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The dataset generation failed
Error code: DatasetGenerationError
Exception: ArrowInvalid
Message: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 123
Traceback: Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 153, in _generate_tables
df = pd.read_json(f, dtype_backend="pyarrow")
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 815, in read_json
return json_reader.read()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1025, in read
obj = self._get_object_parser(self.data)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1051, in _get_object_parser
obj = FrameParser(json, **kwargs).parse()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1187, in parse
self._parse()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1403, in _parse
ujson_loads(json, precise_float=self.precise_float), dtype=None
ValueError: Trailing data
During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1997, in _prepare_split_single
for _, table in generator:
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 156, in _generate_tables
raise e
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 130, in _generate_tables
pa_table = paj.read_json(
File "pyarrow/_json.pyx", line 308, in pyarrow._json.read_json
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 154, in pyarrow.lib.pyarrow_internal_check_status
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 91, in pyarrow.lib.check_status
pyarrow.lib.ArrowInvalid: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 123
The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1529, in compute_config_parquet_and_info_response
parquet_operations = convert_to_parquet(builder)
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1154, in convert_to_parquet
builder.download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1029, in download_and_prepare
self._download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1124, in _download_and_prepare
self._prepare_split(split_generator, **prepare_split_kwargs)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1884, in _prepare_split
for job_id, done, content in self._prepare_split_single(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 2040, in _prepare_split_single
raise DatasetGenerationError("An error occurred while generating the dataset") from e
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__label__wiki
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One of the aspects of contemporary music from Iceland that i find most fascinating is its tendency to position itself at extremes, rooted either in slavish convention or daring unorthodoxy. It’s a polarity that’s revealed itself again in some recent releases of Icelandic music, the results of which have been similarly polarising, by turns intriguing or irritating.
The latter, unfortunately, comes from Kjartan Sveinsson: a 35-minute work entitled Der Klang der Offenbarung des Göttlichen described as “an opera in four acts”. The first thing to say about the piece is that it’s definitely not an opera, at least not in any meaningful sense of that word. Despite being originally performed with theatrical sets “rooted in German romantic clichés” – though without any on-stage performers – i’m really not sure what justification, purpose, or indeed necessity there is for seeking to call it an opera. Henryk Górecki might perhaps have called it a symphony, and i say that not simply because it’s true but also because it’s hard not to hear the work as a simplified sibling of Górecki’s Symphony No. 3. In fact, it’s not really a symphony either; there’s no reason to think of it as being anything other than what it actually is: a small scale cantata for choir and strings.
The association with Górecki arises from the fact that, like parts of his Third Symphony, the way that Kjartan constructs all four parts of Der Klang der Offenbarung des Göttlichen is through similar, though very much simpler, processes of cycling repetition. The first movement, for strings alone, is arguably the best and most successful example of this mainly due to the fact that, as it begins the piece, by this stage one hasn’t become tired of it. Slow and sombre, even a touch funereal, its hymn-cum-dirge processes with a sense of partially numbed, perhaps even dumbfounded, melancholy. For a time it’s somewhat affecting, but the music then undergoes something that occurs in all four movements, in which Kjartan steadily ramps things up, piling on the octaves, pumping up the volume, presumably in the desperate hope of attaining something climactic. It’s hard to convey the extent to which, not only does this process fail, repeatedly (all the more so due to how harsh the upper strings sound in this recording), but comes to sound unbelievably crass, empty and above all phony. Passion and loudness are not synonymous.
The same thing occurs when the choir joins in, articulating texts from Halldór Laxness’ mystical novel World Light. The words go round and round and round, now a hymn-cum-chant, splashed with varying quantities of ostensible light and shadow but one can’t escape the feeling that it’s all skin-deep, conveying at best a kind of ‘calculated emotion’. These movements’ inevitable climaxes lack any sense of power or authenticity; on the contrary, it’s as if the volume dial had simply been cranked up in order to bludgeon us with mere decibels. There are, here and there, brief periods when its basic lyricism can be modestly affecting, but ultimately the heavy-handed, empty calorie blankness of Kjartan’s musical language robs it of being anything but the most superficial imitation of something approximating a feeling. It’s all the more galling considering the work’s ambitiously overblown title translates as “the sound of the revelation of the divine”. A much more perfect description of the music can be found in the accompanying booklet, where it mentions the atmosphere created by the original theatrical sets: “a non-narrative of pure-hearted banality”.
Originally released in 2016, Der Klang der Offenbarung des Göttlichen was recently re-issued on the Sono Luminus label, and is available on CD and digital.
Der Klang der Offenbarung des Göttlichen by Kjartan Sveinsson
choralIcelandKjartan Sveinsson
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Agent Orange Exposure Increases Veterans' Risk Of Aggressive Recurrence Of Prostate Cancer
Veterans exposed to Agent Orange are at increased risk of aggressive recurrence of prostate cancer, researchers report.
A study of 1,495 veterans who underwent radical prostatectomy to remove their cancerous prostates showed that the 206 exposed to Agent Orange had nearly a 50 percent increased risk of their cancer recurring despite the fact that their cancer seemed relatively nonaggressive at the time of surgery. And, their cancer came back with a vengeance: the time it took the prostate specific antigen, or PSA, level to double - an indicator of aggressiveness - was eight months versus more than 18 months in non-exposed veterans.
"There is something about the biology of these cancers that are associated with prior Agent Orange exposure that is causing them to be more aggressive. We need to get the word out," says Dr. Martha Terris, chief of urology at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta and professor of urology at the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine.
Dr. Terris, corresponding author on the study published in the May issue of British Journal of Urology International, says she wants her colleagues following prostate cancer patients with Agent Orange exposure to know those patients may need more meticulous scrutiny and so-called salvage therapy quickly if their prostate cancer returns. "Not only are their recurrence rates higher but their cancers are coming back and growing much faster when they do come back," the Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar says.
The PSA of prostate cancer patients is typically measured every three months for two years after surgery then every six months for life. After surgery to remove the diseased prostate, the PSA should be zero, but any prostate cancer cells left behind continue to make PSA, a red flag of recurrence, Dr. Terris says. The PSA often "percolates along" so physicians tend to watch it for a while to determine if additional therapy is needed. However in patients with Agent Orange exposure, radiation or hormone therapy to kill remaining cells may need to be done sooner rather than later, she says.
Increasing evidence is emerging that exposure to Agent Orange, a herbicide and defoliant used during the Vietnam War, increases risk for a variety of health problems, including prostate cancer, although the exact mechanism is unclear. Dioxin, its known carcinogen, also is found in herbicides and pesticides used by U.S. farmers, forestry and chemical plant workers who studies have shown to have an increased cancer risk. Scientists suspect dioxin activates regulatory regions of genes to enable the uncontrolled cell division that is a cancer hallmark.
Dr. Terris led a separate study of 1,653 veterans at VA medical centers in five cities between 1990 and 2006 that also showed recurrence rates were higher and recurring cancers were more aggressive with Agent Orange exposure. Dr. Sagar R. Shah, MCG urology resident, presented the findings at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Urological Association.
This new study - which includes the VA Medical Center in Augusta, Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Healthcare System and six affiliated medical schools - included new patients as well as longer follow up on many of the original study patients. As with the previous study, prostate cancer seemed to have a similar course in blacks and whites, but Agent Orange exposure was more common in blacks, who were more likely to be ground troops in Vietnam.
Plenty of questions remain, such as what happens to patients whose primary treatment is standard radiation or brachytherapy, where rice-size radiation pellets are implanted in the prostate, rather than surgery, Dr. Terris says.
She also wants to know whether the veterans' degree of exposure is related to the severity of their cancer. Everyone has some dioxin exposure; "Even if you never set foot in Vietnam or outside the United States," she says. So she is now measuring levels in the body fat - which is like a repository for what the body has been exposed to - to determine how levels correlate to their cancer severity.
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men and trails lung cancer as the second leading cause of cancer death.
The study was funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, the Georgia Cancer Coalition, the Department of Defense Prostate Cancer Research Program and the American Urological Association/Astellas Rising Star in Urology Award.
Toni Baker
Medical College of Georgia
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Area: 13 880 km²
Capital City: Nassau
The dollar has been the currency of The Bahamas since 1966. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively B$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is divided into 100 cents.
The Bahamian climate usually mild throughout the year, is one of the great attractions of the area. The average temperature varies from the low 70s F (about 21 °C) during the winter to the low 80s F (about 27 °C) during the summer, and extremes seldom fall below the low 60s F (about 16 °C) or rise above the low 90s F (about 32 °C). The average annual rainfall is about 44 inches (1,120 mm), occurring mostly during the summer months. Prevailing winds, coming from the northeast in winter and from the southeast in summer, lend a cooling influence to a generally humid atmosphere. Tropical cyclones (hurricanes) pose a threat during the period from June to November and have occasionally caused great destruction.
English is the official language and is widely spoken. The English spoken is known as Bahamian English, which is a product of British English coupled with rich linguistic influences, rooted in the African languages of the slave trade. The language has also been shaped by diverse settlers and British colonialism. Haitian Creole is also spoken but common among the Haitian population. The Bahamian Creole is considered as the vernacular language of the Bahamas. This means that this is the language used for informal conversations among the islanders.
The economy of The Bahamas is dependent upon tourism and offshore banking. The Bahamas is the richest country in the West Indies and is ranked 14th in North America for nominal GDP. It is a stable, developing nation in the Lucayan Archipelago with a population of 391,232. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth for many years, but the slowdown in the US economy and the attacks of September 11, 2001 held back growth in these sectors in 2001–03. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for about 15% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left the Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately 10% of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives for those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors. In addition to tourism and banking, the government supports the development of a “2nd-pillar”, e-commerce.
Until the middle of the 19th century, education in Bahamas was only available children of white families. Christian missionary schools provided public education at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. Today education is Bahamas is open to its entire population. There are more than 200 schools in Bahamas, most of them funded and led by the government through the Ministry of Education. Also, there are private schools established by various religious orders. Education in Bahamas is compulsory from ages 5 to 15. The education system is based on the traditional British model. Students go through several levels, which are:
6 years in primary school (from age 5 to 11 years old).
3 years of junior high school (from age 12 to 15 years old).
2 years senior high school (from age 16 to 18 years old).
There are a number of private vocational schools for adults.
The University of Bahamas was established in 1974 and offer bachelor programs. Students can transfer to affiliated schools in other countries, such as Great Britain, United States and Canada. They can finish 2 additional years of education in any of the abovementioned country.
President, Parliament and Government
The prime minister of the Bahamas is the head of government of the Bahamas, currently Hubert Minnis. Minnis, as leader of the governing Free National Movement party, He was sworn in as Prime Minister on 11 May 2017, succeeding Progressive Liberal Party leader Perry Christie. This was a result of the FNM’s victory in the Bahamas general election of 10 May 2017. The prime minister is formally appointed into office by the governor general of the Bahamas, who represents Elizabeth II, the queen of the Bahamas.
The Bahamas has a distinct culture which has evolved over generations, from a mixture of mostly African, combined with some British and American influences, which developed into a unique and colourful style of Bahamian self-expression.
Bahamians are best described as easy-going, friendly and hospitable. The adult literacy rate, in The Bahamas, is over 90{6aa8b94a654830519ed5454cfb547a89a76f7e20eccf320b2329a59e910005b5} and the country has experienced a rapid growth in the professional class and university educated workforce. English is the official language of The Bahamas, with a local dialect called ‘Bahamianese or Bahamian Dialect’ being spoken colloquially.
Bahamians are deeply religious and Christianity is the predominant religion practised in the country. However, the Bahamian Constitution guarantees freedom of expression.
The Bahamas has three indigenous forms of music and dance: Goombay, Rake ‘n’ Scrape, and Junkanoo.
‘Goombay’ music can be considered to be among the earliest indigenous forms of Bahamian music that originated with its Afro-descendant population in the form of a drumbeat rhythm and was the style used by many early Bahamian musicians and composers like Blind Blake, George Symonette and Eloise Lewis.
‘Rake and Scrape’ has its origins in the family island of Cat Island where it developed as a hybrid form from European and African music cultures. It is a popular folk music form among Bahamians and has been used as a classical folk form for various traditional folk musicals, folk plays, and folk operas by various Bahamian composers. It is, also, used as an accompaniment for the ‘quadrille, plaiting of the maypole and other folk dance forms’ .
Nothing is more indigenous and unique to Bahamian culture than Junkanoo. It is a music and dance form that originated in The Bahamas during the days of slavery. A festive parade complete with colourful costumes, goatskin drums, clanging cowbells, whistles and horns, it has remained remarkably unchanged over the years. The parade progresses in a low, rhythmic dance called ‘rushing’. Traditionally, the festival is held in the early hours of Boxing Day (26 December) and on New Year’s Day, winding up at sunrise. The paraders ‘rush’ in organised groups and are judged on costume theme and performance in a keen competition which captures the spirit of all Bahamians at this very special time of the year.
Health standards have greatly improved throughout the Bahamas in recent years. New hospitals and healthcare facilities have opened in Nassau and Grand Bahama.
There are high levels of health and economic inequality and most of the population are unable to obtain private health insurance. Catastrophic spending on healthcare has bankrupted many patients and their families.
Bahamas safety is achievable for tourists, as long as they take the time to become familiar with potential threats and use the proper precautions. Travelers can avoid petty crimes such as pickpocketing and credit card fraud, for example, by keeping valuables well-hidden and keeping an eye on their credit cards at all times.
Do’s and Don’t
DO shop at the straw markets, located on Bay Street & Cable Beach.
DO go out clubbing at Waterloo, The Last Quarter & The Zoo.
DO go to the ‘fish fry’ on Arawak Cay for conch salad and cold Kalik beer
DO visit Government House, in particular the changing of the Guard.
DO visit the Aquarium at the Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island.
DO stroll down ‘Bay Street’ for some out-of-this-world shopping!
DO visit local Museums & Galleries to view local culture & history.
DO go island hopping, by boat or plane-overnight or just for the day.
DO ride on a ‘Jitney’ (public transportation)-quite an experience!
DO enjoy the sun, sea and sand, but make sure you use sun screen.
DO vist www.bahamasgateway.com/bahamas_recipes.htm and try some recipes.
DO sample gin & coconut water-a true, true Bahamian tradition!
DO eat at Rudy’s on Cowpen Road for a Bahamian breakfast or lunch-a Bahamian secret. (Take a taxi)
DO rent a jet ski for fun & excitement in the water (be safe).
DON’T miss a chance to go dancing, Bahamians love to dance & party!
DON’T step on black spikey looking creatures in the ocean (sea urchin).If you do, pour hot wax on your foot (Bahamian secret).
DON’T go wandering alone at night. Like any other city in the world, keep your guard up.
DON’T forget when you are driving to stay on the left side of the road.
DON’T spend all your money, you will need $15.- for departure tax at the airport when leaving the Bahamas.
DON’T leave without sampling Bahamian cocktails-Bahama Mama, Bahama Papa & Bahamian Delight.
DON’T climb the coconut trees to get your own coconuts, though.
DON’T miss ‘Junkanoo’-Boxing Day & New Year’s Day every year.
DON’T miss native fruit, such as: sour sop, sea grapes, sugar apples, mangoes & sappadillies.
DON’T miss the water sports-diving, snorkeling, parasailing, banana boat ride, etc.
DON’T wear shoes. Go barefoot like an ‘Island Boy or Girl’.
DON’T wear your watch while visiting. It doesn’t matter what time it is!
DON’T leave without going beachcombing for seashells.
DON’T be afraid to try local delicacies-souses, smothers and boils. Everything friedis good!
There are several options to help you get around. Whether you choose to travel via water taxi or a horse-drawn surrey, you’re guaranteed a pleasant and safe ride. Rental cars, motor scooters, buses and taxis are the most common means of public transportation. Bicycles are not generally available for rental, but can be found at many resorts.
Bahamas Ferries
Created in 1999, Bahamas Ferries has been dedicated to providing much needed ferry connections between the smaller islands in the Bahamas. With the use of sustainable technology, and a deep understanding of the local cultures and what they need, the ferries provided by Bahamas Ferries have become an integral part of life in the Bahamas, connecting many of the smaller islands and communities with comfortable and safe ferry experiences.
Bahamian Cuisine is to the foods and beverages of The Bahamas. It includes seafood such as fish, shellfish, lobster, crab, and conch, as well as tropical fruits, rice, peas, pigeon peas, potatoes, and pork. Popular seasonings commonly used in dishes include chilies (hot pepper), lime, tomatoes, onions, garlic, allspice, cinnamon, rum, and coconut.
While you’re onshore visiting a port on a Caribbean cruise, take in the tastes of local Bahamian cuisine. You’ll come back feeling energized and new.
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| 0.511084
| 0.511084
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Five Things the Past Year Has and Hasn't Taught Us about Bahrain, Part II
For those who haven't seen the first half, this post is a continuation of last week's article, the purpose of which is to distinguish between two sets of observations: (1) lessons learned in the year since the start of Bahrain's uprising; and (2) things that may have been highlighted by or become more apparent in the post-February 14 period, but that nonetheless are not strictly-speaking new phenomena. That is to say, what has the continuing crisis actually taught us about Bahrain that was not already apparent in January 2011? And, on the other hand, what are the things that seem to dominate media coverage of the current situation but in fact are not "news" at all?
The latter category--or at least five items from among the latter category--are summarized already in the first half of this article. These are the observations that:
#1: Bahrain's Shi'a are unhappy;
#2: Bahrain's opposition is fragmented;
#3: The state would resort to violence in confronting reformists;
#4: Bahrain's leadership is divided; and
#5: Bahrain's underlying political conflict is an intractable one.
Of course, more interesting than these non-lessons is what we have learned in the previous twelve months--what has changed in Bahrain and the region since February 2011--and what these lessons imply about the prospects for short- and long-term resolution of Bahrain's political conflict. So, without further ado:
What We Have Learned about Bahrain
in the Past Year
#1. That Bahrain's Sunnis are unhappy, too
While most treatments of post-Feb. 14 Bahrain have tended to focus single-mindedly on the Shi'a opposition-Sunni government narrative, the trajectory of the past year owes as much to ordinary Sunnis in Bahrain as it does to the opposition's standoff with the state. Not only were pro-government Sunnis instrumental in checking the momentum of mass protests in February and March, but their ongoing counter-mobilization has continued to shape the terms of political debate in Bahrain--as well as the prospects for an exit from the crisis.
One may object that, as with Bahrain's Shi'a, Sunni grievances were known well before the start of the uprising, and as such should not be included in this "What have we learned?" section. Yet, while this certainly applies to some notable causes of Sunni complaint--land corruption and political naturalization especially--it is also true that the uprising itself has given birth to other, arguably even more fundamental sources of conflict with Bahrain's rulers. The latter I discuss at length in a recent article on "Bahrain's Sunni Awakening." For present purposes, however, these can be summarized as stemming from two main causes: first, dissatisfaction with the state's percieved leniency in dealing with the opposition; and second, the feeling that Sunnis are being repaid poorly for their continued support of the state.
Here we could simply repeat the analysis offered in the aforementioned article. But we need not, for the Sunni community's continued mobilization in the month since it was published provides fresh examples in support of the argument there. On February 10, the National Unity Gathering held another massive rally--they claim an attendance of "at least 100,000"--at the Al-Fateh Mosque to protest against ... protesters. The message was clear:
More than simply reminding the opposition that "we too have a voice," however, the Sunnis at Al-Fateh were directing a message at the state as well: "We support tough action against these trouble-making protesters (and those in the police and armed forces charged with executing it); why don't you?"
Thus we see posters lauding the "men of the Interior [Ministry]: we're all with you." (Not to mention the poster on the right featuring the catchy slogan poking fun at the "Not Sunni, Not Shi'i, Just Bahraini" campaign, rendering it: "Not Sunni, Not Shi'i, We're all against Safavidism," the latter being a common slur for Shi'ism in Bahrain.) Even more photos from the rally--some featuring Saudi flags--are here.
