of Caribbean are infested than more than just Spanish warships, and Hunter’s Cassandra faces natural and man-made obstacles on the journey. Not to mention, the new Secretary sent by His Majesty Charles II to Port Royal has a grudge of his own, against Hunter.

As I said, the novel has the true historical, piratical flavour to the narration. The story (like in Timeline or Eaters…) doesn’t shy away from the more gruesome (or lascivious) details of the life in the colonies in 17th century. Cazalla’s bloodthirsty nature is well portrayed as is the often lawless life in Port Royal. Cassandra is manned by such names as the Moor, Lazue, The Jew and Sanson the French assassin. Each one has his own interesting backstory, excluding the captain, Charles Hunter. Then again, you can spot the good guys and the bad guys right from the start, and none move away from their side of the fence.

While Hunter’s crew is filled with such experts, the Spanish don’t fare so well on their side. True to the maritime nature of the novel, <small spoiler> the actual raid <end spoiler> and the land battles are almost too easy to win, and too quick to finish. It is the sea battles and the voyage of Cassandra and El Trinidad which are the truly thrilling aspects of the action.

Don’t expect to read something like Jurassic Park or Timeline. But this will be very interesting for the fans of Michael Crichton, or the fans of pirates. After all, add pirates to anything, and it becomes good, right?

Quote of the Day:

You see, Mr. Hacklett, privateering is an honourable occupation. Pirates, on the other hand, are outlaws.

- Sir James Almont, Governor of Jamaica

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Check out Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton. Also, other historical fiction books.

Yesterday I got to take a tour of J’s ship. While I couldn’t take any photos, I did find a couple online that are old news photos and things. The one at the top is from 2005. ^_^ It was larger than I thought it would be, but the spaces are still narrow. I got to see his berthing and the mess desk and the quarterdeck, as well as several other places I can’t recall. Oh, and he took me as high up as he was allowed (see the highest flat point on the box-like part of the front?) and I got a nice view of Pearl Harbor.

Today they pulled out to begin sea trials. This was the point when they ran aground last February. J called as they were passing the USS Arizona and USS Missouri. Next time they go do circles in the ocean I’m sending his camera with him. ^_^

Anyway, November is shaping up to be a busy month. Last week I was shown how to get to various places downtown, including Chinatown, the Palace, Ala Moana beach park, and a few others. Then I got a little tour of the east coast. I discovered a beautiful military-only beach and stopped in a little shop where a famous artist paints local scenes– I got two prints of sea turtles. ^_^ All in all it was a good day.

Friday night we kicked off NaNoWriMo for Hawaii. We had almost 40 people squeeze into a little local place called Zippy’s. We played a few games and answered lots of questions and generally had a good time. Of course, I haven’t been able to start writing yet (I’ll have a lot to do today) but at least the other people in the region are doing well. Ha.

That’s about it. Maybe the next post will be more interesting. ~_^

φθινοπωρινό πρωινό. συννεφιά. εθνική επέτειος.
από τις λίγες φορές που δε θυμάμαι να έχει ήλιο έξω.
τέλος πάντων.
με μουσική υπόκρουση ambient ήχους ταξιδεύεις.
πρωινά ντοκυμαντέρ.
φωνές που άλλαξαν την ιστορία.
πάλι είδα τους άντρες να κλαίνει όταν παραδίδουν τα όπλα τους.
με λυγμούς.
σαν να χάνουν το παιδί τους.
και το τραγούδι.

Όποιος ποτέ του δεν αγάπησε, θα αγαπήσει, στο φως.

I wrote recently about a new record from Port-Royal for PopMatters. Dying in Time enters with only some hesitation and leads to cinema-sized-scene changeovers that sound as if they’ve been blended by a veteran DJ. Its frosty cover art conveys distance and signals one might find a lengthy dub-techno endeavor tucked within its 72 minutes. While the Italian four-piece Port-Royal won’t shy from slowing the pace of its post-rock/electronic work with serene, still segments, the band’s latest is more urgent than the premature judgments that the album sleeve encourages. Read the rest of my review in PM’s Short Takes section.

