I love an old front page, especially a historic one.

As much as I spend my time trying to lead, prod and catch up in the digital world, nothing makes me stop and read like a yellowing front page with a historic story or photograph or both. I display historic front pages in my office, two mounted in permanent frames and others rotating into a case my son Joe designed for temporary display. I came to Siberia bearing my own historic front page as a gift to my hosts, and quickly decided I should give it to Yuri Purgin, director general of Altapress, publisher of 13 regional publications, based in Barnaul. I wanted to give him a copy of the June 13, 2008 Epic Surge edition of The Gazette.

I was delighted when the lead designer for Altapress, Alexey Shelepov, started to show us his collection of historic newspapers. He had some memorable front pages from American papers: coverage of the 9/11 attack, Bobby Kennedy’s assassination and Michael Jackson’s death. He had some historic Russian events, too: the space flights of Yuri Gagarin (first man in space) and Valentina Tereshkova (first woman in space) and the death of Leo Tolstoy. But the newspaper that stood out to me was the one without a historic story on the front page.

A historic front page with the lead story censored

A huge hole on the front page was simply blank. The big news had been censored in the repressive days of the Soviet government.

This historic newspaper underscored the historic occasion that brought me to Siberia. I will be speaking at a conference celebrating the 20th anniversary of the independent press in Siberia, in the waning Glasnost days of the Soviet Union.

I am here to talk about digital innovation. I spoke today (it’s Wednesday evening in Russia as I write this) about using interactive databases to become an answer source for your community. I will speak tomorrow about my Complete Community Connection vision for a prosperous business model for media companies in the digital age.

It’s humbling to talk about the future of journalism in the presence of pioneers of the free press in their country.

Yuri Purgin, our host and guide on a tour of the Altapress headquarters, started the tour in the lobby in front of a huge replica of the front page of the first edition of Free Course, the first independent newspaper inBarnaul. He proudly told of being one of the three founders of the newspaper.

Altapress is a thriving publishing house now, with Free Course one of 13 newspapers and magazines it publishes, along with operating a radio station. In his office, Yuri showed us copies of the various publications: a glamour magazine, a business newspaper, a shopper, a television guide and so on.

After we had perused the print publications, Yuri moved to his desk and started showing us the Altapress web site. Like American publishers, Yuri is trying to figure out how to continue serving his community in the digital age. He asked challenging questions during my afternoon workshop and proudly showed off the online newsroom during the tour. I hope that my presentations will help this business celebrate many more anniversaries of independence.

The day was a fascinating look into the past, present and future of journalism in Siberia.

When I returned to my hotel room and started catching up on the news on Twitter, I read Dan Gillmor’s criticism of the Federal Trade Commission for this week’s conference on whether journalism can survive in the Internet age.

Yes, journalism can and will survive. News companies that refuse or fail to innovate may not survive, but part of freedom of the press is freedom to fail. I won’t repeat my previous arguments against government subsidies for journalism. But I’m glad to be here in Siberia, celebrating the hard-won independence of the press, rather than in Washington, discussing how to give back a piece of our independence.

Yuri Purgin shows us the first front page of Free Course.

Grupa the GazettE wyda 16 grudnia nowe DVD, zatytułowane TOUR09 -DIM SCENE- FINAL AT SAITAMA SUPER ARENA. Znajdzie się na nim materiał z ostatniego występu w ramach najnowszej trasy grupy, DIM SCENE, promującej album DIM. Ten koncert, który odbył się 5 września w Saitama Super Arena, zgromadził około 19 000-22 000 osób. Limitowana edycja zostanie wzbogacona o 60-stronicową książeczkę, bonusowe DVD (którego zawartość jeszcze nie jest znana) oraz zwykłą książeczkę z tekstami. Edycja regularna natomiast będzie zawierała nagranie głównego koncertu na dwóch dyskach oraz książeczkę z tekstami.

A oto tracklista:
Dysk 1:
1.Hakuri
2.The Invisible Wall
3.Leech
4.Hyena
5.Distress & Coma
6.Shiroki Yuuutsu
7.Erika
8.13stairs[-]1
9.Headache Man
10.Without A Trace
11.Kanshoku
12.Nakigahara
13.Shikyuu
14.Guren
15.A Moth Under The Skin
16.Cockroach
17.In The Middle Of Chaos
18.Filth In The Beauty
19.Ogre
20.Discharge
21.Dim Scene
22.Mourou

Dysk 2:
1.Ride With The Rockers
2.Ruder
3.The Social Riot Machines
4.Anata No Tame No Kono Inochi
5.Kantou Dougeza Kumiai
6.Linda Candydive Pinky Heaven
7.Miseinen

The GazettE and Alice in Chains have been staples of my music selection over the years. I love them both, great bands, great talent, great music. But this year they both let me down. Not in a huge way, but both DIM and Black Gives Way to Blue were disappointments for me.

