Jan. 30, 2013 ? A natural disaster can bring out the best in older children, prompting 9-year-olds to be more willing to share, while 6-year-olds become more selfish. Researchers at the University of Toronto, the University of Chicago, and Liaoning Normal University made this finding in a rare natural experiment in China around the time of a horrific earthquake.
A crucial difference between the two age groups emerged one month after the disaster. The 6-year-olds' willingness to share in a test measuring altruism dropped by a third, while among 9-year-olds, willingness to give to others nearly tripled. Three years later, children in the age groups returned to pre-earthquake levels of altruism.
"The study provides the first evidence to suggest that experiencing a natural disaster affects children's altruistic giving significantly," said Kang Lee, university distinguished professor at the University of Toronto.
"The immediate negative effect of the earthquake on 6-year-olds suggests that altruism at that age is still fragile," Lee said.
"We think that empathy is the intervening variable," said Jean Decety, the Irving B. Harris Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at the University of Chicago, a member of the research team and a study co-author. The study demonstrates the developmental differences in the growth of empathy, Decety explained.
As a child grow up, the prefrontal cortex matures with improved connections among the circuits involved with emotion. "As they grow older, children become able to better regulate their own vicarious emotions and understand better what they feel, and they are more inclined to act pro-socially," said Decety.
"Even with the group of 9-year-olds, we show that not only are they more altruistic and give more than the 6-year-olds, but those 9-year olds with higher empathy scores donated significantly more than 9-year-olds with lower scores," Decety added.
The journal Psychological Science will publish the study in an upcoming issue in a paper titled "Experiencing a Natural Disaster Alters Children's Altruistic Giving." Lee, who is a professor at the Eric Jackman Institute of Child Study, was a lead author. Two Chinese academics, Hong Li and Yiyuan Li from Liaoning Normal University also were part of the team.
In early 2008, the researchers were in Sichuan, China, working on a study on empathy and altruism among children and had completed the first portion of it. In May 2008, an earthquake struck the region and killed 87,000 people.
The team immediately decided to change the course of their study and explore what the experience of a disaster might mean to the children's concern for others.
In the study, the team tested children's altruism by having them individually pick 10 favorite stickers from a set of 100. Afterward, they were told some of their classmates were not included in the test and asked if they would give up some of the stickers for them to enjoy. Without the researcher watching, children would put stickers into an envelope and seal it if they wanted to share. The amount of stickers they chose to give up was determined to be a measure of altruism.
The children also were given a standard test of empathy, which gauged their reactions to seeing animated vignettes of people who are injured. Nine-year-olds had significantly higher scores on empathy on the test than 6-year-olds.
Although there was a significant impact on altruism one month after the disaster, the study showed that groups of 6-year-olds and 9-year-olds had similar levels of altruism in follow-up tests three years after the disaster -- equivalent to the levels observed among 6-year-olds and 9-year-olds immediately before the earthquake.
"Experience with adversity, though generally having negative impacts on children, may in fact be beneficial, at least for older children, in evoking empathy toward others and in turn enhancing their altruistic giving, albeit temporarily," said Hong Li, also a lead author of the paper.
The John Templeton Foundation, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the Chinese National Science Foundation supported this research.
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Click here to view the gallery: 10 Pin-Worthy Connected Living Rooms
For our first Pinterest contest, we asked you to pin your connected living room to win a high tech prize from LG. We received more than 475 entries, and you pinned nearly 3,700 contest pins! While the minimum number of pins to enter the contest was five, most people pinned many more than that -- one board even had 62 pins!
[More from Mashable: Pinterest Introduces ?News? Feature to Improve Content Discovery]
The winners of the contest were chosen at random. However, in addition to highlighting the winners' boards, we wanted to showcase other fantastic boards that you created. The idea of the contest was to design a dream living room for your home. Some of these rooms were comfortable with massive sofas and fluffy pillows, while others were cutting edge and filled with futuristic home gadgets.
Congrats to our winners and thank you to everyone who entered! We hope you enjoyed creating your dream living room on Pinterest. Keep an eye out for future Pinterest contests from us.
[More from Mashable: Diane Von Furstenberg Donates Eye Care for Pinterest Repins]
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Squeals of delight erupted from two Thai women dressed in elegant designer labels as they scanned a rack of fashion magazines at a high-end Bangkok shopping mall, then pounced on the object of their quest: a copy of the Thai edition of Vogue.
"It's here, it's here," shouted Athitiya Santisuk, 31, to her friend as they eagerly turned the glossy pages.
The fashion bible's launch in Thailand on Jan 25 heralded a new era for budding fashionistas and a growing middle class whose tastes are becoming more discerning even as the Thai fashion industry grows more international, highlighted by a twice-yearly fashion week.
"Vogue has become an indicator of economic development and the sophistication of a nation. Thailand's luxury industry is mature and this is a barometer of an emerging, affluent middle class," Kullawit Laosuksri, Vogue Thailand's editor-in-chief, told Reuters.
The Thai edition, published by Conde Nast International with a Thai company, is chock full of advertising, just like its overseas cousins - including those promoting skin whitening products, a reflection of Thailand's obsession with light skin.
"Vogue Thailand will have a strong beauty component, perhaps slightly more than other Vogues," James Woolhouse, President of Conde Nast Asia Pacific, told Reuters.
Among the articles are a photo spread of Thailand's Queen Sirikit in her younger days and several fashion shoots using Bangkok as a backdrop. The cover features Si Tanwiboon, a Thai-Chinese model who has graced catwalks at Jean Paul Gaultier and Louis Vuitton.
But the magazine's presence in Thailand raises questions over the country's income gap and the stark difference between the lifestyle of many of Bangkok's urbanites and some 66 percent of the population who live in slums on the city's periphery or in rural areas far from modern, multi-storey shopping malls.
The number of Thai millionaires is expected to swell by 35 percent between 2010 - 2015, says the Swiss-based Julius Baer private-banking group, and that wealth is partly what has helped fuel the appetite for luxury shopping malls in the city.
"We are seeing an increase in both the investment in the fashion retail space and the sales of luxury goods," said Woolhouse.
Editor-in-chief Kullawit said he wants the magazine, which costs 100 baht, to inspire Thai women and "give them new ideas like how to mix high-end brands with pieces that are readily available in Thailand's flea markets".
