nekur.lv

They don’t call the Smithsonian Americas Attic for nothing

Edith and Archie's chairs

The Smithsonian

The Smithsonian Institution, sometimes referred to as “America’s Attic”, was founded in 1835 as a result of a bequest of $500,000 (over $10 million now) from a British scientist by the name of James Smithson who, oddly enough, never even set foot on American soil (until, that is, a regent of the Smithsonian by the name of Alexander Graham Bell had his remains moved from Genoa to Washington D.C. in 1904).

Since that time, the Smithsonian, which is now comprised of 22 museums (18 in Washington D.C.), has managed to amass a collection that includes everything from the first Wright Flyer to the arm chairs that Archie and Edith Bunker sat in.

New additions

Earlier this week, both General Motors and Volvo announced that each had donated items to the Smithsonian that will become part of a permanent collection of automotive safety advancements at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History.

Three-point belt

Volvo’s contribution to the collection is a three-point safety belt, much like the first one that was fitted to a Volvo on August 13, 1959.

The specific belt and the accompanying original seat donated by Volvo had its authenticity verified to a previous owner and the factory, which confirmed that it is an original fitting from a 1961 Volvo PV 544.

“The three-point safety belt turned 50 and fortunately there were already plans under way to show a collection of innovations relating to the automobile’s history,” relates Dan Johnston, product communications manager Volvo Cars of North America. “Today Nils Bohlin’s simple but ingenious life-saver is an integral part of American history.”

Crash Test Dummy

General Motors’ contribution to the collection is a bit more sophisticated: 50H-1, an Anthropomorphic Test Device, or, as it’s more commonly known (at least at GM), ATD. A Hybrid III dummy designed in the 1980’s, the designation also refers to the fact that this particular version represents “a typical male adult in the 50th percentile for height and weight.”

“GM’s leading role in the development of crash test devices over the decades makes it fitting that one of our crash veterans become part of the Smithsonian’s collections,” said Mike Robinson, GM vice president of Safety Policy. “With all that we have learned from him over the years, it almost seems unfair to call 50H-1 a dummy.”

Vince and Larry

Along with 200 “brothers and sisters” at the GM Milford proving ground, 50H-1 has been busy, having been used in more than 50 tests since 2007 including everything from rollover crash testing to the more mundane duties of seat positioning and seat belt routing. Besides 50H-1 which, incidentally, has seen some 15 years of service, the costumes and props from the “Vince and Larry” safety belt PSA campaign by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council will also be displayed.

In addition to 50H-1, GM also donated an ATD leg and instruments used for the measurement of crash forces as well as an energy-absorbing steering column from a 1967 Chevrolet.

In August 1918, Henry Ford bought the entire northern half of Green Island, New York. His friend, Thomas Edison, had introduced Ford to the area; Edison founded GE in nearby Schenectady and reportedly loved to fish and hunt on that half of the island hugging the west bank of the Hudson River, just a dozen or so miles north of Albany. Ford, however, did not see the purchase as the continuance of any recreational pursuits. Sure, he, Edison and the rest of the Vagabonds camped on Green Island almost exactly a year later, but by then Ford had already announced his intention of developing the 180 acres.

A few months after Ford bought the site, he resigned from Ford Motor Company during a dispute with the Dodge brothers and other FoMoCo shareholders. It turned out that resigning from the company was part of a plan to surreptitiously buy back every last share of the company at a reduced price, according to David L. Lewis’s book, “The Public Image of Henry Ford,” but while away from the company that bore his name, Henry Ford told reporters that he planned to start a new automotive venture and build a car newer, better and less expensive than the Model T. “The new car is well advanced, for I have been working on it while resting in California,” Ford said. “For our new project we are already looking about for waterpower sites.”

Lewis wrote that, once his plan to buy back the company succeeded in July 1919, “Ford immediately abandoned plans (assuming he ever really had any) for the rival to the Model T.” However, he didn’t abandon his plans for waterpower sites. In 1917, the federal government had built a dam stretching from Green Island across to Troy, leaving a provision in it for a hydroelectric plant. Ford intended to oblige them by building a plant that would not only supply electricity to the Green Island factory, but also likely to the housing he planned to build for the factory’s workers.

As Ford wrote of the Green Island factory and hydroelectric plant, they were to be the prototypes for a larger initiative to disperse manufacturing across the countryside rather than centralize it in industrial cities.

It is my intention to try to make this plant a demonstration center for the rebuilding of the abandoned farms of New England and Northern New York. I motored through that country recently from Oswego east, and I was amazed at the amount of valuable farm land lying idle.

It is this sort of productive industry that I am going to link up closely to the farm, to demonstrate the final stage of what I believe to be the solution of the problem of living. Manufacturing, instead of being concentrated in a few centers, should be and can be widely distributed. We have proved that we do not have to turn out a completed product in our central plant. We used to assemble all our cars here in Detroit; we found it more economical to build great assembling plants in many other parts of the country and of the world, and ship the finished parts. Now we know that we can make different parts in different plants and ship them to the assembling plants.

What I am going to do is to establish plants for manufacturing parts of Ford cars and Fordson tractors in places where they will be within easy reach of farming districts, and provide employment for farmers and their families in winter. And these plants will be operated by water power.

There is enough water power running to waste to turn every wheel in the world and provide all the light and heat the whole world needs. We are going to operate our Mexican tractor plant with water power, and we shall build water power plants in several places in the United States. I have been demonstrating what can be done with water power right here at my own home. The River Rouge, which runs through my farm, close to my house, is not a very large stream and has but an eight-foot fall, but I am obtaining 200 horsepower the year around, which lights my house and operated all sorts of electrical conveniences and which is coupled up with the steam plant at the tractor plant, so that we are really making tractors now partly by water power.

We must develop water power because it is not only more economical than steam power, but we ought to save the rest of the world’s coal supply for chemical use. There is nothing we now do with coal, aside from its chemical products, that we cannot do with water power, electrically transmitted; most things we can do better with water power.

