Fashion

Multi Aroma Diffuser from the Future…available Today

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Multi Aroma HiTech Room Diffuser 2Digital Habits presents Bouquet at Fuorisalone 2016, revolutionary IoT multi-aroma diffuser that blends physiology and olfactory scenarios. A new humanism of industrial projects: technological products become essential and sensitive, able to transform the perception of the environment in which they are placed.

Fuorisalone 2016, April 12th – 17th, Milano, SuperStudioPiù, Selected Objects

At Fuorisalone 2016 (April 12th-17th) following the main theme “White pages”, which refers to those metaphorical ‘white pages’ whereby the future world still needs to be written, Digital Habits presents new products that integrate physical and computing elements, shapes and sensitivity, to draw new atmospheres in the home.

Bouquet is the new product of the Digital Habits collection, which brings a new sensory dimension into the living experience: the sense of smell. This project is extremely innovative and investigates the relation between olfactory perception, physiology and psychology.

The body, made of blown glass, is divided in two compartments that contain two different aromas. This decision came after studies on the influence that smell can have on different human activities. With Bouquet it is possible to diffuse separately or simultaneously two different scent scenarios: e.g. relaxing, energizing and so on, according to personal preferences.

Thanks to the inner clock and a Mobile App, it’s also possible to schedule via Blutooth the aroma diffusion during the day to create, at the right time, welcoming situations. For example an activating aroma can help a prompt and energetic wake-up in the morning, while a relaxing aroma can create the right conditions to get asleep.

Bouquet has the following characteristics:

Multi-scent, to select the most fitting fragrance to the different moments of the day.

Smartphone App with bluetooth connectivity to manage and set one or more diffusers wirelessly.

Scenario Manager to automatically schedule an aroma diffusion according to the time of the day (wake-up, back-home, getting asleep), personal habits (concentration, relaxation) and the purpose of each room of the house (living room, bedroom, bathroom, kitchen).

Do you have room for another smarthphone app? Sure you do!
Do you have room for another smarthphone app? Sure you do!

Presence, to detect the temporary or permanent presence of people in a room and clean the air or flavor it with a pleasant smell.

Custom Intensity, settings to manage the level of intensity of the fragrance depending on personal preference and room size.

Ecosystem, integration with the Digital Habits product range to create new experiences that blend elements of light, sound and scent and recreate situations such as a natural wake-up.

A colored and tunable white light controlled by the Mobile App, is also integrated in Bouquet to complete the sensory experience. Bouquet complements the collection of Digital Habits multi-sensory products such as Cromatica and OSound Light, which transform the perception of the space in which they are placed creating new domestic atmospheres.

At the Fuorisalone 2016, Digital Habits will also presents:

a new version of Osound Light which combines a Bluetooth speaker and a disc of light that creates unexpected atmospheres and gradients.

Dragon, fractal led lamp that grows in the space thanks to the aggregation of smart modules. Dragon is now presented in new table and wall versions.

Another Moon

Another Moon and Kizuki, two new IoT projects resulting from the collaboration between Digital Habits and QUANTUM the innovation accelerator based in Tokyo, part of the global advertising agency TBWA. Another Moon is an object that marks the lunar phases within metropolitan private environments where this awareness is fading out. Kizuki is an IoT signage that allows to intuitively and subtly ‘feel’ the climate within your home.

DIGITAL HABITS

Digital Habits is the innovation platform of the international design studio Habits. Founded in 2012, it focuses on creating interactive and IoT products.

The Digital Habits collection includes objects of sound, light and scent. The products create seamless multisensory environments, which involve different perceptions and activate synesthesia.

Digital Habits products are now available in the most exclusive retail locations such as the Armani Mega Store in Via Manzoni in Milan and Mondadori Mega Stores.

Per ulteriori informazioni o per segnalare la tua pubblicazione scrivi all’indirizzo eassante@digitalhabits.it

Sci-Tech

9 Things to Know about Wearable Tech in Health and Fitness

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Here’s a fun wearable Infographic from our friends at igotcrazy.com. Do you agree with their projections of use?

•    By 2019, more than 33% of U.S. adult population is expected to be using the wearable tech?
•     According to a survey wearable technologies such as fitness trackers, smart watches and GPS tracking devices are expected to be the No. 1 fitness trend in 2016.
•    Wearable devices could possibly be a way for companies to better understand their team.

Wearable Tech In Health And Fitness Infographic

Culture

Celebrate 20th Century Fox Alien Day On April 26 With Re-Issued Reebok Shoes

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Alien Day Poster 20th Century Fox Is the Alien(s) franchise overdue for an official day of recognition and fan celebration? I think so.  Fans of the original 1979 movie and the sequels and prequel that followed are a loyal bunch. They spend money on toys, posters, t-shirts, Blue-ray box sets and some like me, shelled out big bucks in 1987 for a pair of Reebok’s Bugstomper shoes. That’s dedicated fandom.

1987 All Black Reebok Bugstompers
1987 All Black Reebok Bugstompers

#AlienDay426

This week’s big announcement of #AlienDay has coincided with reports in the media of ‘new’ Reebok Aliens shoes. I have serious doubts that any of those writers responsible for the reports are hard core fans of the franchise. If they were, they would know that the Reebok shoes being written about were actually available almost 30 years ago.

Perhaps I’m splitting hairs here. There’s a good chance that the re-issue shoes might be slightly different than the original Bugstompers. Images and an official 20th century fox poster being used to promote the re-issues show the Alien character Ripley in a pair of very noticeable “high top” Reebok Bugstompers. Back in the day, only “mid top” shoes were available.

Reebok Aliens Shoes Movie Size Ripley Newt

What else besides shoes?

Beginning at midnight and lasting 24 hours, 4/26 (an homage to the planet LV-426) will be filled with product launches, nationwide screenings and a Twitter trivia contest that will give away ALIEN merch every 42.6 minutes. Now you know what that twitter hashtag #AlienDay426 is all about: make April 26 the de-facto fan day for the Alien franchise. CP

Did you know?

The most sought after Alien collectible is the 1979 Kenner 18″ Alien doll– a fine likeness of H.R. Giger’s design. Originally pulled from toy store shelves due to frightening parents and children alike.

UPDATED- Aliens | July 2016 Comic Con Full Panel (James Cameron, Sigourney Weaver, Bill Paxton)

Click me! New Music created from early sci-fi soundtracks.
Click me! New Music created from early sci-fi soundtracks.
Culture

The Metapolitics of Burning Man- ‘Fighting the Lie of The Normal Art Economy’

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OCCUPY BLACK ROCK! THE METAPOLITICS OF BURNING MAN by MARK VAN PROYEN

As annual journalistic rituals go, the annual Time Magazine  “Person of the Year” has been the most enduring barometer of the spirit of the moment of its announcement. For close to a century, the banner was “Man of the Year,” but after Corazon Aquino and Queen Elizabeth smiled at the world from the front cover of that influential publication, gender neutrality became the preferred modality. In 1982 “the computer” received the coveted award, so gender went out the window altogether. But the 2011 award was given to “the protestor,” and the representative image was a masked face of an angry-eyed anonymous person.
TOP Black Rock City from above Photo: AJPN Anthony Peterson BOTTOM Black Rock City seen from Old Razorback Mountain Photo: Peretz Partensky
TOP Black Rock City from above Photo: AJPN Anthony Peterson
BOTTOM Black Rock City seen from Old Razorback Mountain
Photo: Peretz Partensky

This image followed a long year of public demonstrations that started at Cairo’s Tafir Square in late January 2011, spread to the shores of Tripoli and then moved on to Damascus. In September 2011, it arrived in New York’s Zucotti Park, a tiny sliver of public space surrounded on all sides by the world’s most prominent financial institutions. According to the surging multitudes that participated in what would come to be known as Occupy Wall Street, those institutions were evil, and needed to be called into account.It took the major media a full ten days to report the story of the occupation of that little park, although the story had already been thoroughly distributed via social media networks. The movement’s rhetoric was ingeniously crafted for those modes of distribution, and usually took the form of declarative slogans. These proclaimed that the protestors represented the 99 per cent of the American population that would no longer stand for being fleeced by irresponsible government tax policies, a lack of regulation of the financial markets and a vast system of political bribes routinely called “campaign contributions.” Conservative commentators squealed “Class War!” in comic disregard of an OWS placard reminding its readers “they call it class war when we fight back!” From the OWS point of view, that war had been ongoing since Ronald Reagan’s first term in office. When the major media did get around to picking up the story, “What do they want?” or “What are their demands?” were published everywhere, as if the protestors were unintelligible in their calls for economic justice and political fair play. OWS did not give in to the “demand for demands” and this is crucially important, because their movement never was nor is now a conventional exercise in political advocacy. It is much better to describe it as a case of spontaneous socio-cultural upheaval intended to reshape contemporary political priorities into a more ethical form. In an America where an uber- wealthy minority has garnered a proportionally larger piece of the economic pie for decades, one might have anticipated that the protesters would have adopted a more conventional form of utopian rhetoric. But theirs was decidedly pragmatist. They pointed at real problems that could and should be solved in a political practice governed by simple sanity. One sign read, “I don’t mind you being rich. I mind you buying my government out from under me.” The sign referred to the draconian political atmosphere created when the Supreme Court voted five to four to overturn the McCain/Feingold Campaign Reform Act in the now infamous Citizens United vs Federal Election Commission decision of 2010. 3

The real issue at stake in the Occupy Movement’s actions is the control that money exerts over the political process. The movement reveals the plutocratic Achilles heel of neoliberal corporatism’s claim that it is more democratic than its chief rivals in model government. I call these rivals “state capitalism” and “theocratic tribalism,” and intend them to be non-euphemistic names for what are conventionally called socialism and religion-based social organization. Because of its distinctly modern emphasis on upholding the prerogatives of individual political actors, neoliberal corporatism is easy to sell as the ideology of choice for free thinkers. But, as history shows, free thinking never stays free for long, because it too has to live in a marketplace of encouragements and discouragements governed by instrumental rationales that are epiphenomenal to the formation and protection of wealth. In other words, those who have the gold set the standards, regardless of any vision of or obligation to social fair play. This insures that instrumental reason will always protect itself from any utopian vision so that in the realms of conventional discourse, we are always given an “intelligentsia” that functions as the public face of bureaucracy and policy. However “oppositional” its posture of hidden loyalty might be, it will nonetheless always end up fleeing from the Socratic mandate that philosophical thinking helps its aspirants to actually live better. From the point of view of the Occupy movement, that mandate desperately needs to be returned to the core of any thinking that seeks to establish anything resembling a political priority.
When I refer to model forms of governmentality, I am not pointing to any operational political entity, any and all of which are circumstantial admixtures of the three models of neo-liberalism, state capitalism and tribal theocracy all achieving legibility much in the same way that tertiary colors do through the mixture of the primary hues of red, yellow and blue. For example, social democracy is really a blend of neo-liberal corporatism and state capitalism. Another example reminds us that there will always be a black market of goods and subversive ideology working in the shadows of any state capitalist system, or for that matter, within any theocratic tribe. Any system configured around any of these three model forms will also contain latent aspects of one or both of the others, arranged into dominant and subordinate formations. These are always in a perpetual state of change and reconsolidation.
Art Police Badge Black Rock City
They are also always in a state of subtle redefinition, and the factors that shape these redefinitions can sometimes come from surprising vectors. The Occupy Wall Street movement is one such example, surprising in that it refuses to operate according to the rules of normative political advocacy. Whereas the extremely conservative Tea Party rallies held during the previous year were examples of a durable tradition of anti-government American populism, the OWS movement is representative of an equally durable anti-bank populism that has a long-standing place in American history reaching back to early colonial laws against debtors’ prisons. Even though the two groups blamed different entities for the economic misery that swept the land after the 2008 financial crisis, there is an important difference: in an act of support for the second amendment, Tea Party activists often brought guns to their rallies. The only firearms seen at Occupy Wall Street (and its more contentious sister event, Occupy Oakland) were in the hands of over-zealous law enforcement officers. Occupy Wall Street events are significantly more complicated animals than their Tea Party predecessors. The movement has gone far out of its way not to be co-opted by the mass media or any collection of candidates for public office. Conversely, the Tea Party groups were all too happy to be ventriloquized by Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News affiliates. OWS had a justifiable concern that any such affiliation would inevitably lead to the seven stages of political futility: cooptation, division, dilution, pacification, neutralization, disappointment and betrayal. Because of these concerns, what one sees coming out of the Occupy movement is not an exercise of politics defined by the normal terms and conditions of any conventional political science. Rather, it operates as an example of what Alain Badiou has called a Metapolitics, that is, a strategic restaging of the ethical grounds by which political matters are imagined, understood, debated and acted upon. According to Badiou, Metapolitics is a form of “Resistance by Logic.” 4
No group, no class, no social configuration or mental objective was behind the Resistance… there was nothing in the course of this sequence which could have been described in terms of objective groups, be they ‘workers’ or ‘philosophers’…. Let us say that this resistance, proceeding by logic, is not an opinion. Rather, it is a logical rupture with dominant and circulating opinions…. For the contemporary philosophical situation is one where, on the ruins on the doctrine of classes and class consciousness, attempts are made on all sides to restore the primacy of morality. 5
It is particularly interesting to look at Badiou’s metapolitical thesis in light of his larger project to transform the most basic grounds of philosophical inquiry so as to place greater emphasis on ethics. He is well known for proposing a change in the basic categories of philosophy (metaphysics, ethics, logic and epistemology), seeking to restage them as the interdependent “truth procedures” of “art, love, politics and science.” 6
His metapolitical restaging of the truth procedure of political science can be understood to be of a piece with his postulation of an ethical “inaesthetics.” This seeks to deny the meditative subject/object relationship of contemplation with something suffused with “immanence and singularity,” leading to a “transfiguration of the given.” The Occupy Wall Street movement has followed suit on this score, fashioning itself as an immanent and singular metapolitical gesture that has embraced a unique resistance by logic that was and still is a vigorous disruption of logic. It has accomplished this by staging a theatrical moment that calls attention to the withering state of the commons, that being the place of democratic co-existence and rational debate where all citizens can freely enter and exist regardless of their inability to rent media time. And let there be no mistake: in the second decade of the twenty-first century, social media has become the new commons, needing only a shared event to galvanize its attention to the point of putting a wide-ranging discourse about political priorities into play on a vast and unregulated scale. Occupy Wall Street is one such event, one whose time has clearly come. But the model for this kind of actual/virtual exercise in reformulating a common space into a rhetorical congregation had been established two decades earlier in a very different public location that also galvanized a vast virtual community. It too was a brilliantly conceived exercise in a metapolitical “resistance by logic.” That space was and still is the vast Black Rock Desert, a dry lakebed in northwestern Nevada that is administered by the Federal Bureau of Land Management.
Karen on Eileen and George, from Crude Awakening PHOTO: ROGER MINKOW M.D.
Karen on Eileen and George, from Crude Awakening
PHOTO: ROGER MINKOW M.D.