Yet the products advertised in Vogue remain beyond the reach of the vast majority of Thai citizens, many of whom make only some 300 baht ($10) a day.
At a road-side stall steps away from the luxury Central World shopping mall in Bangkok, Pratum Singthimas sells papaya salad and makes 530 baht ($17.73) on average a day.
"It looks like a magazine for a 'Khun Noo'," she said, choosing a Thai expression for privileged women that can imply spoilt or pampered.
Analysts gave the magazine mixed reviews but said its arrival brought more positives than negatives.
"The articles will give less affluent people a taste of the world outside Thailand and could help stimulate debate in a country that, unlike America, is not big on free speech or challenging social structures," said Kan Yuenyong, director of Siam Intelligence Unit, a Bangkok think tank.
Fashion insiders point to an overall preference for high-street labels over luxury brands.
"The Thai middle class is a lot more dependent on mass brands mimicking luxury brands. This not only takes away from the luxury market but also hinders the success of young, emerging designers," said Hestie Roodt, a teacher at Accademia Italiana, a design institute in Bangkok.
Kullawit said he aimed for a mix of Thai and Western models with the magazine, which would be "surprisingly Thai."
But the reception from online fashionistas was cool.
"Boring. I thought Vogue was supposed to be international in its outlook. It looks like other Thai magazines," said Gaga91.
That 64GB, $800 Microsoft Surface Pro you plan on buying next week? Maybe you should temper your storage expectations a bit, as the base model actually only allots 23GB of that space for use. The larger 128GB version offers a bit more space at 83GB, but is still losing a massive 45GB of space to the full Windows 8 operating system and various included applications. Microsoft confirmed as much this afternoon, and issued the following the statement:
"The 128 GB version of Surface Pro has 83 GB of free storage out of the box. The 64GB version of Surface Pro has 23GB of free storage out of the box. Of course, Surface Pro has a USB 3.0 port for connectivity with almost limitless storage options, including external hard drives and USB flash drives. Surface also comes pre-loaded with SkyDrive, allowing you to store up to 7GB of content in the cloud for free. The device also includes a microSDXC card slot that lets you store up to 64GB of additional content to your device. Customers can also free up additional storage space by creating a backup bootable USB and deleting the recovery partition."
The Surface RT suffered the same issue when it launched late last year -- the 32GB base version only included 16GB of storage, while the 64GB version had 46GB available. The situation is what we'd call less than ideal, though you can always expand the on-board storage via the solutions Microsoft proposes. Of course, that means doling our more cash on an already expensive tablet -- not the best thing to find out after you've shelled out $800.
Everybody taking part in Week 2 of Yoga Journal's Boost Your Willpower? Yes? No?
Week 1, I'm sure you all recall, was about choosing a focus, as in choosing what aspect of your life you want to improve your willpower for, what you need the willpower to achieve. Think of it as a goal. I chose staying on task.
Week 2, was about making a commitment to that focus and choosing one small thing to do to do that will remind you of your focus/goal. In the daily e-mails, I found three things of particular interest.
1. Meditation. Again, we discussed using meditation for concentration a year ago. One of the Boost Your Willpower e-mails indicated that there is science to back up the use of meditation as a way to improve self-control skills such as "attention, focus, stress management, impulse control, and self-awareness." Meditation, it claims, is like exercise for the brain.
I am not successful at meditation and have so many "practice" type things I do each day that it's too stressful to try to add another one. However, one of those practices is yoga, and I have just recently started extending my home practice because I haven't been holding poses long enough to build up strength and endurance. Holding the poses longer requires me to be careful about counting breathing. The mindfulness I have to practice in order to maintain breathing may be as close to meditation as I'll be able to get.
2. Recognizing that we actually do use willpower regularly. Those of us who are interested in improving our willpower and self-discipline tend to believe we need to do that because we don't have much. However, we're making decisions each day that involve exerting our will. Doing a brief recapitulation at the end of the day (a unit of time!) can assure us that we are, indeed, exerting some willpower and lead us to build upon it.
3. "I will" instead of "I won't." As I've said before, a lot of willpower and discipline writing involves changing behavior we don't want to engage in (overeating, gambling, drinking, procrastinating, etc.) and not changing behavior we want to do more of or even just developing some vaguely defined thing called discipline. The Boost Your Willpower folks suggest that always thinking in terms of "I won't" keeps calling the behavior you don't want to do to mind, and dwelling on what you don't want to do can often lead to no good. They suggest looking for "I will" statements.
Writers who are trying to develop self-discipline are trying to do something, they're not trying to not do something.? So "I will" statements are particularly useful for us because they tell us what we're trying to do. For example:
I will plan next week's work.
I will plan my day around the unit system.
I will use transitional time.
So there you have three ideas for improving willpower. Two more weeks to go on this program. I'm hoping that just persevering and sticking with it for a month will do something for my self-discipline.
Transcoding video is a pain. We know that about as well as anyone. Amazon feels that pain, and thankfully, it's got the servers to back it up. Ahead of today's earnings release, the retail giant is announcing the release of Elastic Transcoder, a service aimed at helping users convert their videos into different formats, with a number of presets available for mobile devices, web browsers and the like. Customers can also go ahead with their own presets, if they're so inclined, adjusting things like file size and bitrate. Elastic Transcoder makes it possible to process multiple videos and prioritizes files based on urgency. The pay-as-you-go service is currently available in a half-dozen areas, including the EU, US East and two in the US West and Asia Pacific. More info after the break.
Show full PR text
Amazon Web Services Launches Amazon Elastic Transcoder
Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS), an Amazon.com company (NASDAQ: AMZN), today announced Amazon Elastic Transcoder, a highly scalable service for transcoding video files between different digital media formats. For example, customers can use Amazon Elastic Transcoder to convert their large high resolution "master" video files into smaller versions that are optimized for playback on websites, mobile devices, connected TV's and other video platforms. Amazon Elastic Transcoder removes the need to manage infrastructure and transcoding software, providing scalability and performance by leveraging AWS services. The service manages all aspects of the transcoding process transparently and automatically. It also supports pre-defined transcoding presets that make it easy to transcode video for smartphones, tablets, web browsers and other devices. With Amazon Elastic Transcoder, customers can create enterprise, training, user-generated, broadcast, or other video content for their applications or websites. Customers can get started with Amazon Elastic Transcoder by visiting http://aws.amazon.com/elastictranscoder.
