Local golf league results and upcoming events around Polk – The Ledger

Results from golf league play around Polk County through Dec. 21 with format, date, event and winners by flight or class in alphabetical order.

Big Cypress 18-Hole Ladies, Revert One Hole to Par on Each Nine, Dec. 15: First Flight - Jane Bryant 68, Donna Short and Irene Letourneau tied at 70; Kathi Wagner and Jennifer Renaud tied at 71, Kay Hink and Terri Traggio tied at 72; Third - Pat Frank 65, Carol O'Neil 68, Gail Hanus 69. Closest to pin: Donna Short 10-20 HDCP; Kay Hink 21 plus.

Big Cypress Men's Thursday, Low Gross Low Net, Dec. 17: First Flight Gross - Joe Freeman 84, Steve Sanders 86, Keith Roberts 86, Net - Gary Bryant 77, John Patterson 78; Second Gross - Jeff Rahill6 79, Mike Klein 83, Net - Eddie Lane 72, Ron Doner 75, Harm Oldenkamp 75; Third Gross - Ross Moen 91, Bart Tokas 92, Net - Bob Chapman 73, Dale Smith 78. Closest to pin: No. 5 - Steve Sanders 0-11, Jeff Rahilly 12-15, Ross Moen 16 plus; No. 8 - Gary Bryant 0-11, Earl Hawn 12-15; No. 13 - Dave Turner 0-11, Mike Klein 12-15, Eddie Lane 16 plus; No. 15 - Gary Bryant 0-11, Harm Oldenkamp 12-15, Jeff Rahilly 16 plus.

Big Cypress North Stars, T and S Holes, Net, Dec. 16: First Flight - Rose Mary Allen and Allison Letourneau tied at 32, Paula Baer 33; Second - Carol Kauth 28, Gail Hanus and Barb Helding tied at 30; Third - Charlotte Kiefer 28, Joyce Putnam 29.

Cleveland Heights Men's Wednesday, Dec. 16: Green Tee - Ratley Meese plus 3, Gil Besse plus 2, Dave Konopnicki even; Yellow - Les Hettinger plus 5, Frank Shinn plus 3, Woody Blades plus 2. Closest to pin: Green - Ratley Meese.

Cleveland Heights Tuesday Men's, Draw and Quota Points, Dec. 15: Gil Besse/Steve Criss/Keith Wightman/Gary Vandergriff plus 10, Gary Cornell/Bennie Boutwell/Ken Rohrer/Wayne Cross plus 8, Wayne College/Mike Rickels/Bob Reichert/Clark DeGroat plus 7. Closest to pin: No. A2 - Keith Wightman; No. C8 - Walt Wilson. Best Over Quota: A - Dick Gebo and Gil Besse both at plus 5; B - Gary Cornell plus 6; C - Steve Criss plus 4.

Cleveland Heights Tuesday Women's, Ts and Fs, Dec. 15: First Flight - Marsha Mathews 36.0, Penny Stephens 38.5; Second - Chris Westlund 39.0, Barbara Schucht 39.5; Third - Diane Oneil 35, Vicki Fioravanti 38.5.

Cleveland Heights Weekend Women's, Quota Points, Dec. 20: First Flight - Vicki England plus 20, Shirley Kalck plus 10, Julie Alameda plus 2; Second - Vicki Fioravanti and Sue Cudaback tied at plus 21, Myrna Iosue plus 17, Chris Westlund plus 16.

Eaglebrooke Men's Early Morning Group, Score vs Average Score, Dec. 19: Keith Volkman/Mike Gilbert/Mark Neville minus 2.1, Mike King/Mark Grey/Kyle Thomas minus 2.0, Paul Meyer/John Tillis/Dave Conway plus 1.0; Team Quota Point, Dec. 20: Dave Conway/Mark Grey/Mike Gilbert/Jon Moore plus 15, Smith Patterson/Kyle Thomas/Tony Autorino plus 10, Richard Grant/Joe Whitfield/John Johnson plus 4.

Hamptons Couples, Two-Man Best Ball, Dec. 19: Bill Colclaser/Shirley Schell/Rob Nordsick/Angie Rotondo 88, Ron Weller/Connie Weller/Jean Thomas/Skip Muir 97, Scott MacGregor/Donna Richner/Rick Cook/Deb Weingard 99. Closest to pin: No. 5 - Deb Weingard; No. 13 - Scott MacGregor. Best Score: Deb Weingard 67; Joe DeBonis 68.