I think i need new shoes. Walking the old pavements of this dirty old city is not what my Tigers were made for.

port-royal – Balding Generation

Steve Jansen – Playground Martyrs (reprise) [credits to Thalia+Aggelos for blogging about it a few weeks back]

Kenny Larkin – Computer Rain

Pumajaw – Sorcery

chi non è mai stato a un live dei port royal non sa cosa si perde. non so se ho già messo questa canzone tra le mie canzoni del giorno. ma è una di quelle che ti da uno schiaffo e ti lascia le impronte per mesi. o anni?

fatto sta che dal terrazzino in cui conservo un angolo di paradiso la ascolto spesso.

sarebbe bello se il terrazzino fosse quello di genova, con una bottiglia di vino e il futuro ancora in forse.

ma genova non c’è più, il caldo e i tramonti sul porto sono finiti.

ma di schiaffi in faccia ne prendo ancora.

are you afraid to dance?

Die Karibik und ihre Geschichte. Heutige Darstellungsweisen der Karibik und ihrer Geschichte auf dem Prüfstand. Tortuga und die Piraten. Wie sehr sind moderne Darstellungsweisen von der Piratenwelt á la „Fluch der Karibik“ nach dem heutigen Erkenntnisstand historisch korrekt und entsprechen den tatsächlichen damaligen Geschehnissen?

Die Karibik. Eine Inselgruppe weit jenseits über den Atlantik. Weiße Sandstrände, Palmen, wunderschöne Natur und eine Welt voll Geschichte und Traditionen. Welcher Mensch würde allen Ernstes behaupten, dass er bei dem Stichwort „Karibik“ nicht die eben genannten Assoziationen hat? Die Karibik als ein extravagantes Urlaubsziel[1], als Residenz für den Lebensabend oder für ein spannendes Abenteuer in einer fremden Kultur sind scheinbar auch heutzutage für viele Europäer brandaktuelle Assoziationen mit der Gegend im Nordatlantischen Ozean.

Doch nicht nur das! Auf der ganzen Welt herrscht eine besonders hohe Identifikation mit den bestimmten geschichtlichen Bestandteilen der Karibik: der Piraterie und den Piraten.

Heutzutage ist hier und da immer noch von Piraten und Piraterie die Rede. Ob nun Musikbands wie „Piratenpack“ oder hierzulande die politische Gruppierung der „Piratenpartei“, die zwei Prozent Stimmen bei der Bundestagswahl 2009 erreicht haben.[2] Der Mythos der Piraten scheint nach wie vor eine gewisse Anziehungskraft zu besitzen und die tiefe Symbolik eines Piratendaseins scheint auch heute noch für viele Menschen vorhanden zu sein. Eine Identifikation und Faszination, ob nun positiv oder negativ, bewusst oder unbewusst, besteht auch heute immer noch mit Piraten und der Piraterie: die Piraten aus dem Kinderzimmer wie die Legopiraten und aus spannenden Kinderromanen, die Piratenpartei, Pirat als Bootsklasse[3], Filmpiraterie, Piraten vor Somalia, der „Wortpirat“[4], Deutsche Piraten-Klassenvereinigung e.V. sowie Kampagnen á la „Piracy kills music“…

Fakt ist: Der Begriff: Pirat und die damit verbundene Piraterie besitzt auch heute noch eine starke und tiefgehende Symbolik. Begleitet durch Adjektive wie wild, rau, rebellisch, abenteuerlustig, aber auch grausam, gefährlich und unberechenbar, löst die Piraterie in der heutigen Zeit einerseits Furcht und Schrecken aus, und weckt jedoch bei manchem auch Faszination, Abenteuerlust und Neugierde.