Traditionally, transcoding has been complex for customers in three significant ways. First, customers need to buy and manage transcoding software, which can be expensive and also requires substantial configuration and management. Second, audio and video settings for each device that the customer wants to support need to be created and tested. Often, this is a trial and error process, which can be wasteful as compute resources are used each time a new combination of settings is tried. Third, to accommodate peak workloads, customers need to provision the transcoding capacity appropriately. This can be expensive because most of the time the capacity is underutilized.
With Amazon Elastic Transcoder these complexities are eliminated. There is no need to buy, configure or manage the underlying transcoding software. In addition, Amazon Elastic Transcoder provides pre-defined presets for popular devices that remove the trial and error in finding the right settings and output formats for different devices. The service also supports custom presets (pre-defined settings made by the customer), making it easy for customers to create re-useable transcoding settings for their unique requirements such as a specific video size or bitrate. Finally, Amazon Elastic Transcoder automatically scales up and down to handle customers' workloads, eliminating wasted capacity and minimizing time spent waiting for jobs to complete. The service also enables customers to process multiple files in parallel and organize their transcoding workflow using a feature called transcoding pipelines. Using transcoding pipelines, customers can configure Amazon Elastic Transcoder to transcode their files when and how they want, so they can efficiently and seamlessly scale for spikey workloads. For example, a news organization may want to have a "high priority" transcoding pipeline for breaking news stories, or a User-Generated Content website may want to have separate pipelines for low, medium, and high resolution outputs to target different devices.
"Our customers told us that it was difficult and expensive to transcode video due to the explosion in the number of devices they need to support," said Charlie Bell, Vice President of Utility Computing Services. "They had to be both experts in the intricacies of video support on different devices and manage the software required to run the transcoding jobs. None of this work had anything to do with their goal: getting a high quality video that would look great on the devices they wanted. We built Amazon Elastic Transcoder to give our customers an easy, cost effective way to solve these problems."
"The Language Learning Center offers hundreds of hours of video content in over 50 languages to students and faculty, with a growing library of video assets," said Bob Majors, Senior Computing Specialist, University of Washington. "With Amazon Elastic Transcoder, we've been very impressed with how easy it is to convert our content into versions that work well on the web and on mobile devices."
"Zuffa encodes videos of the Ultimate Fighting Championship and prides itself on delivering the best and most up to date content to its fans. Amazon's Elastic Transcoder has the horsepower to scale for very large videos, even hundreds of gigabytes in size and this will help us continue to be leaders in the digital space," said Christy King, VP Technology R&D, Zuffa, LLC.
OneScreen is a technology solutions provider that connects video producers, publishers, and advertisers across all screens through its Media Graph platform. "At OneScreen, we are excited to add Amazon Elastic Transcoder to our broad utilization of the AWS cloud," said Patrick Ting, CTO, OneScreen, Inc. "With the scalability and cost-efficiency the service offers, we're able to pass those benefits on to our producer and aggregator partners, making it easier for them to bring high quality content to the market."
Amazon Elastic Transcoder offers simple pay-as-you-go pricing. Customers are charged based on the number of minutes they need to transcode and the selected resolution. There are no upfront fees or minimum commitments required. To help customers understand how this service can be used with their applications, AWS is providing a free tier of service, in which up to the first 20 minutes of content transcoded each month is provided free of charge. Amazon Elastic Transcoder is available in six regions: US East (N. Virginia), US West (Oregon), US West (N. California), EU (Ireland), Asia Pacific (Singapore) and Asia Pacific (Japan). Customers can get started with Amazon Elastic Transcoder by visiting http://aws.amazon.com/elastictranscoder.
It's been three years since we first heard about DARPA's ARGUS-IS, but thanks to a PBS Nova special entitled "Rise of the Drones," we finally have more information about the 1.8-gigapixel camera that is supposedly the highest-resolution surveillance system in the world. The documentary showed video footage of the imaging system in action, though the camera itself remains shrouded in mystery for security reasons. Designed to be used with UAVs like the Predator, the ARGUS-IS (which stands for Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance - Imaging System) can spot a six-inch object within a ten square mile radius from 20,000 feet in the air. As shown in the clip after the break, the high-res cam doesn't quite reveal facial features, but you can spot details like a bird flying around a building and the color of someone's clothes.
The video goes on to reveal that the camera's internals are actually a collection of 368 sensors that are identical to the ones found in 5-megapixel smartphones. But the ARGUS-IS wouldn't be much without the processing power of the platform behind it. We're not entirely sure how this is done, but the camera allegedly streams around 1 million terabytes (that's an exabyte, folks) of video, which adds up to roughly 5,000 hours of HD footage per day. Thankfully, there's software that helps guys on the ground filter through the mass of data. As seen in the image above, it lets them track moving objects with up to 65 simultaneous windows. The military potential here is obvious, but DARPA is keeping mum on any future implementations of the ARGUS-IS -- or if it's been in use all this time.
The Pentagon's cybersecurity force reportedly will increase more than fivefold over the next several years, following the approval of a move requested by the head of the Defense Department's Cyber Command. The expansion is meant to bolster the U.S.' ability to defend critical computer systems, as well as carry out offensive campaigns against adversaries.
My sister and her husband live in Ohio, and as they describe it, it's a tough market. ?In their situation, they over-improved their home as opposed to the others in their subdivision and will surely not regain their investment if they sell this year.
That said, you should focus on what you can control, which is how your property is marketed. ?Make sure you (or your agent) is actively marketing your property heavily on the internet. ?Most buyers are going to the web before they talk to anyone about interest in property. ?If you haven't already, have some professionally done photos - this is imperative to making a great first impression! ?
Finally, be patient. ?The Spring market has started in some areas but might not have gained much traction in your area. ?If you can take the advice of some of those that have posted here already, you will likely improve on your situation.
Two senators at the center of negotiations over comprehensive immigration reform, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said on Sunday that a pathway to citizenship is an essential component of a comprehensive reform bill.
"That has to be also part of it," McCain told ABC News' Martha Raddatz on "This Week" when asked whether a pathway to citizenship would be a component of reform. "There's a new appreciation on both sides of the aisle including, maybe more importantly on the Republican side of the aisle, that we have to enact comprehensive immigration reform."
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McCain said that a small group of Senators will release the principles of a comprehensive, not "piecemeal," reform bill this week.
"I'm very pleased with the progress," McCain said. "It's not that much different from what we tried to do in 2007."