The GazettE really are a talented band and I’ve been listening to DIM since July when it released but I still can’t see how it’s any better than the band’s previous albums, in fact in may be worse. There is a noticeable difference between the quality of the music between Stacked Rubbish and DIM. Ruki is still as strange and vague as ever but the band seems to have gotten lazy. The three previously released singles on the CD were probably better than most of the tracks on the CD. In fact, The GazettE could have used all nine songs from the the three singles and they would have put out a better album.

I’m not saying the album is terrible but so many things are missing on the musical end. The album is pretty much void of good guitar solos, if they are there they are muddled by effects of Ruki making noise. Aside from Guren there isn’t really any gut wrenching, make you want to cry songs. The heavy songs are more muddled and crazy as ever. It almost seems like some songs were made especially to attract a younger crowd. In fact I felt a few times that Ruki or Kai could not have wrote certain songs since some just seem manufactured to blend in with a increasingly generic visual scene. If DIM was supposed to be the spiritual successor to NIL it did a piss poor job.

I’m also starting to wonder what is up again considering the gazeboys released Before I Decay in October.

Now onto Alice in Chains. There really isn’t too much to say, I’m glad the band is back together, I’m glad their making music again but no one can replace Staley. There is just something missing in the vocals. Though I must say, great job on putting some sort of meaning back into mainstream music. Radio rock has largely shifted from decent angsty music to really shitty party music. We’re at a point where there are hair metal lyrics mixed with grunge music and it makes me want to puke. It’s so terrible, honestly how many songs do we really need about partying?

Back in 1995 (or ‘the day’ as I like to refer to it), I was the Graphics Editor for The Gazette, the student newspaper at UWO.  I loved the ‘job’ (only paid $40 per week) and still have most of the illustrations that I made that year.

I always got a big kick out of seeing my illustrations printed in black & white.  It was a great feeling to think that something I had drawn had been printed literally thousands of times for all to see.   On the rare occasions when I would overhear someone talking about one of my graphics, chuckling, or pointing it out to a friend, I remember feeling truly proud.

I guess that’s why I’m posting them here.  Not that I could ever hope to have thousands of people read this, but I guess there’s a sense of pride in sharing something you’ve put a lot of time into, regardless of how many people actually see it.

So, with that being said, I hope you like them.

MLB Baseball Strike Ends

Anyone that was over 12 years old back then probably remembers this one.  MLB players went on strike over salary cap issues early in the 1994 season.  The attitude of the players and the resulting strike turned a lot of people off of Major League Baseball altogether.  A lot of people (including myself) just thought they were down-right greedy.  When I heard the strike was over and the players had won, I couldn’t help but think of the smug looks of satisfaction that must have been on their faces that day.  A couple of simple modifications to the logo summed it up nicely.  I stopped watching baseball after that.

Italian soccer match cancelled due to violence in stadium

I have to confess, I don’t really remember the specifics around this one.  Basically, there had been a huge brawl during a soccer match in Italy, and as a result the officials decided to cancel the remainder of the game.  Being Italian myself, I know that Italian soccer fans LOVE their soccer.  But even I was surprised that when the game was cancelled, people took to the streets and rioted in protest because they’d been denied their national past time.

The whole story made me think of the history of violence and sport in Italy – huge irony here.  So this one was more of a ‘what if’ comment on the situation.   I pissed a couple of people off with this one.  I got a letter from a guy that said I made all Italians look like stereotypical swearing, drinking soccer fans.  Dude – have you met my family?

Postando o PV do Gazette, “DISTRESS AND COMA”.