Of course, there is no need to rely on interpretations of photographs in explanation of these Sunni concerns. A set of recent articles in Al-Watan by Yusif Al Bin Khalil describes Bahrain's "Sunni awakening." In a first he asks, "Do we really fear February?," concluding,
We should look at this issue [i.e., the uprising] from another angle--as a sign of strength towards higher political mobilization. In fact, the gathering of hundreds of thousands of [Sunni] citizens in Al Fatah square was not a sign of weakness but rather reflected willingness to make the voices and specific attitudes of the community components and forces heard within the political system and even regionally and internationally.
And, even more explicitly, in a post titled "The next awakening will be in Bahrain" (I won't ask where he got the inspiration for that title),
[Th]e burgeoning political movement that can be described as a “political awakening” ... is so evolving among the Sunnis that it has become very difficult to control or at least to keep track of. For example, if an observer decides to follow the development of political awareness among the Sunni sect, he won’t only come to know the prevailing political values and ideas but he will also notice fast-paced developments consisting in sit-ins and spontaneous gatherings here and there. The situation also includes the rise of political organizations which are also so many and mostly active online to be controlled. ... The outcome of this political awakening or mobility of the Sunni sect is currently unpredictable but it will certainly yield concrete results in the future and will play a role in resolving the conflict among the Bahraini political system various trends. And ignoring these developments more and more will lead us to an impasse, the fact that will require a clear road map with specific deadlines to overcome the standstill. The future scenarios that the Sunni sect and political system will end with appear to be more frightening when they are thought of in an unconventional way amid many options that are not largely dealt with neither by the elite nor by the ordinary people.
Finally, even more to the point is another Al-Watan column by Hesham Al-Zayani--complete with two exclamation points, so you know he's serious.
He writes,
None of us can pretend that he loves Bahrain or is keener on its security than our leaders, but we, as citizens, we share in their fears and we share in their love for Bahrain. If there are signs of any settlement, or any dialogue, or any other issue, the most important thing that worries people is the fear that the state would step back or make concessions under the threat of Molotov cocktails and terrorism and would give more opportunities, more gifts and more gains or strike any other bartering arrangements with a group to stop terrorism or to stop the violence.
This is the biggest “danger sign” that worries people. Under this terrorism, things happened in the nineties and they got respectable gifts, and now, after a decade or more, we are witnessing the same experience and what they require--under threat--is to get a bigger share of the cake than what they got in the nineties. Shall we give them what they want, we might end up with a compromise, but it will never be a solution!! It is like a chronic headache, you take a pill to assuage the pain and when the pill’s effect is over the pain returns after a while. This is the most serious problem in the whole issue. No one is against compromises, no one is against a settlement, but the question is: when will the settlement be broken?! And when the effect of the settlement is over, will we return to the game of Molotov cocktails in the street for the sake of the “cake” again?” I do not know the size or value of the cake!
Yes, we want to live our lives without disturbances; we, the city dwellers and the villagers, want to live in peace as we always used to. A large part of the community is not to blame for what happened as they have nothing to do with it, but they have all paid, in one way or another, the bill. Yes, we want to lead normal lives. This is our demand, but for what price? Who will pay? And is the alleged settlement a temporary solution or a final one? How will the cake be divided? Will those who terrorize people get bigger shares than the others who do not intimidate and will accept anything? I am just thinking aloud and voicing some questions and concerns.
I apologize for the long quotation, but I think it is instructive, in particular the closing line: "How will the cake be divided? Will those who terrorize people get bigger shares than the others who do not intimidate and will accept anything?" Or, less diplomatically: "What, should we loyal Sunnis be content to watch government concessions handed out to the very people who oppose the state, while we once again get nothing?" Here exactly is the core of the Sunni-state conflict in Bahrain, and it is the primary source of the newfound political mobilization of ordinary Bahraini Sunnis in the post-February period.
#2. That it's not just the economy, stupid
Bill Clinton's now-famous observation embodies the standard starting point for analysis of politics in the Arab Gulf countries. If Gulf Arabs are quiet, it's because they're too rich to care about political participation. If they're politically-active, it must be because they're poor. Predictably, then, early interpretations of Bahrain's uprising honed in on the socioeconomic drivers of Shi'a frustration. The country's (Arab) Shi'a tend to be poorer. They are disproportionately excluded from public sector jobs. Thus Shi'a simply have more cause for political complaint than do Sunnis. But were this underlying economic disparity to be rectified through more equitable government policy, so the argument continued, it would go far toward eliminating Bahrain’s apparent, but ultimately epiphenomenal, Sunni-Shi'a divide.
Even King Hamad joined the rentier state bandwagon. To return to a point made in my May Foreign Affairs article, "How Radical Are Bahrain's Shi'a?"
Shortly after the onset of protests, the government announced generous social welfare packages including increased salaries and benefits, cost-of-living stipends, and plans for new subsidized housing. The GCC even kicked in a $10 billion aid package of its own, dubbed a “Gulf Marshall Plan” for Bahrain. But this overt attempt at political buy-off only enraged protesters further. As aptly summarized by Ebrahim Sharif, the imprisoned head of Wa'ad, a now-dissolved secular political society, “This is about dignity and freedom -- it’s not about filling our stomachs.”
Sharif's statement in February 2011 accords well with the principal findings of my mass political survey of Bahraini citizens administered two years earlier in 2009. Comprised of nearly 450 respondents selected from a random sample of households spread across the island, this study of ethnic conflict and political mobilization in the Arab Gulf aimed precisely to discover the relative influences of economics and religion on Bahrainis’ political actions and opinions.
It turns out that the political opinions of everyday Bahrainis—from their trust in basic state institutions like the police and judiciary, to their overall satisfaction with government performance, to their evaluation of Bahrain’s health services—-are determined almost entirely along ethnic lines, with Sunni ethnicity associated with much more pro-government opinions even after accounting for relevant individual factors like age, gender, education level, economic satisfaction, and so on.
What is more, heightened religiosity among respondents serves only to augment this between-group difference, driving opinion farther apart. Among Sunni ethnics, measures of personal religiousness correspond to even more favorable government opinion; among Bahrain’s Shi‘a, to more anti-government views. At the same time that religion pushes Shi‘is toward more adversarial political orientations, that is, it marshals Sunnis further to the regime’s defense.
As for the influence of household economy, on the other hand, its effect on opinion is inconsistent and relatively weak. Indeed, even where it does alter Bahrainis’ views, its substantive impact remains on average some three to four times less in magnitude than that of ethnic affiliation. Even the additional, augmenting effect of personal religiosity is more robust. While it is true then that, on the margin, more economically dissatisfied Bahrainis may tend to hold less favorable positions toward their government, this relationship is but a footnote in the larger narrative of Bahraini politics, which has been woven firmly around ethnic difference since the day the Al Khalifa and their Sunni tribal allies captured the island and its Shi‘i inhabitants from Safavid Persia in 1783.
Beyond the immediate context of Bahrain, moreover, the past year has seen other examples in the region of political mobilization independent of economic concerns. The United Arab Emirates saw a petition signed by several hundred academics--the leaders of which were subsequently arrested and tried--calling for the establishment of a parliament. Saudi Arabia continues to witness political mobilization among Eastern Province Shi'a. And the Kuwaiti government had to be dissolved entirely when the country's involvement in the GCC Peninsula Shield force in Bahrain ignited sectarian tensions to a degree not seen for some time.
In short, in light of events in Bahrain and their repercussions across the region, the previous year has (hopefully) dispelled the myth of the politically-disinterested Gulf "oil sheikh," happy to abandon politics in exchange for material comfort paid for by his cut of the nation's oil revenues. If there remains any Gulf states where this rentier formula retains considerable explanatory power, it is precisely in those contexts least caught up in the sectarian rhetoric overtaking the Gulf--namely, Qatar, the UAE, and Oman--where relatively more homogeneous populations preclude the sort of broad ethno-religious division witnessed in the other half of the GCC.
#3. That sectarianism is a dangerous political strategy
Which brings us to the third lesson of Bahrain's uprising one year later: that sectarian balancing as a political strategy is a dangerous game for Gulf rulers. This is so for several reasons. In the first place, it inevitably draws in the regional patrons of each of the conflicting sides, which means the involvement of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and now Shi'a-controlled Iraq. In turn, the involvement of Saudi Arabia implies the involvement of the larger GCC, as the Saudis aim to impress upon their Gulf neighbors--sometimes with a bit of arm-twisting (see the case of Kuwait in point #4)--that "we're all in this together." One might observe that the Saudis would have intervened in Bahrain even if the uprising had been led by Salafis or by Mongolians, yet absent the religious element in the forefront such an intervention still would not have precipitated the type of regional showdown that came to be called "The New Cold War."
The second reason that sectarian balancing is a precarious political strategy is that, to the extent that it is based on an invented narrative, a contradiction inevitably arises between state rhetoric and state actions. That is, government claims that a foreign-backed, militant opposition poses an existential threat are exposed as disingenuous when the state subsequently embarks on dialogue initiatives with that very opposition, or, say, orders retrials for detainees sentenced during the crackdown. Hence the current public outcry among Bahrain's Sunnis, who accuse Bahrain's leaders of applying the law selectively in dealing with protesters, and of showing too little confidence in the ability of the police, army, and judiciary to discharge their duties.
Finally, once furious sectarian rhetoric on the part of the state gets the political ball rolling, it is difficult to stop. Not only does Bahrain's anti-Shi'a narrative complicate efforts to resolve the crisis, since Sunnis in society are now likely to mobilize against any possible agreement, moreover citizens on both sides of the conflict are increasingly prepared to take matters into their own hands.
The growing preference for violent confrontation with riot police among Bahrain's youth-oriented street movement is well known. And the attempt to return to the Pearl Roundabout over the next few days is likely only to augment this.
But Shi'a in the opposition are not the only ones prepared for a fight. Bahrain's Sunni community likewise is moving toward further militia-ization, whether via 'Adel Flaifel's "Military Society," the thugs attacking villagers in Dar Kulaib, or any number of Sunni groups aimed at combating "Shi'a traitors." The banner below is the production of but one of these.
The question, then, is the following: even if the government were able to come to an agreement with al-Wifaq--an agreement that must certainly involve concessions on both sides--who among Bahrain's citizens will be prepared to stop fighting and accept it?
#4. That the GCC is not as united as it would have one believe
Even as Bahrain's mass protests of March 2011 were eventually extinguished with help from a "joint" GCC intervention, and even as GCC leaders were seemingly united in their stand against Iranian "interference" in Gulf domestic affairs, the crisis in Bahrain has exposed differences in the political calculations and indeed political interests in the GCC member states that belie the notion of a Council that is likely, as called for recently by King 'Abdallah, to move from the phase of "cooperation" to a phase of "union."
Most obvious in this respect is the March-April 2011 controversy over Kuwait's participation in the Peninsula Shield Force. When they offered in lieu of ground troops to mediate talks between Bahrain’s government and opposition—a proposal designed to avoid riling the country’s own sizable Shi‘a population—Kuwait's rulers were quickly chastised by other GCC members and by their own Sunni politicians, who accused them of showing more concern for Shi‘a terrorists than for their (Sunni) brothers in Bahrain. When Kuwait next attempted to send a medical delegation to help treat Bahrain’s wounded, it was refused entry at the causeway, a further public embarrassment that precipitated the fall of the entire government some days later. Finally, shamed and bullied into participation, Kuwait dispatched a naval detachment to Bahrain. The apparent lesson: the GCC will stand together—like it or not.
Yet, how united was the GCC on the Bahrain issue? During the summer, as Saudi Arabia was busy verbally sparring with Iran over the latter's conspiracy to overthrow the Gulf regimes, Qatar's emir played host to Muqtada al-Sadr. Bahraini pro-government forums erupted with rebukes for the country's erstwhile rival:
"A slap in the face to the [Muslim] brothers in Qatar. How can they bring in some slob like this rafidi and talk with him about Bahrain??? This is strange and mysterious from Qatar??? And it begs the question what is the policy of Qatar?????
"Honestly, Qatar's policy is with Iran and Iraq."
A more serious spat was occasioned by the candid Al-Jazeera English documentary "Bahrain: Shouting in the Dark," due to the severity of which Bahrain was forced to deny reports of having severed its diplomatic relations with Qatar altogether. (The episode also had the benefit of prompting the following graphic from the Bahrain Mirror.)
Finally, in a May 2011 Times of Oman story that has since been removed from the web (but still exists via Google cache; oops!), the Omani Foreign Minister famously "denied Tehran’s interference in Bahrain’s internal affairs." And this coming once again near the height of Saudi-Iran rhetoric.
In short, despite obvious similarities in economic, social, and political organization that make the six nations of the GCC natural partners in cooperation, still they are distinguished by unique societal circumstances that at times manifest themselves as divergent interests and inter-state rivalries. For all their grandiose talk of moving toward political "union," it is clear that the GCC states still cannot agree even upon what exactly is implied in the word “cooperation.”
#5. That Bahrain's conflict will not be solved in the short term
Above all, the disparate developments of the previous twelve months have made it clear that Bahrain's underlying conflict cannot and will not be solved in the short term. Unless protesters somehow manage to revive large-scale protests on the scale of March 2011, which I don't think possible; or unless the United States announces it is moving its Fifth Fleet and sparks a mass exodus of foreign capital from Bahrain, which is perhaps even less likely (and, even then, the Saudis I'm sure would be happy to pick up the slack)--short of these two things, the government enjoys such a strong bargaining position at present that the terms the opposition would be forced to accept today are so far from their stated demands that such an agreement would be utterly unacceptable to large swaths of the Bahraini opposition, to say nothing of Bahraini Sunnis who are likely to reject on principle any political compromise.
Consider again al-Zayani's column above, which makes the same point (if obviously in a partisan manner):
[An uprising] happened in the nineties and they [the opposition] got respectable gifts, and now, after a decade or more, we are witnessing the same experience and what they require--under threat--is to get a bigger share of the cake than what they got in the nineties. Shall we give them what they want, we might end up with a compromise, but it will never be a solution!! It is like a chronic headache, you take a pill to assuage the pain and when the pill’s effect is over the pain returns after a while. This is the most serious problem in the whole issue. No one is against compromises, no one is against a settlement, but the question is: when will the settlement be broken?! And when the effect of the settlement is over, will we return to the game of Molotov cocktails in the street for the sake of the “cake” again?”
What al-Zayani does not say, of course, is that any "settlement" will be doomed to failure from the outset, as the government has already made clear that most of the opposition's key demands--a wholly elected government, a new prime minister, an end to political naturalization, and the ability to serve in the police and armed forces--are entirely off the table. (Indeed, the state denies the existence of the latter two problems altogether.) The only concessions one might think remotely possible are new, fairer electoral districts and changes to the structure of the parliament vis-a-vis the Shura Council. Farther than this the government is simply unprepared to go.
Neither, finally, does it seem that the government's position can be influenced from the outside. In the past year Bahrain has already rejected Kuwaiti, Qatari, and U.S. mediation of the crisis. In fact, less than a week ago Crown Prince Salman reiterated to the new U.S. Ambassador the need for a "local solution" to the crisis. Fortunately for him, given the State Department's seeming reluctance to get involved anyway, the crown prince's position is probably just fine with the Obama Administration. Whether it bodes well for the long-term political stability of Bahrain, of course, is another matter.
Update: Seven months after telling an Egyptian newspaper that Bahrain's uprising was a result of a joint U.S.-Iranian conspiracy, Bahrain's Defense Minister Sh. Khalifah bin Ahmad is at it again. In a lengthy interview with Al-Ayam, "the Marshall" accuses 19 U.S. NGOs (along with 3 others in "a Gulf state") of "working against" Bahrain. These organizations, he says, are "managed and funded by the U.S. and this Gulf state." It must be comforting for U.S. policymakers to know how highly their allies think of them. (English Gulf News report now available.)
Update 2: TANGO DOWN: For the lulz, Anonymous marked February 14 by hacking both bahrain.bh and the website of U.S. teargas manufacturer CSI (not that CSI), which is still down. (That may have something to do with the fact that, as the NYT tells, Anonymous has evidently threatened to reveal client lists and information if the website is revived.)
So, how long do you think Bahrain will stay in this stalemate for?
Noel Maurer February 14, 2012 at 6:52 PM
Hi, Justin:
I just gave this post of shout-out over at my blog. Great post!
I'm confused about one thing, though: why wasn't it obvious in February 2011 that sectarianism was a risky strategy? The other four seem like genuinely new information; that one does not, at least at first glance.
I asked the same question over in my post, FYI.
Justin Gengler February 14, 2012 at 7:10 PM
Hi Noel,
My inclusion of the point about sectarianism is based on the fact that while it's long been employed as a strategy, until now it hasn't blown up in the government's face nearly to the extent that is clear now. In particular, it has directly precipitated the mobilization of previously-dormant Sunnis, which both complicates the search for a solution to the crisis but also may even prove a more direct threat to the regime.
Noel Maurer February 15, 2012 at 3:25 AM
Ah ... I think I get it. Point (1) and point (3) are related: it's not sectarianism per se, it's having the government mobilize the Sunnis.
Do I have that right?
Justin Gengler February 15, 2012 at 8:49 AM
Yes, the important point is the unintended consequences of the state's sectarian strategy, primary among these the mobilization of Sunnis. As I write in the section, though, I would also include among the consequences the export of this Sunni-Shi'i narrative to the wider Gulf, drawing in not only Saudi and Iran but also Iraq, Kuwait, and even Qatar (as a result of Al-Jazeera English).
Bahrain: Where Trying to Solve a Political Conflic...
The Anti-National Dialogue
"Shouting in the Dark" 2?
Five Things the Past Year Has and Hasn't Taught Us...
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LONG LIVE ROCK 'N' ROLL
The San Francisco Sound
Rock Prosopography 102
The British Sound
US BANDS
CRAIG TARWATER
DAVID LINDLEY & CHRIS DARROW 1944-1966 (PRE-KALEIDOSCOPE)
DON CONCA
FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH
THE BOX TOPS
THE BROGUES
THE DAILY FLASH
THE FUGITIVES / SRC
THE MOCKERS / THE MOCKER MANOR BLUES BAND
THE ORKUSTRA
THE PLEASURE SEEKERS / CRADLE
THE PRIME MOVERS
THE RHYTHM DUKES
THE RISING SONS
THE SONS OF ADAM
THE SONS OF CHAMPLIN
THE SOPWITH CAMEL
WOODY'S TRUCK STOP
UK BANDS
BLOSSOM TOES / B.B. BLUNDER
DON SHINN
JIMMY POWELL AND THE FIVE DIMENSIONS
THE CHEYNES
THE PREACHERS
THE RIOT SQUAD
THE SOUL AGENTS
LOVE E-BOOK
CAFE AU GO GO (NEW YORK CITY)
This day-by-day diary of Devil's Kitchen's live, studio, broadcasting and private activities is the result of three decades of research and interview work by Bruno Ceriotti and Brett Champlin (RIP), but without the significant contributions by other kindred spirits this diary would not have been possible. So, we would like to thank all the people who, in one form or another, contributed to this timeline: Robbie Stokes, Bob Laughton, Randy Bradle, Harvey Morrison, Ross Hannan, Corry Arnold, John Wisniewski, Michael Limnios, Greg Vick, Todd Everett, Eric Torgerson, John Loyd, Art Johnson, Jim Titterington, Yo Tullar, Gene Yano, Ingrid Tarver, Robert Estes, Scott Carter, San Francisco Examiner, Los Angeles Free Press, Berkeley Barb, Berkeley Tribe, It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine, Blues.Gr, Daily Egyptian, San Mateo Times, Queen City Express, San Francisco Chronicle, The Stanford Daily, The University of Cincinnati News Record, The San Francisco Examiner, Southern Illinoisan, Daily Independent Journal From San Rafael, and San Francisco Good Times.