The event was and still is Burning Man. Since the early beginnings of the Internet, many observers have postulated that there was revolutionary potential in its ability to widely and instantaneously distribute unmediated information. Some have proclaimed it to be the new commons, this in recognition of how the forces of neoliberal corporatism have turned the old commons into shopping malls of various kinds, those being places where the subtle doctrine of “pay to play” began to slowly displace all other opportunities for political participation. Burning Man was the first major instance of an organized recognition of this new communal possibility of the digital revolution, and the first to act upon it at any meaningful scale. It did so by “occupying” a piece of public land in a wilderness area, and then configuring itself as a kind of free city where monetary exchange and corporate advertising would not be allowed. Participation, collaboration and self-reliance were upheld as paramount civic virtues, and art was defined and welcomed as the product of any “radical free expression” that any person could devise, regardless of any lack of previous experience or education. When web-browsing software first became available in 1994, Burning Man was already nine years old, and had already been using email networks and virtual bulletin boards to distribute its messages to a growing audience. The emergence of such communications technologies were a natural fit for the event, and even to this day, it has never paid for any advertising beyond the printing and mailing of its own promotional materials. That was the same year that the mass media initially came out to report on the event. The following year, the population doubled, making it clear that a tax on participants was needed to cover necessary costs for staging the event on a much larger sale. Admission tickets were sold, and federal rules were re-written so that the federal Bureau of Land Management could charge the organizers of Burning Man a hefty fee to use the space. Soon after that, much more money was spent in legal fees to support litigation that should have never have come to any court’s attention, if constitutional guarantees of rights to free assembly and self-expression were deemed worthy of any respect. But they weren’t, because it was difficult to convince certain political operators that the self-expressive thing that had engendered Burning Man’s free assembly of pilgrims had anything to do with art. From their point of view, what was happening at an increasingly large scale every year in the Black Rock Desert on Labor Day weekend was much more frightening, in that its almost complete lack of artistic supervision portended something akin to a mass participation Satanic ritual.7 It also threatened to unmask the lie that art had become.

 
I
From the perspective of an art world populated by museum curators, globe trotting art collectors and the toney gallerists working the crowds at international art fairs, Burning Man represents a kind of Special Olympics for Art. To give credence to this view, all any nay-sayer would have to do is attend the event and take in its many starry-eyed unicorns and countless geodesic domes built in service to obscure comic-book deities fashioned from disfigured mannequins. If our nay-sayer were guided by courage and in search of additional evidence to support her initial observation, the next logical destination would be the large indoor exhibition space called the Café, which is usually decorated by the work of a great many amateur photographers and collage artists working on heavy doses of misinformed spiritual pretense and undeserved self-esteem. And yet, as revealing as the Café environment might be, it still pales in comparison to the best place to witness Burning Man’s culture of unfettered creativity, that being the array of unmapped theme camps located away from the Esplanade that separates the event’s semi-circular camping area from the mile-wide no-camping zone at its core. Here, one is liable to find a vast assortment of incomprehensible do-it-yourself efforts at representational makeshiftery, often times manifested in things that look more like distorted family entertainments than the objects of any conventional art history. Looking like the mutant offspring of a theme park and a slum conceived in the prop closet of George and Mike Kuchar’s Studio 8 Production Company, 8 these provisional amalgamations of such materials such as fluorescent fabric and solar powered lava lamps oftentimes seem to allegoricize the traumas and contradictions of a consumer culture blindly addicted to the debt-driven circulation of pseudo-goods and non-services; all saying something troublingly oblique about an America that is amusing itself to death in the age of Walmart.
The real value of Burning Man lies in how it reverses this model. It does so by simply allowing its participants to amuse themselves back to life through their participation in a week of collective catharsis. Fortunately for our dyspeptic pilgrim, the artistic offerings of Burning Man get bathed in a seemingly endless sea of electro-luminescent blinky lights when nightfall arrives, and her attention will then most likely be diverted by an omnipresent soundscape of pulsating techno music punctuated by the explosive flashings of propane fireballs surging into the sky. To this, add the lumbering peregrinations of large, slow moving vehicles that appear as grotesque carnival rides taken from a Dada-themed amusement park, and the picture of a vastly absurd semiotic entity comes close to completion, a relational esthetics
 gesamtkunskwerk 9 that is metaphorically and geographically located at the exact half-way point between San Francisco’s Mission District and Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty protruding from the north shore of the Great Salt Lake. It is equal parts game space and refugee camp, and as such, it presents itself as a gargantuan omni-participatory rejoinder to the regulation of subjectivity embedded in the cognitive illusions bred by normative market-defined existence. And for this reason, the ensemble experience of participating in Burning Man provides a much-needed transfiguration of everyday assumptions about what passes for cultural nourishment. Its chief lesson lies in the way that it demonstrates how well a do-it-yourself social economy can work if and when it reframes itself in the terms of a do-it-with-others ethos, and this represents a profound political revelation as well as its chief metapolitical legacy to be later taken up by the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Rather than calling this vast entity by its proper name of Black Rock City, lets give it a more descriptive moniker: the living model of an alternative version of contemporary culture based on advancing an ethical glocalism as the highest of priorities. And then let us note that, in theatrically performing itself as such a model, it also forms itself into a fun house mirror reflection of the absurdities of twenty-first century existence, all-the-while organizing itself as a temporary corrective for many of that century’s social and political shortcomings, especially those pointed toward systematically excluding people from social participation for no good reason. At Burning Man, the stranger is always welcome, and there are always opportunities for any given participant to do things that she never imagined herself to be doing. And in so doing, she oftentimes learns a great deal about the roles that she plays in her everyday life, in turn allowing her to imagine and act upon other roles that might lead her to a better world, at least for herself and maybe for others. Yes, Burning Man does feature a great deal of so-called “New Age” art made by people who might best be called hippies, and yes, almost all of that art is at best a guileless exercise in naïve cluelessness that is scripted not so much by any “radical free expression” as it is by the simplistic recirculation of pop cultural cliché. At worst, it is something on a par with toenail fungus, but even that can be strangely entertaining when contrasted with the vastness of the desert. Indeed, accounting for maybe two- or three-dozen notable exceptions during the past decade, we would have to concede that almost all of the art at Burning Man is as bad as its detractors say that it is. But in admitting this fact, another obvious question comes to the fore: in the great scheme of things, how important is it whether any of it is bad or good? And following from this, another obvious set of questions: who or what are the entities that are empowered to decide on any such differentiation? What values do they represent? What is masked by the authoritative proclamation of said values? And again: why does any of it matter?
Turnabout being fair play, it now becomes obligatory to imagine what an everyburner might make of the current world of contemporary art, resplendent as it is when ensconced within opulent museum architecture and festooned with price tags that are the monetary equivalent of real estate when it is not. It is undeniable that those environments are the sites of a kind of authoritative coldness designed to intimidate the viewer into a kind of passive submission to the historical authority of those things that are beheld within them. It is also undeniable that the large majority of those snobjects contain very little that conveys the kind of truthful generosity that might reward the attention of the serious viewer who is not party to the vested interests that have been influence-peddled into the visible existence of their environment’s adoration.
And so, our everyburner would no doubt ask: given the sorry state of the world, why all the fuss? Presumably, money is part of the equation, although it is difficult for the uninitiated to see exactly how it plays out through the elaborate web of private, corporate and public support that buoy any given museum’s orchestration of the importance effect. As Paul Werner succinctly put it in 2005: “The illusion that art museums could be run for profit like everything else was derived from the notion museums themselves had worked so hard to foster: that art and capital were all one and circulated in the same manner.”10
Werner goes on to quote former Metropolitan Museum director Phillipe de Montebello’s statement that “It is the judicious exercise of the museum’s authority that makes possible the state of pure reverie that an unencumbered esthetic experience can inspire,”11 and then goes on to state that “by the same logic, the absence of ‘a state of reverie’ interferes with ‘the judicious exercise of authority.’” Werner drives this point home when he writes “What Brecht wrote of the Nazis then now applies to cultural apparatus of the twenty-first century: they want to turn the People into an audience. Same policy, different means.”12
Once again, we are reminded of the truism stating that propaganda works best when those who are being manipulated believe that they are acting on their own free will. How you might ask, and the answer is obvious: in the way of the translation of a certain class of objects—let’s call them symbolic commodities—into a certain class of equities. It is easy to suppose that said equity is simply gained from the fortuitous position that any given investor might take amid the normal value/worth fluctuation of the commodity in question. But works of art are not commodities in same way as are barrels of crude oil or tons of copper, nor is it a form of reserve currency as are ounces of gold or silver. The commodity value of a given work of art is instead a function of its status as a reliquary representation of its own myth status, and that is something that continues to be manufactured long after said work of art leaves the studio of the artist who created it. Ultimately, it is the museum that confirms the mythic status of the objects that it chooses to display and collect, creating a fortuitous feedback loop that points to how the world of contemporary art has been transformed into a rather perverse epiphenomena of the financial services industry.
Here is how the normative art economy actually works. Artist a) makes a work of art b) and shows it at the gallery of dealer c), who gets it written about by critic d) and then sells it to collector e) for f) amount of money. Collector e) hangs on to artwork while the reputation of artist a) rises by way others repeating the same machinations described in the aforementioned equation, and then, at a fortuitous moment, she either sells said artwork for profit f)+x , or more normally donates said artwork to museum g), for which she receives donor recognition h), which represents the fair market value that museum g) places on artwork b).
 Because the work has been accepted into museum g)’s collection, its fair market value automatically rises, so that donor recognition h) is actually worth much more that the original purchase price f) of work of art b).  And it is donor recognition h) that collector e) sends to the tax collector as a claim for a tax deductable charitable contribution that reduces collector e)’ s overall tax burden by a significant sum of money (yes, the federal government does support the arts!). The value added portion of this equation lies in how much greater a sum of money donor recognition h) represents in relation to original cost of artwork b), and in many cases that sum is ten or 20 or 100 times the original investment. Thus the economy of art is laid bare, and it can rightfully be called a speculative marketplace in objects that might represent a significantly enhanced tax-deductability that can be exercised at some future juncture, all assuming that museum g) is interested in acquiring work of art b) at any point in time. This means that work of art b) has to fit in with what museum g)  considers to be a worthwhile esthetic experience, based in part on its own vested interest in perpetuating its ability to exercise such consideration. Werner gets that particular point right when he states that “if the Guggenheim, or any other museum, had actually covered its expenses through admissions, that would have harmed its true function: The manufacture of exclusiveness.”13
But, even though money is a major part of the equation, it by no means is all of it. It is worth noting that Werner’s remarks about the museum world point to a specific historical moment, and that moment was defined by the aftermath of the politically motivated reformulation of the National Endowment for the Arts that took place between 1989 and 1994. After that reformulation (which effectively ended government support for the arts in the United States), both the world of the museum and the larger world of contemporary art were momentarily recast as perverse sub-functions of the entertainment industry, with a reigning style called “Pop Surrealism”14
This coming to the fore as the stylistic marker for the art of that brief and bygone moment, and indeed, a perfectly useful and legitimate term that could accurately describe much of the art that one might find at any given iteration of Burning Man. In fact, it is a far more accurate term than the more common ascription pointing to it as new form of “outsider art.” This is so because at that particular moment, there was a major lack of clarity about what was inside or outside of anything other than what financially motivated turnstiles might keep in a state of separation, and in the wake of the cessation of government funding, an increase in audience size became an necessary institutional mandate. Thus, we had an art style that “took its inspiration from popular culture,” meaning that it was trying and failing to be popular culture, rather than the kind of critical comment on it that we saw with 1960s Pop Art. Part-and-parcel with the 1990s embrace of Pop Surrealism as an audience development strategy was another related trend called Postart spectacle, which transformed whole museums into elaborately staged pseudo-operas of the type made famous by Matthew Barney, Paul McCarthy and Martin Kippenberger—artists who all infused Pop Surrealist esthetics with the theme park ambience of an arena rock concert. Finally, it is worth noting that the rhetorical pendent that was hung around the neck of this esthetic shift toward popular entertainment was something called “art writing.” It did not come from the traditional world of art historically trained art critics, but instead issued from a new hybrid discourse that proclaimed itself to be something called “visual studies,” which in many cases was little more than culturally sensitive entertainment reporting—“celebrity porn journalism” to use a deservedly uncharitable term. Its most characteristic feature was a shameless willingness to be used as a tool for institutional audience development.
Nonetheless, in the art world, all of this was brief and transitional, because the focus would again shift in dramatic form after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, making Pop Surrealism suddenly look very anachronistic. Very soon thereafter, Globalism became the new buzzword for a suddenly robust emphasis on a transnational art hailing from under-recognized parts of the world. Presumably, Globalism represented an impetus toward encouraging the embrace of art as an instrument of national liberation, or failing that particular pretense, as a focal point for the kind of cultural lubrication that might politically facilitate desirable access to the labor, natural resources and markets of the developing economies so dearly prized by neoliberal corporatism. It might also represent a politically motivated usage of art as an instrument of pacification, that is, as an administrative technology for deflecting the potential for actual conflict into the containable realm of symbolic conflict. The visible shape that this newly globalized art took on was not manifested in any particular form of artistic cultural production, but instead, was revealed as a relatively new form of cultural presentation called the Mega-Exhibition. These were exemplified by such time-honored extravaganzi as Documenta and the Venice Biennial, but also by a metastasizing host of newer entries into the global mega-exhibition fray, held in such cities as Istanbul and Taipei. These are giant affairs that operate under the guidance of an elite class of internationally renown curatorial directors, and in addition to operating as certification mechanisms for the investability of the art contained by them, they also function as major engines of cultural tourism and transnational ideological propaganda that have been used to enrich the coffers of their host cities. It is also worth thinking about how other imperatives might be in play. As Okwui Enwezor has written, globalism embodies a new vision of global totality and a concept of modernity that dissolves the old paradigm of the nation-state and the ideology of the ‘center,’ each giving way to a dispersed regime of rules based on networks, circuits, flows, interconnection. Those rhizomatic movements are said to operate on the logic of horizontality, whose disciplinary, spatial, and temporal orders enable the mobility of knowledge, information, culture, capital, and exchange, and are no longer based on domination and control… globalism was part of the maturation of a certain kind of liberal ideal, which in its combination of democratic regimes of governance and free market capitalism was prematurely announced as the end of history.15
These attributes are all pointed at the imagination of “a truly unified world system whereby all systems of modern rationalism would finally be properly fused.”16
Of course, the inquiring mind will ask, to what end? And more importantly, to whose end? Of course, answers to these questions are never made clear, perhaps because they cannot be made clear. But it is worth pointing out that the impetus toward the aforementioned fusion is a very different thing than the impetus toward cultural diversity, and it is also interesting to note that among the many topics of cultural identity that have surfaced during the heyday of the global mega-exhibition, the debt obligations of post-colonial nation states is one that almost never comes up. That is because the thing instigating and benefiting from the aforementioned fusion is a global, trans-national banking system that has learned how to use both art and nation states as tools for its own purposes. That much said, we can go on to productively note Burning Man is also a mega-exhibition, but in many ways it is also an anti-mega-exhibition, especially in the ways that it prefigured, mirrored and satirized the “the rhizomatic logics of horizontality, interconnection and dispersal” that have become de rigueur themes in twenty-first century art. III
Electrical Suit sketch by Dr. Austin Richards AKA Dr. Megavolt
Electrical Suit sketch by Dr. Austin Richards AKA Dr. Megavolt

For all of Burning Man’s claims of being a place apart from the default world that it pretends to leave behind, it nonetheless does seem that the event sustains an oblique relationship to that world. During the technologically addled 1990s, Burning Man seemed to be prophetically far ahead of the cultural environment surrounding it. The chief reason for this was its far-reaching imagination of the ways that new technology could recast how social relations might be reconfigured in critical relation to what Naomi Klein would later call “Disaster Capitalism.”17