Read a full transcript of the interview with Sens. McCain and Menendez HERE.
Menendez, who met with President Obama on Friday along with other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus leadership, said that the president expressed his full commitment to reform.
"The president made it very clear in that discussion that this was a top legislative priority for him in this session of the Congress and that he expects to work with all of us in an effort to achieve that goal and he's fully committed to it."
He added that a pathway to "earned legalization" is an "essential element" of an immigration reform bill.
"First, Americans support it in poll after poll. Secondly, Latino voters expect it. Thirdly Democrats want it. And fourth Republicans need it," Menendez said.
McCain added that he believes Obama's use of the presidential podium on behalf of immigration reform at an event in Las Vegas planned for Tuesday will aid efforts to pass a bill.
"I think it helps," McCain said. "I think its important that we all work together on this."
"Believe it or not, I see a glimmer of bipartisanship out there," he added.
This may seem strange, but some friends of mine are in a band and we started talking about me interviewing them.? While it seemed funny at first?as time went on?the idea caught on.? So here?s the interview with LOUDFINGER!
RIK MORGAN
Rik Morgan was conceived on the front row of a Black Sabbath concert in Dallas, Texas. Upon his birth, the Liberty Bell crack was mended by a lightening strike. Doctors never did understand how a Gibson SG was delivered with Rik, but it is well documented and that he was born with it in his hand. Although 30 years of Rik?s life were spent in the wilderness and are unaccounted for, it is believed that he was studying guitar with the Viking God?s in Valhalla. Nicknamed, THOR, because of the way he swings his guitar like Thor?s Hammer, Rik is well known for causing earthquakes and laying waste to many a venue with his devastating hard rock guitar licks and custom-built 100watt Marshall stack.
Q1) You?ve got a business background.? How do you feel that applies to Loudfinger?
A1) I try to keep the business completely separate from the music.? I?m the antithesis of Gene Simmons.? I?m not trying to build a brand here; I?m just having a good time and I encourage the rest of the band, as well as the audience, to do the same.
?Q2) You?re not getting any younger?? How long do you expect to keep this up?
A2) For me; Rock & Roll is the fountain of youth, baby.? For as long as I?m still kicking, I?m gonna rock hard and stay young!
Barry Dodd
Barry?s love of rock began during his business trip to Africa in 1981.? While harvesting elephant tusks to make ivory piano keys, he accidentally discovered that powdered rhino horns were a powerful aphrodisiac.? One night while conducting field experiments ingesting the powder and combining with alcohol, he satisfied every available woman in the local hunting tribe, but none could quench his lust.? Fortunately for him, Ozzy Osbourne was passing through and in trade for Barry?s aphrodisiac formula, introduced him to rock & roll, and also his strange traveling companion, Lucifer.? Barry was transformed into a rock god, and Ozzy patented Viagra ? a fair trade.
Q1) You?re the new guy.? What do you bring to the band?
A1) I feel like I bring to the band a new and different attitude that definitely shows up in the music.? It?s all about chemistry.
Q2) You?ve been in the local scene since the early 80?s.? How does today?s rock scene compare to the past, and where do you think it?s heading?
A3) Well, back in the day, we didn?t have the same quality of gear.? Most bands had pawn shop equipment, and it sounded like it.? Today, it?s easier than ever to score a good rig.? I think the future is pretty bright because of it.
Q3) How would you categorize the dynamic sound of Loudfinger?
A3) It comes from a place down deep where only the strong survive.
Q4) Why do women seem to love bearing their breasts at Loudfinger performances, and how many boobs have you autographed since joining the band?
A5) I think it?s because the keep spilling drinks down their shirts.? I?ve only signed a couple.? That?s because security came and kicked me out of the old folks home.? Wait, are we talking individual boobs, or pairs?? They come in two?s, you know.
CHRIS CARROLL
Throughout the decades of his quest for that musical Holy Grail known as the Mic of the Magus, which makes any who hold it a rock god of epic proportions, Chris Carroll has led many a nefarious pretender to their doom with his sonic attack. As did the bard in ancient times or the Pied Piper of lore, he leads any within the sound of his voice to the very brink of redemption or condemnation. Wielding a knife-edged and pitch perfect voice, he lays low the nay-sayers and hate-mongers, any who would question his resolve and the validity of his claim to the Mic of the Magus, for he believes he is pre-destined to wield it against the army of posers who muddy the crystalline waters of rock & roll perfection. To all who oppose him, he raises his Loudfinger and crushes them beneath his boot while calling to the Loudfinger Legion to join in his rebellion against the powers of inferior musicianship, imploring them to raise their Loudfingers high, raise them proud, shout it out and LIVE LIFE LOUD!!!
1)? You?ve seen many personnel changes with Loudfinger; has it helped or hurt the band?
A)? You know, there have been a lot of personnel changes; 5 drummers & 3 bass? players in a little over 4 yrs.? I?ve been sad to see some leave, ecstatic to see others ? go, but I believe that every time we?ve replaced a member, we?ve upgraded.? We are a much more solid band playing much more difficult material than we ever would have attempted back then.? I?m extremely proud of the band we are now and would go? up against any band out there.
2)? Any words for former members?
A)? Nothing too elaborate.? I just wish them well in all their endeavors and hope they realize they left the best thing that ever happened to them.? And no, they can?t come back.? I?ve got a Loudfinger salute for them if they try.? Love ya!
3)? Your singing style is amazing, but difficult to categorize.? How would you categorize your style and the bands overall style?
A) Thank you for the compliment.? I really appreciate that.? My style is a grafting of? all the influences I?ve enjoyed in my life.? I?ve enjoyed so many types of music, but the 80?s have been my biggest influence.? Geoff Tate, Bruce Dickinson, Don Dokken, Steve Perry and David Coverdale are just a few of my favorites, vocalists I?ve always tried to emulate because of their amazing talent.? Combine that with charisma and showmanship, and you have a recipe for success.? We?ve tried to keep this band focused on our roots, and it shows in our performances.? That said, however, our own music reflects past and present rock genres and I believe is relevant in either setting.
4)? You are responsible for all the artwork and merchandise for Loudfinger.? Is that a role you enjoy?