An underrated psychedelic blues band who was a semi-regular fixture on the San Francisco music scene of the late 1960s, Devil's Kitchen emerged from a Carbondale, Illinois, typical college party band called OM (after the sacred sound and spiritual icon in Indian religions). The story begins when James Brett Champlin (b. Saturday, October 19, 1946, St. Louis, Missouri - d. Wednesday, January 22, 2020, Highland Park, Illinois, for cancer), a former tenor sax player in the marching band and pep bands through high school, as well with a surf rock band called the Lonely Rebels, enrolled at the local Southern Illinois University in September 1964. There, he subsequently joined the Campus Folk Arts Society and formed a folk singing group called the Pebbles along with Nancy Jo Zacha, Alan Dillard, and Paul Enchelmayer. Later, he formed a folk singing duo called Moody Two with Jim Moody and, last but not least, he formed another folk singing group called Moody and Company along with his one-year younger sister, the late Jacquelyn Ann 'Jackie' Champlin, Jim Moody, Fred Wiley, and Gail Reilley. Brett played acoustic guitar with those groups but at one point, in 1966, another student and aspiring rock drummer named Jay Gervich, convinced him that the folk revival was died (and he was right) and that he need to "goes electric". So, Brett switched from acoustic to electric guitar and he and Jay soon formed a rock band called OM (Jay came up with the name). The lineup also featured a bass player named Bucky Harmon, who was "the younger brother, still in high school, of the girl that Jay was dating," recalled Brett, and a student artist and tambourine player named Jim Jameson, who was "the cousin of the girl that Jay was dating," added Brett. The four-piece played mostly Chicago blues and rock and roll covers, but "the first lineup never really played 'out', it was just a bunch of guys trying to put together a band," pointed out Brett.
OM #1 (1966)
1) Brett Champlin vocals, guitar
2) Jay Gervich drums
3) Bucky Harmon bass
4) Jim Jameson tambourine
As often happens with college groups, the lineup changed from year to year or even semester to semester, so at one point OM replaced Bucky Harmon and Jim Jameson with two better players, and SIU students, named Ron Steen, who played lead guitar, and John Williams 'Jake' Byrum (b. Friday, March 14, 1947, Winnetka, Cook County, Illinois), who played bass and who later went on to become a Hollywood writer, director, and producer. "Then we got Ron and Jake in and dropped a couple of others and started actually playing 'gigs'… [that's when we] really began as a band," pointed out Brett Champlin. "Ron Steen was the lead guitar and he played a Fender Stratocaster. I played a Gibson Melody Maker and played mostly rhythm but occasionaly some dual leads and fills with Ron," he added. "Jake Byrum wanted to join us and bough a bass guitar and either taught himself or took some quick lessons. He also sang several songs - mostly background vocals to my lead vocals but he had a couple 'showcase' songs. We played a lot of teen club dances for the local high school and lots of parties all over campus at the university. We had one or two more formal gigs at the university but I can't recall exactly who hired us for what kind of thing - mostly dances of course. Many fraternity parties too."
OM #2 (1966 - SPRING 1967)
1) Brett Champlin rhyhm guitar, lead vocals
23 Jake Byrum bass, backing vocals, lead vocals (on a couple of songs)
3) Ron Steen lead guitar
OM disbanded after Brett Champlin left the Southern Illinois University for a while. "That was at some point when I had left school for 6 months or so," Brett confirms. "It was more like a semester and a summer… don't really recall - oh yeah… it was spring and summer of 1967. I spent the spring in Virginia and the summer in San Francisco." At that point, their former bass player Bucky Harmon claimed the OM name and put together a new lineup with his high school mate and best friend Robbie Stokes (b. Sunday, August 28, 1949, Carbondale) on lead guitar, formerly of the Viscounts, the Counts, and the Satellites, Jerry Goodman on violin (who later went on to play with The Flock and Mahavishnu Orchestra, as well as solo), and an unknown drummer.
OM #3 (SPRING 1967 - SEPTEMBER 1967)
1) Robbie Stokes lead guitar, vocals
3) Jerry Goodman violin
4) ? drums
Robbie Stokes enrolled at the Southern Illinois University, and at the same time Brett Champlin returned home for the fall semester. At that point, Brett find out that OM were still active so he joined them again. Jerry Goodman and the unknown drummer had already gone by then, and beside Brett, the band also hired a new drummer and SIU student named Stephen 'Steve' Sweigart, aka 'Naz' (b. 1948, Aurora, Illinois), formerly of Hearts of Darkness, and the Xaviers. "I just returned from spending the whole summer in San Francisco and there was just Robbie and Bucky then and I said 'hey guys, that's my band name' or something but the three of us started it up and I think that's when we found Steve to be the drummer," confirmed Brett Champlin.
OM #4 (SEPTEMBER 1967 - OCTOBER 1967 (?))
1) Brett Champlin rhythm guitar, vocals
4) Steve Sweigart (aka Naz) drums
OM, Carbondale, 1967 - from left: Robbie Stokes and Brett Champlin
OM, Carbondale, 1967 - from left: Steve Sweigart and Bucky Harmon
OM, Carbondale, 1967 - from left: Brett Champlin and Robbie Stokes
OM, Carbondale, 1967 - from left: Bucky Harmon and Robbie Stokes
October 1967 (?)
Bucky Harmon was forced by his mother to left the band after an unfortunate incident which occured after he and Robbie Stokes went to live together in a rented house outside of town where OM also hung out and rehearsed quite often. "[One day] the whole group was hanging out after a particularly intense rehearsal and everyone was relaxing in accordance with their own personal preference, which means naturally, that there were women there and several psychedelic type intoxicants," recalled Brett Champlin. "In the living room we were listening to some laid back jazz as I recall, some of us playing along now and then. Robbie was taking a 'nap' with a 'friend' downstairs. Unbeknownst to those of us still in the house, Bucky had dropped some LSD and felt particularly free and easy and had gone outside and somewhere decided clothes were not only an encumbrance, but totally unnecessary out here communing with nature. Then he took off running through what turned out to be a farmer's fields and jumping off a bridge into a creek, all the while screaming 'Lucky Bucky! Lucky Bucky!'. The farmer reported to the local police that there was some long haired naked man running through his fields screaming nonsense, and naturally they investigated and found that the boy apparently had come from that house up the road where the 'hippies' had moved in. So, Officer Friendly and his partner Officer NotSoFriendly called at the house. They knocked politely and someone (it was the drummer who was high as a kite) opened the door and invited them in... then went back and sat down on the couch and called me (the arch criminal who shall not be named in this account). I walked into the room and found myself face-to-face with Officer Obie and Deputy Fife who pulled out a notebook and said 'Who lives in this house?' I said, 'Why, my good friend Robbie who is out at the moment but will probably be right back. What seems to be the problem, Officers?' They told us about our friend Bucky being taken to the local hospital apparently under the influence of some of that there LSD stuff that we've all heard so much about. They said that they thought that we were in possession of drugs and wanted to search the house. I said 'As much as I would like to, I can’t give you permission to search my friend’s house since I’m just a guest here myself. What makes you think we have drugs here, Officer?' and he said, 'Well, you look like your high as a kite'. Now why would you think that, sir? 'Well, for one thing your pupils are dilated and that is a sign of being high'. Well, sir, there are any number of things that can cause one's pupils to be dilated, among which is fear - like when one is suddenly confronted with police officers with guns in one's house. 'I suppose that could cause dilated pupils too', he said. Well, why don't you two go ask Bucky where he got those drugs? I'm sure he will tell you that it wasn't here. We were just playing music, sir. And, I don't think you can search our house without a search warrant, can you? 'Well, your friend there invited us in.' Well, it isn't his house and he didn't think you would be accusing us of having drugs either. So please leave. Amazingly, they did. The police just left and we all breathed a sigh of relief. So, I went downstairs to get my stash and get it out of the house. But what I found was Robbie frantically stuffing bags of pills into the toilet and flushing it. And then we all noticed the sweet smell of burning grass permeating the premises. Seems Robbie's first reaction was to start shoving bags of pot (a bit over a pound) into the furnace. So he had burned and flushed a couple hundred dollars worth of psychedelic delights. The adrenaline that the incident had produced in us had totally overpowered whatever mellow we had previously been enjoying and we started yelling at each other until our screams turned into laughter. And we all stood around the vents from the furnace trying to inhale whatever was left of the stash. The finale was that Bucky's mom made him move back home and stop playing with the band. [Later we] wrote the song 'Farm Bust Blues' although in fact none of us had been actually busted, except poor Bucky." So, to replace the "poor Bucky", the band hired a new bass player and SIU design student named Bob Laughton (b. 1943, Barrington, Cook County, Illinois), formerly of Bob Laughton Blues Band, Nickel Bag, the Nite-Owls, the Dusty Road Boys, as well as solo performer on guitar and harmonica. "I recruited Bob," also recalled Brett. "I suggested him because he was the best all around musician I knew at the time and I just thought I'd like to play with him. He has told me that it was a complete surprise when I invited myself over to his place and asked him to join us and that it just happened to the exact right time for him - he was breaking up with his girlfriend and sort or wondering what to do next with his life... he liked my idea which was to put together a couple really tight sets, write some original songs and take the band to San Francisco."
OM #5 (OCTOBER 1967 (?) - JUNE 1?, 1968) / DEVIL'S KITCHEN #1 (JUNE 1?, 1968 - APRIL 11, 1970)
1) Brett Champlin
2) Robbie Stokes
3) Steve Sweigart
4) Bob Laughton bass, slide guitar, vocals
OM, Carbondale, 1967/68 - back row from left: ? (friend or roadie), Bob Laughton, Robbie Stokes, Carl Rozycki (roadie), and Brett Champlin; front row from left: Steve Sweigart (seated) and Bucky Harmon (roadie)
OM, Carbondale, 1967/68 - from up to down: Steve Sweigart, Bob Laughton, Robbie Stokes (left) and Brett Champlin (right)
OM, Carbondale, 1967/68 - from left: Bob Laughton, Brett Champlin, and Steve Sweigart
OM, Carbondale, 1967/68 - from left: Brett Champlin and Steve Sweigart
OM, Carbondale, 1967/68 - from left: Bob Laughton and Brett Champlin
Devil's Kitchen #1, Buena Vista Park, San Francisco, 1969 - from left: Brett Champlin, Bob Laughton, Steve Sweigart, and Robbie Stokes
Devil's Kitchen #1, Buena Vista Park, San Francisco, 1969 - from left: Robbie Stokes, Brett Champlin, Bob Laughton, and Steve Sweigart
Devil's Kitchen #1, Buena Vista Park, San Francisco, 1969 from left: Robbie Stokes, Brett Champlin, Steve Sweigart, and Bob Laughton
Devil's Kitchen #1, Buena Vista Park, San Francisco, 1969 - from left: Bob Laughton, Robbie Stoks, Brett Champlin, and Steve Sweigart
Devil's Kitchen #1, Buena Vista Park, San Francisco, 1969 - from left: Robbie Stokes, Bob Luaghton, Steve Sweigart, and Brett Champlin
Devil's Kitchen #1, Buena Vista Park, San Francisco, 1969 - from left: Bob Laughton, Steve Sweigart, Brett Champlin, and Robbie Stokes
Devil's Kitchen #1, Buena Vista Park, San Francisco, 1969 - from left: Bob Luaghton, Steve Sweigart, Robbie Stokes, and Brett Champlin
Devil's Kitchen #1, Buena Vista Park, San Francisco, 1969 - from upper left clockwise: Robbie Stokes, Brett Champlin, Bob Laughton, and Steve Sweigart
Devil's Kitchen #1, Buena Vista Park, San Francisco, 1969 - from left: Steve Sweigart, Bob Laughton, Brett Champlin, and Robbie Stokes
Devil's Kitchen #1 - from left: Robbie Stokes, John Loyd (road manager), Brett Champlin, Bob Laughton, Steve Sweigart, and Harvey Morrison (business manager)
Devil's Kitchen #1, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, 1969 - from left: Bob Laughton, Robbie Stokes, Steve Sweigart, and Brett Champlin
Devil's Kitchen, Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles, 1970 - from left: Steve Sweigart, Brett Champlin, and Robbie Stokes
Devil's Kitchen #1, Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles, 1970 - from left: Robbie Stokes, Bob Laughton, Steve Sweigart, and Brett Champlin
Devil's Kitchen #1, Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles, 1970 - from left: Robbie Stokes, Bob Laughton, and Brett Champlin
Devil's Kitchen #1, Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles, 1970 - from left: Robbie Stokes and Brett Champlin
Friday, February 9 - Sunday, February 11, 1968: 'Grand Opening', Hippodrome, 805 North 16th Street, Murphysboro, Jackson County, Illinois
Besides playing the usual campus parties and local teen clubs and campus gigs, OM became the house band for a new teen club aka rock emporium in nearby Murphysboro called the Hippodrome. "Early song lists were mostly covers of folk-rock, blues, brit-rock and classic American rock and roll - Jimi Hendrix's 'Purple Haze', Cream's 'Sunshine of Your Love', B.B. King's 'Rock Me, Baby', Traffic's 'Mr. Fantasy', The Who's 'I Can See For Miles', Chuck Berry's 'Johnny B. Goode', etc," recalled Brett Champlin. "As we continued to perform, we started adding more and more original songs to our repertoire until we were ready to present sets of mainly original material." Bob Laughton designed the poster printed for these shows. Also on the bill: The Long Wave Radio (10-11), The Mellow Fellows (9, 11). Lights by The Walnut. One show each day, from 9:00pm to 1:00am.
OM, Hippodrome, Carbondale, 1968 from left: Bob Laughton, Brett Champlin, Steve Sweigart, and Robbie Stokes
Friday, February 23 - Sunday, February 24, 1968: Hippodrome, 805 North 16th Street, Murphysboro, Jackson County, Illinois
Bob Laughton designed the poster printed for these shows. Also on the bill: Associated Sound (23), The Long Island Sound (24). Lights by The Walnut. One show each day, from 9:00pm to 1:00am.
Friday, April 19 - Saturday, April 20, 1968: Hippodrome, 805 North 16th Street, Murphysboro, Jackson County, Illinois
One show each day, from 9:00pm to 1:00am. Lights by The Walnut.
Daily Egyptian (April 18, 1968)
Friday, April 26, 1968: 'Celebrate Spring with Free Dance & Concert (aka Free!!! Concert)', Hippodrome, 805 North 16th Street, Murphysboro, Jackson County, Illinois
One show, from 9:00pm to 1:00am. Lights by The Walnut.
Brett Champlin came up with the idea to take the band out in San Francisco to live and play. "I had just returned a few months earlier from spending the whole Summer of Love hanging out in San Francisco in the Haight Ashbury," Brett recalls, "working with the Diggers to feed people, playing music in the park, going to the Straight Theater, the Avalon, the Fillmore, et all. I had this idea that we could put together a group to compete with the other bands out there and maybe 'make it'... Bob loved the idea... and that was our goal... it took us until next May 1968 to think we were ready and head out to the west coast." So, after practiced intensely for a couple of months, everybody and their equipment packed up in Brett's Blue VW bus and cross-country to California.
According to Robbie Stokes, the band arrived in San Francisco today. "When we got to San Francisco," Brett Champlin recalls, "we rented an old auto garage in the Mission District across the street from a pie factory and set up a practice space surrounded by improvised living space. After a while and with a growing coterie of roadies, girlfriends and just friends of the band passing through San Francisco, we needed a better living space and found a roach infested but huge 12-room apartment on the second floor of the building on the NE corner of Haight and Ashbury. Janis Joplin lived around the corner and down the block and we were close to Golden Gate Park and the weekend concerts where we played several times. Eventually we hooked up with a new manager, Harvey Morrison, who knew the local music scene well and who moved us to an old rooming house on Fell Street across from the panhandle of Golden Gate Park."
June 1?, 1968
Soon after arrived in San Francisco, the band changed their name to Devil's Kitchen. "When we got to San Francisco there were two or three other bands named that [OM] or some variation of spelling (most notably, AUM) playing in the Bay Area," Brett Champlin recalls. "We had spent a couple of months practicing at the lakeside vacation cabin of the family of our good friend and roadie, Rolf Olmstead. We had fond memories of our time there and named the group after the lake - Devil's Kitchen Lake, an 801-acre lake about 8 miles from Carbondale." "I never really much liked the name 'OM' - I thought it was a great sound to hum when meditating, but way too vague for a bluesy rock band name," Bob Laughton also recalls. "As soon as Brett decided three other SF bands with names like Om, Ohm, or Aum was enough, and with equally fond memories of high times out at the lake, I quickly suggested 'Devil's Kitchen'."
Friday, June 14 or Saturday, June 15, 1968 (?): 'Benefit', San Francisco Mime Troupe's loft, 924 Howard Street, Mission District, San Francisco, California
The rechristened Devil's Kitchen played their first (unpaid) gig in San Francisco at a benefit for the local SF Mime Troupe, presented by the latter's former manager Bill Graham.
Sunday, June 16 or Tuesday, June 18, 1968 (?): Deno and Carlo, 728 Vallejo Street, North Beach, San Francisco, California
Devil's Kitchen played their second (but first paid) gig in San Francisco, opening for the up-and-coming Creedence Clearwater Revival. "We played there once or twice a week all the summer," Brett Champlin recalls. "It was pass the beer pitcher for pay. Other young, new groups at the time like CCR and Santana did the same, sometimes the same evening, splitting the take."
Summer 1968: Deno and Carlo, 728 Vallejo Street, North Beach, San Francisco, California
Summer 1968: unknown venue, Stinson Beach, Marin County, California
"We played there a couple times that summer, at least once with Creedence Clearwater Revival," recalls Brett Champlin.
Sunday, Summer 1968: 'Play in the sand - dance groove', Deno and Carlo's Naval Base (aka Muir Beach Lodge), Muir Beach, Marin County, California
A free outdoor concert held here every Sunday. "We played there a couple times that summer, once with the Land of Milk and Honey," recalls Brett Champlin. "We played a gig with a group called The Land of Milk and Honey," Brett adds in another interview with Michael Limnious for Blues.Gr website in September 2012. "They weren’t all that serious but just having fun playing music. One of the guys in that group was an old Family Dog friend and he became our manager and introduced us to Chet [Helms] and the whole scene. Chet was all business from everything I knew about him. He was friendly and liked the music a lot but he had to focus on all of the business aspects of producing events."
Summer 1968: unknown bar, Monterey, California
"Played a weekend at a bar [in Monterey] after meeting some locals who invited us down for a gig," recalls Brett Champlin.