In those days, the presiding spirit of Burning Man was not any getting back to the mythical garden that so captured the imagination of the Woodstock generation so much as it was a celebration of various kinds of real and imagined love taking place amongst the post-apocalyptic ruins of rampant military adventurism and financial and ecological unsustainability. But in 2001, the specter of real apocalypse became traumatically evident when the 9/11 terrorist attacks ushered in an unfunded war wedded to the draconian trappings of the National Security State. Suddenly, the world caught up with Burning Man’s parsing of the utopian and dystopian themes of technologically-assisted social capitalism, making them seem redundantly similar to the mass media narratives about a brave new cyber-economy as well as the emergence of other forms of Postart spectacle that had come into prominence in the art world. The fact that Burning Man had become the putative darling of a kind of trivializing mass-media condescension did not help, and over time the event become more-and-more indistinguishable from the “wild and crazy” caricatures that were heaped upon it. By 2007, the event had clearly become a victim of its own clichés of flagrant silliness, mired in a repetitious cycle of nostalgia for the exuberant 1990s. Soon after that, that the world would pass it by, because in 2008, the story would take another turn, a downturn to be exact. The financial crisis that exploded in October of that year once again recalibrated the larger terrain of cultural understanding, and the urgency of that moment began to make Burning Man look every bit as indulgent and frivolous as it did the institutional art world. Soon thereafter, a new concern for the politics of social justice had come into the foreground, eclipsing the themes of alternative identity and self-sustaining community-of-desire that were such prominent features of the event during its 1990s heyday. It was time to pass the metapolitical torch of the do-it-with-others ethos so that a very different fire might be lit with the aid of a few well-placed Falstaffian pitchforks.
Returning to Badiou, we read that the ethical understanding of justice is something quite specific. It is based on the following injunction: “to examine political statements and their proscriptions, and draw from them their egalitarian kernel of universal signification.”18
If Burning Man has done nothing else, it has certainly created an Archimedean ground from which such an examination might proceed, much more successfully than anything that happened in the institutional art world during the same time period. Following from this recognition, we might then ask how the metapolitical kernel of Burning Man was passed to Zucotti Park, as if, in an age of social media, the assertion and exertion of any influence on anything can somehow be supposed to not be operable until proven otherwise. We know that one of the key instigators of the OWS movement was Micah White, the Berkeley-based co-editor of the Vancouver-based journal Adbusters , therefore a Bay Area connection is easily made, although it is not clear if White was in any way influenced by Burning Man. Because there is a very large contingent of Burning Man participants that hail from New York City, one could easily suppose that their experience of the event might have had something to do with the encampment at Zucotti, especially since Occupy Wall Street initially took place just ten days after the conclusion of the 2011 Burning Man event. But there is one important kernel of indisputable influence that clearly stands out, and that is Bill Talen, who is better known in his performance guise of Reverend Billy of the Church of Stop Shopping, a New York-based performance group that has extensively toured the United States and is the subject of two widely circulated documentary films. What makes Talen’s performances so timely for this discussion is his evocation of the tropes of a theocratic tribalism that are severed from the politics of hate and fear, all enacted in service to the kind of communitarianism and pleas for justice that earmarked the earliest Christian communities of the second century. Obviously, those same values are in short supply among so-called evangelical churches populated by legions of CINOs (Christians-in-Name-Only), reminding us of how deeply perverted the gospel message has become in twenty-first century America. The fact that the more organized churches proclaiming allegiance to the gospels have been outdone on this score by a performance artist should be cause for concern, outrage and cruel mockery. Starting in 2002, the 30-member band and gospel choir of the Church of Stop Shopping has regularly performed at Burning Man, putting on a rousing revival show that is a stunningly convincing mimic of similar services consecrated to “the old time religion” a la Elmer Gantry, only at Burning Man, it was comically staged under the shadow of an 40-foot-tall effigy that echos the real old old old time religion of Neolithic cult worship.
At the forefront of the Church’s performance is Talen’s character named Reverend Billy, who preaches in passionate, Elvis Presley-inflected voice about the evils of consumerism and the tragic human cost of debt-driven consumption, backed up by a gospel chorus and small orchestra featuring a church organ. The chorus sings songs about the virtues of an economic democracy that is described as a promised land, and the mood is always persuasively festive, even joyous.
Talen’s passionate and eloquent sermons come across like rhapsodic poems made from the many fragments of Occupy Wall Street signage, and in fact, Talen did perform (sans choir) at the 17 September 2011 beginning of OWS, just a few days after returning to New York from Burning Man. Subsequently, he performed with the choir at Zucotti Park on several other days, to audiences that grew ever larger during the month of October. These were rousing and inspirational shows that galvanized the attention of ever-growing crowds in a way that gave them a coherent group identity, meaning that, for a few brief moments, the Occupy protesters found themselves attending a church of their own politically inclusive revelation, which allowed them to see themselves as being a part of something much larger than themselves.
As always, Talen’s performances were a brilliant obversion of the pernicious role that religion has come to play in American politics, where so-called “values” candidates have been using church affiliation for decades as the preferred excuse for supporting candidates and policies that embody the hateful opposite of Christian morality. Such ethically duplicitous rhetoric also has a metapolitical name, and that name is Neoconservatism when practiced by Americans who identify with Judeo-Christian tradition, and fundamentalism when practiced by others. Either way, the word “fundamental” applies in all of its many nuances, especially the one that highlights its definitional opposition to enlightened sophistication. Essentially, Neoconservatism is a subtle theologicization of the neoliberal doctrine that defines the subject along the secular lines of economic self-interest, but it deviates from that doctrine in that it assumes that self-serving moral edicts are required when the economic interests of cultural Others begins to gain too quickly in relation to the economic self-interest of the culturally entitled.
Talen’s Reverend Billy performances are so entertaining and well executed that it is easy to miss the seriousness of the metapolitical critique embodied in them. Certainly, they provide a thoughtful and dramatic critique of the empathy deficit disorder that is bred by neoliberal corporatism, and they command and entice their audiences to insist on ethical correctives. As for the relation of his work to his experience of Burning Man, Talen himself has a clear vision of the similarity between Burning Man and the OWS movement. He writes: Burning Man and Occupy Wall Street share this: we discovered that living together is a performance with long-range power. How we live—people watch and learn. Then they live back at us and we change too. We experience the decisions of how to live as drama, and (we found out) as protest—more than traditional theater which rarely has electrical charge these days. For years we were the butt of journalist jokes, calling us refried 60s protesters—angry people carrying signs and chanting. All that was wiped away by the glorious arrival of Occupy, which was the simple notion of living together in public, in a park under the scrapers of Wall. Sharing food, stories, making media, figuring out laws, discussing health, feeding each other—LIVING TOGETHER is the devastating protest form of our day. Burning Man’s fascination—you see it around the world—flows from living together under arid desert conditions for a week. BM also chucks the conventional stage and finds a new charged theater in sashaying in outrageous costumes and nakedness in front of 50,000 people who are doing the same thing back at you. Burning Man is great theater—leaves Broadway in its playa dust. And Wall Street guys are there too—wearing fluorescent underwear while they check out a 100-foot-long chandelier. How change comes to the world from these two forms of theatrical living— stay tuned! It has begun.” To this I can only say Amen.
notes- *apologies for layout issues, text spaces have been modified to allow for full citation listings.

1.

 Alain Badiou,
 Metapolitics
(1998), translated by Jason Barker, London: Verso Books, 2005, p. 19.
2.
 Jean Tingley, “On Statics,” (text from a leaflet dropped near Dusseldorf in 1959. Recorded in
The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Volume VI 
, edited by Gunther Stuhlman, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Jovanovich, 1966 p. 284.
3.
 See Adam Schiff, “The Supreme Court Still Thinks That Coroporations Are People,” (July 18, 2012)
The Atlantic Monthly 
; http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/07/the-supreme-court-still-thinks-corporations-are-people/259995/court-still-thinks-corporations-are-people/259995/
4.
 Badiou, Op. Cit., p. 5.
5.
 Ibid, pp. 5–6.
6.
 For a synopsis of Badiou’s key claims, see his
Manifesto for Philosophy 
, translated by Norman Maderaz, State University of New York Press, 1999. Further references to Baudiou’s ideas are extracted from this source, unless otherwise cited.
7.
 Claims of Burning Man being a socially dangerous satanic ritual were made on the 18 May 1998 broadcast of Pat Robertson’s 700 Club program on the
Christian Broadcast Network 
.
8.
 George Kuchar (1942–2011) and Mike Kuchar (b.1942) were San Francisco-based underground filmmakers whose low budget works used and misused exaggerated gender clichés to satirize the most preposterous aspects of conventional “sinematic” exposition. George Kuchar’s most well known film was titled
Hold Me While I’m Naked 
, 1966, while Mike Kuchar is best known for his 1966 film titled
Sins of the Fleshapoids.
 In 1997, they collaborated on a book of comic reminiscences titled
Reflections from a Cinematic Cesspool 
 (San Francisco: Zanja Press). Here we might note a persistent albeit unconfirmed rumor that San Francisco’s long-running stage play titled
Beach Blanket Babylon
was originally indebted in some way to the George Kuchar esthetic. In Jennifer Kroot’s 2009 documentary film titled
It Came From Kuchar,
 it was revealed that Bill Griffith’s comic character named
Zippy the Pinhead
was modeled on George Kuchar.
9.
 
Gesamtkunskwerk 
 literally means “total work of art.” It was coined by Richard Wagner to describe his view opera production as a synthesis of all of the arts. See his
The Artwork of the Future 
 (1849, translated by William Ashton Ellis) at http://users.belgacom.net/wagnerlibrary/prose/wagartfut.htm. “Relational Esthetics” was a term originally coined by Nicholas Bourriard in 1986 as a way of calling attention to certain artistic practices that were/ are less concerned about the creation of a final product than they are about the social processes of inclusion and participation leading up to it. Bourriaud defined the approach simply as “a set of artistic practices which take as their theoretical and practical point of departure the whole of human relations and their social context, rather than an independent and private space.” (p. 113). See Nicholas Bourriard,
Relational Esthetics , Dijon, France:  Les Presses du Reel , 2002. For a critique of Bourriard’s thesis, see Claire Bishop, “Antagonism and Relational Aesthetics,”
October 110, Fall 2004. Bishop points out that “The curators promoting this ‘laboratory’ paradigm—including Maria Lind, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Barbara van der Linden, Hou Hanru, and Nicolas Bourriaud—have to a large extent been encouraged to adopt this curatorial modus operandi  as a direct reaction to the type of art produced in the 1990s: work that is open-ended, interactive, and resistant to closure, often appearing to be ‘work-in-progress’ rather than a completed object. Such work seems to derive from a creative misreading of poststructuralist theory: rather than the interpretations of a work of art being open to continual reassessment, the work of art itself  is argued to be in perpetual flux. There are many problems with this idea, not least of which is the difficulty of discerning a work whose identity is willfully unstable. Another problem is the ease with which the ‘laboratory’ becomes marketable as a space of leisure and entertainment. Venues such as the Baltic in Gateshead, the Kunstverein Munich, and the Palais de Tokyo (in Paris) have used metaphors like ‘laboratory,’ ‘construction site,’ and ‘art factory’ to differentiate themselves from bureaucracy-encumbered collection-based museums; their dedicated project spaces create a buzz of creativity and the aura of being at the vanguard of contemporary production. One could argue that in this context, project-based works-in-progress and artists-in-residence begin to dovetail with an‘experience economy,’ the marketing strategy that seeks to replace goods and services with scripted and staged personal experiences. Yet, what the viewer is supposed to garner from such an ‘experience’ of creativity, which is essentially institutionalized studio activity, is often unclear.” (p. 52) Bishop goes on to quote Bourriard: “It seems more pressing to invent possible relations with our neighbors in the present than to bet on happier tomorrows” (p. 54;
Relational Esthetics,p. 45), Then she adds “This DIY, microtopian ethos is what Bourriaud perceives to be the core political significance of relational aesthetics.” (p.54). It is worth noting that there has never been much difference between Bourriard’s assertion of “Relational Aesthetics” art practices and Allan Kaprow’s much older advocacy of Happenings, the first principle of which being “the line between the Happenings and daily life should be kept as fluid as possible,” so that “the reciprocation between the handmade and the ready-made will be at its maximum power.” (Allan Kaprow, “The Happenings are Dead: Long Live the Happenings!” (1966) in Jeff Kelly ed., The Blurring of Art and Life: The Collected Writings of Allan Kaprow , Berkeley: University of California Press, 1996, p. 62). The key point lies in how both Relational Esthetics and the earlier Happenings resurrect the tenants of Lukasian social realism by substituting real-time face-to-face encounters for the older tropes of representing and/or narrating ideas of “class consciousness.” More recently, similar activities have again rebranded themselves as “Social Practice Art,” as a way of emphasizing more specific political ambitions. See Nato Thompson, Living as Form: Socially Engaged Art from 1991 to 2011,
Cambridge, MA. MIT Press, 2012. But even here, the obvious equation of institutionally supported “social practice art” with inefficacious postures of mild political concern (scented with the bad faith of loyal opposition) are never directly addressed. An important early instance of a Relational Esthetics artwork was San Francisco-based artist Tom Marioni’s Drinking Beer with Friends is the Highest Form of Art 
, a weekly relational esthetics performance that has been ongoing since the mid-1970s. Clearly, San Francisco-based Burning Man is far and away the largest and most complex example. Neither was mentioned in Bourriard’s famous book.
10.
 Paul Werner,
Museums, Inc.
, Chicago: Prickly Paradigm Press, 2005, p. 9.
11.
 Ibid., p. 15.
12.
 Ibid
.,
 p. 58.
13.
 Ibid
.,
p. 41.
14.
 Pop Surrealism was the name of a 1998 exhibition organized by Richard Klein, Ingrid Schaffner and Dominique Nahas held at the Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield Connecticut. It contained the work of artists such as Peter Saul, Mike Kelly, Paul McCarthy, Lisa Yuskavage, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, John Currin and Robt. Williams, and could be said to have reprised and expanded upon an earlier exhibition titled Helter
Skelter that was organized in 1992 by Paul Schimmel at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. The monthly publication Juxtapose (founded by Williams in 1994) has done much to promote many of the artists associated with the Pop Surrealism movement, but the publication’s claim that the movement originated in southern California is erroneous. The real historical sources of the Pop Surrealism movement is found in the earlier work of Bay Area-based artists such as Peter Saul and George Kuchar, as well as the underground comics movement that was based in the same area during the middle 1960s. Chicago artists of the early 1970s such as Jim Nutt, Gladys Nielson and Karl Wirsum were also important early influences. The most important aspect of the Pop Surrealism movement lied in its embrace of a populist turn in art that was responsive to circumstances related to the political controversies surrounding government funding for the arts. In 1998, the National Endowment for the Arts published the findings of a multi-year research project that concluded that the arts were widely perceived to be irrelevant and elitist. The project was called American Canvas 
. See Gary O. Larson,
American Canvas: An Arts Legacy for Our Communities 
, Washing ton D.C.: US Government Printing Office, 1998.
15.
 Okwui Enwezor, “Mega-Exhibitions and the Antinomies of a Transnational Global Form,” in Andreas Huyssen ed.,
Other Cities, Other Worlds: Urban Imaginaries in Globalizing Art 
, Duke University Press, 2008, pp. 148–149.
16.
 Ibid
.,
p. 149. In an anonymous introductory remark made in the online journal
Italian Greyhound , we read that “Enwezor uses as an illustration of the serious and thoughtfully considered nature of righteous internationalists in fomenting new representations in academic programs and curated collections by pointing to a think tank he participated in 1997 in Italy whose members came from Brazil, Turkey, Cuba, Australia, South Africa, and Thailand, amid other countries. These panelists endeavored to recode the complex dialectics between globalization and the long process of modernization towards market basked-economies on the course of which much of the developing world was set since the early days of decolonization. Enwezor reports that this group drew and reached no conclusions other than to continue meeting at subsequent retreats and biennale exhibitions.” The same anonymous interlocutor also summarizes a response formulated by art critic George Baker to Enwezor’s essay that takes exception to its optimistic assessment of the equalizing nature of enormous international art fairs, arguing that “the only valid definition of globalization is one that must include an acknowledgement of the invasiveness of multinational corporations.” Baker defiantly asks “who and where is the audience for mega-exhibitions?” echoing Enwezor’s use of the words “spectatorship” and “spectacle.” The roving biennale, Baker says, “creates a traveling fair for global elites, excluding both artists and the local populations where such exhibits take place.” Baker dismisses Enwezor’s Trauma and Nation model concepts, claiming instead that “shows such as Documenta existed for years merely as a forum for exported American art and views of art.” Baker further argues “mega-exhibits are in fact created, like the Olympics, with the intent of defining, promulgating, and delineating American culture.” Baker asks “why it is that biennials,” (which are, he says, “essentially the same showcasing of many of the same works repeated in different time zones”) “are the new model for counter-hegemonic spectatorship?” (See the summary provided at athttp://italiangreyhounds.org/errata/2007/06/13/“mega-exhibitions-and-the-antimonies-of-a-transnational-global-form”-by-okwui-enwezor-vs-“the-globalization-of-the-false-a-response-to-okwui-enwezor”-by-george-baker/)
17.
 See Naomi Klein,
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism,
New York: Henry Holt &Co., 2007.
18.
 Badiou, Op. Cit., p. 17.
19.
 Bill Talen, Email correspondence with the author, 7 April 2012.
SLOW BURN245BARBARA TRAUB
SLOW BURN
BARBARA TRAUB
Monolith
, 2012
246SLOW BURN247BARBARA TRAUB
Playa Play 
, 2000
Greeter Station 
, 1997
Double Expusure 
, 1995
248SLOW BURN249BARBARA TRAUB
Guiding Light 
, 1999
250SLOW BURN251BARBARA TRAUB
Ravishing Raven 
, 2000
Desert Rat 
, 1997
252SLOW BURN253BARBARA TRAUB
Dust Cloud 
, 1996
Tableau Vivant 
, 1994
Water Woman 
, 1997