A) ?Yes, it is.? So much so that I am loathe to relinquish control.? The other guys have wanted to take some of the burden, but I just don?t want anything out there that doesn?t represent us in the most positive light.? I?ve worked hard over the years to create an image/brand that both represents the historical aspect of? the Loud finger ?? (find out more at www.loudfinger.com) and the hard rock/metal persona we wish to project.? Plus, it?s just a bad ass logo for a bad ass band with a bad ass name!
REX SCOWN
Rex Scown has been playing drums, in some capacity and sometimes incapacitated, on and off for thousands of years. He has studied under the great Ajisuki from Japan, the legendary Hephaestus of ancient Greece (hence the heavy hands), and most recently, under the Zulu spiritual leader Credo Mutwa in order to develop his physical body, life force and prestige. He feels that although society has rolled to show it?s soft underbelly and modern conveniences have dulled his trade and mankind in general, Loudfinger is a beacon in the darkened haze, carrying the dying torch of the spirit of Rock ?N? Roll.
Q1:???? You were part of the music scene through the ?90?s with Joker Spade, during what some consider the ?heyday? of rock in the Permian Basin. How does the new scene compare to that?
A1:????? That?s like comparing feral children to apples. The good ole days were just that, good ole days. There seemed to be more of a demand for hard, live music back then. Spade had a large, loyal following. And it was great. These days, we?re fighting an uphill battle. I mean, Loudfinger has a loyal fanbase, but it?s not nearly as big. The demographic in this area is not conducive to hard rock. If your not in a Texas Cuntry band (I left the ?o? out purposely) wearing a catch-me fuck-me, wore out straw hat or in a Tejano outfit, your screwed. We obviously do this because we love the music and we love playing live. Those are the only two reasons why I carry on.
Q2:???? Some have categorized your drumming style as heavy-handed metal. How would you define your style and how does that affect the band?s dynamic?
A2:????? I think that?s a very fair definition. Your not going to see me pulling off any of Buddy Rich?s licks or heel-toeing 64th notes on the double bass pedal, but I can hold it down, keep time and keep it heavy with a bit of dynamic. Have a listen to Call Me Wicked at a live show, a good example. I feel it fits in very nicely with what Rik and Cory are doing and I?ve worked with Barry before in Joker Spade. Barry and I go together like peas and carrots. Loudfinger is good at the guitar hooks and catchy choruses. Plus, I really dig Chris? vocal style, very melodic. Right up my alley.
Q3:???? Who were your greatest influences?
A3:????? First off, I?m a fan of most genres. I grew up on Outlaw Country. My mom had me listening to Willie, Waylon and David Allan Coe of course, Gary Stewart (my personal favorite), Emmylou Harris, Delbert McClinton and the like. I have to throw in Little Feat, they have the greatest live album ever released-Waiting for Columbus. Greatest influence would have to be the NWOBHM bands. In particular, Clive Burr and Nicko McBrain of Iron Maiden. The lyrical prowess of Steve Harris and Bruce Dickinson and the twin harmonies of Dave Murray and Adrian Smith. That stuff will get you higher than a tree lizard.
Q4:???? Loudfinger has a reputation for going through drummers faster than a monkey on meth! Do you expect to be around for a while?
A4:????? I don?t see why I wouldn?t be. I think I fit well with the band and the guys. Our influences and styles work nicely together. Also our original material is pretty damn tasty. Like I said earlier, we do this because we love music and performing live.
As far as the satan worship and virgin sacrifices go? There?s only a handful of things I haven?t tried because I was afraid I might like them too much. That would be one. Live life loud, rock hard and stay young!!!
CORY HEINZMAN
Cory was born in Miami, Florida, and moved to California under mysterious circumstances shortly after the age of 3.? Growing up in Southern California, he spent time supplying medicinal products to his friends, many of whom benefited from Cory?s tutelage and later went on to become legendary icons of rock.? Guys like Eddie Van Halen, Slash and George Lynch still keep in touch with Cory; asking for advice from time to time.? ?That?s why I have to keep changing my phone number every three months? says Cory.? Cory has performed on numerous #1 chart-topping hits in almost every musical genera, but to remain humble, he always insists on being excluded from any official credits.? He?s a musical genius, and true humanitarian.
Q1) Who are your greatest influences and why?
A1) Randy Rhoads, George Lynch and Eddie Van Halen.? Because I like the dark neo-classical sound.
Q2) How would you categorize the dynamic Loudfinger sound?
A2) A raw, energetic sound that gets you by the throat.
Q3) You?ve been at this for a long time?? What are you hoping to accomplish with Loudfinger?
A3) To have a few solid studio albums and do some touring.
Q4) Why do women throw their panties at the stage during Loudfinger performances, and where do all those panties end up?
A4) Oh, I?m sure they have their reasons?? I can?t tell you where ALL of them end up, but, you know, if you think of it like a universal business card, my Rolodex is full, if you follow my meaning.
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Jan. 27, 2013 ? Rice University scientists have taken an important step toward the creation of two-dimensional electronics with a process to make patterns in atom-thick layers that combine a conductor and an insulator.
The materials at play -- graphene and hexagonal boron nitride -- have been merged into sheets and built into a variety of patterns at nanoscale dimensions.
Rice introduced a technique to stitch the identically structured materials together nearly three years ago. Since then, the idea has received a lot of attention from researchers interested in the prospect of building 2-D, atomic-layer circuits, said Rice materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan. He is one of the authors of the new work that appears this week in Nature Nanotechnology. In particular, Ajayan noted that Cornell University scientists reported an advance late last year on the art of making atomic-layer heterostructures through sequential growth schemes.
This week's contribution by Rice offers manufacturers the possibility of shrinking electronic devices into even smaller packages. While Rice's technical capabilities limited features to a resolution of about 100 nanometers, the only real limits are those defined by modern lithographic techniques, according to the researchers. (A nanometer is one-billionth of a meter.)
"It should be possible to make fully functional devices with circuits 30, even 20 nanometers wide, all in two dimensions," said Rice researcher Jun Lou, a co-author of the new paper. That would make circuits on about the same scale as in current semiconductor fabrication, he said.
Graphene has been touted as a wonder material since its discovery in the last decade. Even at one atom thick, the hexagonal array of carbon atoms has proven its potential as a fascinating electronic material. But to build a working device, conductors alone will not do. Graphene-based electronics require similar, compatible 2-D materials for other components, and researchers have found hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) works nicely as an insulator.