Essa música é uma das minhas preferidas do álbum “DIM”. ^^

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?uuyiqxjhjmu
Tamanho: 90,1 MB
Tipo de arquivo: MKV

Para o álbum “DIM”, veja um de nossos posts anteriores: http://jmusicdream.wordpress.com/2009/09/07/the-gazette/

Postado por: Isis

Transliteration

This is the same as a game not having an end

nounashi no kuchitataki yatsu o genjitsu de nejifuse
ameisensou naraberu muchi o tsubuse
Before I Decay

Please abandon instinct
I was stuck in a loop of a vicious circle
It was a mistake to have entrusted you
I die at abnormal speed

This is the same as a maze not having an end
fuhen no ningen shinri

nounashi no kuchitataki yatsu o genjitsu de nejifuse
ameisensou naraberu muchi o tsubuse
Before I Decay

Please abandon instinct
I was stuck in a loop of a vicious circle
It was a mistake to have entrusted you
I die at abnormal speed

Only the rumor is splendid
Disappear with a sexual
You sold even us to protect oneself
You are powerless than anyone

Watch me…

kurikaesu tame ni mata waraeba ii no?
kurikaesu tame ni mou…
I cannot laugh

Before I Decay

Please abandon all instinct
I was stuck in a loop of a vicious circle
It was a mistake to have entrusted you
It was a mistake…

Please abandon instinct
I was stuck in a loop of a vicious circle
It was a mistake to have entrusted you
I die at abnormal speed

Translation

This is the same as a game not having an end

Hold down the guy who has the incompetent running mouth with reality
Crush the ignorance that brings about fruitless arguments
Before I Decay

Please abandon instinct
I was stuck in a loop of a vicious circle
It was a mistake to have entrusted you
I die at abnormal speed

This is the same as a maze not having an end
The unchangeable human mentality

Hold down the guy who has the incompetent running mouth with reality
Crush the ignorance that brings about fruitless arguments
Before I Decay

Please abandon instinct
I was stuck in a loop of a vicious circle
It was a mistake to have entrusted you
I die at abnormal speed

Only the rumor is splendid
Disappear with a sexual
You sold even us to protect oneself
You are powerless than anyone

Watch me…

In order to repeat it should I smile again?
In order to repat it no longer…
I cannot laugh

Before I Decay

Please abandon all instinct
I was stuck in a loop of a vicious circle
It was a mistake to have entrusted you
It was a mistake…

Please abandon instinct
I was stuck in a loop of a vicious circle
It was a mistake to have entrusted you
I die at abnormal speed

Pois é, gente. To vindo aqui meio que na pressa, ainda tenho que fazer um trabalho para amanhã, e tenho que apresentar na frente do povo da sala. Eu odeio falar na frente de um grupo! Eu pareço uma gaga!

Pesquei isso no site Merble Hell, fã site não oficial do Gazette. Foi usada a nova música deles, Before I Decay. Mas, sinceramente, eu acho que isso é uma montagem. Porque pensem comigo: O que GazettE teria em relação com Velozes e Furiosos?

O autor do post no fã site não oficial realmente tinha certeza de que isso ia acontecer, como o clipe da música Chizuru, no qual o GazettE fez um PV com cenas de um filme de terror japonês… Mas até aí tudo bem, se for no Japão tá ótimo mas… Velozes e Furiosos? Comofas/?

Assistam, pensem e discutem. Mas ainda assim, eu acho que foi montagem. Ou não.

This season’s issue of The Gazette features an article I wrote on my solo trek up the 12,529 foot Cerro Chirripo, the highest peak in Costa Rica and second highest in Central America.

The article, Jungle, desert, and elusive spider monkeys, provides a personal account of this exciting hike and the obstacles I faced along the way, including a misleading guidebook description, a painfully heavy pack, and a lack of hot food. Interestingly enough, I felt totally at home.

Get your hands on the current issue and come and see what I learned about Costa Rica upon arriving at Crestones Base Lodge at 11,063 feet. You might be surprised, too.

© Meghan J. Ward, 2009.

Olha eu de novo! Voltei agora com o single disponível para download. Como eu não sei onde vocês acham os albuns/singles da banda, eu resolvi facilitar um pouco, colocando aqui esse single para todos. Segue link abaixo.

Download

Então, qualquer dia desses eu venho aqui com todos os álbuns que eu tenho salvos aqui para vocês, todos os links no 4shared. Espero que tenham gostado, eu acho que só volto depois de algum tempo, quando eu achar alguma coisa realmente importante para vocês!

EDIT

Só para não reclamarem depois, vou dar os créditos de onde peguei esse single e os outros singles e álbuns dessa banda. O site se chama Japan Visual Kei. Esse site tem músicas de várias bandas de J-rock. E quando eu digo várias, é VÁRIAS mesmo! Isso é bom para conhecer mais bandas de j-rock certo?

Aproveitem! E, membros do Japan Visual Kei, não me processem!!

Hoje eu realmente vim para perturbar todo mundo. Essa notícia é um pouco antiga, mais ainda é desse mês. Apesar de que falta apenas 23 minutos para chegar dia 1° de Novembro.