 

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Art

Using Voice Tones To Teach Improvisation For Beginner Jazz Guitar

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This article discusses an approach to teaching linear improvisation to beginning jazz guitarists through the function of voice leading in harmonic progressions. The guitar student may gain a clear understanding of improvising melodies by establishing clear visual and aural relationships between the chordal and melodic textures.

Three dominant 7th chord voicings are introduced and applied to a twelve bar blues progression in F major. After learning the rhythm guitar accompaniment, single note guide tones consisting of the flat 7th and 3rd chord tones of each dominant seventh chord are extracted from the chord voicings and applied in a melodic texture following chromatic voice leading principles within the harmonic progression.

Musicality within the exercises is increased by the addition of a series of rhythmic variations that are applied to the guide-tone lines. Continuing with the concept, full dominant seventh arpeggios are introduced in order to expand the available note choices as a way to build a solid foundation for improvising within harmonic progressions prior to using diatonic scales.   By Daniel Andersen from the Journal: Revista de la Lista Electrónica Europea de Música en la Educación  Click here to read the full article. *Picture: Jazz Guitar legend Herb Ellis

Politics

Ontario Greens Push To Ban Political Donations For Counties And Province

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Time to get big money out of Ontario politics
(Queen’s Park): “Political fundraising in Ontario doesn’t pass the stink test,” says GPO leader Mike Schreiner.
Schreiner is challenging the Liberal government to ban corporate and union donations to political parties in Ontario. The GPO is also pushing the government to amend the Municipal Elections Act to allow municipalities to ban such donations. The City of Toronto has done this, but other municipalities do not have provincial authority to do it.
“People are sick and tired of reading stories about big ticket events that give deep-pocketed insiders special access to Ministers and the Premier,” says Schreiner. “Serious questions about special deals are being raised. Corporate and union donations have no place in politics.”
The federal government banned corporate and union donations to political parties in 2003 and extended the ban to include donations to candidates in 2006. The new Alberta government made banning corporate and union donations their first legislative act in 2015. The GPO believes it is time for Ontario to clean up its act.
Meat Grinder Metaphor“Citizens vote, not corporations,” says Schreiner. “Government policy should be focused on what’s good for the public. Even the perception that big money might have influence in securing special deals or driving policy decisions is bad for democracy. What about the 100 companies being given a free ride under the new cap-and-trade plan? Are any of them donors to the Liberal party?”
The Green Party of Ontario supports campaign finance reforms that ban corporate and union donations, limit third party advertising and provide some public financing for eligible parties.
“It’s past time to get big money out of Ontario politics,” says Schreiner.
The GPO is on a mission to bring honesty, integrity and good public policy to Queen’s Park. For the Silo, Becky Smit
Culture

Impressive Fan Series ‘Star Trek Continues’ Is Shockingly True To Original Series

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Ahead At Warp Speed

The finishing touches are now being applied to the sixth episode produced by the fans behind Star Trek Continues, and we look forward to a debut screening in May at MegaCon in Orlando.  This week, we’re  launching another crowdfunding campaign to produce more episodes, which will bring to 10 the number of episodes in our web series.  Support us here:  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/star-trek-continues#/   Episode VI — “Come Not Between the Dragons” — is an action-packed, dramatic story that deals with deeply personal issues. It guest stars Gigi Edgley of Farscape fame. And Episode VII — featuring the return of Erin Gray and other surprise guest stars — will, with the help of this campaign, be released in the fall.

Vic Mignogna as Kirk.
Vic Mignogna as Kirk.

Between free viewings on Vimeo and YouTube, our five finished episodes have had more than four million views!  And we’re pleased to be recognized with nearly a dozen accolades and awards, and even recognition from The Wall Street Journal, which calls Star Trek Continues “the flagship of the fan film fleet.”   First and foremost, Star Trek Continues respectfully and graciously thanks CBS, the holder of the copyright to Star Trek. CBS’ understanding of the passion fans have for Star Trek is second-to-none, and we’re grateful to have the opportunity to pay tribute with our fan-based non-profit web series.

We are in no way affiliated with, nor endorsed by, CBS or Paramount Pictures. This latest campaign is already off to a strong start.  And it’s the third time we’ve appealed for support in this way.  Late in 2013, our first effort raised enough money to produce episodes 2,3, and 4.  Last January, we launched a second crowdfunding campaign to continue our journey and produce two more episodes and build the enormous Engineering set.  And that’s precisely what we did.     STC’s track record speaks for itself. As deeply committed stewards of our precious fans’ donations, we do what we promise we will do. So many of our previous donors tell us they can’t wait to support us again.  One needs only watch an episode to see these generous donations at work.   We seek no return other than the joy of paying tribute to TOS — both in the creation of these episodes, and in the privilege of sharing them with beloved fans.  All money raised goes to hard costs related to the development, filming, and post-production of these stories, such as:

  • Set construction, maintenance and materials
  • Studio rental and maintenance
  • Monthly utilities costs
  • Equipment rental
  • Prop production and replication
  • Wardrobe production and maintenance
  • Make-up equipment and supplies
  • Cast and crew travel, lodging, and food during the shoots
  • Post-production costs, hard drives, online data storage, etc.
  • Fundraising costs.

So if you believe in what we’re doing and you’d like to help, now is the time to donate to keep a good thing going.And we’ve got an exciting array of perks for contributors – including a selection of screen-used costumes.

StarTrek Continues Instagramhttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/star-trek-continues#/   Find STC on Instagram!   We are very pleased to announce that now you can follow Star Trek Continues on Instagram!     We will be posting never before seen production stills, behind the scenes photos, crew features, concept art from our designers, and more! You can find us there @trekcontinues, and also on Tumblr at stcontinues. Thank you so much for all of your support and enthusiasm. Please continue to follow, like, share, and tell your friends!   https://www.instagram.com/trekcontinues/   http://stcontinues.tumblr.com/

Trek Prop Fans Relish a Visit to Stage Nine   One of the ingredients that makes Star Trek Continues look authentic is attention to detail, and in particular the sets and props designed to look like they came from the soundstages in the 1960’s.   The production relies on the skills of dedicated propmakers and fans who donate use of their treasures for our episodes.  In December, prop collectors got a chance to tour the Enterprise – including the new Engineering Room – during a private visit to Stage Nine in southern Georgia.

Enterprise Engine Room StarTrek ContinuesSpace.com staff artist Karl Tate came down from New York.  His reaction to walking standing sets was typical.   “I’ve been aboard the USS Enterprise. That’s all I can say. When you’re walking down that corridor, and the stage lights are lit, and all you see is Enterprise…I’m there,” Tate says.  “It’s truly an achievement and I look forward to what Star Trek Continues comes up with next!”   The one-day event was filled with special presentations on prop-making, and an opportunity for prop fans to show off their collections and hand-made treasures.

“Many of us have bucket lists, things we want to complete or do in this lifetime. I’ve had such a list since I was a kid. One of the items on my list, one I never thought possible, was to go back in time and see the Star Trek sets at Desilu Studios. Impossible, right? Well, after visiting the Star Trek Continues sets I was able to cross one more item off my bucket list,” explains Larry Chalkey from Virginia.  “As I walked the corridors of the Enterprise, I imagined what it must have been like to be there in 1966. What it must have felt like to make the show we all love. This was truly an amazing experience and one I will always treasure.” By Vic Mignogna for The Silo.

Culture

Real Estate Bubble? Celebrities Forced To Reduce Asking Price On Homes By Millions

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Both Celine Dion and Puff Daddy have vastly reduced the prices on their mansion homes, featured this week at TopTenRealEstateDeals.com.

“Celine Drops Price on Florida Water Park Home” Grammy Award-winning Canadian singer Celine Dion and her manager husband, René Angélil, built their dream Florida home on Jupiter Island in 2010. The location offered the privacy the hard working couple wanted to relax with their children and friends and they designed an estate around a series of water features and outdoor sports activities that, along with pristine beachfront, took full advantage of the Florida sunshine and Atlantic Ocean breezes. But even for celebrities who seem to have achieved it all, life can throw curve balls.

For Sale -Now Reduced! Celine Dion's Florida home.
For Sale -Now Reduced! Celine Dion’s Florida home.

Though René had successfully fully recovered from a bout of throat cancer in 1999, it reoccurred in 2013 when he had surgery for another malignant throat tumor. Dion announced in 2014 that she would suspend her performances indefinitely due to her husband’s worsening health. In August of 2015, she resumed her Las Vegas residency at Caesar’s Palace, but lost René to cancer in January 2016 and her brother only two days later. The couple and their three children had made the Las Vegas bedroom community of Henderson their home while Dion was performing at Caesar’s Palace. She returned to the stage on February 23rd for the first time since René’s death and paid tribute to his memory and their life together in her first performance.

Their Bahamian-inspired Florida oceanfront estate was first put up for sale in 2013, the year that René was re-diagnosed, for $72.5 million. Over a period of time with no buyer interest, the price was cut to $62.5 million and recently reduced to $45.5 million.

Among many five-star features, the 5.5-acre beachfront property’s centerpiece is the 500,000 gallon water park highlighted by a slow-current lazy river connecting two pools, bridges and a twisting water slide. There is also another pool located beachside. The two-story, 10,000-square-foot main residence has five bedrooms with a second-level wraparound terrace with ocean views and multiple main level terraces. The luxurious master suite walk-in closet has automated carousels for quick access to shoes and clothing at the touch of a finger. The open-plan main level is light and airy in keeping with the subtropical climate. There are also two separate four-bedroom guest houses, tennis house, simulated golf range, pool house and beach house. Celine’s Jupiter neighbors include Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, and Palm Beach is just a few miles down the road.

Now settled in Nevada at least until the end of her Caesar’s Palace residency in 2019, Celine has stepped up her effort to sell her resort estate by engaging a new brokerage and lowering the asking price. Fenton Lang Bruner & Associates in Jupiter Island holds the listing.

“Puff Daddy’s New Jersey Mansion” Whether called Puff Daddy, Puffy, P. Diddy, or his real name Sean Combs, the Grammy-winning rapper, actor and businessman is frequently in the news, whether for his recordings, his charity or his clothing line. Most recently, he has signed on as Pharrell Williams’ team adviser for season ten of “The Voice.” Listed as number one by “Forbes” as the wealthiest hip hop artist of 2015 with an estimated net worth of $735 million, Sean has reduced the price on his New Jersey mansion  several times, now at $7.89 million.

For Sale- Now Reduced!- Puff Daddy's NJ home.
For Sale- Now Reduced!- Puff Daddy’s NJ home.

Combs purchased his elaborate 3.25 acre estate in Alpine in 2004 for $6 million. Built in 1999, the home has all the glamour and amenities expected in the home of one of America’s most popular celebrities. The 8,000-square-foot home has six bedrooms, six baths, foyer with double staircase and expansive formal rooms with walls of glass filling the interior with light. The basement is the activity heart of the home with its own kitchen, wet bar, home theater, an aquarium and another bedroom with full bath. There is also an indoor basketball/racquetball court and a fully equipped gym with full bath. Outside is a swimming pool with waterfall, putting green, a lighted tennis court and a six-car attached garage. Originally, Sean put the property on the market in 2011 at $13.5 million. Without a buyer, he pulled it from the market and relisted it again in 2015 at $8.5 million. Again with no buyer, he has once again dropped the price to $7.89 million. The listing agency is Sotheby’s International in Alpine, New Jersey. For the Silo, Terry Walsh.

Visit TopTenRealEstateDeals.com for more famous, spectacular and celebrity homes and real estate news.

Culture

“Good Ole Boys” Network In RV Industry Conspired To Keep Me Out

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Dear Silo,

For the next month, North Americans will be celebrating and honoring women and their journey throughout history. But it’s also important to look at what’s in store for the future. Right now, more than 9 million women own a business in the U.S.A. alone. It’s all part of a change in tide as women gain more power in the workplace. But this shift has not come easy.

I should know. While I earned millions in the male-dominated industry of RV sales, my climb to the top has been tough. At my first owner’s meeting, they told me to “go home and bake cookies.” Instead, I pushed forward to outsell and out-service all the competition. I decided to stay at the office and build an empire, while paying someone to bake cookies for me.

Southwind RVThe “good ole boys” network in the RV industry conspired to keep me out. But I learned to operate in a man’s world, carving out my path to success. Like other women, I have rewritten the rules and redefined the business climate, proving that any woman can succeed in any industry, regardless of gender boundaries.