The offices of Ford's Green Island factory, courtesy Ford Motor Corporation

Construction of both the factory and the powerplant began in 1921. The former would stretch for a quarter mile about parallel to the river, while the latter (built not by Ford Motor Company, but by Henry Ford & Son) would use four Allis-Chalmers turbines mounted in a vertical fashion. Where Albert Kahn was contracted to design the factory, his only official contribution to the powerplant was the lighted Ford sign atop it; the actual contract for designing the powerplant was awarded to Stone & Webster. Though Ford and Ford officials said the factory would produce tractor parts through to 1921, Ford switched gears in 1922, as he related to Automotive Industries:

The boys came in to me the other day with the sign for the Green Island plant which read “Ford Motor Company – Ball and Roller Bearings.” I told them to take off the “Ball and Roller Bearings” because we didn’t know what we might make there.

Indeed, by 1923, Automotive Industries was reporting that the factory at Green Island would produce radiators and ring gears and would soon add springs. Radiators and heater cores became the plant’s principal product for the next 65 years, until Ford shut the plant down in 1988, citing the distance of the plant from Detroit as a liability – Ford could rely on a plant in Plymouth, Michigan, to make radiators and save $3 million a year versus having radiators made in Green Island. The factory fell into disrepair as Green Island’s industrial development group tried to find ways to make use of it, but they finally tore the factory down in 2004.

The Green Island hydroelectric plant, as it stands today

The hydroelectric plant, however, remained standing. Ford stopped running it in 1961 and passed it on to a local utility until the Green Island Power Authority took it over in 2000. The hydroelectric plant had fallen into disrepair as well, so the power authority hired Jim Besha’s company, Albany Engineering Corporation, to revitalize it.

As the president of Albany Engineering, Jim is used to working with new technology, new ideas, new construction. As a classic car enthusiast with half a dozen restoration projects in his garage, Jim is acquainted with the preservation of older technologies and outdated engineering concepts. Thus, Jim was the ideal man for the job.

“It’s the same idea with old cars,” he said. “You try to keep it vintage if you can.”

In three years, AEC completed much of the work on the hydroelectric plant. They computerized and automated all of the controls, but left the four original turbines. In his research into the hydroelectric plant’s history, which included a review of the original blueprints for the building and for the turbines, Jim noted something odd: the generators, which were designed to produce 9,000hp – about 6,000 kilowatts – were wound to produce both AC and DC power, even though DC had fallen out of favor some 25 years prior.

The four generators of the Green Island hydroelectric plant

“These generators were substantially DC – 1,000 kilowatts DC versus 800 kilowatts AC,” he said. “By 1920, I doubt that factories were using DC power.”

(The generators were rewired in 1971 to produce only AC power.)

Jim also believes that the Ford factory itself would not have used all 9,000hp to build radiators and springs (the housing Ford had planned for the factory workers never materialized). One possible explanation pops up in a brief article in the April 5, 1921, edition of the New York Times, in which both Ford and Edison are quoted as saying that Edison was planning a factory of some sort adjacent to Ford’s on Green Island. Neither would say what Edison planned to build at that factory, and apparently nothing more was ever said about it.

Another theory that Jim has suggested centers around the electric car that Edison and Ford planned to build several years earlier: It’s best to charge batteries with DC power; perhaps Edison and Ford seriously thought about one more crack at producing an electric car and charging the batteries for the cars – if not building the cars entirely – on Green Island? Ford’s statements in the 1921 New York Times article even hint at that possibility:

Mr. Ford said he did not know what he would manufacture at his plant. He refused to say he would build farm tractors there – the purpose for which is had been generally believed the plant was to be erected – but did say “I may make automobiles there – in fact, it is more than likely that I will.”

Whatever the purpose of both the plant and the factory, they have long since rushed past, just as the waters of the Hudson continue to rush past Henry Ford’s hydroelectric plant, its original Allis-Chalmers turbines still spinning, its generators still producing electricity.

(Thanks to Ford Motor company for providing the excellent historical photos of the Green Island factory and hydroelectric plant.)

Here is an update just in from the new owner of the 1961 Triumph TR3 we featured in March:

“Glad to provide progress photos, as newsletter editor of Triumph Register of Southern California I document everything! This TR3 is indeed back on the road, still in LA, and still with the original purchaser. It did not get ‘flipped’ or sold to an overseas dealer. This was the wish of the previous owner and I honored it.

Didn’t take much to get it going: fuel line under the tank had a massive clog. Once cleared it fired right up. It has since received a new timing chain and radiator, replaced the broken adjustable steering wheel with a better standard one, rewired the problem areas. Lubed, tightened, and checked everything else. Runs good but will need a light overhaul shortly: rings & bearings is all. Cosmetics will still be in its current ‘patina’.

I’m keeping a full log on this project. So far, including purchase price, registration, insurance, and parts, the total investment so far in this running, driving TR3 is $3390.86. Who would have though that to be possible in 2010?

It helps that I have a lot of spare parts from past projects. For example I found a rebuildable set of side curtains and a new nearside rocker panel in my stash. Never throw anything away!

Attached (photo is from) the car at its first show, right here in Santa Clarita. The top turned out to be pretty serviceable. The car has not been washed since purchase, just cleaned the glass and the interior, and blew off the worst of the dirt. There are still cobwebs in the engine compartment, but I think all the residents are gone now since it’s been sprayed. Better used knock offs were fitted, and the luggage rack was part of the deal. That’s my daughter in it: she loves the car and is always looking for a ride. That’s also our Spit 1500 next to it.

The engine had a rattle which turned out to be a broken chain tensioner and a loose chain. The front apron came off without a fight, and chain 1 and 2 are the before and after. That repair cost $30 in parts. Noise gone, power improved. It also got a new radiator, new rubber fan bushings, hoses, and timing cover seal while I was in there. That’s a ‘71 XK-E V-12 in the background, also ours. The Jag is to work on, the TR is to drive.