Vim trazer para vocês o novo single da banda The GazettE, chamado Before I Decay. Ele foi lançado dia 07.10, mas como eu não tenho costume em ficar entrando no My Space deles todos os dias, essa notícia ficou atrasada. Foram lançadas duas versões, um é o Limited Edition e o outro é o Regular Edition.

Limited Edition

- CD

01. BEFORE I DECAY
02. MAYAKASHI

- DVD

Music Clip – Before I Decay

- Special Packging

Regular Edition

- CD

01. BEFORE I DECAY
02. MAYAKASHI

- The First Limited Edition

- Special Packging

Video: Before I Decay

Vocês perceberam que eles mudam de aparência a cada single lançado?

「赫い鼓動」
the GazettE

干涸びた街　痩せ焦がれた野良犬
老いた皮膚貪る子供の群れ
無力な愛の手を差し伸べてる　磔の弱者は言った

God of death is calling me…
God of death sings the last song

這いつくばって泥喰らう者
「an eyes like the dead fish」の如く
無様な醜い哀願しても
この地獄にはオアシスなど用意されていない

「水の無い海の魚」「巣の中で共食いの蟻」
「蛇革で出来た雛の■」油無しじゃ燃えぬ太陽の下

God of death is calling us…
God of death sings the last song

今　時が終焉を指す　向かう場所に声は無く
ただ　冷たい風とどす黒い雨が降りしきる音だけ虚しい

全ての生きる者達よ　鼓動は今も聞こえるかい?
明日への光が地に落下しても
その運命から目をそらさないで

時が終わりの鐘鳴らし　逃げ場さえ退廃してる
ただ　其処には呼吸すら忘れてる　赤黒い抜け殻の絨毯
身は果て土に帰る　眠りについた鼓動達
その「身」は「血」は「脳」は　一つの種になり
再生の朝　綺麗な花に成るだろう

~♦~

‘Terashii Kodou’ {‘Shining Pulse’}＊
by the GazettE

Stale streets and a lean, pining stray dog,
A mob of children craving older skin,
Extending hands of powerless love, the weak who were crucified said

God of death is calling me…
God of death sings the last song

Those who crawl and suffer through the mud
are the same as “an eyes like the dead fish”
Though they may beg ungainly, disgracefully,
there is no oasis prepared for them in this hell

“Fish of a sea with no water”  “Cannibalistic ants in a nest”
“A fledgeling’s ■ made of snakeskin”  beneath a sun that cannot burn without oil*

God of death is calling us…
God of death sings the last song

Now time points to our demise, in that place there are no voices,
it’s just vacant with nothing but the sound of cold wind and pouring black rain

To all you living things!  Can you hear the pulse even now?
Even if the light to tomorrow falls to earth,
don’t take your eyes off that fate!

Time rings the bell of our end, even our places of refuge are dwindling,
even forgetting to breathe in that place, merely a dark red carpet of hollow shells,
We will reach our limit and return to the earth, all the pulses falling into sleep,
That “body” “blood” and “brain” will become seeds
and on a morning of regeneration shall become beautiful flowers

* As in English, the word “fledgeling” here can mean both a baby bird and an inexperienced person.
＊ The title is an unusual reading of this kanji「赫」, which in other contexts can be read “akai” or “kagaya(ku)”.  The character itself is formed from two kanji for “red” and the reading “akai” happens to sounds the same as the word “red” in Japanese, however the reading its been given sounds the same as “照らしい’” the typical way one would write “shining”, therefore strengthening the actual meaning.

Aoi, dieser Spinner!!! Hat ihm irgendjmd. was in sein Asahi getan??? *lach* es ist immer wieder toll, ihn so übermütig zu sehen ^^ ganz zu schweigen von dem Mann an sich ne? ^o~

Yes my darling, you’re such a hardworking and absolutely cool guy, not to forget that you’re sooo hot, babe! ^^”

Reita, illustrious bass-player of the GazettE, as cosplayed by Kei_Dynamite. Not only has kei_dynamite totally captured Reita, the quality and lighting of the photograph is completely typical of the Gazette. Photograph of the real Reita below:

Although I can’t help you find the leather jacket, here is a video that will help you get the (longer version) hair and basic makeup. The divine help me, it looks so simple.

Credits: visit Kei_Dynamite’s deviantart page

Video by Eme-Raude, visit her youtube page for more excellent Visual Kei makeup and hair tutorials