My life story reads like a bestseller, complete with plot twists and shady characters. I’m a single mother who never completed high school. Early on in my career, a trusted father-figure mentor betrayed me, and on top of that, I was stabbed 21 times and left for dead—a steady dose of stress that should have put me out of commission before my 30th birthday.

While my drive and passion have helped me move forward, there were women in our history that broke down barriers for us all. Look at Lillian Vernon, the CEO of a mail-order empire. Or Debbi Fields, who went home, baked cookies, and made millions.

It was very early on in my life that was met with major hurdles, and many female entrepreneurs in American history will tell you the same. It was “sink or swim, and sinking wasn’t an option. What will keep you going is an inner drive, an inner hunger to prove to yourself and others that anything is possible. Yes, you will encounter many obstacles, but you can always find a way to move around the obstacle. And that’s the key to success.

My advice to any woman out there looking to succeed in business is to maintain your passion. . If you’re just starting out in the workforce, your mentality should be “work to LEARN,” not “work to EARN.” That way, you can get everything you need to be successful in a business of your own.

Remember that failing at one venture can help you become a millionaire, and don’t be afraid to leave your comfort zone. Becoming an unstoppable entrepreneur is all about doing things differently and finding those untapped areas of opportunity. Look at Oprah Winfrey, a media maven who constantly finds new endeavors to strengthen her brand.

Similarly, I have found ways to not only sustain, but also grow my business while my competitors are shutting their doors. Instead of solely relying on RV sales, I started to examine ancillary revenue sources, including an RV rental business, creating an in-house interior design team, and offering customized RVs for every industry, including mobile hair salons and spas, boutiques, and even chiropractor’s offices.

Right now in America, it is an amazing time for women to grow and expand professionally. We must appreciate our new opportunities, and never be afraid to find our entrepreneurial spirit. This Women’s History Month, let’s appreciate the past and charge into the future. For the Silo, Gigi Stetler -author Unstoppable! Surviving is Just the Beginning. 

 

Vintage

UK Firm Offers Modern Tech To Heat Old Homes

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NOTE~ As of today’s date, 1 Pound Sterling = $1.88 CDN or $1.39 US dollars Modern Technology to Warm an Old Home by Cast Iron Radiators 4u
Modern Technology to Warm an Old Home by Cast Iron Radiators 4u.

Art

Words A Spoken Word Poem

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“Words”. Thoughtful contemporary poetry from Allen Minor.

 

Allen Minor is From Utica, New York and lives in Daytona Beach, Florida

@allen_minor (Twitter)

allen minor (YouTube)

allen-minor (Tumblr)

allen_minor (Instagram)

Website  http://Amazon.com/author/asminor

Travel

Reenact These Famous Movie Road Trips

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Wildly changing oil prices are keeping us guessing on accurate fuel cost estimates so don’t forget to check the price of gasoline before you hit the road 😛 Movie Trips with Angus
Infographic courtesy of our friends at car leasing made simple.

Culture

Ontario Certifies Six Nation Polytech- First Aboriginal School to Award Languages Degree

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Six Nations Polytechnic Aboriginal Institute to Offer Standalone Languages Degree Program

Ontario Helping to Expand Post-secondary Options for Indigenous Students

 

NEWS February 8, 2016

 

Ontario is helping to improve access to culturally appropriate postsecondary education and training opportunities for Indigenous learners by making it possible for Six Nations Polytechnic, an Aboriginal Institute, to offer a standalone degree program.

 

For the first time, the province will make it possible for an Aboriginal Institute, an organization that is run and governed by Indigenous communities, to offer a standalone degree program. As of January 2016, students at Six Nations Polytechnic Aboriginal Institute in Ohsweken can obtain a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ogwehoweh (Cayuga and Mohawk) Languages.

 

This degree will help promote and protect Ogwehoweh languages and make it possible for students to complete their degree at one institution, closer to home. It also will help students build on their linguistic skills and cultural knowledge as well as expand their opportunities to participate in the labour market. This standalone degree also supports the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which called for postsecondary institutions to create degree programs in Indigenous languages.

 

Investing in the talent and skills of First Nation, Métis, and Inuit learners is one of many steps on Ontario’s journey of healing and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples. It reflects the government’s commitment to work with Indigenous partners, creating a better future for everyone in the province.

 

QUOTES

 

“Our government has made a clear commitment to learn from the past, build on our success stories, and increase our efforts to help Indigenous learners get the education and training they need. Six Nations Polytechnic is committed to creating an Indigenous environment that is grounded in culture and community, language, research, and academic quality, and this new degree program will help improve Indigenous learners’ access to, participation in, and completion of postsecondary education and training programs in Ontario.”

— Reza Moridi, Minister of Training Colleges and Universities

 

“I want to thank Six Nations Polytechnic for the leadership and guidance they have provided. Today’s announcement provides a tangible illustration of Ontario’s journey along the path of reconciliation. We will continue to rely on Indigenous partners as we chart a way forward that will produce tangible results.”

— David Zimmer, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs

 

“Language preservation and protection are at the core values of Six Nations Polytechnic. That’s why we have always had the intention of having our Ogwehoweh Language Diploma Program become a language degree program.”

— Rebecca Jamieson, President Six Nations Polytechnic

 

“Congratulations to Rebecca and her entire team. They have worked tirelessly to bring about the expansion of Six Nations Polytechnic programming. Education is the cornerstone of the future successes of our local Indigenous students.”

— Dave Levac, Member of Provincial Parliament, Brant

 

QUICK FACTS

 

  • Aboriginal Institutes provide opportunities for students to start and complete postsecondary education credentials in a culturally appropriate and safe learning environments close to home and are completely run and governed by Indigenous communities.
  • The Ogwehoweh (Cayuga and Mohawk) Languages degree builds on the strong foundation of the current language diploma program offered in partnership with McMaster University.
  • Six Nations Polytechnic is an Aboriginal postsecondary education and training institute located in Ohsweken, a community on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory near Brantford, Ontario.
  • Six Nations Polytechnic applied for and was granted consent to offer a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ogwehoweh (Cayuga and Mohawk) Languages.
  • Ontario provides $1.5 million in annual funding through the Aboriginal Student Bursary Fund to help Indigenous learners with financial needs participate in postsecondary education and training.
  • In June 2015 the province committed stable funding of Indigenous postsecondary education totaling $97 million over three years, including an additional $5 million to support the sustainability of Ontario’s nine Indigenous-owned and operated postsecondary education and training institutes located throughout the province. In 2013-14, about 16,036 self-identified Indigenous learners attended college and university in Ontario, an increase of about nine per cent or 1,472 learners since 2009-10.

 

LEARN MORE

 

Aboriginal Postsecondary Education and Training Bursary

Aboriginal Institutes

Aboriginal Postsecondary Education and Training Policy Framework

Aboriginal Education Strategy

 

Belinda Bien, Minister’s Office, 647-823-5489

Tanya Blazina, Communications Branch, 416-325-2746

Public inquiries, 416-325-2929 or 1-800-387-5514

TTY 1-800-268-7095

 ontario.ca/tcu-news

Disponible en français

 

 

Offre d’un programme indépendant menant à un diplôme à l’institut autochtone Six Nations Polytechnic

L’Ontario contribue à accroître les options d’études postsecondaires des étudiants autochtones

 

NOUVELLES Le 8 février 2016

 

L’Ontario contribue à améliorer l’accès des apprenantes et apprenants autochtones à des possibilités de formation et à des études postsecondaires adaptées à leur culture en permettant à la Six Nations Polytechnic, un institut autochtone, d’offrir un programme d’études indépendant menant à un diplôme.

 

Pour la première fois, la province accepte qu’un institut autochtone offre un tel programme d’études indépendant. Les instituts autochtones sont des établissements exploités et gérés par des communautés autochtones. À compter de janvier 2016, les étudiants de la Six Nations Polytechnic peuvent recevoir un baccalauréat ès arts dans les langues ogwehoweh (cayuga et mohawk).

 

Ce baccalauréat contribuera à promouvoir l’usage des langues ogwehoweh et à les protéger. Il permettra également aux étudiants de faire leurs études dans un seul établissement, plus près de chez eux. Ils pourront approfondir leurs compétences linguistiques et leurs connaissances culturelles, en s’ouvrant à davantage de possibilités d’intégrer le marché du travail. En outre, l’offre de ce programme indépendant menant à un diplôme répond à la recommandation de la Commission de vérité et réconciliation voulant que les établissements d’enseignement postsecondaire créent des programmes d’études en langues autochtones.

 

Investir dans le talent et les compétences des apprenantes et apprenants métis, inuits et des Premières Nations constitue l’une des nombreuses étapes que l’Ontario devra franchir tout au long du processus de guérison et de réconciliation. Cela reflète aussi l’engagement du gouvernement à collaborer avec ses partenaires autochtones et à bâtir un avenir meilleur pour tous les habitants de la province.

 

CITATIONS

 

« Il est indéniable que le gouvernement s’est engagé à tirer des leçons du passé, à amplifier ses réussites et à redoubler d’efforts pour aider les apprenants autochtones à entreprendre les études et la formation dont ils ont besoin. La Six Nations Polytechnic s’engage à créer un environnement propice à l’apprentissage des autochtones dont les fondements sont la culture, la communauté, la langue, la recherche et la qualité des programmes. Ce nouveau baccalauréat améliorera l’accès à l’éducation postsecondaire des apprenants autochtones en Ontario et contribuera à l’accroissement du nombre d’étudiants autochtones détenteurs d’accréditations ou de diplômes. »

— Reza Moridi, ministre de la Formation et des Collèges et Universités

 

« Je souhaite remercier la Six Nations Polytechnic pour le leadership dont elle a fait preuve et pour l’orientation qu’elle a su donner. L’annonce d’aujourd’hui illustre parfaitement le processus de réconciliation entrepris par l’Ontario et nous continuerons de collaborer avec nos partenaires autochtones en vue d’arriver à des résultats concrets. »

— David Zimmer, ministre des Affaires autochtones

 

« La préservation des langues autochtones est au cœur des valeurs de la Six Nations Polytechnic. C’est d’ailleurs pourquoi nous voulions depuis longtemps que notre programme en langues Ogwehoweh mène à un grade universitaire. »

— Rebecca Jamieson, rectrice, Six Nations Polytechnic

 

« Toutes mes félicitations à Rebecca Jamieson et à son équipe. En effet, la diversification des programmes offerts à la Six Nations Polytechnic est un travail de longue haleine. Nous savons que l’éducation est la pierre angulaire sur laquelle repose le succès des étudiants autochtones de la région. »

— Dave Levac, député provincial de Brant

 

FAITS EN BREF

 

  • Grâce aux instituts autochtones, les étudiants peuvent commencer et terminer leur éducation postsecondaire dans un milieu d’apprentissage près de chez eux qui est à la fois sécuritaire et culturellement adapté. Les instituts autochtones sont exploités et gérés par des communautés autochtones.
  • Le programme d’études en langues ogwehoweh (cayuga et mohawk) a comme base solide le programme de langues qui est actuellement offert en partenariat avec l’Université McMaster.
  • La Six Nations Polytechnic est un institut d’enseignement postsecondaire et de formation autochtone situé à Ohsweken, dans le territoire des Six Nations de la rivière Grand, près de Brantford, en Ontario.
  • La Six Nations Polytechnic a reçu l’autorisation d’offrir un programme de baccalauréat ès arts en langues ogwehoweh (cayuga et mohawk).
  • L’Ontario octroie 1,5 million de dollars par an par l’entremise du Fonds des bourses pour les étudiantes et étudiants autochtones. Ce fonds aide les apprenants autochtones ayant des besoins financiers à accéder à la formation ou aux études postsecondaires.
  • En juin 2015, la province a pris l’engagement de fournir un financement stable de 97 millions de dollars sur trois ans pour appuyer l’éducation postsecondaire des Autochtones. Cet investissement comprend un financement supplémentaire de 5 millions de dollars consacrés à la viabilité des neuf instituts d’enseignement et de formation postsecondaires de l’Ontario exploités et gérés par des communautés autochtones. En 2013‑2014, environ 16 036 apprenants auto-identifiés comme Autochtones ont fréquenté un collège ou une université en Ontario, ce qui représente une augmentation d’environ 9 %, ou de 1 472 personnes, depuis 2009‑2010.

 

 

POUR EN SAVOIR DAVANTAGE

 

Bourses pour l’éducation postsecondaire et la formation autochtones

Établissements autochtones

Cadre d’élaboration des politiques en matière d’éducation postsecondaire et de formation autochtones

Stratégie d’éducation autochtone

Politics

Greens: Ontario Has Forgotten Many Residents In Radiation Pill Mail-Out

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Arbitrary boundaries put Whitby–Oshawa residents at higher risk from nuclear radiation accident

(Whitby-Oshawa): “Does the Liberal government care about the safety of my neighbours in Whitby-Oshawa?” asks GPO candidate Stacey Leadbetter.
“So many residents of our community have been left out of the government’s mailing of potassium iodine (KI) pills. These pills protect us from thyroid cancer if there is a radiation leak – we need to make sure that everyone at risk will have them.”
The GPO is calling on the government to extend the pre-distribution zone to residents living within 30-50 km of the Pickering, Darlington and Bruce nuclear generating stations.
Governments in Europe like Switzerland pre-distribute KI pills to residents living within a 50 km radius of a nuclear facility. New Brunswick pre-distributes KI pills in a 20 km radius. In Ontario, only those residents living within a 10 km radius of nuclear stations receive them. 
On November 4 2015, the Regional Council of Durham passed a motion asking the province to consider the feasibility of extending the 10 km primary zone for nuclear emergency planning.
“Will Kathleen Wynne step up, listen to science and protect the residents of Whitby-Oshawa at risk from a nuclear radiation leak?” asks Mike Schreiner, GPO leader.
“People’s safety is too important to make this stuff up on the fly,” adds Schreiner. “We desperately need an evidence based, public review of nuclear emergency plans. This is especially important when determining the radius of the primary zone and the pre-distribution of KI pills.”   For the Silo, Becky Smit.
Gaming

Bandai Namco & Behaviour releasing WARHAMMER 40K on New Gen Systems

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Lyon, FRANCE – January, 2015 – BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe and Canadian developer Behaviour announced today that Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade will be available for PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC starting summer 2016.  For the first time, Warhammer 40,000 fans will join their favorite factions in the fiercest and most authentic Warhammer 40,000 battles ever realized in a massive online shooter.

Warhammer Eternal Crusade 1

Based on the multimillion-selling and extensive universe of Warhammer 40,000, Eternal Crusade will take gamers into a vicious battle between four factions of the 41st millennium in order to control a persistent world at war. Whether it is PvP (Player versus Player) or PvE (Player versus Environment) squads will have to work together and engage in massive battles and exterminate the other factions! To do so; fans can choose from twenty different sub-factions, earn hundreds of weapons, customization options and accessories drawn from 29 years of Warhammer 40,000 lore to create their perfect warriors!

 

 “It’s an honor to work on a Warhammer 40,000 game that’s already getting great community feedback on our pre-alpha. We can’t wait to share what we’ve built with a wider audience.” – Stephen Mulrooney, SVP Behaviour Digital

 

“We are delighted to start a new kind of collaboration with Behaviour Interactive. Thanks to our prevailing distribution network and structure, customers from almost 100 countries will have access to Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade! Last but not least; our team here at BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe is excited to work on the legendary Warhammer license.” Alberto Gonzalez Lorca, Vice-President of 3rd Parties and Southern Europe.