The bodged electrical system was restored to stock by using bits from discarded harnesses. All of the Lucas color coding was put back carefully, just as it should be. The control head needed repair, and the adjustable steering wheel was replaced with a standard one; (adjustables are weak and no new replacements are available: this one was badly busted up). I had a good standard wheel in my stash, Roth Brothers provided the appropriate upper column.

Everything works now: horns (both, one had a wasps nest in it), turn signals, lights, wipers, the lot. Even the Judson supercharger manifold pressure gauge works, if only to the minus side. A weak left front coil spring was replaced with a used but better one to get it on an even keel. Two splined hubs were replaced due to wear. This car will retain its positive ground electrical system. I’m using original parts whenever possible.

It’s first ‘long’ drive will be Saturday morning for the club breakfast run. About 20 miles round trip. We’ll see if we can make it! That’s prep for the 50 mile trip out to the Ventura British Car Day on July 25th.

So far, so good!

Steve H.”

Also, here is the seller’s BaT Success Story from March 7th. Kudos to Steve for the elbow grease, for being quicker than the other 60+ interested parties, and for getting this Triumph back on the road. Some of you BaT’ers should get out to the show on the 25th and shake this man’s hand. Thanks Steve! -BaT

Skatītājus ar jūtīgiem nerviem lūdzu neskatīties. Tas ir labākais video kopsavilkums ar pasaules filmu rupjākiem izteiciniem.

Viss filmu saraksts atrodams šeit:

Pirmā minūte:

1. Roxanne,
2. Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert,
3. Gleaming the Cube,
4. The Princess Bride,
5. A Fish Called Wanda,
6. Star Wars,
7. The Wizard of Oz,
8. Casino,
9. Three Amigos,
10. A Clockwork Orange

Otrā minūte ar rupjiem izteicieniem

1. Dolemite,
2. Glengarry Glen Ross,
3. Bad Santa,
4. The Witches of Eastwick,
5. The Big Lebowski,
6. In Bruges,
7. Full Metal Jacket,
8. There Will Be Blood

Trešā

1. Toy Story,
2. Casablanca,
3. Encino Man,
4. The Women,
5. Predator,
6. Army of Darkness,
7. They Live,
8. Uncle Buck,
9. Big Trouble in Little China,
10. New Jack City, Billy Madison

3’00 -

1. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,
2. The Departed,
3. Carlito’s Way,
4. In the Loop,
5. Glengarry Glen Ross,
6. Stand By Me,
7. Grosse Pointe Blank,
8. Duck Soup,
9. Caddyshack,
10. Planes Trains & Automobiles

Piektā minūte

1. South Park,
2. Napoleon Dynamite,
3. Mean Girls,
4. The Breakfast Club,
5. As Good as It Gets,
6. The 6th Day,
7. Step Brothers,
8. O Brother Where Art Thou?,
9. Full Metal Jacket,
10. City Slickers,
11. Road House,
12. True Grit,
13. Shot Circuit

Sestā minīte

5’00 – Raging Bull, The Usual Suspects, Snatch, Caddyshack, The Last Boy Scout, Ghostbusters, The Sandlot, As Good as It Gets

Septīta minūte

6’00 – 48 Hrs, In Bruges, Silver Streak, Glengarry Glen Ross, A Fish Called Wanda, Goodfellas, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, The Mist, Trading Places

Astotā minīte

7’00 – The Warriors, Point Break, Gangs of New York, Reservoir Dogs, The Breakfast Club, The Cowboys, Full Metal Jacket, Dodgeball, Donnie Darko, Scarface, The Good the Bad and the Ugly

Devītā minūte

8’00 – Anchorman, Tropic Thunder, Sexy Beast, In the Loop, Get Shorty, Blazing Saddles, The Way of the Gun, Blade: Trinity, Clerks, The Boondock Saints, The Exorcist, What About Bob?, Weird Science

Desmitē minūte

9’00 – Con Air, True Romance, In the Loop, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Lake Placid, The Front, Gone with the Wind

This just in from the wife of the driver and designer of the 1957 Dawson Ferret featured earlier this week:

“Dear BringaTrailer,

I am Peter’s wife, Julie Dawson…  I have 3 pictures of the car in its original state, in 1960, when Peter was racing it at Meadow Dale. They would make a great addition to your story (and) are attached. Perhaps you could include them for me.

Thank you.”

Julie Dawson
Birmingham, Michigan

Wow! We love these three pics. Her comment from the vehicle’s BaT feature is also re-printed below. Thanks Julie! -BaT

“My husband, Peter Dawson, designed, built, and raced 4 different cars.
One was Ferret 1. I met Peter in 1963 and we were married in 1966. Because Ferret 1 was “pre-me,” I cannot tell much about the car, but I can tell you about Peter.

Peter LOVED cars, racing, and motorbikes. He was a passionate mechanical engineer who worked for Chrysler for 17 years and Ford for 22 years. He also spent 1958 in England working for Colin Chapman and Coventry Climax to learn about English racecar concepts. While at Chrysler, he worked as the engineer to help the Summers brothers set the new land speed record of 409 miles an hour with 4 hemi engines. After he retired, he invented, manufactured, and sold “Car Skates” to help racers and car enthusiasts move their cars around the garage easily.

He was very bright, innovative, creative, and always thinking of better ways of doing things. Efficiency fascinated him. Though he was 6’4” tall, he liked small well designed vehicles.

I was always awed by his interest in and ability to design and build the cars he raced. He would say, “I think I will build another car.” Everything came out of his head and the heads of fellow engineers. First he built a small model out of balsa wood to test the torque and soundness of his ideas. Then he bought steel and tubing and started welding up his new car, (Literally from the ground up). A car slowly emerged, part by part – with Peter buying or making parts that suited the needs of the car.