Tuesday, August 20, 1968: 'Tuesday Night Audition', Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, California
Devil's Kitchen, along with Zig Zag Follies and (maybe) Santana Blues Band, played at one of the infamous Tuesday night series recently instituted by Bill Graham at the Fillmore West. The series was called "Audition Night," and three local bands would play for a small admission fee ($1.00 or $1.50). The best of those bands would often open a weekend show on Friday and Saturday, sometimes even the next weekend. The Tuesday night series seems to have gone on almost every week for the life of the Fillmore West, excepting the summer of '69 when a six nights a week concert schedule was employed, as well as occasional nights when a big act would play a Tuesday. However, although the Tuesday night concerts are regularly alluded to, there are almost no records of which bands played. By my estimation, there must be approximately 100 Tuesday night Audition concerts, possibly more, meaning perhaps as many as 300 acts played the Fillmore West that we are not generally aware of. If the Tuesday night "winner" also played on each weekend, as appeared to be the case at least some of the time, then there would be approximately 50 or more acts that were part of the "main" Fillmore West schedule that we have no direct evidence of. At the very least, this fact explains the number of lesser known groups who claim to have played the Fillmore West who never appeared on a poster. There were no posters or flyers for Tuesday night show, and the band "added" to the weekend gig was not on the poster, as the artwork had been done and the posters distributed considerably earlier. The Tuesday night Audition shows did not have posters or flyers that I am aware of, with occasional exceptions. There does appear to have been press releases, probably as part of regular Fillmore West press releases, so the performers would have been announced, but probably only on FM radio and at the Fillmore West itself. As rock music became more important, the Tuesday night shows would sometimes be listed in the paper as filler in the entertainment section, which is how I found out about most of the shows. In 1968 and 1969, however, the shows seem to have been all but unpublicized. Bill Graham liked playing basketball, and apparently each Tuesday the Fillmore West "team" would play a game at the Fillmore West against another team (such as a radio station) prior to the show. A bit of this is shown in the 1972 Fillmore movie. Afterwards, three bands would play. It seems that everyone did just one set, unlike the normal two sets on the weekend, so it was a relatively early evening, appropriate for a Tuesday. On weekends, the three billed bands (from the poster) each played two sets. Going back to 1966 at the old Fillmore, a local band often opened the show on Friday and Saturday, playing a single set. This was to encourage and accommodate early arriving patrons, and by extension to encourage the sale of more popcorn and soda. A local band playing a set at, say, 8:00 pm at the Fillmore would still have time to make it over to a nightclub if they were booked for a Friday or Saturday night gig, as many bands would have been. Whatever the proposition, however, there is no guarantee that the best band of each Tuesday night was guaranteed to be the opener on the next weekend. I'm sure it happened of course, and perhaps regularly, but I have yet to see indications of who actually opened which show. The Fillmore West was designed as a money making operation, but Bill Graham was also very shrewd about what would now be called "Leveraging His Brand" (had such a term existed then). First of all, each of the three bands was paid Union Scale for a two-hour session. I do not precisely how much this was, and obviously depending on the number of members of the band it would vary slightly, but it was probably a relatively small amount. Thus, it would not take a large crowd to justify the expense of the evening (since bands had to join the union in order to play Fillmore West, some bands may have effectively not been paid at all). In late 1968 Graham started both a booking agency and two record labels. One record label was supported by CBS, and was called Fillmore Records; the other label was San Francisco Records, distributed by Atlantic; and the booking agency was the Millard Agency. Thus the auditions were not just for finding opening acts at Fillmore West, which was hardly an impossible task, as Graham had done so for years at the Fillmore without a Tuesday audition night. Tuesdays provided Graham first look at acts for his record company, and immediate indications of the stage act of local bands for his booking agency. Anyway, apparently Devil's Kitchen's audition that night did not impressed Bill Graham too much, as he neither booked the band to open a weekend show at the Fillmore and/or signed them for his record label or booking agency. However, according to Brett Champlin, at least Graham took a little bit of interest in the band because he helped them to get more gigs and also sent them into a studio to learn recording. "As we were getting more and more gigs around the city and feeling tighter, eventually we thought we were ready to go big... so first step was an audition at the Fillmore West," Brett Champlin recalls. "First thing I remember is it was the biggest stage I'd ever set foot on and it was a full house (which I think meant about 1,200 more or less stoned people sitting around on the floor). I don't remember who went on before us, but when we went on, it wasn't exactly party central... clouds of smoke and everybody just sitting there... I think we kicked it off with a tune we'd written about getting out of Carbondale... 'I'm getting tired of hanging around this dirty old coal town...' and by the end of the second song ('Mourning Glory' I think it was) half of the crowd was up and dancing. We were really feeling great by the end of the set (I think we only did 4 or 5 songs), the crowd was screaming and cheering and we'd had them on their feet nearly the whole time. We thought we'd really made it. Then the next band came on - it was the Santana Blues Band, a home town favorite. They played and blew the house down, and by the time they finished, I don't think anyone remembered us."
October 1968: Sierra Sound Laboratories (aka Sierra Sound Studios), 1741 Alcatraz Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California
Devil's Kitchen headed into a recording studio probably for the first time, and self produced four tracks: 'Mellow Pot Blues', a cover of Buster Bennett sang by Robbie Stokes, plus three originals: 'City (7th Street)' written by Brett Champlin (who also sang lead), '(You've Got Your) Head On Right' written by Robbie (who also sang lead), and 'Mourning Glory' written by the entire band and with Brett, Robbie and Bob who shared vocals duties. These songs later appeared on their album, 'Devil's Kitchen' (EAP101449), which was released in the US on June 1, 2011, on a limited pressing of 1000 hand-numbered copies by Lysergic Sound Distributors.
LP front cover
LP back cover
Thursday, October 31 - Saturday, November 2, 1968: 'Ball', The Ark, Gate 6, Sausalito, Marin County, California
Also on the bill: Initial Shock (31-2), White Lightning (31-2), Boogie (31, 2). One show each day, from 9:00pm to 6:00am. Although advertised, Boogie finally did not played on Friday night (November 1) because before their "after hours" set there was a fracas involving members of two motorcycle clubs inside the Ark, and a twenty-year-old local kid called Marshall Craig suffered scalp wounds (he was treated for cuts on his scalp after he was taken to the hospital). "I climbed up the kitchen ladder and got in a lifeboat hoping no stray rounds could go through 2 decks and a lifeboat bottom," John Barrett of Boogie recalls. "Me and my wife went upstairs on the deck and got behind the pilot house," Fuzzy John Oxendine of Boogie also recalls. Deputies reported they found Craig on a couch at the Ark after receiving a report of a fight in progress at 2:55am (Saturday morning). Craig told officers that several members of the Hell's Angels and Gypsy Jokers motorcycle clubs had attacked him and apparently kicked him in the head, deputies said. Deputies said Craig told them he believed the reason for the attack was "because he would not show them that he was afraid of them." Craig did not know or would not say who was responsible, deputies said. The report of the fight was moade to deputies investigating a gunshot into a car near the Marin City underpass. The driver, Jesse David Thomas told deputies he heard a gunshot and his left rear window shattered. Two passenders, Marjorie N. Jackson and Edward L. Jackson were treated at Marin General Hospital for minor scrapes. Deputies said the shot apparently came from the Ark area. Unknown hippies told deputies firearms were involved in the Ark incident, deputies reported. No bullets were found in the Thomas car, deputies said. Anyway, the Ark was ordered close and occupants asked to leave. "Our gig never happened, the police made everyone go home," John Barrett confirms. Anyway, the police closed the Ark for just that night, so the next night (Saturday) the show happened as usual.
"The Big One, i.e., the great San Francisco earthquake, the one that would have the coast from SF south sliding into the Pacific Ocean and Atlantis/Mu rising from the depths of the Pacific and other various phenomena, was supposed to happen on November 9, 1968 according to a lot of local Edgar Cayce fans and others," Brett Champlin recalls. "The stories got so heavy and with so many people getting so high, some folks got quite paranoid about it. Our buddy, roadie and all around band support guy, Carl Rozycki, got so buzzed about it that he actually left town, got on a plane to St. Louis and hitch-hiked to Carbondale to be 'safe'. And, that night, there was a 5.4 magnitude earthquake - in Southern Illinois that knocked him out of bed!!! True story!!! The band, on the other hand, not only stayed in San Francisco, some of us drove up to the top of Mt. Tamalpais to join in the 'end-of-the-world party' which was a wild affair with some folks actually expecting to see the coast south of us slide into the ocean (it didn't unless you had ingested some particularly potent psychedelic and you 'thought' you saw something like that) and most of us just had a lot of fun dancing, singing and 'pairing off' over the mountain..."
Thursday, November 21 - Saturday, November 23, 1968: The New Committee Theatre, 836 Montgomery Street, North Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Ohm, Womb, Day Blindness. These shows, which lasted from 9:00pm to 4:00am each day, were presented by Thunderpig Productions.
Berkeley Barb (November 15, 1968)
Friday, November 29 - Saturday, November 30, 1968: The New Committee Theatre, 836 Montgomery Street, North Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Crome Syrcus, Glass Thunder. These shows, which lasted from 9:00pm to 4:00am each day, were presented by Thunderpig Productions.
Friday, December 6, 1968: The New Committee Theatre, 836 Montgomery Street, North Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Sanpaku, Initial Shock. These shows, which lasted from 9:00pm to 4:00am each day, were presented by Thunderpig Productions.
Tuesday, December 10, 1968: Mandrake's, 1048 University Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California
Wednesday, December 11 - Thursday, December 12, 1968: New Orleans House, 1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California
One show each day, started at 9:30pm. Also on the bill: Lightnin' Hopkins. Robbie, Brett (on bass), and Steve also backed up Hopkins.
Tuesday, December 31, 1968: 'New Year's Eve Party', San Francisco Art Institute, 800 Chestnut Street, Russian Hill, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: The Tubes. "[We] played all night and what a party it was…" Brett Champlin recalls, "we played in the courtyard by the fountain and eventually people started taking off their clothes and jumping in the fountain - including some of the band members… there may have been some LSD involved… I think I have a memory or two left of that night."
1968: Constitution Park (aka Provo Park), 1901-1999 Allston Way at Grove Street, downtown Berkeley, Alameda County, California
A free outdoor concert.
Devil's Kitchen #1, Provo Park, Berkeley, 1968 - from left: Brett Champlin and Steve Sweigart
Robbie Stokes, Provo Park, Berkeley, 1968
1968/69: Pacific Recording Studios, 1737 South El Camino Real, San Mateo, California
According to Brett Champlin, Bill Graham set up a recording session for the band at the Pacific Recording, the first 16-track studio in the San Francisco Bay Area, run by Columbia Records in-house producer David Rubinson. Devil's Kitchen recorded a pretty bad demo of 'Muddy River Flatboat', a song written by Robbie and Bob (who also shared vocal duties with Brett too), and which remained unissued so far.
Thursday, February 13 - Saturday, February 15, 1969: The Poppycock, 135 University Avenue at High Street, Palo Alto, Santa Cruz County, California
Also on the bill: Immaculate Contraption. After a gig there one night, Brett Champlin was arrested for making a U-turn. "After the gig (3 or 4 am), I was driving the band’s old Post Office truck with everyone - band, roadies & friends, equipment too, - on board, all exhausted, some of us stoned… and I made a U-turn to save a little time - cause there were no other cars on the road," Brett recalls, "and a cop pulled us over and had us pull into the Palo Alto Police Station - as I remember it, a very high tech place for the times - where they put me in a kind of big enclosed booth and had me empty my pockets into a drive-in bank-teller-like metal drawer. I just did as they said without even thinking about it and the cop behind the glass window cracked up because I’d put a big hunk of hashish and a pipe, a couple joints and some miscellaneous pills in the bin… he called all his buddies over, saying 'Hey, come look at this!'. When they got control of their laughter, the lead guy said something like, 'Well now, sonny, if I have to put these in an envelope and write down your name and the contents, I think we might have to keep you here for a long, long time. On the other hand, if I just get rid of this stuff for you, you can just deal with that little traffic misdemeanor… hmmm?' And, naturally, I said 'Gee, I’d appreciate it if you’d get rid of it for me then, Sir'… then after spending the night (what little was left of it) in a cell, they let me go…'
The Stanford Daily (February 14, 1969)
Tuesday, February 25, 1969: 'Tuesday Night Audition', Fillmore West, 10 South Van Ness Avenue at 1545 Market Street, San Francisco, California
Devil's Kitchen, along with Steve Lock Front, and Buffington Rhodes, played again at one of the infamous Tuesday night series instituted by Bill Graham at the Fillmore West since August 1968.
San Francisco Chronicle (February 24, 1969)
Spring 1969: San Francisco Art Institute, 800 Chestnut Street, Russian Hill, San Francisco, California
Devil's Kitchen, plus guitarists Elvin Bishop and Harvey Mandel who dropped in to jam with them, played at a party held to celebrate the opening of a new addition to the original SFAI Bakewell & Brown building by architect Paffard Keatinge-Clay.
Saturday, April 19, 1969: 'The Rock Jam of San Andreas', Grace Pavilion, Sonoma County Fairgrounds, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California
Bob Laughton designed the poster printed for this show. Also on the bill: The Bycycle, Sir Douglas Quintet, Gentle Dance. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 2:00am, was produced by Blimp Productions.
Friday, May 23, 1969: Brown's Hall, 390 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley, Marin County, California
From 8:00pm to 1:00am, Devil's Kitchen, along with Last Mile, and Nazgul, performed at a benefit rock dance for the drug treatment program at the Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic.
Saturday, May 24, 1969: Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building, 1351 Maple Avenue, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California
Also on the bill: The Mode, Arizona Subway. Lights by Zodiac Light Co. The show, which lasted from 8:00pm to 12 midnight, was presented by S&H Productions.
Friday, June 13 - Sunday, June 15, 1969: 'Grand Opening', Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Through their manager Harvey Morrison, Devil's Kitchen were introduced to Chet Helms of Family Dog, and the latter booked them on the spot for the grand opening of his new music venue over that weekend (one show each day, from 9:00pm to 2:00am). Also on the bill: Jefferson Airplane (13-14), Pulse (13-15), The Charlatans [featuring Lynne Hughes] (13-15), Jim Reinhart [juggler] (13-15), plus Cleanliness and Godliness Skiffle Band and (maybe) Ace Of Cups, that played only on June 13 on the patio outside, at a pre-show party. Lights by Glenn McKay's Headlights. From then on, Devil's Kitchen played there on and off as sort of the "house band" for the next nine months, and some, if not all, of their shows there were recorded and eight songs taken from a couple of them - 'Dust My Blues' by Elmore James (with Bob on vocals and slide guitar, Robbie switched on rhythm, and Brett switched on bass), 'To Love Somebody' by The Bee Gees, 'Short Haired Woman' by Sam Lightnin' Hopkins (with Robbie on vocals and rhythm guitar, Bob switched on slide guitar, and Brett switched on bass), and 'Mellow Pot Blues' by Buster Bennett (with Robbie on vocals), plus four originals: 'Farm Bust Blues' (Robbie on vocals) and 'Mourning Glory' (Brett and Bob on vocals) written by the entire band, 'Earthfields' written and sang by Robbie, and 'Shadowbird' written by Robbie (who also sang) and Bob - later appeared on their CD, 'Been A Long Time Coming, Be A Long Time Gone', which was self released in the US on June 1, 2018. 'Dust My Blues', 'Farm Bust Blues', and another version of 'Earthfields' (taken from a different Family Dog show) also appeared on their album, 'Devil's Kitchen'.
The San Francisco Examiner (June 8, 1969)
San Mateo Times (June 10, 1969)
San Francisco Chronicle (June 16, 1969)
CD label
Friday, July 4 - Sunday, July 6, 1969
Robbie Stokes backed the great late blues singer Big Mama Thornton during her appearances at the Family Dog On The Great Highway in San Francisco that weekend.
Friday, July 25 - Sunday, July 27, 1969: Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Devil's Kitchen filled in unbilled for (probably) Zoot Money that didn't show up. Also on the bill: Charlie Musselwhite, Poco, Zoot Money (canceled?), Harvey Mandel, Magic Sam. Lights by Deadly Nightshade. These shows, which started at 8:30pm each day, were promoted by the Family Dog. "I just know that we got a call and were asked to fill in for someone who cancelled," Brett Champlin recalls. "I think it was all three days. I just remember that we had a blast jamming at the end of Saturday night with Magic Sam leading the group. Peter Tork of The Monkees showed up and sat in on the jam on the opposite stage."
Friday, August 1, 1969: Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Grateful Dead, Albert Collins, Ballet Afro-Haiti. Lights by Glare. That day, right before the evening show, the Lights Artists Guild was on strike at the Dog over wage and billing disputes. The actual strike lasted only four hours, and all three booked acts honored their contracts with the Dog's owner Chet Helms; only Jerry Garcia and Mickey Hart of the Dead didn't play with their band, because they didn't cross the picket line. According to Brett Champlin, although not scheduled to appear, Devil's Kitchen also played that night as Satan's Sinners or something like that to avoid problems with the Lights Artists Guild. "Robbie was more involved in deciding we would 'cross the picket line' so to speak and play under a different name - which he came up with," Brett recalls. "I just know we went down there and played using a false name… Robbie's decision, Robbie's idea."
Sunday, August 3, 1969: 'Uncle Fred's Dobe Bust Benefit', Interplayers Theatre, 747 Beach Street, Polk Gulch, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: The Lamb, Jeffrey Cain, David Sultzer, Brantley Kearns, Pat Bennett, Chuck Massey. Lights by Fabulous Circus Band. One show, from 7:30pm to 4:00am.
Thursday, August 7 - Sunday, August 10, 1969: Headhunter Amusement Park Nightclub (aka The Headhunter), 345 Broadway, North Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Indian Puddin And Pipe, Mother Bear (filled in for Rom), Games. Visual Art by Pizza Oven. One show each day, from 8:00pm to 2:00am.
Wednesday, August 13, 1969: Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Devil's Kitchen, or at least some of them, along with the New Lost City Ramblers and the New Riders Of The Purple Sage, played during an afternoon "hoe down" (square dance) show put on by the Common, a local community group formed by Chet Helms and other San Francisco's luminaries. "One of my memories was at Chet Helm's all-acoustic afternoon jam (no microphones or amps) at the Family Dog on the Great Highway," Bob Laughton recalls. "I was playing acoustic guitar and singing bluegrass with Jerry Garcia on 5-string banjo. The two of us were encircled by a chorus of a dozen rockers strumming away on their acoustics. I probably was the only one of the band [Devil's Kitchen] who played. Robbie [Stokes] may have strummed behind Jerry and me, but in our band I was the most familiar with singing and playing that style of music, from my earlier bluegrass days with the Dusty Road Boys. Later that day I backed up John Cohen of the New Lost City Ramblers on a solo set, it was very memorable day for me! Watching us in the audience were Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and Rick Grech (Blind Faith was at the Oakland Coliseum the next day). Later I told Clapton that I liked to play 'really loud acoustics'."
Friday, August 15, 1969: Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: New Lost City Ramblers, Mike Bloomfield and Nick Gravenites with Southern Comfort. Lights by Brotherhood of Light. The show, which started at 8:30pm, was presented by the Family Dog.
Sunday, August 31, 1969: Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Gravity, Transatlantic Railroad, S.F. Radical Lab's Moog Synthetizer. Lights by Jerry Abram's Head Lights. The show, which started at 9:00pm, was presented by the Family Dog. Devil's Kitchen closed the night played from 12:45am to 2:00am (so it was actually Monday, September 1).
Thursday, September 4, 1969: 'Carnival Ball and Coronation Honoring The Playland Girls of 1969', Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Flying Circus (filled in for Metropolitan Sound Company). The show, which started at 8:00pm, was presented by the Family Dog, and sponsored by Playland-At-The-Beach.
Tuesday, September 16, 1969: 'In Search of America: A Political Sound And Light Show', Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Orion. Lights by Dr. Zarkow & Optic Illusion. The show, which started at 8:30 (or 9:00)pm, was presented by the Family Dog, and produced by David Lloyd-Jones.
Friday, September 19 - Sunday, September 21, 1969: 'Circus of the Absurd Costume Ball', Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Shag, Super Gem, Carlos Carbajal and dances from the Opera & Ballet, The Moog from San Francisco's Radical Laboratories. Lights by Garden of Delights, and The Holy Sea. These shows, which started at 8:30pm each day, were presented by the Family Dog. On Friday, Devil's Kitchen played from 10:30pm to 12 midnight and their performance was also recorded (they also take part of a little jam from 12:45am to 1:00am with Shag and The Moog).
Berkeley Barb (September 19, 1969)
September 19 set
Saturday, September 20 - Sunday, September 21, 1969: 'Fairfax Festival', San Rafael, Marin County, California
The annual Fairfax Festival was free and all performers appeared without compensation. The bands and other entertainers appeared on three stages, one at Bolinas and Elsie Lane, one near the Redwood Grove, and the third in the ball park. Devil's Kitchen appeared on both days (stages unknown), on Saturday at 2:00pm along with Shades of Joy, and Sixth Army Band, and again on Sunday at 1:00pm along with 12th Naval District Band.