„Es wäre ein trauriges Leben wenn man nie einen tiefen Atemzug von diesem süßen, wuchernden Duft Tortugas eingesogen hätte…Klar soweit? Was sagst du dazu? [...] Ich sage dir mein Freund, wenn jede Stadt auf der Welt so wäre wie diese, dann hätte kein Mann den Eindruck nicht begehrt zu sein!“[5]

Diese Aussage stammt von  „Jack Sparrow“ in Disneys „Fluch der Karibik“, gespielt von dem amerikanischen Schauspieler Johnny Depp Neben einigen anderen, für Piraterie bekannten Schauplätzen, wie Port Royal nimmt auch, die nach der historischen Überlieferung gut befestigte[6] Pirateninsel Tortuga, ihren festen Platz in der Handlung des Filmes ein. Der Film vermittelt das Bild eines wilden und düsteren Tortuga, auf dem die Bewohner vor allem dem Tagewerk der Saufereien, Schießereien und der Prostitution nachgehen. Flüche und Dreck, ein rauer Umgangston, welcher so typisch für Piraten erscheint, steht in den Darstellungen von Tortuga in „Fluch der Karibik“ im Vordergrund. Doch wenn die Nacht mit den Schlägereien in den Saloons vorbei ist, die mitreißende Filmmusik von Hans Zimmer ertönt und Captain Jack Sparrow seine Crew am nächsten Tag zusammentrommelt, sieht man bei sonnig, warmem Tageslicht die grünen Hügel Tortugas, die an der wunderschönen Küste gelegen sind.

weiter zum nächsten Teil

Quellen:

[1] Anm.: Die Werbung von der offiziellen Tourismus Website http://www.karibik-info.de/ für die Karibik als ein spannendes Reiseziel findet sich mittlerweile sogar an den Bahnhöfen

[2] Vgl. http://web.piratenpartei.de/Artikel/Die_piratigsten_Wahlkreise

[3] Vgl. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirat_(Bootsklasse)

[4] Siehe http://www.wortpirat.de/

[5] Siehe http://www.filmzitate.info/index-link.php?link=http://www.filmzitate.info/suche/film-zitate.php?film_id=47

[6] Siehe Malegari, Vezio: Die Geschichte der Piraten. Hamburg 1979. S. 74.

Port Royal Baptist Church is uniquely situated for ministry opportunity. I believe the placement of our church has nothing to do with chance or luck. Instead, I believe that we are where we are for a reason. If you have never been to Port Royal Baptist Church, let me explain a little bit about our location.

If you step out of the front door and look to the left, you will see  major highway connecting the town of Port Royal to the city of Beaufort. If you step out of the front door and look to the right, you will see the Naval Hospital Beaufort. On this military base you have housing for both singles and families. If you step out of the front and look directly in front of you, you will see a park that is maintained by the town of Port Royal. There are two things worth mentioning about this park. First, a skate park was built several years ago and now gives kids who enjoy skateboarding a place to go. There always seems to be kids there, my son included. Second, this park hosts a farmers market from about April until November. Each Staurday morning vendors set-up in the park and sell everything from vegetables to fresh shrimp. The farmers market draws a large crowd, consistently. The exciting part is that all of this takes place at our doorsteps. Directly behind the church is an apartment complex in which we have a witness of the gospel, and praying for an increase. Also, within a half-mile of the church, there are at least hree multi-housing units. Port Royal Baptist Church is just over a mile from the front gate of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island. We are praying for an opportunity to open up to that would enable us to minister to the families on the depot.

I said all of that to say this. It’s all about placement. Opportunity surrounds us. Our mission field is right here. I believe that God has uniquely positioned us here to significantly impact our community. If you have never been to Port Royal Baptist Church, I hope this helps you understand where we are. If you have been to Port Royal Baptist Church, have you noticed what is around you? When you drive to church, do you realize that you pass through a mission field on your way to worship? We have a people to reach. I am excited about the potential. I am excited about the opportunity before us. In jsut a few weeks we are planning a service project in the park, right in front of us. I’ll write more about that later. I love this town. I love these people. May God enable us to reach them.