In comparing construction of a house to making a car; a house has to meet at the corners and stand up. A car also has to run. And a racecar has to run faster than other cars and be able to finish a race, ideally in 1st place. Peter’s racecars also had to incorporate unique new ideas. Inventing a car is a very complex process and an intellectual pursuit.
It also requires many many hours of tough work, and testing, and revising, and reworking. (His “test track” was Sears parking lot at midnight. And often the only chance for testing was at the race track itself in time trials.) When he was racing or just driving, he was listening to the sounds, feeling the motions, visualizing the processes, and imagining improvements to/of the car. He wasn’t just climbing in the seat and zooming off. His mind was also focused on strategy and the capabilities of his competitors and their cars.

Races themselves were miles away from Detroit — Elkhart Lake, Watkins Glen, Cumberland, Mid Ohio, Mosport, M.I.S.etc.– which meant leaving from work on Friday night to drive all night on roads that were not today’s expressways. Racing all weekend and returning Sunday night in time to get to work Monday morning. He LOVED it all. He often said, “It’s a good thing I like making the cars so much, because I spend so much more time building than I do racing.”

Peter was a winner. I must be the only bride who said, “No silver please, Peter already has so many silver platters, bowls, & pitchers.” (trophies) He had abundant energy and enthusiasm and a head full of knowledge about every part and piece and function in Automobiles. He read his car books & magazines avidly. On our travels through 97 countries around the world, cars & motorbikes in the streets and museums always intrigued him. One curious thing…at parties people would ask Peter about his racing thinking it was an exciting, maybe glamorous, subject. Not until recently did I realize why he had little to say. For him, racing was an intellectual scientific process, not the stuff appropriate to light dinner chatter.

During his 17 years of racing, Peter started with a Crosley, then built Ferret 1 and Ferret 2, PMD 1, and PMD 2, then bought a Lola and finished with 2 Formula Fords. To learn about Ferret 2 see— http://dsr.racer.net/chassis/ferret/pagel.htm

His interests were not limited to engineering. He loved travel, learning about the ways people live, the theatre, movies, nature, birds, art, friends, helping people, reading, business, and world news. He was fun, witty, kind, thoughtful, and a true gentleman. A wonderful man! We had an incredible, fantastic 44 years together. He died January 28, 2010.”

Вот вот должны придти мне новые педали Crank Brothers Candy C. Жду недождусь. Правда ботинок пока нет, но с зарплаты обязательно куплю себе контактные туфли. Пока что остается только лишь смотреть на них.

Перейти на контактные педали мне захотелось не так давно. Просто нужно развиваться в велоспорте, а контакты это как раз таки следующая ступень в этом. Никогда не ездил на контактах на простом велосипеде. Максимум на боди-байке, но он во-первых стоит, а не едет, и во-вторых там шоссейные педали, которые маленько отличаются от МТВ варианта.

А педальки придут вот такие:

The Blues Brothers’ European tour seems to be going well.

Image source: [Hewreck.com]

The Chemical Brothers – K+D+B

12. jūnijā Maskavā – на Лубянке laukumā notika RDS (Russian Drift Series) 3. posms, kurā dalību ņēma arī HGK komanda ar drifta pilotu Kristapu Blušu. Šis bija jau 2. posms Krievijā uz kuru devās komanda, un jau otrā uzvara, kuru viņi pārveda mājās!

Uz šo posmu bija pieteikušies 35 sportisti, no kuriem tikai 25 kvalificējās sacensībām, kas bija maksimāli pieļaujamais dalībnieku skaits un ņemot vērā šo apstākli, tehniskā komisija un kvalificēšanās bija stingra – rezultātā iespēju piedalīties sacensībās ieguva Krievijas spēcīgākie, kā arī Latvijas sportists Kristaps Blušs, kurš šoreiz kvalifikācijā uzrādīja 2. labāko rezultātu. Šoreiz Kristapa Bluša BMW M3 pretī stājās šādas mašīnas – Mazda RX-7 fd3s, Nissan Silvia S15, Nissan 200sx S14,5, Nissan Silvia S14, Toyota Altezza V300, Nissan 200SX S13, Nissan 180sx S13, Toyota Mark II, Ваз 2105, Nissan Skyline HR33, Nissan Skyline R32, Nissan 350Z, Nissan 300ZX, BMW E30 V8 un Subaru Impreza WRX.

Ātra un ekskluzīva ielas trase tieši pretim galvenajai Krievijas drošības dienesta ēkai, skatītājiem Krievijas svētkos sagādāja īstu baudījumu, sportistiem tai pat laikā reālos ielas apstākļos ar dažādiem slīpumiem, ļaujot sajust īsto ielas drifta garšu un adrenalīnu.

Arī šoreiz viens no sacensību favorītiem bija Krievijas pārstāvis Шик # 15, kuram šīs bija otrās sacensības pēc kārtas, kurās jau 1/8 fināla tandēmu braucienos nācās stāties pretī Latvijas sportistam, un kārtīgā cīņā skatītāju ovācijām skanot, cienījami atdot uzvaru Latviešu sportistam Kristapam Blušam, kas arī šoreiz izrādījās visspēcīgākais braucējs.

Pjedestāls:

1. Kristaps Blušs Rīga BMW M3 E36
2. Читипаховян Феликс С-Петербург Evil Empire Mazda RX-7 fd3s
3. Кондратьев Илья Москва JZ-Brothers Toyota Mark II

Sacensības izdevušās, iespaidi uzvarot pašā Krievijas Sirds centrā – ir no „once in a lifetime sērijas” – neaprakstāmi , HGK komanda pasakās visiem atbalstītājiem (TVA Group, DC Shoes, Hankook, Roskstar) un, protams, RDS organizatoriem par lielisko šovu un organizētību.

Kino Kults jau rakstīja par kārtējiem centieniem atdzīvināt Mortal Kombat sēriju ar diezgan intriģējošu un labu treileri.

Izrādās gan, ka treileris, uz šo brīdi, nemaz nav daļa no oficiāli apstiprināta projekta un ticis izveidots priekš nākamā, iespējamā, filmas režisora, ar mērķi ieinteresēt Warner Brothers, ka Mortal Kombat ir tas, kas pasaulei atkal ir vajadzīgs!