H-BN looks like graphene, with the same chicken-wire atomic array. The earlier work at Rice showed that merging graphene and h-BN via chemical vapor deposition (CVD) created sheets with pools of the two that afforded some control of the material's electronic properties. Ajayan said at the time that the creation offered "a great playground for materials scientists."
He has since concluded that the area of two-dimensional materials beyond graphene "has grown significantly and will play out as one of the key exciting materials in the near future."
His prediction bears fruit in the new work, in which finely detailed patterns of graphene are laced into gaps created in sheets of h-BN. Combs, bars, concentric rings and even microscopic Rice Owls were laid down through a lithographic process. The interface between elements, seen clearly in scanning transmission electron microscope images taken at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, shows a razor-sharp transition from graphene to h-BN along a subnanometer line.
"This is not a simple quilt," Lou said. "It's very precisely engineered. We can control the domain sizes and the domain shapes, both of which are necessary to make electronic devices."
The new technique also began with CVD. Lead author Zheng Liu, a Rice research scientist, and his colleagues first laid down a sheet of h-BN. Laser-cut photoresistant masks were placed over the h-BN, and exposed material was etched away with argon gas. (A focused ion beam system was later used to create even finer patterns, down to 100-nanometer resolution, without masks.) After the masks were washed away, graphene was grown via CVD in the open spaces, where it bonded edge-to-edge with the h-BN. The hybrid layer could then be picked up and placed on any substrate.
While there's much work ahead to characterize the atomic bonds where graphene and h-BN domains meet and to analyze potential defects along the boundaries, Liu's electrical measurements proved the components' qualities remain intact.
"One important thing Zheng showed is that even by doing all kinds of growth, then etching, then regrowth, the intrinsic properties of these two materials are not affected," Lou said. "Insulators stay insulators; they're not doped by the carbon. And the graphene still looks very good. That's important, because we want to be sure what we're growing is exactly what we want."
Liu said the next step is to place a third element, a semiconductor, into the 2-D fabric. "We're trying very hard to integrate this into the platform," he said. "If we can do that, we can build truly integrated in-plane devices." That would give new options to manufacturers toying with the idea of flexible electronics, he said.
"The contribution of this paper is to demonstrate the general process," Lou added. "It's robust, it's repeatable and it creates materials with very nice properties and with dimensions that are at the limit of what is possible."
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rice University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
Journal Reference:
C. Drexler, S. A. Tarasenko, P. Olbrich, J. Karch, M. Hirmer, F. M?ller, M. Gmitra, J. Fabian, R. Yakimova, S. Lara-Avila, S. Kubatkin, M. Wang, R. Vajtai, P. M. Ajayan, J. Kono, S. D. Ganichev. Magnetic quantum ratchet effect in graphene. Nature Nanotechnology, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2012.231
Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.
Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.
Do you think Internet marketing is the greatest thing ever? Do you do your homework when it comes to making your business visible to customers? There are many things you can use to get your information on internet marketing such as, shows, books, and magazines. So how do you begin your marketing plan? Read these tips and see if they lead you to a good starting point.
Do not overlook the power of direct marketing as well. Customers can be contacted by phone, fax or email to inform them of your services and specials. A lot of the needed information can be acquired by consulting the actual yellow pages or the phone books available online.
Evaluate your website on a regular basis by asking for constructive feedback. This is important because your perception and assessment of how your website appears may not be how it appears to others. Get feedback from peers, potential clients and even family members. Make the changes you feel are necessary.
Add links to your website everywhere you go on the web by putting it with your signature. If you post in a forum, you can usually link to your site right in your signature, which will make it appear with every post you make. Make sure your email signature also contains a link. This promotes your website everywhere you go online. The increased number of backlinks also increases your search engine ranking. Above the link, type a captivating line that encourages them to click on the link.
Make sure consumers see the word ?fast? in your advertisements. Many people value their time more than their money, so if you can appeal to that mindset, you stand to profit.
Don?t delete stuff that hasn?t yet worked. Some great ideas are simply before their time or need to be rethought and tweaked. The Internet is constantly in flux, with new uses being discovered daily. Do not put money into things that are not successful; just wait.
Consider adding a section where customers can post comments about products they have bought from you. This is because people want to read testimonials from others who have purchased the product. In addition, they love to read positive experiences other people have had. It makes them feel more comfortable with your company, and as a result they are more likely to purchase from you.
The first thing you should do after you decide on an Internet marketing plan is to begin experimenting with different strategies. Do any of the above tips have any potential for your business goals and needs? This means you need to start improving your overall marketing plan strategically. If you?re able to, then don?t hesitate and get started!
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BAGHDAD (AP) ? Iraqi insurgents are trying to capitalize on the rage of anti-government protesters and the instability caused by rising civil unrest, complicating the government's efforts to stamp out a resurgent al-Qaida and other insurgent groups.
Organizers of the protests attracting minority Iraqi Sunnis insist they have no links to terrorist groups. Yet Iraqi and U.S. officials have expressed concern that violent extremists could benefit from the demonstrators' feelings of alienation and hostility toward the Shiite-led Iraqi government.
And tensions are rising.
At least five protesters were killed and more than 20 were wounded on Friday when soldiers opened fire at stone-hurling demonstrators near Fallujah. They were the first deaths at opposition rallies that have been raging around the country for more than a month.
Tens of thousands of protesters turned out in the former al-Qaida stronghold in western Iraq ? some waving black banners emblazoned with the Muslim confession of faith. Two soldiers were later killed in an apparent retaliatory attack for the protesters' deaths.
The vast desert territory on Syria's doorstep was the birthplace of the Sunni insurgency that erupted after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, and where Iraqi officials believe al-Qaida's Iraq arm is regrouping.
Protesters also have staged demonstrations in other areas with large concentrations of Sunni Arabs who feel discriminated against by the government. Their list of demands includes calls for the release of detainees and an end to policies they believe unfairly target their sect.
For now, the American Embassy said it has no indication that al-Qaida is gaining support from the demonstrations, but the fear remains, particularly as the security situation deteriorates in neighboring Syria.
An embassy official said the U.S. had expressed concern that the protesters' so far peaceful expression of their concerns must not be usurped by extremists trying to provoke violence. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Protest organizers and the politicians who support them are eager to distance themselves from extremist rhetoric.
Sunni lawmaker Ahmed al-Alawani recently urged Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to meet demonstrators' demands so al-Qaida and other extremists could not exploit their frustration.