Saturday, October 11, 1969: The Big Oval, at the junction of U.S. Route 13 and U.S. Route 1, 15 miles east of Harrisburg, Slaine County, Illinois
Also on the bill: Pear. One show, started at 8:00pm.
Tuesday, October 14 - Saturday, October 18, 1969: Ludlow Garage, 346 Ludlow Avenue, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio
Also on the bill: Mountain (14-16), Barry Goldberg Union (17-18). Lights by Flavor Scope. These shows were presented by Jim Tarbell. From Tuesday to Thursday the shows started at 8:30pm, while on Friday and Saturday the shows lasted from 8:00pm to 11:00pm. "So, we drove across country to do a bunch of gigs in the Midwest and to touch home base in Carbondale in the fall of '69," Brett Champlin recalls. "Our first set of gigs though were at the famous Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati. Now it was very much in vogue among San Francisco hipsters to try special diets. I think all of us at one time or another restricted ourselves to either macro-biotic, vegan or vegetarian diets and variations thereof. Bob had been the most confirmed, strict and dedicated vegetarian for quite a long time. For him it wasn't a fad and I would not be surprised if he still adhered to a severe vegetarian diet today. Anyway, he had apparently a fairly normal Midwestern middle class upbringing however. As we were driving into Cincinnati, we saw a White Castle hamburger emporium. Now you just don't get sliders like White Castle out in California and we were all howling and salivating at the thought of sliders and it was a unanimous decision to stop and grab a couple bags of those delectable White Castle square, garlic laden, mini-hamburgers... I wasn't counting and can not verify it, but one band member is certain that he saw Bob down an entire bag of a dozen or two sliders all by himself. Whatever amount it was turned out to be a severe disruption to the alimentary canal and digestive processes of a up-to-now die-hard vegetarian. The end result of that was unbelievably large amounts of the most noxious overpowering flatulence that any of us had ever encountered before or since... we couldn't continue driving in the van as no one could drive because the natural reflex to being engulfed in these clouds of vapors was to cover your mouth, pinch your nose and try not to heave your guts up... each of us was taken over by a horribly, frighteningly monstrously uncontrollably strong urge to throw up, to run, to escape this poisonous fog of terror... I am not exaggerating here, and some may say I am being too euphemistic. These farts went on and on for hours. We somehow managed to get to the theater and setup although instead of our usual floor plan, Bob was completely on the edge of the stage on one side and all the rest of us clustered in a huddle on the opposite. During our first set the audience which at first had been crowding the stage now was gradually fading farther and farther backwards and over to one side. After the set someone asked us if there was a dead body under the stage or something. This went on into the night. We were being housed at the club owners home, a slightly remodeled old stately mansion in an old part of town which fortunately for all of us and everyone else staying there had 4 floors. Bob was given a sleeping bag and told to sleep by himself on the fourth floor in the middle of the old ballroom. Thankfully, the next day, he was recovered and we resumed a 'normal' rock band life. Now some of you may doubt that this attack of extreme flatulence was as bad as I am saying, but consider this... that was 40 years ago and it is still one of the most vivid if unnerving memories that a group of acid-head stoner musicians retains... that should give you some idea of the magnitude... a word of advice, if your girlfriend or buddy is a vegan/vegetarian, do NOT let them near a White Castle.... (pretty much everybody contributed to this one, it's an event burned into our memories and probably our lungs and nasal passages too)."
The University of Cincinnati News Record (October 17, 1969)
Wednesday, October 15, 1969: 'National Moratorium Rally to End the War in Vietnam', University of Cincinnati campus, 2600 Clifton Avenue, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio (afternoon show)
Also on the bill: Santana.
Queen City Express
Tuesday October 21, 1969: 'Initiating Josephine Nite!!', Bonaparte's Retreat, 213 East Main Street, Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois
One show, from 8:00pm to 10:30pm.
Daily Egyptian (October 21, 1969)
Friday, October 24, 1969: 'Homecoming Dance', Brush Towers, Southern Illinois University campus, 1263 Lincoln Drive, Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois
Friday, October 24, 1969: 'Homecoming Dance', Lentz Hall, West Campus Housing Area (aka Thompson Point), Southern Illinois University campus, 1250 Point Drive, Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois
One show, started at 8:00pm.
The Daily Egyptian (October 24, 1969)
Friday, October 31 - Sunday, November 2, 1969: 'Halloween Weekend Special', Ludlow Garage, 346 Ludlow Avenue, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio
Also on the bill: Catfish, Humble Pie, Elvin Bishop Group, plus Special Guest Star: Schehera The Belly Dancer (with her 12 foot python) accompanied by Congo Drum and Vince Sawma (renowned electric oud player). Lights by Flavor Scope. These shows were presented by Jim Tarbell. "We played several gigs at the legendary Ludlow Garage in Cincinnati and for one Halloween weekend, they had a Belly Dancer, Schehera, who performed with a 12-foot python. She also danced barefoot...," Brett Champlin recalls. "We were on right before her and for our standard setup, the roadies always had to stabilize the bass drum with a few heavy nails so that the set wouldn't start moving forward or fly apart when Steve got going... but they forgot to remove the nails when we cleared the instruments from the stage... we were all watching her perform and realized that the nails were still there about halfway through the set, but there was just no way to warn her. She didn't react when she hit the nails, but afterward her foot was bleeding. She said she'd hit the nails at the beginning of the act and had just moved closer to the front of the stage and hoped she didn't hit anything else. We took a lot more care after that... especially with the nails... ouch..."
University of Cincinnati News Record (October 31, 1969)
Friday, November 7, 1969: The Flying Dutchman, Old Route 13, Murphysboro, Jackson County, Illinois
One show, from 8:00pm to 2:00am.
Saturday, November 8, 1969: Carbondale Teen Center, 211 Elm Street, Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois
One show, from 7:30pm to 11:30pm.
Sunday, November 9, 1969: Carries, Old Route 13, Murphysboro, Jackson County, Illinois
One show, started at 9:00pm. "On one of our return 'tours' to Carbondale, we played a gig at Carries in Murphysboro, "Brett Champlin recalls. "Our manager had arranged for us to record some demo tapes there and the engineer who did the recordings was a young Tim Hollman... the guy who later went on to create the standard for movie & theatre sound, THX... not that we had anything to do with that, but it's just cool to know..."
Devil's Kitchen #1, Carries, November 9, 1969 - from left: Bob Laughton, Brett Champlin, Steve Sweigart, and Robbie Stokes
Friday, November 21 - Sunday, November 23, 1969: Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Anonymous Artists of America (21-23), New Riders of The Purple Sage (22-23). These shows, which started at 8:30pm each day, were presented by the Family Dog.
Berkeley Tribe (November 21, 1969)
Wednesday, December 3 - Thursday, December 4, 1969: New Orleans House, 1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California
Also on the bill: Elvin Bishop Group. One show each day, started at 9:30pm.
Monday, December 8 - Thursday, December 11, 1969: Keystone Korner, 750 Vallejo Street, North Beach, San Francisco, California
One show each day, started at 9:00pm. "Elvin Bishop dropped in to jam," recalls Brett Champlin.
Wednesday, December 24, 1969: George's Log Cabin, 2629 Bayshore Boulevard, Visitacion Valley, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Children's MU, Cyprus, plus Christmas surprise, crafts, poets, films. One show, started at 8:00pm.
Friday, December 26, 1969: 'Mission Switchboard Benefit', unknown venue, San Francisco, California
One show, from 7:30pm to 2:00am. Also on the bill: Little John, Cleveland Wrecking Co., Mendelbaum, Country Kin, Children of Mu, Crabs, Cyprus, Ice, Last Mile, Brothers And, Cold, Bicycle, Andrew Hallidie, Canterbury Fair, Maggie's Farm, Weosemus, Lyle Merbs, plus slides of Roger Woods' Rolling Stones concert, films, theatre, poets, and dance. Lights by Extra Sensory Perceptions.
Friday, December 26 - Saturday, December 27, 1969: New Orleans House, 1505 San Pablo Avenue, Berkeley, Alameda County, California
Also on the bill: Mendelbaum. One show each day, started at 9:30pm.
Berkeley Tribe (December 19, 1969)
San Francisco Good Times (December 18, 1969)
1970: Nourse Auditorium, 275 Hayes Street off Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California
The show was recorded and an instrumental written by the band, 'Cookin', later appeared on their album, 'Devil's Kitchen', while another two originals, 'City (7th Street)' and '(You've Got Your) Head On Right', later appeared on their CD, 'Been A Long Time Coming, Be A Long Time Gone'.
Friday, January 2 - Sunday, January 4, 1970: Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Commander Cody (2-3), Mendelbaum (4), Osceola (2-4), Cleveland Wrecking Co. (2-4), Phoenix (4; canceled). Lights by Temporary Optics. These shows, which started at 8:30pm each day, were promoted by Family Dog.
San Francisco Good Times (January 1, 1970)
Late January 1970: Mount Reba Ski Bowl, Bear Valley, Alpine County, California
"One of our favorite gigs was a week playing every evening at a Ski Resort, Bear Valley… skiing all day, party all night," Brett Champlin recalls.
Late February or Early March 1970: Irma Hotel, 8344 Reseda Boulevard, Northridge, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County, California
Also on the bill: Domenic Troiano.
Late February or Early March 1970: Topanga Corral, 2034 North Topanga Canyon Boulevard, Topanga, Los Angeles County, California
Late February or Early March 1970: Golden Bear, 306 Ocean Avenue, Huntington Beach, Orange County, California
Tuesday, March 10 - Sunday, March 15, 1970: Brass Ring, 15463 Ventura Boulevard, Sherman Oaks, San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles County, California
Also on the bill: Eric Mercury, Birthrite. Sounds by Vega.
Los Angeles Free Press (March 13, 1970)
Monday, March 16 - Wednesday, March 17, 1970: Whisky à Go Go, 8901 Sunset Boulevard at Clark Street, West Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California
Also on the bill: Smokestack Lightning (16), Savoy Brown (17).
Friday, March 20 - Sunday, March 22, 1970: Family Dog On The Great Highway, Playland Amusement Park, 660 Great Highway, Ocean Beach, San Francisco, California
Also on the bill: Big Brother and The Holding Company, Kaleidoscope. Lights by Temporary Optics. These shows were promoted by Family Dog. In recent years, Devil's Kitchen's performances from March 21 (incomplete set) and 22 (complete set) have been made available for donwload at Wolfgang's website. Also a couple of songs taken from the March 22 set, 'All In A Daze Experience' written by Robbie and Bob (and with Robbie and Brett on vocals, plus Brett switched on bass and Bob switched on slide guitar), and 'Things On My Mind' written and sang by Robbie, later appeared on their CD, 'Been A Long Time Coming, Be A Long Time Gone'.
Late March 1970
After almost two years, Devil's Kitchen failed to find fame, success, and a record deal in San Francisco ("[we] assiduously avoided the 'music business'," Brett Champlin point outs in an interview with Michael Limnious for Blues.Gr website in September 2012), so they moved back home in Carbondale.
Friday, April 3, 1970: Armory Fieldhouse, University of Cincinnati campus, 121 West Daniels Street, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio
Devil's Kitchen did not appear on the poster printed for this show because they were a last minute addition. Also on the bill: Grateful Dead, Ken Kesey and The Pranksters, Lemon Pipers. One show, started at 8:30pm.
Saturday, April 4 - Sunday, April 5, 1970: Ludlow Garage, 346 Ludlow Avenue, Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio
Also on the bill: Allman Brothers Band. These shows were presented by Jim Tarbell. "I think the most memorable [event] for me was jamming with the Allman Brothers to close their set at the Ludlow Garage. It was just a great night and it stands out in my memory," Brett Champlin recalls in an interview with Michael Limnious for Blues.Gr website in September 2012.
Friday, April 10 - Saturday, April 11, 1970: '1st Anniversary Weekend', Golden Gauntlet, South Illinois Avenue, Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois
Also on the bill: The Touch (10). After these gigs, Steve Sweigart left and returned to San Francisco area and setup house in Fairfax. There, he started a new group called Woarmwood Star with Peter Tork of the Monkees. He also did some recording with Mickey Hart and the Rhythm Devils. n 1974, he left California and returned to the Chicago area. There, he started Shawnee Percussion Studio, and within a week he was playing in local bands such as Raintree County Band, Fox River Valley Symphony Orchestra, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Freshwater, Bill Blough Combo, and RWJJT Rangers. He was also a consultant with Sadler’s Music Shop in Aurora and received a Bachelors and Masters of Music Degree from Northern Illinois University, studying percussion with G. Allen O’Connor and Jeff Kowalski. Along with formal training, Steve studied with percussion great Bobby Christian. In 1980, He was the percussion instructor for Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove where he started, directed, and arranged for the Waubonsee Steel Drum Band, the first community college steel drum band in North America. A couple members of the Waubonsee band wanted to start a smaller band and the group Stainless Steel Band with Mark Pelczarski and Trish Glen was born. They recorded two CDs that they sold at gigs; one was Pan Overboard. Later Steve was asked to form another steel band at Harper College in Palatine, the Harper College Steel Band. Steve had all of his steel band instruments built by Cliff Alexis, who is still the director of Steel Bands at NIU. Steve arranged Cantina Band which is published by Panyard Publishing and is working on several other arrangements for steel band. Along with his professional projects, Steve has been active in assisting local junior and high schools with percussion activities. He served one term as the Secretary for the Illinois Percussive Arts Society. Steve is retired and no longer active in music. Meanwhile, Devil's Kitchen soon replaced him on drums with an old friend named Randy Bradle (b. Randy Clyde Bradle, Wednesday, November 22, 1944, Peoria, Illinois), formerly of Zoo, and Turtle Sweat. "I really enjoyed playing in that band as it was a rich playing experience for my drumming," Randy recalls. "Devil's Kitchen was a rockin' band then, great players to play with, those guys killed me!"
DEVIL'S KITCHEN #2 (APRIL 12, 1970 - JUNE 1970)
3) Bob Laughton
4) Randy Bradle drums
Sunday, May 3, 1970: 'All-American Day Parade', Grand Avenue and Illinois Avenue, Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois
The Devil's Kitchen, which probably debuted their new drummer Randy Bradle today, give a free concert after the end of the parade, about 4:00pm, at Grand and Illinois Avenues.
Sunday, May 3, 1970: Carries, Old Route 13, Murphysboro, Jackson County, Illinois
One show, started at 9:00pm. "Carries! Yes, back in the day! Great, sometimes play till 3 or 4 am," Randy Bradle recalls. "One night we played too loud and the police came and told us to turn down, Robbie then started a song we all played and his words for the song were 'Everybody knows this is Disneyland, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, at the top.' He repeated that phrase in the jam and somehow we did not get thrown out of the place!"
The Daily Egyptian (April 29, 1970)
Devil's Kitchen #2, Carrie's, May 3, 1970 - from left: Robbie Stokes, Brett Champlin, Randy Bradle, and Bob Laughton
Friday, May 22, 1970: 'Operation Prom', upstairs living room, terminal building, Southern Illinois Airport, 556 North Airport Road, Murphysboro, Jackson County, Illinois
The operation prom, which started at 12 midnight, was promoted by a group of Carbondale citizens that hope to held a safe evening of entertainment following the annual junior-senior prom. Devil's Kitchen played from 1:00am to 5:00am.
Friday, May 29, 1970: 'Dance', Carbondale Teen Center, 211 Elm Street, Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois
Saturday, May 30, 1970: 'Kickapoo Creek Outdoor Rock Concert - Incident at Kickapoo Creek', Dave Lewis' parents' farm, just outside Heyworth, McClean County, Illinois
The festival started at 1:00pm. Also on the bill: The Amboy Dukes, Canned Heat, Country Joe and The Fish, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, B.B. King, REO Speedwagon, Joe Kelly Blues Band, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Finchley Boys, Rick Nielsen and Fuse, New Colony Six, Dan Fogerlberg, Arrow Memphis, Backstreet, Bloomsbury People, Blue Challengers, Bluesweed, Bucktooth, Easy Street, Esquires, Feather Train, Genesis, For Days & A Night, Gideon's Bible, Guild, Spare Chaynge, Hot Set Up, Nickle Bag, Nigh People, One-Eyed Jacks, Phoenix, Seven, Smith, Littler, Truth, Uncle Meat, Zebra. "There is a huge mythology surrounding the Kickapoo Festival," Brett Champlin recalls, "but basically, it was the Midwest's attempt to experience a Woodstock like event and over 60,000 freaks, hippies, wannabes and just normal kids showed up for a weekend of fun and about 60 bands and lots of dope, sunshine, mud, nudity, partying and confusion. We weren't on the original lineup, but then almost nothing that was planned for that weekend worked out the way they expected it to... Our managers (John Loyd and Harvey Morrison), having done the real thing all up and down the West Coast had been recruited by Bob Heil to run the sound system for the event. Hiel had about 48 Voice of the Theater speakers and a whole bunch of semi-obsolete Sunn amplifiers to work with which was almost adequate for the task at hand. Anyway, John and Harvey talked to the guy booking the event and got him to add us to the roster. We were originally booked to go on right before the closing act (REO Speedwagon), but when bands started canceling and things were getting all fuzzy, they had to shift us around and we went on Saturday late afternoon, early evening instead. Steve had left already and gone back to San Francisco. We had a new drummer, Randy Bradle and it was only the second time he's played with us, but he handled it beautifully (catch one of his drum solos in the movie about the festival). Playing on that big cobbled together stage with people covering the rolling hills as far as you could see, huge speaker towers pushing out really big powerful sound... what a gas... it was a lot of fun and kind of reminded me of playing back in Golden Gate Park but much bigger... we had a great time on stage and got a wildly enthusiastic response from the crowd... it started to drizzle about the middle of our last song and the next band up, the Joe Kelly Blues Band, borrowed out gear so they wouldn't have to take the time to switch out equipment... that gave us some down time to have a few smokes and party with people backstage (which was actually right behind the scaffolding) and several of our friends and old girlfriends and other bands joined us... it was a good way to go out... a really big final gig at the biggest hippie party going… we felt like real rock stars up there... and then after packing up all our stuff and all of us into our old postal van, we hit the road and the engine conked out about half way back to the farm where we were staying... we wound up stuck there in between nowhere and nothing on a two lane blacktop country road somewhere in Southern Illinois overnight and we slept in the ditch by the side of the road waiting for a tow truck - back to reality and that was pretty much the end of the band..." "On the way back from Kickapoo the truck had problems," Randy Brandle confirms, "and we all slept soundly (at least I slept well for sure) in the ditch by the freeway till the morning when the assistance came."
Devil's Kitchen #2, Kickapoo Creek Outdoor Rock Concert, May 30, 1970 - from left: Bob Laughton, Brett Champlin, Randy Bradle, and Robbie Stokes
Devil's Kitchen #2, Kickapoo Creek Outdoor Rock Concert, May 30, 1970 - from left: Bob Laughton and Brett Champlin
June 1970: Giant City State Park, 235 Giant City Road, Makanda, Jackson County, Illinois
A free outdoor concert. Bob Laughton's last gig with Devil's Kitchen. He headed back to the West Coast where he joined a Buddhist monastery for a while before marrying Fran and raising two boys while settling in Redwood Valley. He plays with a Celtic music group, The Boys of the Bog, and co-hosts a local radio program on technology. He also regularly posts his amazingly sophisticated and elegant photography on Flikr. Meanwhile, Devil's Kitchen carried on for a while as a trio with Brett Champlin on bass.
Devil's Kitchen #2, Giant City State Park, June 1970 - from left: Randy Bradle, Robbie Stokes, Bob Laughton, and Brett Champlin
Devil's Kitchen #2, Giant City State Park, June 1970 - from left: Randy Bradle and Brett Champlin
DEVIL'S KITCHEN #3 (JUNE 1970 - AUGUST 24, 1970)
3) Randy Bradle
June - July 1970: Giant City State Park, 235 Giant City Road, Makanda, Jackson County, Illinois
Devil's Kitchen played few more free outdoor concerts here.