Ja vien nebūs tā, kā nereti tas notiek, ka treileris ir awesome, bet pati filma kategorējama kā draņķis, tad fingers crossed un, pēc treilera spriežot, izskatās, ka šoreiz viņiem pat ir gana realistisks sižets bez visādiem starpgalaktiskajiem portāliem, kas iesūc tevi tualetes podā un izlaiž citā dimensijā!

Priecē arīdzen fakts, ka treilerī tiek atrādīti un pieminēti vieni no, manuprāt, interesentākajiem personāžiem: Jax, Sonya Blade, Scorpion, Reptile, Baraka, Sub Zero un cerams, ka filmā (ja tāda, protams, būs) tiks tik pat skaisti un īsumā izskaidrots katra personāža īss bio, gluži kā treilerī par Baraka un Reptile, un, protams, fatalities all the way!

Bez, ne pavisam iespējamā, kino projekta, kā izrādās, tiek gatavota arī ļoti iespējama 9., pēc kārtas, spēle, kuru, tā, starp citu, izstrādā NetherRealm Studios (Formerly Warner Bros. Games Chicago founded as Midway Games Chicago).

Nekas jau relatīvi jauns, pēc treilera spriežot, tur nebūs un labi vien ir, ka viņi ir dadomājušies atgriezties pie patiesajām sērijas saknēm – asinīm un gaļas, kas, pēc ESRB reitingiem diezin’ vai iekļausies starp Early Childhood un Teen, kā tas bija ar MK vs DC Universe. Ja viss ies pēc nostādītā plāna, tad vāciņu rotās lepns “M” (Mature 17+) vai, manis pēc, vēl labāk, “Ao” (Adults only 18+) ar kuriem, protams, ka tīņu masām “izsūkt” vecāku doto kabatas naudu neizdosies, bet, kā krievu valodā mēdz teikt, кого ебёт чужое горе…

Vakarvakarā ar koncertu Dalasas (ASV) savu jauno vispasaules koncerttūri, kam dots nosaukums "The Final Frontier World Tour", sāka britu smagmetāla leģendas IRON MAIDEN. Kā jau esam ziņojuši, 16. augustā nāks laukā līdzīga nosaukuma jaunais grupas albums - "The Final Frontier". Mums ir koncertā spēlēto dziesmu saraksts un daži fanu video.

Setliste:

01. The Wicker Man
02. The Ghost Of The Navigator
03. Brighter Than A Thousand Suns
04. El Dorado
05. Paschendale
06. The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
07. These Colours Don't Run
08. Blood Brothers
09. Wildest Dreams
10. No More Lies
11. Brave New World
12. Fear Of The Dark
13. Iron Maiden

Encore:

14. The Number Of the Beast
15. Hallowed Be Thy Name
16. Running Free

Zemāk daži fanu video no koncerta.

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Lasiet vairāk iekš karametals.lv

Šī gada 3.jūlijā, plkst. 11:00, Vērmanes dārzā uz notiks bezmaksas koncerti bērniem, kur uzstāsies bērnu popgrupa Dzeguzīte ar itāļu māksliniekiem, konkursa Jaunās zvaigznes laureāti, Knīpas un Knauķi, Jelgavas Jauniešu Bigbends, jaunie talantīgie bundzinieki no Drums Clinic, kā arī gaidāmi viesi no Igaunijas džeza grupa Nommann Brothers, kuru vada leģendārais igauņu kontrabasists Toivo Unts!

The Chemical Brothers – Snow

No jaunākā albūma Further. Khe, lai gan tagad neko tādu vairs ikdienā neklausos, tik un tā bija tā maģiskā sajūta, ka atkal dzirdu ko jaunu no jamiem. -_-

Grāvējs/videospēles ekranizācija “Kane & Lynch”, par kuru likās, ka viss ir skaidrs, tomēr nav tik ļoti drošs projekts – nesen tas pazaudēja… režisoru. Debitants Saimons Kreins nespēja vienoties ar studiju, tādēļ tā vietā uzaicināts daudz pieredzējušākais Veins Krāmers (“The Cooler”, “Running Scared”), cilvēks, kurš piespieda tēlot pat Polu Vokeru – un tas nav maz! Tad jau tiks galā arī ar Foksu un Villisu!

Starp citu, par Brūsu Villisu, kurš vai nu ķēries pie prāta, vai atlaida savu aģentu, jo ir parakstījies tēlot filmās, kuras patiešām gribas redzēt:

(Villiss makšķerē kopā ar bijušo sievu un viņas tagadējo vīru, Twitter čempionu)

- “Looper” no režisora Rajena Džonsona (“Brick”, “Brothers Bloom”) stāstīs par killeriem un ceļošanu laikā – divas labākās tēmas vienā filmā, kur killers Villiss no nākotnes ieradīsies ciemos pie jaunāka sevis paša Džozefa Gordona-Levita izpildījumā. Pēdējais ir nolīgts viņu nogalināt (nejautājiet kā, visu paši redzēsim);

- “The Tomb” no režisora Antuāna Fukuā (“Training Day”) atkal lepojas ar citādi “oriģinālu” sižetu – Villiss tēlos pasaules labāko ēku drošības ekspertu, kurš tiek nepatiesi apsūdzēts un ievietots… paša projektētajā supercietumā! Laiks bēgt un atmaskot neliešu sazvērestību! Ja tas viss Jums kaut ko atgādina, tas nav iespējams, jo “Prison Break” beidzās vēl pagājušogad, un skaidrs, ka visi to jau sen ir aizmirsuši. Galvenais ir aizņemties arī tetovējumu ideju, ļoti veiksmīga, ja nav jāfilmē vairākas sezonas, he-he.

- Protams, vēl paliek “Cietais Rieksts 5″, kurā Villiss cer paceļot pa pasauli, bet tās, visdrīzāk, ir aktiera personīgās, nevis studijas vai scenārija, vēlmes.