Bandai Namco Entertainment Logo

“We are really happy to have BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment on board as a partner to complement our collaboration with Games Workshop.”  Rémi Racine, founder and CEO, Behaviour

 

Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade will be available for PlayStation®4, Xbox One and PC Digital starting summer 2016.

 

 

For more information:

 

“PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade © Copyright Games Workshop Limited 2016.  Eternal Crusade, the Eternal Crusade logo, GW, Games Workshop, Space Marine, 40K, Warhammer, Warhammer 40,000, 40,000, the ‘Aquila’ Double-headed Eagle logo, and all associated logos, illustrations, images, names, creatures, races, vehicles, locations, weapons, characters, and the distinctive likeness thereof, are either ® or TM, and/or © Games Workshop Limited, variably registered around the world, and used under license. All rights reserved.

 

About BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe S.A.S.

BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Europe S.A.S., part of BANDAI NAMCO Holdings Inc., is a leading global publisher and developer of interactive content for platforms including all major video game consoles and PC, with marketing and sales operations in 50 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australasia.  The company is known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises, including PAC-MAN™, Tekken™, SOULCALIBUR™, NARUTO™, NARUTO SHIPPUDEN™, Dragon Ball®, GALAGA™, RIDGE RACER™ and ACE COMBAT™.

 

About Behaviour:

 

Founded in 1992, Behaviour Interactive is Canada’s largest independent game developer, employing 325 talented people in Montreal (Quebec) and Santiago (Chile). The studio’s objective is to deliver high-quality and commercially successful games, while staying on the cutting-edge of the industry trends in the digital markets, and exploring fresh ideas and connected experiences to keep players entertained. Our studios work with the industry’s top publishers and licensors, including Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Cloud Imperium, Disney, Dreamworks, EA, Games Workshop, Majesco, Microsoft, Nickelodeon, Paramount, Pixar, Sony, Starbreeze, Ubisoft and Warner.  For more information, please visit: bhvr.com. Eternal Crusade is produced by Behaviour Digital. Behaviour Digital Inc. is a subsidiary of Behaviour Interactive Inc whose mission is to “Create remarkable games we would play, our way.”

 

About Games Workshop:

Games Workshop® Group PLC (LSE:GAW.L) is based in Nottingham, UK. Games Workshop designs, manufactures, retails, and distributes its range of Warhammer® and Warhammer® 40,000® games, miniature soldiers, novels and model kits through more than 400 of its own Hobby centres, the Internet and independent retail channels in more than 50 countries worldwide. More information about Games Workshop can be found at www.games-workshop.com and further details about all of Games Workshop’s licensees and their products are at licensing.games-workshop.com

Reviews

Now Available In Ontario- IF You Can Find It- ‘Environment Friendly’ Boxed Water

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Legacy Boxed Water SinglesWater. It covers the vast majority of the earth’s surface. Likewise, water also comprises the bulk of the human body. The Earth and humans are each as dependent on the existence of water as the other. The earth’s environment graciously provides human beings with water, our most vital means of survival. It is our responsibility to reciprocate such generosity with the compassion we would show for our dearest friend.

Every year, about 50 billion plastic bottles of water are consumed throughout the globe. A whopping 30 billion of which are downed in the United States alone (amounting to about 60 % of the earth’s bottled water consumption) And 80 % of those plastic bottles end up in a landfill wherein the plastic breaks down into smaller fragments that absorb toxins and corrupt waterways, pollute soil and poison animals.

Even the manufacturing of bottled water is an environmental hazard. A single plastic bottle of water requires three times the volume of the water it takes to merely fill that bottle. And most of that water is rendered useless as a result of the chemicals utilized in the production of the plastic bottle. Without question, a more eco-friendly source of water delivery is an absolute necessity to the conservation of our planets resources. And now that solution has arrived in Canada. Boxed Water is an environmentally friendly and conscious brand and the answer to the drastic environmental cost extracted by the excessive consumption of plastic bottled water.

Boxed Water is new to the Canadian market and is distributed throughout the nation by RM Fresh Brands, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Legacy Ventures International Inc.(OTCQB:LGYV) Boxed Water is already making waves amongst consumers who love the product for being so eco-friendly and delicious. It is a fresh approach to remedying the environmental nightmares associated with the ubiquitous plastic water bottle.

Instead of plastic bottles, Boxed Water is packaged in a biodegradable box that’s reminiscent of a milk carton. The box is also key to the product’s brand identity. Carrying a simple message of ‘Boxed Water is Better’, this inconspicuous packaging effortlessly explains the concept of Boxed Water while attracting the attention of ecologically-aware consumers.

Benefits of Boxed Water:

(a) BPA/BPS FREE: All Boxed Water cartons are BPA/BPS free, which has been suggested as one of the leading causes of certain cancers.

(b) PACKAGING: 76 per cent of the Boxed Water packing is made from of trees, a renewable resource which renders the product a significantly more sustainable delivery source than the ecologically eradicating plastic bottle.

(c) FILTRATION: The water we drink should be healthy and refreshing. Boxed Waters 5 step filtration system process delivers pure hydration to help get the most out of life. Boxed Water is purified with UV, Carbon and reverse osmosis filtration. It is also free from chromium, arsenic, MBTE, chlorine, fluoride and trace pharmaceuticals.

(d) CONSERVATION: The trees used in Boxed Water come from Well Managed Forests.

(e) SHIPPING-WASTE LESS: Additionally, Boxed Water is shipped flat to the filler, lowering our carbon footprint which is much more efficient than shipping empty and glass bottles to be filled. Studies indicate that shipping accounts for 2.1 percent of annual global C02 and that number could increase up to 250 % by 2050. For one truck’s worth of bottled water,

Boxed Water can deliver 26 trucks’ worth of cartoned water. Boxed Water sends its cartons to its filling plants empty. A single pallet can hold some 35,000 empty, flat-packed Boxed Water cartons. Only after they’re shipped to the filling station are the cartons filled. At the plant, one truck’s worth of empty cartons can be filled to supply the 26 trucks. The space-savings ratio may be even more favorable when comparing the rectangular, easily stacked cartons with their rounded, pre-formed plastic water bottle counterparts.

(f) RESPONSIBILITY: Boxed Water donates at least 1 % of revenue annually to restoration and world water relief through partnerships with The National Forest Foundation and Water.org.

(g) RECYCLING Boxed Waters boxes are 100% recyclable at participating facilities (recyclecartons.com)

GIVING BACK: Boxed Water lessens the environmental impact and also gives back in a big way. During 2015, Boxed Water partnered with National Forest Foundation (NFF) to plant one million trees by 2020. This represents the largest single tree-planting commitment to date for the NFF and marked the start of a five year effort to plant trees in areas of our National Forests with highest ecological significance.

In recent months, Legacy Ventures International Inc. has showcased Boxed Water at major events such as the Toronto Film Festival and Holt Renfrew’s Holiday Kick Off. These partnerships, in combination with Boxed Water’s straightforward packaging, are expected to play a key role in getting the word out about the product by getting it into the hands of celebrities and other influencers.

Legacy Boxed Water PosterBoxed Water represents an opportunity for Legacy to disrupt the Canadian bottled water industry with an eco-friendly, easy-to-ship, deceptively simple solution. As the company continues to identify and target additional disruptive brands in both domestic and international markets, Boxed Water represents the first step in a long term strategic plan to maximize shareholder value for the foreseeable future.

Boxed Water is available to consumers across Canada at the following select locations: Sobey’s, Whole Foods, Longos, Metro, Foodland, Pusatari’s, along with many smaller retail chains and independents. The brand has also caught the attention of non-traditional retailers including Ripley’s Aquarium and the Canadian Museum of Nature, who choose to exclusively carry Boxed Water as the only water available to the thousands of visitors who pass through their doors every year. More locations both national and local are signing up by the week to carry the brand and choosing this eco-friendly and healthier solution over traditional bottled water brands.

ABOUT LEGACY VENTURES INTERNATIONAL INC

Boxed Water is distributed in Canada through RM Fresh Brands, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Legacy Ventures International Inc.(OTCQB:LGYV) a Nevada based multinational conglomerate focused on acquisitions of proven and high-potential businesses across a variety of business sectors.

Through the strategic provision of capital and oversight to companies that have innovative products, category game changers and established fast growth brands, LEGACY VENTURES will hit the market with tremendous impact and traction.

Art

Alcohol Inks in place of Oil Paint has become my new Addiction

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All Alcohol Paintings shown in this post by the Author- Dawn Bank
All Alcohol Paintings shown in this post by the Author- Dawn Bank

While searching for ways to expand “the oil painting experience” I came across tiny bottles of Alcohol Inks in all the basic colours, with an extender (strictly rubbing alcohol at 99%) as well as some clean-up solution.

Painting with oils has always been my favorite medium but on occasion I find it kind of rigid- you do this…then that and poof you have a beautiful tree. That’s why using alcohol inks as my new medium has become a new addiction. While doing so, I feel like I am being controlled without the ability to stop working. I have probably used up 3 sets so far.

I had never used inks before and I found myself in uncharted territory. Using inks changed everything. I discovered that they created many outcomes and endless possibilities which then opened up new means of expression to me.

Taking advantage of the translucent qualities of Alcohol Ink- lit (L) & unlit (R) candle holder by the Author
Taking advantage of the translucent qualities of Alcohol Ink- lit (L) & unlit (R) candle holder by the Author

When I begin to ink, I sit down at my table the same way I would when using oils. I Toss little droplets of colour and rotate the tile. Next, I spray rubbing alcohol for a spatter effect and I add a sponging technique that forms a multitude of tiny blotches. I pick out a brush and paint with the alcohol itself paying attention to watching the delicate lines that form as the brush hits the nearly-dry ink. It’s a gentle process and I enjoy the thinning of colour effect from the alcohol spray . For more fun I sometimes go out and buy a can of compressed air. I blow the ink and watch as it begins to layer itself. This is almost magical. It’s so amazing how it all comes together. I think the greatest addiction with this technique is the fact that the results are unpredictable and will never be the same. This whole process takes about half an hour but to me it seems like mere seconds.

Even though the finished ink works are fully dry within a matter of minutes, extra time is required if you choose to work in more detailed designs.

Another view of the Author's candle holder.
Another view of the Author’s candle holder

Speaking of time….I am amazed that while I work with the inks I completely lose all track of time. I am in a completely different space. My house could be burning down and I’m not sure that I would notice because using this medium makes me extremely focused and relaxed. Peacefulness has added to my life and that is just amazing. I have become so “in tune” with the way that the inks move without totally blending together. It’s an exciting time. I have discovered a new way to express and share my world with the whole world. For The Silo, Dawn Bank of One Lady’s Art. To view more alcohol ink work please visit me at https://www.facebook.com/groups/OneLadysArt/.

Culture

Up for bidding- One of only 24 Barber 1894 Dimes ever struck

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Heritage Auctions Coin News-  1894-S Barber Dime leads Heritage Tampa, FL FUN Platinum Night offerings  *NOTE Jan8th 2016 Canadian Press picks up our story and updates–

1894-S 10C Branch Mint PR66 PCGS Secure. CAC 1894-S 10C Branch Mint PR66 PCGS Secure. CAC
An 1894-S Barber Dime, Branch Mint PR66 PCGS CAC, the finest known survivor, will offer one collector a once-in-a-generation opportunity to own one of the most famous, mysterious and elusive coins in American numismatics when it comes to auction on Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016, as the centerpiece of Heritage Auctions’ Platinum Night offerings at the FUN Convention in Tampa, FL.

This is just the fourth auction appearance in history of this celebrated rarity. HADime1

“The 1894-S Barber dime is a classic in American coinage,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. “This legendary coin is often grouped with the 1804 dollar and the 1913 Liberty nickel as ‘The Big Three’ of U.S. coin rarities. It has been the stuff of collector dreams since it was first mentioned in the numismatic press by Augustus Heaton in 1900.”

Only 24 Barber dimes were struck at the San Francisco Mint in 1894, apparently in order to balance a bullion account. No more than nine – and possibly only eight – examples of the 1894-S are known to collectors today, with this coin being the finest survivor certified by PCGS.

HA Twenty Dollar CoinMany collectors in Tampa will have their eye on the 1870-S Silver Dollar XF40 PCGS, ex: Ostheimer-Gardner, the fourth finest known example of this landmark rarest regular issue silver dollar, that will be on offer, as well as a storied error issue in the form of a 1943-S 1C Struck on a Bronze Planchet AU55 PCGS Secure, the third finest graded at PCGS and the third-finest of six confirmed examples.

Topping the gold offerings at FUN are an 1849-C G$1 Open Wreath MS62 PCGS Secure, Ex: Richmond Collection, the finest-known specimen and one of the rarest and most valuable coins in the U.S. gold series, along with an 1804 Quarter Eagle, 13 Stars Reverse, AU55 PCGS Secure CAC, the second finest known example of the exceedingly rare BD-1 Variety.

Further highlights include, but certainly are not limited to: •1792 Fusible Alloy Cent VF35 PCGS Secure CAC, Ex: Simpson
•1861 Original CSA Cent MS64+ PCGS Secure CAC, Ex: Simpson: Probably the finest known
•1943 Cent Struck on a Bronze Planchet AU58 PCGS Secure CAC, Ex: Simpson
•1792 Half Disme MS62 PCGS Secure, Ex: Simpson
•1792 Disme Fine 15 NGC
This auction is open for bidding now at www.HA.com/coins.

 

Seldom Seen Selections: 1883 double eagle, A classic Proof-only rarity

1883 $20 PR65 Deep Cameo PCGS
1883 $20 PR65 Deep Cameo PCGS
The 1883 is the first of three proof-only Liberty Head double eagle issues, struck during a period when the demand for gold and silver coinage was at an all-time low for the second half of the 19th century. The 1883, 1884, and 1887 double eagle issues, each proof-only, were struck in reported amounts of 92, 71, and 121 pieces, respectively.

The Gem Deep Cameo proof 1883 twenty dollar in our January 6-11 FUN US Coins Signature Auction , certified by PCGS as Proof-65 Deep Cameo, is among the few finest survivors of the issue, regardless of contrast level. PCGS shows eight Deep Cameo submissions of the 1883 (likely including duplicates): one in PR62, two each in PR64 and PR65 (one of which is this piece), and three PR66. NGC’s population data show three Ultra Cameo grading events for the issue, the finest of which is a single example in PR66 . Again, there is likely some overlap between these 11 Deep/Ultra Cameo certified pieces. Walter Breen’s Proof Encyclopedia comments that “there may be as many as 20 survivors,” of course including all contrast levels (non-Cameo and Cameo as well as Deep-Ultra). More recently, the second edition of Jeff Garrett and Ron Guth’s Gold Encyclopedia provides these clues:

“The 1883 double eagle was struck only in Proof format. Of the reported mintage of 92 coins, it is nearly certain that not this many were released. There are about 20 examples known in all levels of preservation, These include two examples in the Smithsonian and others placed in museum collections. The 1883 double eagle is one of the classic rarities of the series. The demand for this Proof-only issue has always been high. In recent years interest in the issue has surged. …”

The authors conclude by citing a 2006 auction record of $212,750 for a PR65 Cameo NGC example, undoubtedly from our FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2006), lot 3580. We find no later auction offerings of PR65 Cameo examples, but with the Deep Cameo contrast of this coin, we find a more-recent sighting in the same grade and service as this piece. Lot 5566 in our FUN Signature (Heritage, 1/2014), was a PR65 Deep Cameo PCGS example that brought a healthy $282,000 – a coin of comparable quality to the present piece.