Tuesday, June 30, 1970: 'Carbondale Teen Center Dance', Gymnasium (?), Carbondale Community High School, 1301 East Walnut Street, Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois
Tuesday, July 21, 1970: 'Carbondale Teen Center Dance', Gymnasium (?), Carbondale Community High School, 1301 East Walnut Street, Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois
While Devil's Kitchen were in the process of disbanded, Robbie Stokes and Randy Bradle wasted no time and went to form a new band called Coal Kitchen with members of another disbanded band called Coal Dust. "Brett [Champlin] may have sat in with Coal Kitchen in some capacity," Robbie recalls, "but Andre Mossotti played bass [in the band]". "I went to a bunch of [Coal Kitchen's] practice sessions," Brett confirms, "and then sort of drifted away from the group without any formal statesment that I was in our out, I think I just stopped showing up for rehearsals and they just kept going without me."
Monday, July 27, 1970: 'First Free Student Dance', Campus Shopping Center parking lot, Southern Illinois University campus, 216 West Freeman Street at University Avenue, Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois
The first free student dance of what may become a regular series, was held from 9:00pm to 12 midnight by Lou Cerutti, operator of Little Caesar's restaurant, and sponsored by businessmen in campus and Southgate shopping centers. The dance was held in an effort to promote good will between students and merchants. Also on the bill: Coal Kitchen, Camaros. Robbie and Randy played in both Devil's Kitchen and Coal Kitchen that night.
Tuesday, July 28 and Thursday, July 30 - Saturday, August 1, 1970: Leo's, 101 East Monroe Street, Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois
One show each day, from 7:30pm to 9:30pm (Tuesday), from 7:o0pm to 10:00pm (Thursday), from 5:00pm to 8:00pm (Friday), and from 3:30pm to 6:30pm (Saturday).
The Daily Egyptian (July 28, 1970)
Daily Egyptian (July 31, 1970)
Monday, August 24, 1970: '2nd Free Student Dance (aka Free Dance Fest)', Campus Shopping Center parking lot, Southern Illinois University campus, 216 West Freeman Street at University Avenue, Carbondale, Jackson County, Illinois
One show, from 9:00pm to 12 midnight. Also on the bill: Coal Kitchen. Robbie and Randy played again in both Devil's Kitchen and Coal Kitchen that night. This was probably the last time they did it, because after this show Devil's Kitchen disbanded for good after Brett Champlin left the band to go back to school. "There really was no formal disbanding, no announcement, no specific day, it just stopped happening sometime and we drifted on to other things," Brett points out. Anyway, after he got his degree in Computer Science and later an MBA, Brett taught computer science and graduate management courses at Roosevelt University for 18 years and has been teaching at the University of Chicago part time for the last years. He still plays guitar and sings around the house and occasionally jams with friends and at open mikes at local blues clubs. Meanwhile, in Carbondale, Robbie and Randy continued to play only with Coal Kitchen, at least until Robbie left them on January 1, 1971, and returned in San Francisco where he played on solo records by Mickey Hart, the late Robert Hunter, and Norman Greenbaum, and also played bass for a time with Quicksilver Messenger Service. In 1973 he returned home in Carbondale where he formed a new band called Rolls Hardly with his old mate Randy Bradle (who had left Coal Kitchen too back in 1971). In the 80's Robbie became house sound tech/talent buyer at the original Gatsby's in Carbondale during the heyday of the Carbondale music scene, holding that position until 1993, booking and mixing many great acts including Foghat, Dave Mason, Dr. Hook, Spirit, The Byrds, Cub Koda, Son Seals, Eddy Clearwater, and Matt 'Guitar' Murhpy. From the 80's to present, he also started his sound company, Robco Audio, and also plays guitar with a lot of different bands such as DeVision, Buster Boy Band, 4 on the Floor, St. Stephen's Blues, Big Larry and the Lady Killers, Dr. Bombay, and The Venturis.
If you enjoy what I have put together please consider donating any amount to support and help me to keep this valuable research going. Thanks!!
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The Statesman Examiner
Professional Services Directory
Elliot K. Mills Elected to Bank of Hawaii Corporation Board of Directors
By: Bank of Hawaii Corporation via Business Wire News Releases
October 25, 2021 at 20:51 PM EDT
Bank of Hawaii Corp. (NYSE: BOH) announced that its board of directors has elected Elliot K. Mills to serve on its board of directors, effective Oct. 22, 2021, until the annual election of directors at the bank’s next annual shareholders meeting. With the addition of Mills, Bank of Hawaii Corporation’s board of directors increases from 13 to 14. Mills serves on Bank of Hawaii’s Human Resources and Compensation Committee, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Digital Advisory Committee.
Elliott K. Mills (Photo: Business Wire)
“On behalf of Bank of Hawaii, I am delighted to welcome Elliot to our board of directors,” said Peter Ho, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Bank of Hawaii Corp. “He is uniquely qualified, has an abundance of expertise and insight of our local travel industry, and shares the same values, goals and passion for moving Hawaii forward.”
Mills is currently vice president of hotel operations for Disneyland Resort and Aulani, A Disney® Resort and Spa, leading a team of over 5,000 employees across four locations. He is responsible for overseeing all operations for the Disneyland Hotel, Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel and Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa in Anaheim, Calif., in addition to Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, in Ko Olina, Hawaii, on Oahu. He joined Disney in 2010, and was an integral leader in the grand opening of the Aulani resort. Mills had a special focus on advancing Hawaiian culture and values as the focal point for its unique hospitality and service experience. Since then, the company has received national recognition, including being named 2020’s “Best Family Hotel in the USA” by U.S. News & World Report.
With over 25 years of experience, Mills has held various executive and resort management positions on the islands of Oahu, Kauai and Maui at top travel companies, including Hyatt, Marriott and Outrigger. Prior to Disney, he held the positions of general manager at both Outrigger Hotels & Resorts on Oahu and at Kauai Marriott Resort.
A native of Hilo on Hawaii Island, Mills has strong ties to the community and gives back by serving on a variety of boards, including Hawai‘i Pacific Health, Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA), Hawai‘i Community Foundation, and Kamehameha Schools. He also currently serves as chairman of the board for the Hawai‘i Visitors and Convention Bureau.
Mills is a graduate of Saint Joseph High School, holds a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in travel industry management from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, and has completed the Cornell Hospitality Management General Managers Program.
Melissa Torres-Laing
Email: Melissa.Torres-Laing@boh.com
Bank of Hawaii Corp
Copyright © 2017 The Statesman Examiner | 220 South Main Street P.O. Box 271 | Colville, WA 99114 | (509) 684-4567
All property rights for the entire contents of this publication shall be the property of The Statesman Examiner.
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drystonepaul.com was originally created by Paul Anders Johnson as an online portfolio which documented art work created between 1996 and 2000.
The website was started as part of a research unit during his MA in Fine Art at Sheffield Hallam University.
It first went online in the year 2000 and developed to include artwork produced during the post graduate course up until 2004.
Other projects took over and the site has remained relatively unchanged from that point in time.
The drystonepaul.com domain is now primarily used for hosting all sorts of other stuff.
© 1995-2008 Paul Anders Johnson
Optimized for ie4.0 or above. - Best viewed at 1024x768 full screen. - Enable Java. - version dsp5.6. - Updated:- 30-06-2008
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Cell Phone Use in Pregnancy May Cause Offspring Behavioral Disorders
Exposure to radiation from cell phones during pregnancy affects the brain development of offspring, potentially leading to hyperactivity, Yale School of Medicine researchers have determined.
The results, based on studies in mice, are published in the March 15 issue of Scientific Reports, a Nature publication.
“This is the first experimental evidence that fetal exposure to radio frequency radiation from cellular telephones does in fact affect adult behavior,” said senior author Dr. Hugh S. Taylor, professor and chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences.
Taylor and co-authors exposed pregnant mice to radiation from a muted and silenced cell phone positioned above the cage and placed on an active phone call for the duration of the trial. A control group of mice was kept under the same conditions but with the phone deactivated.
The team measured the brain electrical activity of adult mice that were exposed to radiation as fetuses, and conducted a battery of psychological andbehavioral tests. They found that the mice that were exposed to radiation tended to be more hyperactive and had reduced memory capacity. Taylor attributed the behavioral changes to an effect during pregnancy on the development of neurons in the prefrontal cortex region of the brain.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), is a developmental disorder associated with neuropathology localized primarily to the same brain region, and is characterized by inattention and hyperactivity.
“We have shown that behavioral problems in mice that resemble ADHD are caused by cell phone exposure in the womb,” said Taylor. “The rise in behavioral disorders in human children may be in part due to fetal cellular telephone irradiation exposure.”
Taylor said that further research is needed in humans to better understand the mechanisms behind these findings and to establish safe exposure limits during pregnancy. Nevertheless, he said, limiting exposure of the fetus seems warranted.
First author Tamir Aldad added that rodent pregnancies last only 19 days and offspring are born with a less-developed brain than human babies, so further research is needed to determine if the potential risks of exposure to radiation during human pregnancy are similar.
Cell phones were used in this study to mimic potential human exposure but future research will instead use standard electromagnetic field generators to more precisely define the level of exposure,” said Aldad.
Other Yale authors on the study include Geliang Gan and Xiao-Bing Gao.
The study was funded by grants from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development, and Environment and Human Health, Inc.
Previous: Reported by CCTV 'The Doctors is In':Harmful effects of mobile phone radiation
Next: Frequent Mobile Phone Use for Kids is More Likely to Suffer ADHD
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A thoroughly British racing driver, who started all 176 of his world championship races in British-built machinery with BRM, Lotus, Shadow, Lola and his own nascent Embassy Hill constructor.
A 14-time grand prix winner, Hill's two titles came in very different circumstances. He won the 1962 world championship for BRM, completing the team's odyssey from laughing stock to top of the world, while in 1968 he helped regroup Team Lotus behind him after the death of Jim Clark.
He had a laconic style behind the wheel, and is often damned with the faint praise of being a "hard worker" to Clark's "natural talent". He was a hard worker, but he cut it with the best in the 1960s and had far more ability than many credit him with.
He loved driving, plugging on in F1 until 1975 until his embarrassing failure to qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix - a race he was king of in the 1960s - before dying in a plane crash later that year.
Should Graham Hill be higher or lower in F1's greatest drivers?
Born 15 Feb 1929
Died 29 Nov 1975
Champion 1962, 1968
Poles 13
Fastest laps 10
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Ban Menthol Cigarettes, Lower Smoking Rates?
THURSDAY, July 9, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Want to make smoking less attractive to young people? Try taking menthol cigarettes off the market, a new analysis suggests.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned flavors in cigarettes in 2009 because flavors appeal to youth and young adults, and the agency recently announced that it also intends to ban menthol in cigarettes.
To assess what effect a ban on menthol cigarettes would have, Georgetown University researchers reviewed 24 studies on the impacts of restrictions on flavors in cigarettes.
Six of the studies examined menthol bans implemented across Canada, 12 assessed the potential effects of hypothetical menthol bans in Canada, the United States and Europe, and six looked at prior bans of non-menthol flavors in cigarettes in Canada and the United States.
Based on their review, the researchers concluded that 11%-45% of current U.S. menthol smokers might quit smoking in response to a menthol cigarette ban, while 15%-30% of menthol smokers might switch to e-cigarettes.
Menthol smokers quitting or switching to e-cigarettes are more likely to be young adults, and a menthol cigarette ban may reduce the number of youth who start smoking by 6%, according to the researchers.
They also found that while overall compliance with the menthol ban in Canada was high, studies into non-menthol flavor bans in the United States found that some retailers continued to sell banned products.
The review was published July 8 in the journal BMC Public Health.
"Further research is needed to determine the potential influence of e-cigarette alternatives and their availability to consumers, and should consider the effects of menthol cigarette bans that have already been implemented in local areas of the U.S.," study lead author and Georgetown professor David Levy said in a journal news release.
"Nevertheless, the evidence to date indicates that a menthol cigarette ban, especially if implemented nationally with high compliance, provides an important opportunity to improve public health by reducing smoking-attributable diseases," Levy said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a guide for quitting smoking.
BMC Public Health, news release, July 8, 2020
Be Smoke-Free During Pregnancy
Chronic Lung Disease: Tips for Quitting Smoking
Smoking and Cardiovascular Disease
Smoking and Pregnancy
Nicotine Cotinine (Urine)
Asthma and Smoking
Nicotine Quiz
Nicotine-Replacement Therapy Quiz
Making the Decision to Quit Smoking
Quitting Smoking: Overcoming Relapse
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Seminar activity
Junichi Nishimura, Ph.D.
Industrial organization, Economics of innovation, Policy evaluation, Industrial clusters
junichi.nishimura (at) gakushuin.ac.jp
Please change (at) to @ if you send me an e-mail.
Hitotsubashi University
Ph.D. in Economics, March 2011
M.A. in Economics, March 2007
B.A. in Economics, March 2006
Doctoral Dissertation: On the Industry-University-Government Collaboration and Markets for Technology
Research assistant, Maison Franco-japonaise (December 2005－March 2007)
Visiting researcher, Office of Pharmaceutical Industry Research (June 2006－Present)
Research assistant, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (October 2008－June 2011)
Research assistant, Institute of Innovation Research, Hitotsubashi University (April 2011－March 2013)
Visiting researcher, National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (June 2011－March 2012)
Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, Gakushuin University (April 2013-Present)
CV_English_0104_2014.pdf
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News by Group
Global energy crisis:
How did we get here and what next?
HOME > INNOVATIONS > Global energy crisis: How did we get here and what next?
| by Samsung C&T Global PR Manager
An energy crisis has now spread across the world, threatening the basic electricity systems of even the wealthiest nations.
One of the most obvious indicators of the crisis is natural gas, which has been trading up more than 130 percent in Europe since the beginning of September and over eight times higher than the same period last year. The cost of this vital commodity has also increased 85 percent in East Asia. Even in the U.S., which has an abundance of natural gas, the price has hit a 13-year high.
The outcome has been rising electricity bills, as well as genuine concerns of electricity shortages and blackouts from the UK to the U.S. – rolling blackouts in China are already underway, affecting global firms like Apple and Tesla due to the suspension of production. And there are real concerns that the impact could worsen for consumers in 2022.
Why did the energy crisis occur?
For anyone connected to or interested in global trade and the supply of essential commodities, it is natural to ask how we reached this crisis. The answer to global problems is rarely completely straightforward, but we can pinpoint some of the major factors.
We may start with Europe’s unusually long winter that stretched into spring earlier this year, causing the depletion of natural gas stocks. Then, as a surge in energy demand has accompanied the global economic recovery from COVID-19, natural gas supply has been unable to recover – in addition, Russian gas exports have fallen. Moreover, with North Sea wind falling to its slowest speed in 20 years, wind power has also been reduced – bear in mind that wind power accounts for 24 percent of electricity production in the UK.
The knock-on effect has seen nations seek fast solutions, compromising their carbon reduction goals by turning to coal – with U.S. utilities set to burn around 23 percent more coal this year, for example. But there have been significant coal supply issues too, from bad weather disrupting the trade of Indonesian coal to political obstacles standing in the way of the movement of Australian coal. In fact, the price of coal has reached an all-time high in Northwest Europe and its highest level in Asia since 2008 – the coal shortage has become so serious that it has left India on the brink of an unprecedented power crisis.
Seeking a more sustainable future
In addition to raising natural concerns about energy supply this winter, the crisis has clearly exposed how the world is not yet free from a reliance on fossil fuels.
That will no doubt be a major topic of discussion when world leaders from nearly 200 countries gather for the COP26 international climate summit in Scotland later this month. Leaders will be very keen to avoid undoing the progress made in recent years after renewables overtook fossil fuels in terms of the European Union’s electricity supply in 2020.
The energy crisis has highlighted the need to increase the supply of renewable energy. It may be that this difficult period is a particularly “bumpy patch” in the transition away from fossil fuels, according to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Samsung C&T Trading & Investment Group has been taking serious action in recent years to support the supply of renewable and cleaner energy. The company’s efforts include fostering diverse sources of renewable energy around the world such as solar power generation and bioenergy, promoting hydrogen as a clean energy solution, actively participating in the trade of liquified natural gas.
INNOVATIONS | Oct 19, 2021
How fuel cells will drive a clean future
CORPORATE | Oct 28, 2021
Samsung C&T Q3 2021 earnings
Copyright(c) 2016 Samsung C&T. All rights reserved.
Samsung C&T Homepage
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AeroMD Expands with Ground Ambulance Fleet
USVI-headquartered air ambulance service adds ground fleet to expedite help for emergent patients.
U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS – Jan 12, 2022 – Local air ambulance provider, AeroMD, announces new ground ambulances* today, adding to its U.S. Virgin Islands-based fleet of dedicated medevac aircraft. The company’s expansion into ground critical care transport (CCT) services will expedite the transfer of AeroMD patients between the territory’s hospitals and the airports.
“AeroMD Ground (CCT) is an investment in high-level medical transport services for residents of, and visitors to, the U.S. Virgin Islands,” said AeroMD President and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Brendan Anzalone. “When every second counts in a medical crisis, having our own fleet of ground ambulances provides us the best opportunity to make a life-saving difference for a patient and their loved ones.”
As the program develops there will be one CCT unit on St. Thomas and one CCT unit on St. Croix with a roving backup unit. With the addition of these ambulances, AeroMD becomes the exclusive medical evacuation provider with ground vehicles in the territory. One CCT unit will be configured for disaster response. This unit was specially designed featuring seating configurations and medical equipment needed for natural disasters or major accidents involving multiple patients. This disaster ambulance can adapt to seat up to nine medical team members or as many as six patients on litters. Medical gear packs may be quickly added to or removed from secure wall tracks for different medical situations.
“AeroMD is the exclusive medical evacuation service to base critical care aircraft in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The addition of ground critical care ambulances allow our team to provide seamless, bedside-to-bedside transfer services for our patients. They strengthen our ability to consistently transport patients quickly to medical aircraft during high-volume and disaster situations in the Caribbean. Enhancing AeroMD’s physical presence on St. Thomas and St. Croix, these CCT ground units demonstrate our unwavering commitment to this community,” said AeroMD Director of Flight Operations, Spencer Howard.
AeroMD is the exclusive air ambulance service with dedicated medevac aircraft and critical care transport ground vehicles based in the U.S. Virgin Islands. With a global command center open 24/7/365, along with aircraft and medical personnel forward based in the Caribbean, AeroMD offers modern air and ground ambulance services with rapid response time to a medically underserved region. AeroMD (aka AAC-Air Ambulance Caribbean, Inc.) was founded in 2014. The company has an administrative office at Standard Aviation on St. Thomas, along with an operational base at Henry E. Rohlsen Airport on St. Croix, in conjunction with strategic aviation partner,** Bohlke International Airways. Learn more at AeroMD.com or by calling 340.715.7942.
*In case of a medical emergency, 911 should always be called first. From a landline dial 911, from a cell phone call (340) 772-9111 on St. Croix, or (340) 776-9110 on St. Thomas/St. John.
**AeroMD only utilizes FAR Part 135 approved Air Carriers to operate its aircraft. Bohlke International Airways, Inc. (BIA) Certificate # FISA096A operates the current fleet. BIA always has operational control of its respective aircraft. Occasionally, AeroMD may substitute an AeroMD primary aircraft with another licensed aircraft operated by another FAR Part 135 approved aircraft carrier, exclusively utilizing vetted and trusted partners.
Company Name: AeroMD
Contact Person: Ashley Bouzianis, Marketing Director
Website: https://aeromd.com/ground-ambulance-service-caribbean/
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Nissan GB News
Nissan Global News
Dealer PR Services
Glasgow Dealership Continues Support Of Partick Thistle
Home Dealer News
MACKLIN Motors Glasgow Central Nissan is showing support to Partick Thistle by extending its existing sponsorship for the new season.