Atgriežoties pie Veina Krāmera – noslēguma titri viņa iepriekšējai filmai “Running Scared”, manuprāt, vieni no atmosfēriskākajiem titriem, kādi redzēti. Pilni ar spoileriem (kā nekā, izstāsta filmas sižetu titru laikā), bet Jūs tāpat skatieties:

Related posts:

1. “The Surrogates” (2009)
2. Аццкий Сотона!
3. Viscietākais Rieksts!

Noslēdzot pavasari un ieskandinot ilgi gaidīto vasaras sezonu, Latex Records nāk klāt ar jaunu singlu Tech House mūzikas atzarojumā. Atšķirībā no ierastās kārtības, kad elektroniskajā deju mūzikā dominē vīriešu kārtas pārākums, šoreiz jaunuma vaininiece ir daiļā dzimuma pārstāve Mandy Freemain - plašāk pazīstama ar pseidonīmu Foxy Mandy, kura sadarbībā ar duetu „Dvines” laiž gaismā debijas singlu „So Close”. Relīze sastāv no trim trekiem, proti, oriģināla, radio versijas un Franzo Kolma remiksa.
Neskatoties uz singla neilgo pastāvēšanas laiku, to paspēja novērtēt un apliecināt savu atbalstu vairāki pasaules līmeņa mākslinieki. Daži no tiem ir:
Flash Brothers, Deep Josh, Miss Nine, Peter Gelderblom, MC Flipside, Stupid Fresh, Rulers Of The Deep, Dave Winnel, Jay Kay, Chris Acheson un citi.
Relīze pārdošanā ir nonākusi 26.maijā, un singls ir pieejams vadošajos pasaules online veikalos.
Noklausīties un iegādāties „So Close” ir iespējams pēc šīs adreses:
https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/247661/So_Close

“Columbia Pictures” un režisors, scenārija līdzautors Adam McKay(”Step Brothers”, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby”) piedāvā jaunāko asa sižeta un komēdijas žanros veidoto filmu “The Others Guys” ar lielisku aktieru ansambli galvenajās lomās. Filmas pirmizrādi ASV kīnoteātros demonstrēs 2010. gada augusta sākumā.
Jaunākā filma “The Other Guys”
Režisors: Adam McKay
Žanrs: asa sižeta, komēdija
Aktieri: Will Ferrell, Eva [...]

Pēc neilgas atelpas Latvijas Elektroniskās Deju Mūzikas leibls „Latex Records” nāk klāt ar jaunumiem Progressive House stilu cienītājiem. Šoreiz tās ir uzreiz divas svaigas relīzes no talantīgajiem „jaunās skolas” producentiem Viktor Fox un 7Blanche.
Viktor Fox, neskatoties uz savu neilgas producēšanas pieredzi, ir stabili pieteicis sevi kā vienu no aktīvākajiem Latvijas Progressive House mūzikas producentiem, izlaižot vairākus skaņdarbus uz šo stilu pārstāvošajiem pasaules ierakstu leibliem, tādiem kā Loco Label, Ooze, L8-Night Recs., Parachute (Fektive Recs.). „Sun/Moon EP” ir viņa sestā relīze, kura šoreiz ir iznākusi uz „Latex Records”.
Savukārt „7Blanche” ir projekta „Tasty Soundz” dalībnieka „Dj Alias” pseidonīms, zem kura viņš darbojās solo statusā. Šīs ir viņa otrais izdotais skaņdarbs ar nosaukumu „Dynamite”, bez oriģinālās versijas, tajā iekļauts remiks no Lielbritānijas dueta „Donairs” un eksotiskās Tunisijas mūziķa „Zoux”.
Uz doto mirkli abas relīzes ir guvušas atbalstu no sekojošiem pasaules līmeņa mūziķiem:
MC Flipside, Miss Nine, Peter Gelderblom, Flash Brothers, Stupid Fresh, un citiem.
Skaņdarbus ir iespējams noklausīties un iegādāties vadoties pēc adresēm:
https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/239428/Sun_Moon_EP
https://www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/release/detail/242748/Dynamite

6. maijā iznāca ķīmisko brāļu jaunākais singls Swoon, kurš būs iekļauts The Chemical Brothers jaunajā albumā Further.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Saite uz video: The Chemical Brothers – Swoon (Official HD)

Kārtīgi fani jauno albumu gaida jau trīs gadus, kopš iznāca We Are the Night. Pēc vairāku gadu rūpīgas fanošanas es 2008. gadā devos uz Chemical Brothers koncertu un no tā, laika oficiāli saucu šo grupu par savējo. Diezgan nepacietīgi gaidu Further, jo izskatās, ka tur būs saklausāms šis tas, kas atgādinās par vecās raudzes Chemical Brothers gabaliem.

Tiem, kas varbūt palaiduši garām, šī gada 12. aprīlī iznāca arī pirmais Further singls – Escape Velocity.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Saite uz video: Chemical Brothers – Escape Velocity

The Chemical Brothers – Close Your Eyes

Vakar pirms miega noklausījos Simon Sinek TED.com prezentāciju.

People dont’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.

Spilgts ačgārnās pieejas piemērs ir Aldaris ar savām muļķīgajām jaunajām alus šķirnēm. Es izlasīju visu viņu preses relīzi, bet tā arī nesapratu, kāda ir kompānijas motivācija. Pareizāk sakot es sapratu jau ierasto scenāriju – viņu vienīgais mērķis ir pārdot pēc iespējas vairāk sava jaunā brūvējuma. Bet, kas pamudināja viņus veidot jaunās šķirnes? Kāds ir mans pamudinājums pirkt šo jauno alu? Nekāds. Jo aiz šī jaunā produkta nestāv nekāda ideja, nekāds augstāks mērķis.

Simon Sinek has a simple but powerful model for inspirational leadership all starting with a golden circle and the question “Why?” His examples include Apple, Martin Luther King, and the Wright brothers — and as a counterpoint Tivo, which (until a recent court victory that tripled its stock price) appeared to be struggling.