As the old sayings goes, “There are lies, damned lies, and statistics,” and nowhere else does this apply more so than in the rarefied realms of top-quality U.S. numismatic items — and proof gold in particular, the Beluga caviar of collecting. Despite estimates of how many were struck of a given issue or exactly how many might survive today, the fact is, auction offerings of proof Liberty Head double eagles of this caliber are infrequent indeed, and there are far more collectors who desire one than the forthright bidder who will actually obtain this piece.

Perusal of this coin without a loupe reveals consistent, deep sunset-orange coloration in the highly reflective fields, producing extreme contrast with the frosted devices which were the deepest, unpolished parts of the proof die. A loupe shows a tiny touch of hazel on the lower neck at JBL for a pedigree marker, along with a tiny glossy area on a tail feather above the D(OLLAR), apparently a small planchet flaw, as made. There are small unfinished areas at the bottom of some of the vertical shield stripes. There are simply no distractions on this immaculate coin.

HA Nickel

 

Fashion

Mild Temperatures in NYC means Tropical Designs from PAOM

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Here in the NYC, temperatures have been in the 60s all week, making this a tropical start to a typically snowy winter.
Josh McKenna’s palm frond adorned pieces from our ‘Concrete Junglist’ collaboration are perfect to keep the tropics on your mind no matter what temperature you’re living in. Check out more of our favorite warm climate inspired designs below, or design your own!
Barbican Sweatshirt by Josh McKenna, $68.00USD

Alexandra Pant by Josh McKenna, $74.00USD

Blue Floral Tank by Megamart, $36.00USD

Flora Bomber Jacket by YMT, $120.00USD

Smiley Sun Comic by jackpoint23, $145.00

Tropical Garden Jumpsuit by Spice, $180.00

Mint Green Sweatshirt by La Toma, $68.00

Stefany T-Shirt by kastorandpollux, $68.00
 HOLIDAY GIVEAWAYS 

CLOTHH

Enter for the chance to win a $200.00 gift card to use towards the collaboration, a free pair of lace up or slip on shoes, and a framed print!

 

SWORDS-SMITH x Calico

Enter here for a chance to win a custom-framed Calico print and another lucky winner will receive a $200.00 gift card to the collaboration, available only at Swords-Smith.
Reviews

Silo Book Spotlight- A Practical Guide to Emotional Intelligence

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The Power Of Feelings CoverSmallFeelings are at the core of every social interaction. Anger, fear, and sadness are all very different concepts, but together they form part of an emotional compass that allows people to appropriately deal with each other in everyday situations. In short, unlocking the true power behind a person’s feelings – even challenging ones – is actually the key to clarity, love, and a happier life.  

As a way to help you understand your feelings and develop your own emotional intelligence, business coach, speaker, and bestselling author Vivian Dittmar has written the insightful book, The Power of Feelings: A Practical Guide to Emotional Intelligence.  In this groundbreaking work, Dittmar takes the reader on an introspective journey by examining the inner workings of the human mind and heart. She explains at length the difference between feelings and emotions, how each are created, why each has its own purpose, and why everything you “feel” is not always a feeling.

Divided into five easy-to-read sections, The Power of Feelings is a comprehensive guidebook with 12 self-assessment exercises for exploring your life. By working through these exercises, Dittmar ultimately teaches how understanding and harnessing the power behind your feelings are the keys to your emotional potential and intelligence.

In this fascinating and eye-opening book, Dittmar also reveals:

  •  The Five Powers of Anger, Sadness, Fear, Joy, and Shame: How each fulfills an important function in your life
  • Turning Negative Feelings Into Positive Forces: Why some feelings that are typically considered to be “bad” can be used to your benefit
  • Emotional Baggage: Some of the most effective ways to deal with past emotional issues
  • Blocks of Emotional Intelligence: Common causes of emotional imbalances
  • Living Feelings: How to incorporate conscious feelings into your daily life

VivianDittmarAuthorBanner

“When I felt it was time to write my first book, I took a look at what was on the market in the field of personal development and felt the greatest deficit was in the realm of feelings and emotions,” says Dittmar. “I had been emotionally challenged in my life and was unsatisfied with the answers I could find. This dissatisfaction caused me to start investigating the matter within me, with the people I worked with, and in seminars and groups. When it was time to write the book, we collected questions about feelings from people of all walks of life looking for the same answers. This material later became the first version of The Power of Feelings.”

Vivian Dittmar grew up on three continents in three different cultures. In doing so, she developed a unique perspective on humans and their interactions. Traveling between first, second, and third-world nations, she was struck by the contrast between people’s external wealth and their corresponding life issues. Her experiences led her to pursue a career in the fields of self-help and personal development.

Throughout her career, Dittmar has worked in Germany, Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, Costa Rica, Italy, Greece, and Sweden. In Indonesia, she ran her own practice working with clients from all backgrounds. She then returned to Europe and set up the non-profit, Be the Change Foundation for Cultural Change.  The foundation offers educational events to raise awareness about ecological and social justice issues.

Dittmar also works as a trainer and coach.  As a coach, she helps small and mid-sized business owners and executives develop their emotional intelligence. She is also the author of three successful books – the first of which has been translated from German into English, Italian, and Spanish. Dittmar currently lives between Germany and Italy and is a mother of two sons.

Books are available on VivianDittmar.com and Amazon.com.  E-books are also available on Kindle. Connect with Dittmar on Twitter.com and Facebook.com.

Politics

Six Nuclear Unit Refurbs means Ontario Commits to Future in Nuclear Energy

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Ontario has updated its contract with Bruce Power and will proceed with the refurbishment of six nuclear units at the Tiverton-based nuclear generation station.

Nuclear refurbishment will boost economic activity across Ontario, create jobs, ensure savings for ratepayers and secure a clean supply of reliable electricity. The Bruce Power refurbishment project will make up to 23,000 jobs possible and generate about $6.3 billion in annual economic benefits in communities throughout the province. Ontario is home to a globally recognized CANDU nuclear supply chain with more than 180 companies employing thousands of highly skilled workers.

Note: At Bruce Power-station, each reactor has its own turbine set.
              Note: At Bruce Power-station, each reactor has its own turbine set.

The government was further able to optimize the nuclear refurbishment schedule in order to maximize the value of existing nuclear units. The revised timeline will mean construction commences in 2020, rather than the previously estimated start date of 2016.

Accordingly, the updated agreement has achieved $1.7 billion in savings for electricity customers when compared to the forecast in the 2013 Long-Term Energy Plan (2013 LTEP).  This means a reduction in forecast household electricity bills by about $66 each year over the next decade. The contract also protects the interests of electricity consumers by ensuring Bruce Power assumes full risk for any potential cost overruns or delays.

Key aspects of the updated agreement include:

  • Securing 6,300 MW of emissions-free, baseload generating capacity while deferring major project work to 2020, to maximize value of the units
  • Bruce Power would invest approximately $13 billion of its own funds and agrees to take full risk of cost overruns on refurbishments of the six nuclear units
  • Initial price for Bruce Power’s generation set at $65.73/MWh starting January 1, 2016. The average price over the life of the contract is estimated to be $77/MWh, or 7.7 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh).
  • Both prices are within the range assumed in the 2013 LTEP for refurbished nuclear energy and are lower than the average price of electricity generation in Ontario, which in 2015 was $83/MWh
  • Definitive contract off-ramps that allow the government to assess Bruce Power’s cost estimates for each reactor prior to its refurbishment and stop the refurbishment if the estimated cost exceeds a pre-defined amount

The province is achieving balance by contracting affordable, stable and reliable generation for residents and businesses while securing investments that will be a key source of local job creation and economic growth.

Securing clean, reliable baseload power for decades to come is part of the government’s plan to build Ontario up. The four-part plan is includes investing in people’s talents and skills, making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history, creating a dynamic, innovative environment where business thrives and building a secure retirement savings plan.

 Ontario Minister Of EnergyBob ChiarelliQUOTES

“This agreement makes 23,000 jobs possible and supports an estimated $6.3 billion in annual, local economic development. Our updated agreement with Bruce Power secures 6,300 MW of emission-free, low-cost electricity supply. These actions will save the electricity system $1.7 billion and provide important relief for electricity consumers.”

— Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Energy

““Today is a major milestone in the history of Bruce Power as we build on our existing agreement with the province and extensive experience to enter the next phase of our site development. This provides us the opportunity to secure our long-term role as a supplier of low-cost electricity by demonstrating we can successfully deliver this program incrementally.”

— Duncan Hawthorne, President and CEO, Bruce Power

QUICK FACTS

  • Following the release of the 2013 LTEP, the amended BPRIA was negotiated over two years by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).
  • The Bruce nuclear site is the world’s largest operating nuclear facility. Since it was formed in 2001, Bruce Power and its industry partners have engineered and developed first-of-a-kind technologies that helped return four dormant nuclear units to service.
  • Nuclear energy plays a fundamental role in Ontario’s electricity system. It provides over half of Ontario’s annual generation, meeting most of Ontario’s baseload requirements.

LEARN MORE

 

Supplemental- The CANDU Bruce Nuclear Generating Station on Lake Huron is the largest nuclear power plant in the world.

Reviews

Hyleys Tea Offers Sleep Enhancing and Weight-Loss Promoting “Wellness Teas”

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Hyleys Tea SlimTeaNew York, NY – It is no secret that many common health woes can be mended homeopathically through the use of natural herbs and antioxidants. Health-conscious consumers can now drink hot teas to experience wellness benefits like weight loss, detoxification, better sleep and appetite control. Luckily for the estimated 160 million North Americans who drink tea on any given day, one global brand is at the forefront of wellness tea offerings. Known internationally as ‘The Aristocratic Tea’, Hyleys Teas caters to tea drinkers’ health demands with a series of 100% natural herb- and fruit-infused blends.

According to the “Today” show, among the “Top 10 health benefits of drinking tea” is the fact that “tea’s antioxidants protect bodies from the ravages of aging.” The Huffington Post adds to that list “6 Amazing Benefits of Tea,” including: 1) “Tea can help you in maintaining a healthy weight;” 2) “Black tea can help to reduce stress levels;” and 3) “White tea can help you look younger.”

Award-winning, international brand, Hyleys Tea, is introducing two new teas to its 100% natural line of herb- and fruit-infused teas. Hyleys Slim Tea (MSRP $5.99USD) promotes weight loss and is available in flavorful options like acai berry, blueberry, goji berry, pomegranate and raspberry as well as a five-flavor assortment. What’s more, the weight-loss-enhancing properties of the Slim Tea offer consumers a safe, pound-shedding alternative to risky pills and surgery.

Joining the new Slim Tea is Hyleys Sleep Tea (MSRP $5.99USD) in both mint and chamomile variations. Designed to naturally help individuals fall asleep easier, the caffeine-free herbal formulation acts fast and gently, encouraging healthy sleep patterns while promoting a refreshed awakening.

Slim and Sleep teas are the latest additions to Hyleys’ high quality, all-natural products that include a series of Wellness teas that have earned the company innovation and best product awards for its host of health benefits. The existing Nature’s Harmony selection (MSRP $5.99USD) consists of the following green and black teas with health-boosting, 100% pure additives.

Hyleys Tea SleepTea Chamomile

Detox – Chock full of antioxidants, Detox helps the body naturally expel harmful toxins.

Garcinia Cambogia – Billed as the miracle find of the 21 st Century for losing weight the safe and natural way, Garcinia Cambogia is extracted from a tropical fruit.

Anti-Aging – An antioxidant-infused blend, this Nature’s Harmony tea diminishes the skin’s damaging effects of free radicals and contains strong anti-aging properties. Regular consumption of this tea has been shown to reduce wrinkles decrease stress levels and leave the skin looking youthful and supple.

Desire – This tea promotes sexual well-being by stimulating hormones in both men and women for beneficial libido function.

On top of all this, Hyleys Tea also offers loose tea beautifully packaged in Gift Tins and Wooden Tea Boxes that are perfect for gift giving this holiday season. (MSRP $14.99-$69.99USD)

Hyleys Tea full line of wellness-promoting teas is available in the United States at  HyleysTeaOnline.com Canadian shoppers can find Hyleys at Loblaws.

Hyleys Tea WoodenBox

About Hyleys Tea

Since 1998, Hyleys Tea has been one of the most distinguished brands in the world tea market. The high quality of its 100% natural black and green teas, which are fused with real fruits and herbs, is what sets the brand apart. The company was created in response to the lack of teas containing purely natural components. Every tea in Hyleys’ Nature’s Harmony Collection has been carefully selected from the best plantations in Ceylon and China and is complemented by 100% pure, natural herbs and fruits. Hyleys Tea’s fine taste and essential health benefits earned the company Gold medals in the “Best Product – 2010” and the “Innovation Product” categories at ProdExpo 2010. For additional information on the company and its products, please visit HyleysTeaOnline.com.

Culture

Through Mediums of Painting and Written Narrative, FLY shares Tales of Tremendous Strength and Courage

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Los Angeles, USA – FLY has launched a one-of-a-kind artistic-inspirational campaign on Kickstarter, presenting the world’s first ‘pen & ink’ art book, solely designed to inspire and uplift its readers. Using pen and ink portraits and written narrative, FLY tells the stories of known and unknown human beings who dazzled the world against all odds, such as; Da Vinci, Beethoven, Coco Chanel, Karina Chikitova, Audrey Hepburn, Pelé and more.

Offering FLY’s artistic-inspirational book at a rational price tag of $35USD, Liron & Shira Ben-Arzi , the two sisters/artists behind it, aim to raise more than $11,730 to fund the production and help spread their vision of inspiration, globally. Their pure hope is that as you flick through the pages of FLY, you will be filled with a sense of strength; of light and of love. Meaning, that FLY will become our daily personal coacher, with messages of self-fulfillment and motivation, transferred through quotes, poetry and drawings. Using their personal talent and ambition, the two sisters have crafted this 240 pages book, based on pen & ink portraits and unique written narratives that tell the stories of 49 truly extraordinary people who forever changed the course of humanity.

 

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They have collected the tales of people who have done the impossible into a book; stories of people who transcended the boundaries placed against them. For example; The unbelievable tale of Karina Chikitova – a little girl who survived 11 days in the wilds of Siberia; Sophia Scholl – A young woman who protested against the Nazis by painting murals; While also researched modern heroes, such as; gay-rights activist Brian Skerry, and artist Frida Kahlo who overcame many adversities to rise to success, as well as heroes from times gone by, such as; Leonardo Da Vinci and Ludwig van Beethoven.

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“FLY is more than a book, it’s a remedy for remorse and a medicine for melancholy. It’s designed to motivate and inspire anywhere, anytime”, as Liron the painter behind it expressed. “Our vision and dream is that the power of human perseverance and of passion and positivity will flood the reader’s senses and remind him/her of the beauty and goodness in the world”, Shira, the poet in the team, added.

FLY’s Kickstarter campaign is just the beginning for these two, as they hope to take the mission of inspiration forward and much further. The awareness raised through Kickstarter will also help to fund future inspirational FLY projects including; exhibitions, lectures, workshops and other interactive visual media.