That was a sentiment echoed by protest organizer and spokesman Saeed Humaim in Ramadi, the Anbar provincial capital that has been the focus of daily sit-ins and frequent mass rallies. He said protesters have no intention to take up arms, but will defend themselves if attacked by government security forces.
Still, many Iraqi Sunnis have little doubt that the protests strengthen militant groups.
"I don't think the al-Qaida people would miss an opportunity to move freely when the government and security forces are busy handling these spreading protests," said Ayad Salman, 42, who owns a shoe store in northern Baghdad. "The country is slipping toward a new round of civil war, or at least some groups are planning and pushing for this."
The rallies broke out just over a month ago in Iraq's western Sunni heartland of Anbar following the arrest of guards assigned to the Iraqi Finance Minister Rafia al-Issawi, a Sunni who hails from the province.
In an interview aired late Thursday, al-Maliki suggested that al-Qaida and members of Saddam Hussein's ousted regime have a hand in the demonstrations.
"I hope that these protests would not turn violent ... and drag the country to a sectarian war," he told al-Baghdadiya TV.
Al-Qaida's local affiliate this week posted a statement praising the protesters, saluting what it called "the true Muslims who revolted in defense of their honor and religion."
A senior Iraqi security official who specializes in terrorist activities said al-Qaida is making use of the resentment in predominantly Sunni provinces, where local residents who used to provide authorities tips about terrorist activities are growing much more reluctant to snitch.
He and another senior security official said al-Qaida fighters now have more freedom to move around. That is partly because state security forces' movements are being restricted in Sunni areas so they cannot be accused of unfairly targeting the Muslim sect, they said.
The second official said the demonstrations give extremists a good opportunity to try to mobilize Sunni opposition and portray themselves as the only groups who can safeguard the rights and interests of the Sunni minority.
The Iraqi officials insisted on anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss security operations with the media.
The local wing of al-Qaida, known as the Islamic State of Iraq, generally does not operate beyond Iraq's borders. But al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahri last year urged Iraqi insurgents to support the Sunni-based uprising in neighboring Syria against President Bashar Assad, whose Alawite sect is a branch of Shiite Islam.
Iraqi officials believe Sunni fighters aligned with al-Qaida's Iraq franchise are moving back and forth across the Syrian border to help Sunni rebels overthrow Assad.
Rebel gains in Syria are giving Iraq's Sunni protesters and insurgents alike a sense that their fortunes may be shifting too.
"Sunnis seem ascendant in Syria. That is a major psychological boost to the Sunnis in Iraq," said Kamran Bokhari, an expert on Mideast issues for the global intelligence company Stratfor. "They're trying to capitalize on that."
Other militants are trying to tie their fight to the protests too.
Earlier this month, uniformed members of the Naqshabandi Army appeared in an online video urging Iraqis to continue their protests, sit-ins and acts of civil disobedience. It called on security forces to turn their weapons on the "traitors and foreign agents" ? a likely reference to what many Sunnis see is Shiite powerhouse Iran's influence over the government.
The group, a network of former Iraqi military officers and jihadists, frequently claims responsibility for attacks on government security forces.
The highest ranking member of Saddam's regime still at large, Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, has separately lent his support to the demonstrators. Al-Douri, who is suspected of having ties to the Naqshabandi Army, is thought to have played a key role in financing Sunni insurgents seeking to undermine Iraq's post-Saddam government.
Another small jihadist group, the 1920 Revolution Brigades, put out a statement of its own backing the protest movement.
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Associated Press writers Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Sameer N. Yacoub contributed reporting.
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Follow Adam Schreck on Twitter at http://twitter.com/adamschreck
BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) ? Hundreds of people in a central town in Azerbaijan surrounded a regional government building Thursday demanding the governor's resignation after a night of rioting in which a hotel and several cars were torched.
Aziz Kerimov, a journalist for independent news agency Turan who traveled to Ismayilli, told The Associated Press that police intermittently deployed tear gas and water cannons at half-hour intervals as the crowd refused to disperse.
Some in the crowd responded to police appeals to free the area by throwing rocks. Between 10 and 15 people have been detained, Kerimov said.
The rioting Wednesday night does not appear to have been politically motivated, but it highlights widespread frustrations over the deep disparity between the poor and wealthy in the oil-rich former Soviet nation. Business is often perceived in Azerbaijan as operating in intimate collusion with the government, which opposition activists argue is riddled with corruption.
Berlin-based Transparency International ranked Azerbaijan 139th out of 176 countries in its 2012 Corruption Perception Index. Opposition parties and independent journalists are routinely harassed by the authorities.
Trouble in Ismayilli, a town some 175 kilometers (110 miles) from the capital, Baku, began when the owner of a local hotel, 22-year-old Emil Shamsaddinov, reacted to his Chevrolet Camaro sports car veering onto a sidewalk and colliding with an electricity pole by getting into a fight with another motorist, who was parked by the side of the road in a Soviet-era car.
It is unclear whether Shamsaddinov held the other driver responsible for the crash, but police say he may have been drunk-driving. Shamsaddinov and his passenger have been arrested, but no rioters have been detained, police said.
The dispute spiraled, leading to around 3,000 residents raiding Shamsaddinov's Chyrag hotel and setting alight several of his cars, which included the Camaro, a Chevrolet Niva and a Hummer. Police say the rampage lasted around four hours.
In amateur video of burning vehicles and buildings uploaded to the Internet, people in the crowd are heard laughing and cheering.
The crowd then moved on to the house of Ismayilli district chief's son where they set fire to a Toyota Land Cruiser and two motorcycles.
Kerimov said people protesting Thursday in Ismayilli believe a relative of the regional authority chief may have been involved in the incident that led to the rioting.
This is the second major instance of public disorder in the authoritarian former Soviet nation in a few days.
On Saturday, market traders blocked a highway 50 kilometers (31 miles) outside Baku and clashed with riot police in a spontaneous protest over increased rent for their stalls.
A week before that, in Baku itself, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in a central square in protest at the death earlier this month of a military conscript. It was broken up by police.
That rally was organized through social media, rather than by the established opposition parties, in an indication that opposition to the government is increasingly being propelled by grass-roots activism.
Authorities are particularly anxious about any signs of public discontent in view of this October's presidential election, which is expected to see incumbent Ilham Aliyev retain his iron grip over the Caspian Sea nation.