Hamptons Ladies 18-Hole, Stableford, Dec. 17: Sandy Hall plus 5, Shirley Schell plus 4, Judy Wheeler plus 3. Closest to pin: No. 7 - Sally Fiske; No. 13 - Sandy Hall.

Hamptons Men's, Net Stroke Play, Dec. 15: A Flight - Ron Davis 57 on a match of cards over Billy Stalilonis, Don Verhey 59 on a match of cards; B - Larry Baker 52, George Bradley 55, Bob Miller 58. Closest to pin: No. 8 - Terry Foster; No. 17 - Jim Carter.

Hamptons Sunday Duffers, Scramble, Dec. 20: Sally Fiske/Kathy Lilley/Dick Hansen minus 2, Terry Foster/Gregg Lilley/Judy Orioli plus 2.

Hamptons Wednesday Stableford, Dec. 16: Front plus 3 - Greg Stephens/Gregg Lilley/Bill Kelsey/Mike Ready; Back plus 9 - Terry Foster/Wayne Smithson/Ron Davis/Denny Sittler; Overall plus 12 - Greg Stephens/Gregg Lilley/Bill Kelsey/Mike Ready. Closest to pin: Front No. 2 - Bob Vollwerth; No. 5 - George Bradley; Back No. 11 - Mike Frain; No. 17 - Dick Weller. Best Score: Bill Spivey 66.

Lake Ashton Ladies 18-Holers, Two Person Team - Best Ball Gross, Best Ball Net, Dec. 15: First Flight Gross - Liz Leigh/Margie Dersham 78, Pat Amstutz/Deb Louder 79, Net - Deb Foulke/Janice Smith and Shearly Simpson/Jody Nesheim tied at 64; Second Gross - Lynne Abbott/Kathy Reed and Jan Kipp/Mary Ann Mentjes tied at 88, Net - Chris Hunziker/Gwen Novak 61, Jane Fuller/Sandy Alfano 65; Combo Gross - Mary DeCroes/Sue Kurtz 85, Diane Holman/Marie Clauser 88, Net - Carol Williams/Cecily Harmon 59, Carole Ferrieri/Dana Cunningham 64.

Lake Ashton Ladies Niners, Scramble, Dec. 15: Colleen Smith/Janet Mutz/Sharon Connell/Fern Leising 23.9, Wanda Mears/Joyce Candler/Vick Olesen and Linda Ford/Cathy Kapinus/Chris Neuner/Pat Chipak tied at 26, Laverne Anderson/Cindy Mendez/Cyndy Berry/Dawn Neigh 27.

Lake Ashton Men's, Pick Your 10 Best Holes, Dec. 16: Jay Ramahlo/Steve Kettels/Don Connors/Pat O'Neil 135, Rolly Geyer/Sal Tabone/Mike Krigelski/Terry Tressler 144, Jim Williams/Gerry Krogman/Mike Lavigna/Tom Williams 146.

Lake Bess Friday 3 p.m. Men's Scramble, Random Team Draw, Dec. 11: Doug Wilson/Dan Petry/Steve Tucker/Jimbo Stevens minus 6. Closest to pin: No. 3 - Henry Adams; No. 7 - Jake St. Louis. Random Team Draw, Dec. 18: Doug Wilson/Bob Gaskill/Russ Johnson/Damian Scott minus 7. Closest to pin: No. 3 - Ollen Melvin; No. 17 - Bob Gaskill.

Lake Bess Tuesday 3 p.m. Men's Scramble, Random Team Draw, Dec. 15: Ray Huggins/Steve Tucker/Henry Adams/Gene Depue minus 6. Closest to pin: No. 3 - Henry Adams; No. 7 - Mark Detrick.

Lakeland Elks Lodge 1291 Monday League, Wedgewood, Dec. 21: A Flight - Bob Kutsch plus 10, Lee Laborde plus 7, Jack Meister plus 6 on a match of cards; B - Mark Dillon plus 12, Fred Ellis plus 7, Pete Finstad plus 6. Closest to pin: No. 8 - Dave Norwine (50/50); No. 15 - Ed Wolfe.