 

Click me! Art Sound Music from the Future
Click me! Art Sound Music from the Future
Earth

Almost 200,000 Canadian homes have Dangerous levels of Radon

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November is Lung Month and also Radon Action Month, and health officials are urging Canadians to test their homes for radon.

It is estimated that 3,000 Canadians die each year from lung cancer caused by exposure to radon. Yet only about 4% of Canadian homes have been tested for radon, the second leading cause of lung cancer after smoking. As a result, most Canadians are unaware of the deadly gas that may be present in their homes.

How Radon Enters A House

What is radon?
Radon is a naturally forming, radioactive, colorless, odorless and tasteless gas. It is found in almost all soil, and is produced by a natural process as uranium breaks down into radium and then into radon gas. Radon in turn breaks down into solid radioactive elements known as “radon progeny” (such as polonium – 218) that attach to airborne particles. Radon enters a home through cracks in the floor or walls of the basement or foundation.

Radon and your health
Because they are radioactive, radon and radon progeny emit alpha particles, a high-energy radiation that damages DNA in human cells and causes lung cancer. When radon is inhaled, particles become lodged in the lungs where they continue to emit alpha particles. Some studies have also suggested a link between radon and leukemia, though it can’t be definitely determined and more research is needed.

What you can do
Here are a few simple steps you can take to control radon levels in your home and help protect those you love:

1) Test for Radon. The first step in managing the risk of radon is to have your home tested. Every home is unique, and a home with dangerous radon levels can be next door to a home with virtually no radon. Any radon level higher than 200 becquerels per cubic metre (200 Bq/m³) is considered by health authorities to be unsafe. Testing should always be conducted by a qualified contractor, and should include both short-term and long-term testing. Look for a radon mitigation professional who is C-NRPP certified online.

2) Mitigate Radon. A qualified radon mitigation contractor will help you determine the most effective way to reduce radon in your home. These techniques include:

a) Sealing cracks. Since radon enters your home through cracks in the floor and the foundation, sealing cracks and leaks is an important first step. However, sealing cracks will limit but not completely stop the flow of radon into a home.

b) Suction. On effective method of eliminating radon includes inserted pipes into or below the foundation slab. These pipes are then connected to a vent fan that pulls radon from below the house and releases it out into the open air.

c) Depressurization. This generally involves drilling a hole in the basement floor and extending a pipe beneath the slab of the house. The pipe runs up through the home and then vents outward with the help of an inline fan.

d) Ventilation. Installing a heat recovery ventilator increases ventilation by drawing outside air into the house and expelling radon-contaminated air. Air is warmed or cooled as needed, and air filtration can be added to filter the outdoor air coming in.

e) Filtration. While filtration is not the only method by which radon can be reduced, research has shown that even standard HEPA filters can reduce radon by as much as 85%. And while air cleaning is not recommended to control radon because most filtration systems, even HEPA filters, are incapable of stopping the tiniest particles to which radon progeny adhere. IQAir’s HyperHEPA filtration, on the other hand, filters particles down to 0.003 microns – the smallest particles that exist.

IQAir Air Purification SystemsGiven that November is Lung Month and Radon Action Month in Canada, now is as good a time as any to test your home for radon. The sooner you have your home tested, the sooner you will be on your way to ensuring yours is a healthy home for you and your family.

This article is brought to you by our friends at IQAir North America, Inc., a member of the Swiss-based IQAir Group that develops, manufactures and markets innovative air purifiers and air quality products for indoor environments around the globe. IQAir is the exclusive educational partner of the American Lung Association for the air purifier industry. Jarrod Barker

UPDATE- From Futurism: “Say goodbye to ‘cracks’, self-healing concrete has arrived.” Concrete that is mixed with Bacteria to self-heal and last for two hundred years. https://www.facebook.com/futurism.co/videos/496701823842355/

Fashion

SCOTTeVEST Smart Clothing includes Radio-Frequency I.D. blocking pockets and more

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SCOTTeVEST (SeV) – an innovative clothing brand for men and women that lets you carry and use all of your gadgets and daily essentials. SeV’s functional fashion enables wearers to live, work and play in a more organized and hands-free way. With up to 42 cleverly designed pockets in a single garment, SeV apparel guarantees that you never have to worry  dropping a phone, losing track of personal items or lugging around an unwanted bulky bag again.

scottEvest
scottEvest1In addition to pockets, SCOTTeVEST clothing has tons of useful features, including the patented PAN (personal area network), RFID-blocking pockets, iPad pockets, clear-touch pockets, ID pockets, key holders, eyeglass chamois, Teflon fabric protector, no bulge pocket technology and much more.
Imagine Giorgio Armani and Bill Gates stranded on a desert island, and you’ll have a good idea of what SCOTTeVEST offers. SeV vests, coats, jackets, shirts and hoodies are the perfect gift for your marathon-training friend, a boss who is constantly traveling, on-the-go parents and grandparents or the outdoorsy significant other in your life. Scott Jordan CEO and Founder SCOTTeVEST

Reviews

Fascinating Book- CANADIAN PACIFIC: Creating A Brand, Building A Nation

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Canadian Pacific: Creating A Brand, Building A Nation, the forthcoming luxury coffee table book from School of Design of the Université du Québec à Montréal professor emeritus Marc H. Choko and Callisto Publishers. The private railway corporation that united Canada and built the world’s greatest transportation system, Canadian Pacific broke boundaries with its powerful commercial design.

Canadian Pacific Book Brief CoverA gorgeous new full-colour, 384-page hardcover from leading design book publisher Callisto, Canadian Pacific: Creating A Brand, Building A Nation [November 15 2015] reveals the intriguing story of the private railway company that united Canada politically – and became, for a time, the world’s greatest and most diverse transportation system. Written by Marc H. Choko – professor emeritus at the School of Design of the Université du Québec à Montréal and an honorary member of the Société des designers graphiques du Québec – Canadian Pacific weaves a concise and compelling narrative recapitulating the first 100 years of the company’s history, beginning in the 1880s. Brought to life by hundreds of advertisements, illustrations, designs, photos, and historical documents – many of which have never been published before – Canadian Pacific is more than a beautiful book: it is an indispensible testament to one of the greatest achievements of entrepreneurship the world has ever seen.

“The history of Canada is inseparable from the history of Canadian Pacific,” writes publisher Matthias C. Hühne in the book’s preface. “A distinct Canadian national identity was still in its infancy in the 19th century, and various stereotypes linked with Canada today are the direct result of decisions made by these artists and Canadian Pacific’s publicity executives.” From adventurous world travelers to potential immigrants considering a move to Canada, Canadian Pacific tells the important and unforgettable story of the impact this private corporation has had on a nation’s economic development and image – and will be a welcome addition to the bookcases, coffee tables, and cottages of history buffs, art lovers, and aesthetes alike.

Marc Choko
Marc Choko

Among the topics author Marc H. Choko is currently interested in and researching are: Beavers, Banff and propaganda: how commercial design helped a disparate, newly formed nation understand its place in the world and forge an identity. This is Canada: the romanticism and beauty of the images Canadian Pacific’s publicity department produced, and their immeasurable impact on the way Canada is perceived domestically and throughout the world Immigration and colonization: Canadian Pacific’s little-known history of facilitating the process of coming to Canada for hundreds of thousands of citizens. The eminent artists behind Canadian Pacific’s publicity materials: why we cannot separate the interplay of commercial interest and high culture.

About the Author: Marc H. Choko, author of Canadian Pacific: Creating a Brand, Building a Nation is professor emeritus at the School of Design of the Université du Québec à Montréal and former director of the university’s Design Centre. He is also a former research director at the Institut national de la recherche scientifique Urbanisation, Culture et Société. Choko earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture and a master’s degree in planning from the Université de Montréal and a doctorate in urban planning from the Université de Paris VIII. He is the author of numerous publications on graphic design, urbandevelopment and housing, and has curated many exhibitions that toured internationally. Choko is an honorary member of the Société des designers graphiques du Québec.

About the Publisher: Berlin-based Callisto Publishers selects topics from the fields of design, art, and architecture that are especially well suited to be represented by a printed book, rather than an electronic medium, aspiring to create printed works of perfect quality in terms of content, design, and production. Strong contemporary design requires solid knowledge of the designs and methods of the past. Which designs endured, which did not, and why? Callisto’s books analyze trends of the past that are relevant for understanding design today and in the future. Website: https://www.callisto-publishers.com/

PremiumEditionAbout Canadian Pacific: The Standard Edition of Canadian Pacific: Creating A Brand, Building A Nation will be released this month, and retail for $80CAD / $70USD. The Premium Edition – a larger and technically more sophisticated version, packaged in a hand-crafted collector’s case with a wood veneer cover symbolizing the natural beauty of Canada, and containing additional images and Pantone colours and finishes not included in the Standard Edition – will be released in April 2016 and retail for $720CAD / $600 USD.

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Sci-Tech

Canadian Technology Turning Wrists Into Playgrounds With Smartwatch

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Canada are at the forefront of the technology scene – investing in areas such as quantum computing, space travel, environmental issues, medicine and natural sciences – and they are certainly not letting themselves get left behind when it comes to everyday applications either.

One of the biggest changes to technology over the past half decade has been the emergence of technology on smaller and smaller hardware items – from PCs to laptops, onto tablets and then onto our smartphones and it appears that the latest step has finally arrived. Watch-based technology is now readily-available, with so-called ‘smart-watches’ the most recent must-have items.

Montreal-based company, Neptune, have brought out the successor to their 2013 creation, ‘The Pine’ – a smart-watch called ‘The Hub’ – and is designed to replace, rather than work in conjunction with your smartphone. This means that it is the first truly mobile wrist-based device, and with increased battery life and functionality, it lends itself to a wide range of applications.

Online gaming is another field that has experienced enormous recent growth, and Royal Vegas Casino has managed to combine these two areas by offering a wide range of casino games and online slot machines direct to your wrist – meaning that you can get away with subtly playing roulette at the dinner table, or making real money on their recently-returned Wheel of Fortune slot-game when you should be paying attention to what your boss is saying at your next briefing.

iPhone6 paired with iWatch- online gaming for your wrist!
iPhone6 paired with iWatch- online gaming for your wrist!

As well as a wide range of games (complete with huge welcome bonuses, free spins and access to members-only tournaments and prize draws) Royal Vegas Casino also offer their users access to their regularly updated blog, which keeps players up-to-speed with the latest goings-on from the world of online gaming. This means that you need never miss a release date or a chance to take advantage of limited time offers – and all from your watch!

NYMI wrist-tech from Toronto
NYMI wrist-tech from Toronto

But it seems that Canada is leading the way in more than one wrist-based technology and Toronto tech company ‘NYMI’ have created a wristband that reads heartbeats and has the ability to use them as a form of personal identification, allowing you access to bank accounts or internet services without the risk of them being stolen in the same way that fingerprints can be.

Whichever way you look at it, Canada is at the forefront of cutting edge and user-friendly technology – and if it beeps, chirps or flashes on your wrist, the odds are that it was conceived in The Great White North – and so long as they keep making our lives more interesting, safer or convenient, long may it continue. For the Silo, Jarrod Barker

 

Politics

Premier of Ontario’s Mission to China generates $2.5Billion in Business agreements

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Premier Wynne Trade Mission To China Premier Kathleen Wynne concluded her second mission to China on Friday the 13th this month in Beijing, where 38 new agreements valued at $750 million were signed by delegates. This brings the estimated total value of agreements from the mission to $2.5 billion. The agreements are expected to create 1,700 jobs in Ontario.

 

At a signing ceremony in Beijing, Wing On New Group Canada Inc. signed three agreements totaling $230 million, including:

  • A $100-million agreement with JD.com to purchase Canadian produce and provide business services to Canadian enterprises in the Chinese e-commerce market.
  • An $80-million agreement with China Telecom Group Best Tone Information Co. Ltd. to import food and Canadian nutritional products to China. The Chinese company will also provide financial services to Wing On and jointly develop a Chinese e-commerce market with Wing On and JD.com.
  • An agreement with Cross-border City Americo Wholesale to purchase $50 million in Canadian produce over the next three years, and open 30 new stores in 2016, with an Ontario Produce Exhibition Booth in every new store.

Hydrogenics signed four certified integrator agreements to supply fuel cell technology for integration into zero-emission public transport buses. In aggregate, the company anticipates a market opportunity of up to $100 million in revenue over a 3 to 5 year period, with approximately $10 million in the first year.

image: niagarathisweek.com
image: niagarathisweek.com

Also in Beijing, CITIC Capital announced a $100 million investment towards Paradise, a new attraction and residential development in Niagara Falls. The development is led by China-based GR Investments Co. Ltd., which has purchased 484 acres of property located west of Marineland and adjacent to Thundering Waters Golf Club.

 

The Premier also announced that the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) has hired a new agri-food trade advisor in Shanghai to assist Ontario food exporters. The advisor will increase food export sales by providing international market information and identifying suitable business opportunities and strategic alliances for Ontario food and beverage suppliers. OMAFRA already has trade advisors in India, the United Kingdom and the United States.

 

During the mission, the City of Wuxi, in Jiangsu Province, and the Region of Durham signed a Friendship Agreement, creating a sister city relationship to promote economic co-operation, trade and collaboration in education and tourism. Also in Wuxi, Trent University entered into a Partnership High School Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Wuxi No. 1 High School and Wuxi Foreign Language School.

 

Investments also formalized include Shenzhen Bauzer Investment Group Co. Ltd., which acquired an 80% share of EDI, a Toronto-based leader in the field of robotics automation. With this acquisition, Shenzhen Bauzer intends to create an additional 200 jobs in Ontario.

 

Attracting new investments and helping the province’s businesses compete globally is part of the government’s plan to build Ontario up by investing in people’s talents and skills, making the largest investment in public infrastructure in Ontario’s history, creating a dynamic, innovative environment where business thrives, and building a secure retirement savings plan.

 

QUOTES

 

“Trade is essential for Ontario’s economic growth and international competitiveness. This mission has strengthened Ontario’s political and economic ties with China. By signing new trade agreements valued at $2.5 billion and further developing our relationships with political leaders, Ontario has made a significant impact throughout this mission.”

— Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario

 

“The tremendous success of the mission is further evidence of the enduring relationship between China and Ontario and the compelling business case our province offers for global investment. Our government will continue working collaboratively with the private sector and research community to build an innovative, dynamic economy that supports long-term growth and job creation.”

— Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development, Employment and Infrastructure

 

“China is an important and long-term partner for Ontario in trade development, investment attraction, and science and technology collaboration. Our diversity and our highly skilled workforce are advantages that allow Ontario to create products and services for the global marketplace. The successful signings from this mission reinforce Ontario’s position as a top trading economy and will help create more jobs and economic opportunities across our province.”

— Michael Chan, Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade

 

QUICK FACTS

 

  • On the final day of the mission, Ontario delegates signed 38 agreements, which are valued at $750 million.

 

  • Ontario delegates signed more than 100 agreements and MOUs during the mission, with an estimated total value of $2.5 billion.
  • Over the last two years, Premier Wynne’s 2014 and 2015 missions to China have generated agreements worth an estimated $3.8 billion — including agreements signed by delegates during and after the missions.

 

LEARN MORE

 

Discover why Ontario’s highly diversified economy is attractive to investors

 

Read about Ontario’s Going Global Trade Strategy

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