Vispārējās tendences rāda, ka Latvijas rūpniecībā izaugsme gaidāma arī turpmākajos mēnešos. Rūpniecības attīstības tempi gan ir grūti prognozējami, tomēr uz gada beigām iespējams arī straujš kāpums, liecina biznesa portāla Nozare.lv veiktā ekspertu aptauja.

Labos rādītājus pirmajā ceturksnī galvenokārt nodrošina ievērojamais un gaidītais kāpums kokrūpniecībā (+39,6%) un ķīmisko produktu ražošanā (+34,4%).

„Beidzot ir „atradies” apstrādes rūpniecības pieaugums, kas neaizskaidrojamā kārtā bija pazudis februāra datos, uz ko publiski norādīja arī vairāki mūsu industrijas kapteiņi. Februārī visas galvenās apstrādes rūpniecības nozaru asociācijas ziņoja par izaugsmi, taču statistikas datos bija redzama izlaides samazināšanās,” sacīja „DnB Nord bankas” analītiķis Pēteris Strautiņš.

Centrālās statistikas pārvaldes dati liecina, ka martā apstrādes rūpniecības izlaide pret februāri pieaugusi par 12,2%. Strautiņš uzskata, ka šādas svārstības „dabā” diez vai ir iespējamas, šajā lielajā, daudzveidīgajā un dažādu faktoru ietekmētajā nozarē kopējie sezonāli izlīdzinātie apjomi mēneša laikā tik strauji nemainās, ja vien pasaules ekonomikā nenotiek tādas vētras kā krasais pasaules tirdzniecības apjomu kritums pēc „Lehman Brothers” bankrota.

„Mūsu apstākļos nevajag piešķirt pārāk lielu nozīmi atsevišķu mēnešu datiem, sasniegt precizitāti tajos traucē arī pašu rūpnieku attieksme pret pienākumu ziņot par saviem darbības rezultātiem. Svarīgi ir saprast vispārējās tendences. Līdz ar marta datiem ir iegūts atskaites punkts, pret kuru mērīt rūpniecības sekmes turpmākajos šī gada mēnešos. Domāju, ka apjomi turpinās pieaugt, bet pakāpeniski un prognozēt atsevišķu mēnešu datus ir neiespējami, kā to daiļrunīgi parāda šī gada pirmā ceturkšņa notikumi,” skaidroja P. Strautiņš.

Salīdzinot apjomus ar iepriekšējā gada attiecīgo mēnesi, apstrādes rūpniecības izlaides pieaugums ir iegājis divciparu skaitļu zonā (+11,1%), kurā tam vajadzētu turēties visu atlikušo gadu, turpmākajos mēnešos, visdrīzāk, pārsniedzot 15% atzīmi.
Strautiņš piebilda, ka rūpniecību nedaudz sāk atbalstīt iekšējais pieprasījums, mazumtirdzniecības apgrozījumam pirmajā ceturksnī, salīdzinot ar pagājušā gada ceturto ceturksni, pieaugot par 2,5%. „Taču nav šaubu, ka galvenais apstrādes rūpniecības virzītājs ir eksports, laba aktivitāte jūtama tradicionālajos Ziemeļvalstu, Vācijas, Krievijas tirgos, kā arī „eksotiskajās” zemēs. Palīdz arī apstāklis, ka cenas tādiem svarīgiem eksporta produktiem kā metāli un koksne ir ar augšupejošu tendenci,” skaidroja P. Strautiņš.

Salīdzinoši grūtāk pirmajā ceturksnī klājies pārtikas ražotājiem, kuru produkcijas izlaide kritusies par 5%, taču turpmākā virzība būs augšupejoša, gan pateicoties pieaugošam pašmāju patērētāju optimismam, gan noieta tirgu diversifikācijai nozarei, kas līdz šim galvenokārt bijusi vērsta uz iekšējo patēriņu, uzsvēra P. Strautiņš.

Vissekmīgākā no lielajām nozarēm bijusi koksnes pārstrāde, kurai pirmajā ceturksnī gada griezumā bijis gandrīz 40% pieaugums. „Turpmāko ceturkšņu rezultāti vairs nebūs tik spoži, gan tāpēc, ka pērn šī kokapstrāde no krīzes atjēdzās visstraujāk, gan tāpēc, ka arvien skaudrāk jūtams apaļkoksnes resursu deficīts,” sacīja P. Strautiņš.
Jau ziņots, ka šā gada martā, salīdzinot ar februāri, rūpniecības produkcijas apjoms pēc sezonāli izlīdzinātiem datiem salīdzināmās cenās pieaudzis par 9,9%, liecina Centrālās statistikas pārvaldes dati.

2010.gada martā rūpniecības produkcijas izlaide faktiskajās cenās bija 329,8 miljoni latu. Apstrādes rūpniecībā produkcijas apjoms palielinājies par 12,2%, ieguves rūpniecībā un karjeru izstrādē – par 9% un elektroenerģijas un gāzes apgādē – par 0,2%.

LASI VISU, KO RUNĀ EKSPERTI

Lai gan rakstus, kas sākas ar vārdiem “zinātnieki atklājuši” u.tml., daļa lasītāju automātiski uztver skeptiski, zinātnei joprojām ir vērā ņemama loma sabiedriskās domas veidošanā – arī attiecībā uz cilvēku un pārējo sugu nošķīrumu. Par pārmaiņām cilvēku attieksmē pret dzīvniekiem un dzīvnieku aizstāvības ētikas aktualitāti liecina, piemēram, P. Singera norāde uz kādu šai tēmai veltītu tekstu bibliogrāfiju, kur minēti 94 darbi, kas tapuši laikā no mūsu ēras sākuma līdz 1970. gadam un 240 darbi no 1970. gada līdz 1988. gadam. Singers piebilst, ka laikā, kad viņš par to raksta (2003. gadā) šādu tekstu skaits, iespējams, jau sniedzas tūkstošos.