The general manager of the dealership, Robert Auld, has a special connection with the team. His father, Robert ‘Bertie’ Auld, managed the side twice during his illustrious career and is still a favourite with the Jags’ fan base.
The Port Dundas Road dealership, which is located just five minutes away from the Jags’ Maryhill home, is providing the team with three Nissan Qashqais for the club’s manager, assistant manager and chief executive. In return, the dealership will receive pitch side adverts and programme mentions.
Robert Auld said: “It is so important for us to partner with local institutions that are active members of the community and share similar values to our business. Partick Thistle, is a club which has historical roots, and it has been supporting the next generation of football stars for a number of years, so it was a very easy decision to continue our partnership.
“We can see The Energy Check Stadium at Firhill from the top of our iconic glass tower, so we’ll be keeping a keen eye on them throughout the course of the season.”
Gerry Britton, Partick Thistle chief executive, said: “It’s great to have the support of Macklin Motors for the season. The dealership is located close to the stadium and we always try to partner with businesses that serve the community around the club. We’ve worked well with Macklin over the last couple of years, so it’s great to have them on board once again.”
Paul Jordan, aftersales manager at Macklin Motors Glasgow Nissan Central, with Alan Archibald, Partick Thistle manager.
Acclaim For The Best-Selling Nissan LEAF Continues
Nissan Strengthens Formula E Partnership
Got a Nissan story?
© 2020 Nissan Insider
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Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, 2003
The event Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, 2003 represents a publication, printing, distribution, issue, release or production of resources found in Missouri University of Science & Technology Library.
The Resource Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, 2003
47 Items that share the ProviderEvent Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, 2003
A review of the dose reconstruction program of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Committee to Review the Dose Reconstruction Program of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Board on Radiation Effects Research, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
A shared destiny : community effects of uninsurance, Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance, Board on Health Care Services, Institute of Medicine
Adaptive monitoring & assessment for the comprehensive Everglades restoration plan, Committee on Restoration of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, Water Science and Technology Board, Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology, Division on Earth and Life Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies
Advancing prion science : guidance for the National Prion Research Program, interim report, Rick Erdtmann and Laura Sivitz, editors ; Committee on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies: Assessment of Relevant Science, Medical Follow-Up Agency, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
Air emissions from animal feeding operations : current knowledge, future needs
Assessment of directions in microgravity and physical sciences research at NASA, Committee on Microgravity Research, Space Studies Board, Dvision on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies
Characterizing exposure of veterans to Agent Orange and other herbicides used in Vietnam : interim findings and recommendations, Committee on the Assessment of Wartime Exposure to Herbicides in Vietnam, Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
Dietary reference intakes : guiding principles for nutrition labeling and fortification, Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Use of Dietary Reference Intakes in Nutrition Labeling
Enabling ocean research in the 21st century : implementation of a network of ocean observatories, Committee on the Implementation of a Seafloor Observatory Network for Oceanographic Research, Ocean Studies Board, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
Energy and transportation : challenges for the chemical sciences in the 21st century, Organizing Committee for the Workshop on Energy and Transportation, Committee on Challenges for the Chemical Sciences in the 21st Century, Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
Environmental cleanup at Navy facilities : adaptive site management, Committee on Environmental Remediation at Naval Facilities, Water Science and Technology Board, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
Envisioning a 21st century science and engineering workforce for the United States : tasks for university, industry, and government, Shirley Ann Jackson
Estimating eligibility and participation for the WIC program : final report, Michele Ver Ploeg, David M. Betson, editors ; Panel to Evaluate the USDA's methodology for estimating eligibility and participation for the WIC Program, Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences Education, National Research Council of the National Academies
Evaluation of manufacturing vision and strategies for the production of military combat vehicles : the Crusader Artillery System, Committee on Evaluation of Manufacturing Vision and Strategies for the Production of the Crusader Artillery System, Board on Manufacturing and Engineering Design, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies
Factors affecting the utilization of the International Space Station for research in the biological and physical sciences, Task Group on Research on the International Space Station, Space Studies Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies and National Academy of Public Administration
Fair weather : effective partnership in weather and climate services, Committee on Partnerships in Weather and Climate Services, Committee on Geophysical and Environmental Data, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
Frontiers in high energy density physics : the x-games of contemporary science, Committee on High Energy Density Plasma Physics, Plasma Science Committee, Board on Physics and Astronomy, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies
GIS for housing and urban development, Committee on Review of Geographic Information Systems Research and Applications at HUD: Current Programs and Future Prospects, Committe on Geography, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
ISC security design criteria : for new federal office buildings and major modernization projects : a review and commentary, Committee to Review the Security Design Criteria of the Interagency Security Committee, Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies
IT roadmap to a Geospatial Future, Committee on Intersections Between Geospatial Information and Information Technology, Computer Science and Telecommunications Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies
Improving palliative care : we can take better care of people with cancer, Institute of Medicine, National Research Council of the National Academies
Information and communications : challenges for the chemical sciences in the 21st century, Organizing Committee for the Workshop on Information and Communications, Committee on Challenges for the Chemical Sciences in the 21st Century, Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
Life in the universe : an assessment of U.S. and international programs in astrobiology, Committee on the Origins and Evolution of Life, Space Studies Board - Board of Life Sciences, National Research Council
Materials research to meet 21st century defense needs, Committee on Materials Research for Defense After Next, National Materials Advisory Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies
Materials science and technology, Organizing Committee for the Workshop on Materials and Manufacturing, Committee on Challenges for the Chemical Sciences in the 21st Century, Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
Neutrinos and beyond : new windows on nature, Neutrino Facilities Assessment Committee, Board on Physics and Astronomy, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies
Nutrient requirements of nonhuman primates, Committee on Animal Nutrition, Ad Hoc Committee on Nonhuman Primate Nutrition, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Division on Earth and Life Sciences
Nutrient requirements of nonhuman primates, Committee on Animal Nutrition, Ad Hoc Committee on Nonhuman Primate Nutrition, Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
Ocean noise and marine mammals, National Research Council Committee on Potential Impacts of Ambient Noise in the Ocean on Marine Mammals, Ocean Studies Board, Division on Earth and Life Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies
Offspring : human fertility behavior in biodemographic perspective, Kenneth W. Wachter, Rodolfo A. Bulatao, editors
Pan-Organizational Summit on the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce : Meeting Summary, Marye Anne Fox ; Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable ; National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
Planning the 2010 census : second interim report, Panel on Research on Future Census Methods, Daniel L. Cork, Michael L. Cohen, and Benjamin F. King, editors, Committee on National Statistics, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council of the National Academies
Psychosocial concepts in humanitarian work with children : a review of the concepts and related literature, Maryanne Loughry, Carola Eyber ; Roundtable on the Demography of Forced Migration, Committee on Population, National Research Council of the National Academies, and Program on Forced Migration and Health at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Review of NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center, Committee to Review NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center, Committee on Geophysical and Environmental Data, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
Review of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's smallpox vaccination program implementation, Letter report #3, Committee on Smallpox Vaccination Program Implementation, Board on Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Institute of Medicine
Safety is seguridad : a workshop summary, Committee on Communicating Occupational Safety and Health Information to Spanish-speaking Workers, Committee on Earth Resources, Board on Earth Sciences and Resources, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
Science and technology for army homeland security, Report 1, Committee on Army Science and Technology for Homeland Defense, Board on Army Science and Technology, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies
Securing the future : regional and national programs to support the semiconductor industry, Charles W. Wessner, editor ; Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy, Policy and Global Affairs, National Research Council of the National Academies
Sharing publication-related data and materials : responsibilities of authorship in the life sciences, Committee on Responsibilities of Authorship in the Biological Sciences, Board on Life Sciences, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
The Impact of academic research on industrial performance, National Academy of Engineering of the National Academies
The environment : challenges for the chemical sciences in the 21st century, Organizing Committee for the Workshop on the Environment, Committee on Challenges for the Chemical Sciences in the 21st Century, Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, Division on Earth and Life Studies, National Research Council of the National Academies
The experiences and challenges of science and ethics : proceedings of an American-Iranian workshop, Committee on the Experiences and Challenges of Science and Ethics in the United States and Iran ; in cooperation with the Academy of Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Academy of Medical Sciences of the Islamic Republic of Iran ; Policy and Global Affairs, National Research Council of the National Academies
The role of scientific and technical data and information in the public domain : proceedings of a symposium, Julie M. Esanu and Paul F. Uhlir, editors ; Steering Committee on the Role of Scientific and Technical Data and Information in the Public Domain, Office of International Scientific and Technical Information Programs, Board on International Scientific Organizations, Policy and Global Affairs Division, National Research Council of the National Academies
Understanding others, educating ourselves : getting more from international comparative studies in education, Committee on a Framework and Long-term Research Agenda for International Comparative Education Studies ; Colette Chabbott and Emerson J. Elliott, editors ; Board on International Comparative Studies in Education, Board on Testing and Assessment, Center for Education, Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education, National Research Council of the National Academis
Use of lightweight materials in 21st century army trucks, Committee on Lightweight Materials for 21st Century Army Trucks, National Materials Advisory Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies
Using remote sensing in state and local government : information for management and decision making, Steering Committee on Space Applications and Commercialization, Space Studies Board, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council of the National Academies
Who will keep the public healthy? : workshop summary, Lyla Hernandez, editors ; Committee on Educating Public Health Professionals for the 21st Century, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies
Context of Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, 2003
<div class="citation" vocab="http://schema.org/"><i class="fa fa-external-link-square fa-fw"></i> Data from <span resource="http://link.library.mst.edu/resource/9qdgBHB_AxM/" typeof="PublicationEvent http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/ProviderEvent"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a href="http://link.library.mst.edu/resource/9qdgBHB_AxM/">Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, 2003</a></span> - <span property="potentialAction" typeOf="OrganizeAction"><span property="agent" typeof="LibrarySystem http://library.link/vocab/LibrarySystem" resource="http://link.library.mst.edu/"><span property="name http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/label"><a property="url" href="http://link.library.mst.edu/">Missouri University of Science & Technology Library</a></span></span></span></span></div>
Data Citation of the ProviderEvent Washington, D.C., National Academies Press, 2003
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Twitter Reacts To MF DOOM Losing To 50 Cent In Head-To-Head Poll
Legendary, technically proficient rapper MF DOOM’s death was announced last year on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31, 2020). While he did pass in October 2020, his family wanted to preserve their privacy and waited to let the public know of DOOM’s death. He would have turned 50 years old in 2021, and his legacy in hip-hop will continue to persist for years to come.
Around the one-year anniversary of his death announcement (Dec. 30, 2021), Twitter user @HipHopEsp_ started a Twitter poll tournament of some of the greatest rappers ever, pinning them head-to-head in unique matchups.
In the first round, MF DOOM was matched up with 50 Cent. To many fans’ dismay, 50 Cent won the poll 69.9% – 30.1% in a landslide. The user agreed with the outcome, saying 50 is the greater artist.
However, this outcome sparked widespread discourse about this matchup, as many hip-hop commentators disagreed with the result of the poll. Some users shamed the poll for even comparing the two artists, presumably conveying that they think DOOM is far superior.
Other Twitter users just could not believe the audacity of people to engage in the discussion, as it is futile and disrespectful to the late MF DOOM.
Who do you think was the better hip-hop artist, MF DOOM or 50 Cent?
Shenseea Kicks 2022 Off With "Dolly"
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Torah and its commentaries
Torah scroll. The first unit of the Hebrew Bible is the Torah, which comprises the five books of Moses. According to Jewish belief, Moses received the Torah from God on Mount Sinai, along with its verbal explanations and commands (Talmud). Each week a larger chapter from the Torah is read publicly, which called the weekly portion. The Torah scribe, called the Sofer, writes the Torah on a parchment prepared according to strict rules, and with ink proper of ritual requirements. One must follow the specifications laid down in the tradition when writing and using the Torah, otherwise the Torah is “pasul”, the opposite of kosher.
Torah on Display?
The Torah is respectable even if damaged or defective, i.e. it is not fit for ritual purposes. In such instances, in order to preserve its dignity, it is ritually buried. The Torah must not be left unfolded, revealing the text. We can still put it on display, in line with the decision of Rabbi Samuel Kohn of Budapest, who, in 1896 permitted to reveal the Torah on exhibitions and for educational purposes.
Miniature Torah scroll with tiny Torah finials. The small, paper printed scroll was supposedly shown as a jewel in a display case in a Jewish family home.
Miniature Torah scroll of Miksa Domonkos. The miniature Torah scroll was owned by Miksa Domonkos, one of the members of the Jewish Council set up in 1944. The Hebrew monogram “MD” on the velvet mantle covering the scroll refers to the name of the owner. According to family tradition, during the Holocaust, Miksa Domonkos carried the little scroll in his pocket as an amulet.
Torah mantel. In European, Ashkenazi Jewish communities, the scroll is first tied, and then dressed in a fine Torah-coat made of silk, velvet, or simpler materials. The embroidery on the tobacco-colored Torah mantle refers to symbols associated with the Torah. Above the simple, embroidered houses a growing olive tree towers. The text surrounding the composition in a semicircle is a quote from the book of Proverbs: “She is a tree of life to those who grasp her” (Proverbs 3:18), which clearly refers to the Torah. At the same time, the two shafts to which the parchment containing the text of Torah are wound up are called the tree of life (aitz chayim). Yet the not these shafts but the olive tree is displayed on the mantel, which is identified in Jewish folklore and mystical thinking as the real tree of life. The embroidered text on the protective mantle can be interpreted in very specific terms, referring to the physical content inside the mantle. But it can be also understood, in a poetic sense, referring to the spiritual significance of the Torah. Visual appearance, however, shows the “tree of life” motif that plays a role in the Jewish mysticism as well.
Torah Ornaments
In Ashkenazi communities the rolled up Torah scrolls were dressed in richly decorated Torah mantles; additional Torah ornaments, made usually of precious metal were hung over the Torah mantle. The use and production of such decorative elements is not a requirement, they symbolize the appreciation of the Torah, and they emerged only in the past few centuries.
Torah crown. Crowns were the first to appear as ornamentations placed on the top of the two wooden shafts attached to the Torah scrolls. The three-story, enormous Torah decoration once belonged to the accessories of the Dohány Street Synagogue. On the top the motif of the tree of life rising from the crown, which is a symbol for displaying God. When moving around the scroll, the sound of the bells placed in circles enhance the solemnity of the synagogue service. Vienna, 1855.
Torah pointer, Vienna, 1804. It is considered improper to touch the Torah with one’s hand during the reading of the Torah, so as to not damage the carefully written letters. In the Middle Ages, the parchment was covered with a piece of cloth, which was also used to point to the line being read. There are references of specific items made for this purpose from the sixteenth century onwards. The most common form of a Torah pointer is a hand with an outstretched pointing finger, made of metal, wood, bone, or nowadays even from glass or plastic. This object is traditionally called by its Hebrew name, yad.
Pair of Torah finials. The oldest ornaments of the Torah scroll are the finials placed on top of the two wooden rolls that hold the parchment. In Hebrew they are called rimon, or rimonim in the plural, which means ‘pomegranate’, which is an ancient symbol of fertility, wealth, and figuratively also represents the Torah. The palm tree shaped Torah finials were donated for the inauguration of the Synagogue of Miskolc (1863). Vienna, 1863.
Talmud Bavli (Babylonian Talmud), Brachot tractate. Together with the written Torah the oral laws of Judaism was also received, which were written down after the destruction of the Temple between 200-500 C.E. The Talmud is an encyclopaedia consisting of two parts: the Mishnah, and the Gemara, which has detailed explanations and discussions of the laws of Mishnah. The Gemara contains the teachings and opinions of more than three thousand scholars about the interpretation of the laws of the Torah. Mishnah is written in Hebrew, while the Gemara in Aramaic. The Talmud is not a code of law, but rather a case-book of law, where rabbis decide on the controversial issues, taking into account the typical cases. There are two versions of the Talmud: the Talmud Yerushalmi, edited in Jerusalem, and Talmud Bavli, edited in Babylonia. The Talmud Bavli was first printed between 1488 and 1519, while Yerushalmi was published in 1523. All releases of the Talmud are stereotyped, meaning that the same text is on the same page and line. Studying the Talmud has become a sacred duty of Jewish men, not just for rabbis and scholars, but for ordinary people as well. It also became a target for anti-Jewish movements: numerous fake translations appeared, resulting in burning and distructing those books. Vienna, 1808
Torah crown, 1875. Sephardic Jewish tradition at times also couples the Torah finials together with an open crown, which further emphasizes the motif of the tree of life as it springs from the crown. Therefore, the crown exhibited certainly had two wooden shafts (Etz Hayim), which did not become part of the collection.
Torah shield. In the middle of the Torah shield a gold plated silver Torah scroll is visible behind the tiny opened doors, which evoke the doors of the Torah Ark.
Torah shields and breastplates first appeared by the end of the 16th century. They were meant to decorate and protect the Torah scroll and with the help of the exchangeable plaques to help find the relevant Torah portion to which a particular scroll is rolled. These plaques showed the names the holidays or the weekly Torah portions.
Sefer Ruach Chen. The earliest Hebrew printed book in the collection is an excellent example for the migration of Jewish ideals, books, and communities, and the networks between them. The book itself is an explanation, a dictionary of philosophical terms, and a commentary made on the translation of the book of Maimonides: ‘The Guide for the Perplexed’. Maimonides originally wrote ‘The Guide for the Perplexed’ in Arabic but with Hebrew letters. A contemporary of Maimonides, Smuel ibn Tibbon, from Béziers, translated the book into Hebrew and for the sake of an accurate translation they corresponded with each other. ‘The Guide for the Perplexed’ became instantly popular and its manuscripts spread all over the Jewish world. The first printed edition of the Sefer Ruach Chen was published in Venice in 1549, by the printing press of Israel Cornelius Adelkind. On the margins of the collection’s copy of the Sefer Ruach Chen we could observe unidentified early modern Sephardic handwriting notes.
Torah shield. According to the cycle of the Torah reading the parchment of Torah is continuously shifted from one rod to another. On Simchat Torah (the holiday for rejoicing over the Torah) at the turn of the annual reading cycle, the scroll is ritually rolled back to the beginning. In European, Ashkenazi Jewish communities, the scroll is first tied, and then dressed in a fine Torah-coat, which is further adorned by various Torah-ornaments, typically made from precious metals. The making and use of these ornaments is not required by law, but they are symbols of how greatly the Torah-scroll is admired, prompting the desire to adorn it. The Torah-shield is the most recent of these items; it developed in the sixteenth century. A possible reason for its development is a functional one. Most probably they were made in order to use the small slots on the Torah-shield to indicate to which Torah portion that scroll was rolled. Vienna, 1805.
Codex page with micrographic decoration. On the parchment sheet there is a detail of a micrographic representation: Eve holding palm leaves in front of her with one hand and with the other offers an apple to Adam, whose only one hand and leg is visible. Between them, there is a tree with a serpent coiling on it. The second commandment’s provisions that prohibit figural representations have been many ways tackled to overcome by Jewish artists. The most typical micrographic depictions are when the sacred texts are written in very small letters and are rendered into a variety of abstract, plant, animal or human figures. Each corners of Hungary’s most precious Jewish codex remnant are sharply cut off and from the way they are creased, it becomes obvious that the original codex was dissembled and this parchment had been reused for another book as a cover. According to Fülöp Grünvald, this fragment of a codex could come from the Jewish community of Buda that was burnt down in 1686, during the re-conquest of Buda from the Turks. In Sándor Scheiber’s opinion, this parchment could even belong to the famous Corvina library of King Matthias. Enlarge the picture!