TO GO WITH STORY BY GEORGE JAHN Robert Holzer and Katerina Beranova, from left, perform during the opera 'Spiegelgrund' by Austrian composer Peter Androsch in the imperial council hall of the Austrian parliament in Vienna, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Androsch goes where few others have dared, with an opera depicting how Nazis methodically killed mentally or physically deficient children. The performance premieres to mark International Holocaust Day in the parliament of Austria _ a nation still atoning for its role in atrocities committed by the Nazis. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
TO GO WITH STORY BY GEORGE JAHN Robert Holzer and Katerina Beranova, from left, perform during the opera 'Spiegelgrund' by Austrian composer Peter Androsch in the imperial council hall of the Austrian parliament in Vienna, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Androsch goes where few others have dared, with an opera depicting how Nazis methodically killed mentally or physically deficient children. The performance premieres to mark International Holocaust Day in the parliament of Austria _ a nation still atoning for its role in atrocities committed by the Nazis. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
TO GO WITH STORY BY GEORGE JAHN Katerina Beranova, Robert Holzer, Karl M. Sibelius and Silke Doerner, from left, perform during the opera ' Spiegelgrund' by Austrian composer Peter Androsch in the imperial council hall of the Austrian parliament in Vienna, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Androsch goes where few others have dared, with an opera depicting how Nazis methodically killed mentally or physically deficient children. The performance premieres to mark International Holocaust Day in the parliament of Austria _ a nation still atoning for its role in atrocities committed by the Nazis. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
TO GO WITH STORY BY GEORGE JAHN Katerina Beranova and Silke Doerner, from left, perform during the opera 'Spiegelgrund ' by Austrian composer Peter Androsch in the imperial council hall of the Austrian parliament in Vienna, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Androsch goes where few others have dared, with an opera depicting how Nazis methodically killed mentally or physically defficient children. The performance premieres to mark International Holocaust Day in the parliament of Austria _ a nation still atoning for its role in atrocities committed by the Nazis. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
TO GO WITH STORY BY GEORGE JAHN - Katerina Beranova, Robert Holzer and Silke Doerner, from left, perform during the opera 'Spiegelgrund ' by Austrian composer Peter Androsch in the imperial council hall of the Austrian parliament in Vienna, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Androsch goes where few others have dared, with an opera depicting how Nazis methodically killed mentally or physically deficient children. The performance premieres to mark International Holocaust Day in the parliament of Austria _ a nation still atoning for its role in atrocities committed by the Nazis. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
TO GO WITH STORY BY GEORGE JAHN -Speaker of the Austrian Parliament Barbara Prammer smiles during an interview with the Associated Press about Austrian composer Peter Androsch's opera "Spiegelgrund" at the parliament in Vienna, Austria, Friday, Jan. 25, 2013. Androsch goes where few others have dared, with an opera depicting how Nazis methodically killed mentally or physically deficient children. The performance premieres to mark International Holocaust Day in the parliament of Austria _ a nation still atoning for its role in atrocities committed by the Nazis. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak)
VIENNA (AP) ? Thousands of children were murdered by the Nazis because they fell short of the Aryan ideal. On Friday, a hushed audience gathered in Austria's Parliament to watch the world premiere of an opera depicting how the Nazis methodically killed mentally or physically deficient children at a Vienna hospital during World War II.
The killings were part of a greater campaign that led to the deaths of about 75,000 people ? homosexuals, the handicapped, or others the Nazis called "unworthy lives" ? and served as a prelude to the Holocaust.
Austrians played a huge role in these and other atrocities of the era ? nearly 800 children were killed at Vienna's Spiegelgrund psychiatric ward ? and Friday's premiere of the opera "Spiegelgrund" was the latest installment of a national effort to atone for such acts in word and deed.
The timing was picked to commemorate Holocaust Memorial Day, which will be observed worldwide Sunday, and the performance was streamed live on the Internet for international audiences. But the parliamentary venue was chosen for a particularly Austrian reason: as a reminder of how the country's politicians fomented the atmosphere of intolerance and authoritarianism that allowed Hitler's troops to walk in in 1938, and a determination to not let history repeat itself.
Composer Peter Androsch said his focus on the era was in part born of his own family's history. His great grandfather died in a Nazi concentration camp. Androsch said the fact that that was hidden for generations "says a lot about conditions in totalitarian regimes and should serve as a reminder for me and many others."
At the premiere ? a hauntingly effective hour-long performance ? legislators were joined in the audience by diplomats, Holocaust survivors, former Spiegelgrund patients and other invited guests in an ornate chamber lined with Ionic columns and used for special legislative sessions.
Spiegelgrund survivor Friedrich Zavel was in the audience. He was brought to the clinic in 1940 after being accused of homosexuality. Now 83, he still shudders when he speaks of his ordeals: humiliation, solitary confinement and torture.
The "Wrap Treatment" consisted of orderlies binding a child first in two sheets soaked in ice water, then two dry sheets, followed by waiting for days without food and drink until the body warmth dried the sheets. There also were beatings and injections that either made the child vomit or left him unable to walk for days.
Asked Friday how he felt about the wrongs done to him, Zavel said: "I know neither revenge nor hate."
The opera itself was more of an oratory. Backlit in gloomy purple and red, and accompanied by strings, flute, percussion and a harpsichord, a trio slipped into each other's roles in an allegorical depiction of how all are victims and perpetrators.
Thus a white-coated doctor embodying "The Law" switched from vocalizing about Sparta's doctrine of letting weak newborns die to singing a child's ditty before moving to the role of "Memory" ? singing broken phrases that harken back to the horrific experiences of the victimized children. The two other singers shifted roles accordingly as a narrator dryly recited facts reflecting the atrocities committed.
"On some days, so many children were killed that the orderlies had to pile the little bodies on a wheelbarrow," narrator Karl Sibelius intones in one sequence before reading a letter from a mother addressed to an institute doctor and pleading for the return of her son.
Bass Robert Holzer was "The Law," and sopranos Katerina Beranova and Alexandra Diesterhoeft sang "Memory" and "Children's Song" respectively. All were very solid.
Parliament President Barbara Prammer said the nation could no longer focus only on glorifying its past.
"We can't choose our history," she told The Associated Press.
This may seem strange, but some friends of mine are in a band and we started talking about me interviewing them.? While it seemed funny at first?as time went on?the idea caught on.? So here?s the interview with LOUDFINGER!