Pastāv uzskats, ka viens no šo pārmaiņu iemesliem ir tas, ka 20. gadsimtā attīstījās kultūras parādību analīze filosofijas kritiskajā pieejā, kas apšaubīja objektīvu patiesību pastāvēšanu. Tika parādīts, ka cilvēka uzskatus un vērtības daudz lielākā mērā ietekmē kultūra un pārējā sabiedrība, nekā agrāk domājām. Tas veicināja gan dzimtes studiju rašanos, gan cilvēka-dzīvnieka attiecību u.c. pētījumus. Otrs iemesls – straujā attīstība kognitīvajā etoloģijā un citos pētījumos par dzīvnieku uzvedību un tās saistību ar prāta spējām – atmiņu, apziņu, emocijām utt. Šie pētījumi, par kuriem var uzzināt arī no masu medijiem, pamazām vājina tradicionālo priekšstatu, ka cilvēki no pārējām sugām atšķiras daudzos un dažādos veidos (valoda, instrumentu lietošana, emociju daudzveidība, altruisms, ~kultūras paradumu nodošana nākamajām paaudzēm u.c.). Pētījumos atklājas, ka šīs pazīmes raksturīgas arī citām sugām, dodot iemeslu atcerēties jau Č. Darvina rakstīto, ka atšķirības starp cilvēku un citu sugu prāta spējām ir drīzāk pēc pakāpes, nevis veida.

Dzīvnieku uzvedības pētnieks Dž. Belkombs norāda, ka vēl pirms 30 gadiem tādu emociju kā prieks vai garlaikošanās attiecināšana uz pārējām sugām tika uzskatīta par “zinātnisku ķecerību”, savukārt šobrīd noskaidrots, ka dzīvniekiem piemīt vairāk domāšanas un emociju, nekā mēs līdz šim pieļāvām. Tas liek domāt, ka vajadzētu mainīties arī tam, kā izturamies pret dzīvniekiem, teiksim, ja izrādās, ka zivis tomēr cieš sāpes, tad makšķerēšana pēc principa “noķer un atlaid” vairs nav nevainīga spēlīte. Pat, ja copmanis pirms atlaišanas sabučo.

Tomēr, lai gan zināšanu apjoms ir ievērojami audzis, mūsu izturēšanās pret viņiem neattīstās līdzi šai jaunajai izpratnei. Cilvēku attieksmē pret dzīvniekiem joprojām valda princips “izdzīvo stiprākais”, ar kura palīdzību savulaik tika attaisnots arī koloniālisms un verdzība.

Šajā gadījumā nav runas par kādām konkrētām dzīvnieku īpašībām, no kā būtu jāizriet tam, kā izturēties pret pārējām sugām un kāds ir to morālais statuss. Drīzāk cilvēku attieksmi nosaka plašāks priekšstats par dzīvniekiem un viņu spēju reaģēt uz pārējo pasauli (no tā “izriet” justspēja, personas statuss, dzīves subjekta statuss u.c.). Priekšstats par, teiksim, cūkas emocionālās pasaules daudzveidību, prāta spējām un sociālo uzvedību zināmā mērā nosaka mūsu attieksmi – jo “tukšāka” kāda radība mums liekas, jo mazāk to uzskatām par morāli vērā ņemamu. Tomēr būtu jāattiecas skeptiski pret kārdinājumu ieviest tādu ētisko attieksmju hierarhiju, kas balstās tikai uz atsevišķām īpašībām – piemēram, delfīni izrādās gudrāki par suņiem, tādēļ visus delfīnus cienīsim vairāk par suņiem.

Piedāvāju uzmest aci rakstiem par šādiem pētījumiem:

• Chimps’ emotional response to death caught on film (2010)
• Animal cultures (2010)
• If we feel grief, why shouldn’t animals? (2010)
• NZ study finds dogs really do care (2010)
• Pērtiķiem piemīt iedzimta morāle (2009) [EN]
• Animals could suffer from depression (2008)
• Fish do feel pain (2010)
• Why dolphins don’t like to swim with humans (2010)
• Šimpanzes nepamet bāreņus (2010) [EN1, EN2]
• Songbird’s Genome to Provide Clues on Language Learning – And Relearning (2010)
• Hyenas’ Laughter Signals Deciphered (2010)
• Even Among Animals: Leaders, Followers and Schmoozers (2010)
• Zinātnieki: delfīni atzīstami par ‘personām’ (2010) [EN]
• Dažādiem suņu rūkšanas veidiem ir atšķirīgs jēdzieniskais saturs (2010) [EN]
• Heroic animals more common than thought, say scientists (2010)
• Šimpanzes spēj kalt nākotnes plānus (2009) [EN]
• Scientists say lobsters feel no pain (2005)
• Lobsters and crabs feel pain, study shows (2009) [Wikipedia]
• Sociālo vienlīdzību izgudroja pērtiķi (2003) [EN]

“Robert Sapolsky, world renowned professor of neurology, neurological sciences, neurosurgery and biological sciences gave the class day lecture in association with commencement weekend 2009. Having been selected to talk by the Stanford University graduating class, Sapolsky spoke about the uniqueness of humans in relation to the rest of the animal world. A few of the topics he spoke on include aggression, theory of mind, the golden rule and pleasure.”

P.S. Dzīvnieku pētniecībā joprojām aktuāla ir antropomorfizācijas problēma jeb jautājums par to, vai reizēm maldīgi nepiedēvējam dzīvniekiem tādas īpašības, kādu tiem patiesībā nav. Vienkāršots piemērs – ja redzam, ka pērtiķis lēni pakasa galvu, skatīdamies vienā punktā, nevajadzētu uzreiz pieņemt, ka viņš iegrimis dziļās pārdomās. Par to var palasīt Arta Sveces rakstā “Dzīvnieka ētiskais statuss un antropomorfizācijas problēma“, 67.–73. lpp.