Jedaiah Bedersi: Behinat HaOlam. Jedaiah Bedersi (c. 1270 – c. 1340) wrote a book with the title ‘The Examination of the World’ after the banishment of the Jews from France (1306). The poem that deals with Jewish history also sums up the events of the expulsion from France. His work became such a great success that it was one of the first Hebrew printed books, and was followed by an additional sixty-seven edition, completed with commentaries. There were manuscript copies as well, like the one in our collection, which was written in 1562.
Halakha is the collective body of Jewish religious laws. A more literal translation might be “the way of walking”. We use this term as a common name for Jewish laws, derived from the Bible or the rabbinical literature. There are many formal codes of Jewish law that have developed over the past centuries and are used as sources of law even as we speak.
Maimonides: Mishneh Torah. Maimonides was born in 1135, in Córdoba, from where he had to flee after the Almohad conquest. He settled down in Fostat (once the capital of Egypt), where he made a living as a physician and wrote his philosophical works; among others, between 1170 and 1180, his masterpiece the Mishneh Torah. His intention was to collect and systemize the Jewish legal rules accumulated in the Oral Law (halacha). Maimonides died in Egypt in 1204, and his body was later buried in Tiberias. The Mishneh Torah endures as an influential work in Jewish religious thought, and it is still one of the most studied and most frequently cited halachic work, published in many various editions.
Prayer book, Trebic. The importance of handwritten prayer books remained unchanged even after the spread of printing, because of Judaism’s tradition to written letters. Illustrated and hand written luxurious prayer books for personal use became fashionable in the 18th century, mostly among Central European wealthy Jewish families. The first page, following the cover page of the prayer book, helps the reader meditate and contemplate. The most typical text here is the Psalm 67, which is arranged in the shape of a Menorah. Psalm 67 is a part of the daily prayer, asking for the time when every nation recognizes the divine truth and brings peace to the world. According to Jewish tradition, the author of this psalm is not David, but the wind, which played on his harp. Since the menorah is the symbol of miracle and salvation, it is the appropriate form for the miracle expecting content of the text; but more mystical explanations are also known regarding the connection between the two. The 49 words of the seven-verse Psalm are distributed in a 7-6-6-11-6-6-7 pattern. Writing them bellow each other they form a rotated menorah. A protective power was attributed to this typographic layout of the Psalm, written in the form of the menorah, which frequently appeared in the Jewish visual culture from the 16th century onwards. Trebic, 1723.
Secret Message?
Certain motifs of the items on display here are references to the entire system of Jewish textual legacy. Cherubim appearing on the crown, or the text of a psalm written out in the shape of a menorah evoke subsequent commentaries on biblical texts. They provide explanations to the Bible on the one hand, and by adding mystical contents, they proclaim the eternal presence of the Almighty whose portrayal is forbidden.
Central panel of the Torah Ark curtain. The elaborate central panel of the Torah Ark curtain, called mirror, was one of the curtains that used to decorate the Torah Ark of the Nagykanizsa synagogue, built between 1807 and 1821. Made in the fashionable style of the era, the donors’ names inscribed in Hebrew are surrounded by laurel wreath. Above, similar to the Austrian imperial crown, is a raised embroidery crown, symbolizes the crown of the Torah scroll. The two figures beneath the crown cite a sentence from the second book of Moses and its subsequent commentaries. “And you shall make two golden cherubim; you shall make them of hammered work, from the two ends of the ark cover.” (...) “I will arrange My meetings with you there, and I will speak with you from atop the ark cover from between the two cherubim that are upon the Ark of the Testimony, all that I will command you unto the children of Israel.” The nature of cherubs has been widely discussed. Yalkut Shimoni, a very popular midrash collection of the early modern period says that the cherubs hide the in the crown. We see the visual expression of this idea on the Torah Ark curtain. This motif made synagogue goers understand the text, and reminded them of God’s protective power over Jewish communities. Nagykanizsa, 1808.
Torah finials and Torah shield. Free royal cities and guilds operating in the cities exercised their rights not to allow Jews within the city walls or be a member of their guilds. This restriction that started in the Middle Ages and lasted until the dawn of the modern era, resulted that we hardly find any Jewish craftsman during this period of time. There were only two towns in the Hungarian Kingdom in the 18th and 19th centuries where Jews were allowed to work as silversmiths: Óbuda (Alt-Ofen) and Bratislava (Pressburg-Schlossberg). In those communities, Jewish craftsmen created Judaica as well, which was unusual in Central Europe, where even Jewish ceremonial objects were normally crafted by Gentiles. The members of the Becker dynasty from Pressburg (Bratislava today) were outstanding silversmiths. Along with ordinary silver objects they also produced objects to beautify the Torah scroll for the surrounding Jewish communities. There are at least 14 pairs of Torah finials created by Fredericus Becker, Sr. (active ca. 1800-1826). Two of them belongs to our collection: one is the Torah finials he made for the community of Óbuda and the other one is the Torah shield made for the community of Pest.
Pair of Torah finials, around 1800. They were made for the Jewish Community of Óbuda by a well-known goldsmiths in Pest, called Ferenc Pasperger.
Hatam Sofer, Pressburg (today Bratislava). The Jews of Pressburg living on the Pálffy estate was the biggest Jewish community of Hungary at its time. They invited Moses Schreiber to be their rabbi in 1806, who, according to family legends, was the descendant of Rashi, the renowned Bible Commentator living in the 11th century. Moses Schreiber (or traditionally ‘Hatam Sofer’ as he is referred to in the Jewish world, after the title of his book made on rabbinic decisions) has radically opposed any kind of innovation. He believed, based on his experiences in Germany, that adaptation and integration to the rising middle class of the Christian world would eliminate the strict separation of Jewish communities, which secured the survival of Judaism for centuries. He wanted to build “fences and limits” around the tradition in order to make lessen the effects of modernization in the Jewish world. He established a yeshiva, that became the most influential rabbinic seminar in the world. He had such a great respect that he had visitors coming even from Africa asking questions on Halacha (Jewish law). His answers were only printed after his death, in 1859, in Pressburg.
Moses Mendelssohn: Sefer Netivot Hashalom. The first, widespread, modern translation of the Jewish texts is a work of Moses Mendelssohn, the prominent rabbi of the Jewish enlightenment, the “Haskalah”. He first published the German translation of the five books of Moses with commentaries. The text though is literary German, but was printed with Hebrew letters. His work divided the contemporary Jewish society. While the advocates of modernity welcomed it, many considered it a blasphemy. Vienna, 1818.
Torah crown from Galicia, end of the 18th century
Shiviti plaque. The shiviti plaque is found in synagogues in front of the podium from which the prayer service is led. These plaques received their name from the Biblical verse inscribed on them. Verse 8 of Psalm 16 says: Shivviti Adonay ke-negdi tamid, “I have set the Lord always before me”. Mordecai ben Eliezer, the cantor of Megyer (in Western Hungary) made this Shivviti plaque using the entire text of the Book of Psalms and the Five Scrolls (the Song of Songs, the Book of Ruth, Book of Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Book of Esther). The three tympanums on top of the pillars that divide the plaque is from the Book of Psalms. The figure of King David playing on the harp and the picture depicting Jacob’s dream are also made using the text of Psalms. In the fields divided by the pillars, the text of the five scrolls appears in the form of a biblical character each: In the bottom row on the left King Solomon is formed from the text of the Song of Songs, and on the right Ruth is formed from the Book of Ruth. Above them, Esther from the Book of Esther, and on the right again Solomon, from Ecclesiastes. In the same row as Jacob’s dream, on the left hand side there is an envelope with the text of the Book of Lamentations. On the bottom of the plaque, in the middle, there is a menorah, formed of flower-buds and blossoms according to the Biblical description. On the top of the page, between the tympanums, there are two birds holding the Torah scroll. Mordecai ben Eliezer made this plaque in 1828, in Megyer.
The building of the Jewish Museum carries the memory of several symbolic historical events. The ornate row of windows in the second hall belonged to the original furnishing of the building that was transmitted in 1931 and miraculously survived the 20th century intact. The windows serve as reminders of the fact that the Museum was created with the support and donations of the rich and influential Jewish elite. All the windows enshrine the memory of a prestigious family, who often appear among the founders and donors of other charitable institutions in Pest.
On the glass pictures, there are mostly images of biblical stories: David and Goliath, the sacrifice of Isaac, inding Moses, Haman and Mordechai, Daniel’s vision, the Pharaoh’s dream, King David’s prayer, by the rivers of Babylon, Solomon's Prayer of Dedication, Daniel in the lion’s den, Deborah, and Betzalel. The biblical themes are complemented by two historical images: the death of Judah Halevi and Maimonides surrounded by his disciples.
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Jewish Time
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2014 >
(OR: a sketchy guide to sketches)
There’s no one right way to write a sketch.
The basic premise of comedy is surprise. In a sketch, something should happen that is different from our ordinary, humdrum, miserable lives. For instance, you go to the bank, and the bank manager is a slinky! (NB: Please never write that) There will be a tension between what we expect to happen (a bank manager) and what happens in the sketch. (a slinky)
Ways to approach the tension
Straight/Absurd
One (or more) person(s) is doing something that people wouldn’t normally do, and the other person(s) calls them on it. (See: That Mitchell and Webb Look)
Absurd/Absurd
Two (or more) people are doing things that people wouldn’t normally do. (See: Green Wing)
Different World, Different Rules
Something out of the ordinary happens, but the characters behave as if it’s normal. (See: Big Train)
Straight/Straight
Here, two or more seemingly normal characters are in a comedically unfortunate situation, and do their best to get out of it. A sort of 'Situation Comedy'. (Or 'SitCom' for short, if you will) These usually take a long time to set up and resolve, and aren't really the domain of sketch comedy.
What separates good sketches from okay sketches?
Raising the Stakes
It’s not enough to just have the premise of your sketch. The audience gets used to the out of the ordinary thing, (or TOOTOT for short) and it stops being out of the ordinary. As the sketch goes on, the tension needs to increase for the audience to maintain interest. What is happening becomes increasingly important. If something goes wrong, the characters have more to lose than before. The characters become more invested in what they’re doing. (See: The Four Yorkshiremen)
The most important aspect of any short work be it a story or a sketch is building up – if you can’t build and develop your sketch to bring it to a climax of some kind (usually a punchline) – the audience aren’t likely to stay interested.
Managing Conflict
Two people arguing is conflict, and conflict equals tension, so arguing is tension, right? Well, yes. But they’re not congruous. Conflict and tension can also be internal (one person against themselves) or external. (two people against the world) If two characters in a scene have a disagreement, they can’t just have a back-and-forth “Yes!” “No!’ argument. These arguments usually go nowhere, and aren’t particularly interesting to watch. This violates our ‘Raising the Stakes’ principle above.
An Ending
When a sketch ends, the tension established in the premise of the sketch is relieved. We come back to some kind of balance. In the Mitchell and Webb sketch, the grammar guy got grammar-guy-ed and the status of the characters was reversed. Make sure you don’t undo the premise of your sketch. If the grammar guy had just said “Actually, you’re right. Grammar isn’t that important after all”, the audience would wonder what the point of it all was.
Another way to end a sketch is a ‘pull-back-and-reveal’. Here, all the action that has happened in the sketch so far is revealed to have been taking place in a different context to how we thought it had. (See: Victoria Wood) Incidentally, don’t you hate it when the punchline of the sketch is given away in the title of a youtube video? Comedy is about surprise, bitchez.
A sketch doesn’t necessarily have to end at the end of the sketch. If it’s strong enough, one idea can extend over several sketches. When characters, jokes, or ideas return over the course of a show, they become callbacks.
What separates great sketches from good sketches?
Humans aren’t robots. (I hope. Oh god. ARGHGHGH!) This means they have feelings and stuff. More than anything, emotions help your audience empathise with characters in the sketch. They draw people into your world and make it more believable. Sure, they can exist in a ridiculous world, with crazy characters, but find the emotional truth to the scene and you’ve got some fried gold. Emotions allow the actors to really get into their role, allowing the hilarity and intimacy of live theatre to enrich the minds and nourish the souls of our audience.
Repetition in a scene creates a framework for the audience to grab hold of. (“Oh, they keep going in and out of the bathroom”) But simply repeating something becomes boring. It needs to change as it goes on. “Blue Blue Blue Blue Blue” isn’t a pattern. “Blue Red Green Orange Purple” is a pattern.
Usually two instances of something is enough for an audience to be able to predict a pattern. But three instances proves what the pattern is. This is called the Rule of Threes: Things are funnier in groups of three than in other numbers. (See: Notches)
A pattern doesn’t have to be the same throughout the whole sketch. Once you’ve completed a pattern of action, change it.
Other Writing Tips
Demonstrate what the situation is, rather than explaining it. Characters should act with their emotions, rather than naming them.
Your audience is ahead of you
You don’t need to explain the joke to the audience. Trust that they’re as intelligent as you are. Assume your audience watches Community or Arrested Development, not Two and a Half Men.
But they’re not mind-readers.
Just because you know the name of the guy who wrote the original script for Dagger of the Mind (Star trek season 1 eposide 11) that doesn’t mean everyone else does too. We want intelligent and different, but accessible.
Try writing different things
If your sketches are too similar to each other, challenge yourself. Do most of your sketches involve two characters? Try a monologue. Or nine characters. Or none! Are all your sketches set in present day Australia? Try the Elizabethan era. Or the future. Or a parallel universe. Do all of your sketches end with people shooting each other? Try not doing that.
Generally avoid Swearing and Shock
These will get a reaction from your audience, but they generally won’t lead to anything constructive. Only use if you have strong artistic reasons to do so.
Write lots and lots and lots
Not everything you write is going to be excellent. But in the chaff, there will be some wheat. In the hay stack, there will be a needle. In the terrible farming metaphors, there will be a reason for making farming metaphors. KEEP WRITING!
It's not about you
"You have one goal: to connect with your audience. Therefore, you must track what your audience is feeling at all times... Think in terms of what audiences think. They go to the theatre, and they either notice that their butts are numb, or they don’t. If you’re doing your job right, they don’t." - Joss Whedon
Not everything has to be funny
We are primarily a sketch show, but variety is good. We need at least two of these three: Amusing, Impressive, Interesting
Check out Pixar's Rules of Storytelling
Especially points 2, 5, 11, 12, 13, 17
Ignore everything we say
Anything you can say about comedy, the opposite is also true. These tips are tools, not rules. Know what the different components of a sketch are so you can deploy them successfully. You don’t have to rigidly follow them each time. If you write comedy according to a formula, you definitionally end up with formulaic comedy.
And finally, remember to bring snacks when coming to a writers meeting. We’re particularly fond of strawberry tarts.
Written by Erin Cunio and Jim Fishwick (2013)
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Tag Archives: most
Croatian conservatives win elections in repeat from last November
September 13, 2016 Kevin Lees Leave a comment
Andrej Plenković, a former diplomat, is likely to become Croatia’s next prime minister. (Facebook)
As global politics takes its strongest lunge towards ultranationalist populism in the postwar era, Croatian voters on Sunday delivered a fresh (if narrow) mandate to a conservative party now headed by a moderate and technocratic former diplomat.
In a repeat of last November’s elections, the conservative Hrvatska demokratska zajednica (HDZ, Croatian Democratic Union) placed first but short of the absolute majority that it needed to govern alone.
Just as after last year’s elections, it will now look to form a coalition with Most nezavisnih lista (Bridge of Independent Lists), a reformist and centrist party formed in 2012 that fared slightly more poorly in the September 11 parliamentary election than last year. Nevertheless, Most continues to hold the margin of power for the next Croatian government, and it’s very likely to join an HDZ-led coalition. Together, the HDZ and Most are just two seats short of a majority, which they might pick up from independents MPs.
Andrej Plenković, a mild-mannered diplomat, is the HDZ’s fresh-faced leader, and he’s part of a rising generation of Croatians who came of age, politically speaking, long after Yugoslavia’s breakup. Though he leads the Croatian right in what has become an increasingly nationalist moment, Plenković’s career is rooted in foreign policy and diplomacy, not populist politics. A longtime member of the bureaucracy in Croatia’s ministry of foreign and European affairs, Plenković served for five years as deputy ambassador to France, then as secretary of state for European integration from 2010 to 2011, shortly before Croatia acceded to the European Union. Since 2013, he has also served as a member of the European Parliament (after a brief two-year stint in the Croatian national parliament).
RELATED: Reform-minded Most party set to play kingmaker in Croatia
Yet as the aftermath of the 2015 election showed, coalition agreements are easier conceived than executed. After 76 days of negotiations, the HDZ and Most agreed in January 2016 to form a coalition headed by a non-partisan prime minister, Tihomir Orešković, a dual Canadian national and pharmaceutical businessman. Tasked with a nearly impossible project to boost GDP growth and cut Croatia’s debt, the government seemed to be on track to meet its goals. Continue reading Croatian conservatives win elections in repeat from last November →
balkansbosnia-herzegovinacroatiacroatian democratic unionhasanbegovicHDZhuman shielfkaramarkomerkelmilanovicmostoreskovicpetrovplenkovicsaborsanaderSDPserbiasnap electionsocial democratic partyustasezivi zid
Reform-minded ‘MOST’ party set to play kingmaker in Croatia
November 9, 2015 Kevin Lees Leave a comment
Croatia’s social democratic prime minister, Zoran Milanović, will now look to lead a second consecutive government. (Facebook)
Until this summer, the conservative Hrvatska demokratska zajednica (HDZ, Croatian Democratic Union), fresh off a convincing victory in the December/January presidential election, seemed assured of its victory in Croatia’s parliamentary elections, enjoying a lead of more than 10% in most polls.
Then something changed.
But it wasn’t that the HDZ was losing votes. Instead, leftist voters were abandoning their flirtation with a new left-wing party, Održivi razvoj Hrvatske (ORaH, Sustainable Development of Croatia), formed in October 2013 by former environmental minister Mirela Holy. At the height of its popularity in autumn 2014, ORaH was winning nearly 20% of the vote in polls, most of which came at the expense of the governing Socijaldemokratska partija Hrvatske (SDP, Social Democratic Party of Croatia).
Over the course of 2015, as ORaH’s support plummeted, those voters returned to the SDP and its governing allies that comprise Hrvatska raste (‘Croatia is Growing’) coalition, the largest member of which, by far, is the SDP. In Sunday’s election, ORaH’s vote share collapsed so completely that it failed to win a single seat in Croatia’s unicameral parliament, the Sabor.
That, in part, explains why the SDP did so well on November 8. Nominally, the SDP won just 56 seats, while the HDZ won 59 seats. But three of the HDZ’s seats come from Croatian voters abroad, many of whom are ethnic Croats living in Bosnia and Herzegovina or elsewhere in the Balkans. Moreover, the SDP’s governing coalition can informally rely on a small regional party, the Istarski demokratski sabor (IDS, Istrian Democratic Assembly), which holds three seats, as well as eight additional legislators who represent national minorities, bringing the governing SDP to a more realistic base of 67 seats (just nine shy of the majority it would need for a new term in the 151-member Sabor).
Not atypically, the Social Democratic Party performed best in the Croatian heartland and in Istria in the north and the west, while the Croatian Democratic Union did best along the Dalmatian coast stretching southward and in the far eastern Slavonia.
The HDZ (blue) triumphed in the south and in the east; the SDP (red) triumphed in the north and the west.
Ironically, it was the unexpected rise of a reform-minded centrist party, Most nezavisnih lista (Bridge of Independent Lists), that probably hurt the HDZ by drawing away reform-minded centrists. Barring the unlikely formation of a ‘grand coalition’ between the HDZ and the SDP, two parties with very different cultural and political traditions, it will be Most, a new party that formed only in 2012, and its 19-member caucus, that will now decide which of Croatia’s two dominant parties will form the next government. Continue reading Reform-minded ‘MOST’ party set to play kingmaker in Croatia →
bozo petrovcroatiacroatian democratic unionHDZIDSistrian democratic assemblykaramarkomilanovicmirela holymostORaHrefugee crisissaborsanaderSDPsocial democratsyugoslavia
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