Lakeland Men's Senior, Huntington Hills, Dec. 21: A Flight - Gary Terrell plus 2, Mike Frost plus 1; B - Joe Stevens plus 4, Mike Parillo plus 3; C - Al Hughes plus 8, Ed Scannell plus 6; D - Pete Casella plus 3, Dennis Vannoy minus 1 on a match of cards over Felix Bartotto and John Weber. Closest to pin: No. 3 - Joe Stevens; No. 11 - Dave Brown. Low Gross - Gary Terrell 75.

Polk County Women's, Christmas Tournament, Lake Wales Country Club, Team Quota Points, Dec. 14: Barbara Heddon/Marsha Mathews/Connie Minich/Christine Westlund plus 9, Janet Brown/Sue Wells/Brenda Johnston/Judy Bruce plus 7, Liz Leigh/Debbie Noel/Robbie Rowan/Vicki Fioravanti plus 6.

Sandpiper Women's, Dec. 15: Flight A - G. Clay 68, G. Emigh 73, K. Cline 76; B - J. Scesny 74, C. Jones 75 on a match of cards over S. Herring; C - H. Gillespie 74, S. Nusbaum 81, M. Crankshaw 85. Closest to pin: A - J. Curl; C - H. Gillespie.

Schalamar Creek Couples', One Best Ball on Par 5s, Two Best Balls on Par 4s, Three Best Balls on Par 3s, Dec. 16: First Flight - Greg Porter/Rita Porter/Bob Shoenfelt/Eleanor Shoenfelt and Clayt Liljequist/Linda Liljequist/David Kelter/Kathy Kelter tied at 125. Nine-Hole Flight - Tom Richards/Linda Richards/Dan Watters/Jeanne Watters and Gordon Claffey/JoAnne Claffey/Tom Fischer/J.R. Finkle tied at 59.

Schalamar Creek Ladies', Four-Person Scramble, Dec. 15: First Flight - Patty Lacross/Linda Richards/Carol Sutton/Barb McLaughlin 70, Linda Liljequist/Jennifer Keser/Alice Piechoski/Ginger Valentine 71, Sharon Chapman/Pat Atherton/Barb Mahar/Linda Bushong 72.

Schalamar Creek Men's, One Gross Plus One Net, Dec. 14: First Flight - Howard Basso/Arlan Atherton/Don Lowry/Ron Lloyd 133, Steve Scotia/Joe McElhenny/Chuck Raymond/Pat McGee 139, Jim Keser/Tim Lancaster/Rich Baxter/Ralph Rhamy, Greg Porter/Don Swint/Terry Phalen/Dennis Priewe and Glen Valentine/Skip Foster/David Peer/Tim Conrad all at 140.

Schalamar Creek Nine-Hole Men's,

BARTOW INDIVIDUAL POINTS, Wednesdays, nine holes, make up your own foursome, $17 ($12 green fee and cart), pays all plus scores, night specials in the lounge. Call 863-533-9183.

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS MENS, tee times available 7:30-8:30 a.m. Wednesday through Monday and Friday, groups or individuals welcome, quota points with skins optional, eight to 10 groups now play. Call Paul Boeh at 863-738-4129.

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS TUESDAY WOMENS, every Tuesday, tee times start at 8:30 a.m. Call Shirley Kalck at 863-853-9566.

HAMPTONS TUESDAY MEN'S LEAGUE, accepting new players. Call 844-882-8157 for more information.

HUNTINGTON HILLS TWO-ASIDE, Saturdays, 18-Hole Points Quota. Check in by 8:15 a.m. Contact Terri White at 863-5594082 or eagle-2par@aol.com.

HUNTINGTON HILLS WHY WORRY WEDNESDAYS, Nine-Hole Quota Points, 5:15 p.m. shotgun start. Contact Terri White at 863-559-4082 or eagle-2par@aol.com.

LAKELAND MENS SENIOR GOLF, 7:30 a.m. shotgun starts, Mondays, play against golfers within your handicap. Call Dave Brown at 419-656-5747.

LPGA AMATEUR GOLF ASSOCIATION is looking for women and men to play in weekly Wednesday league and every other Saturday at various courses in the Winter Haven/Lakeland/Orlando and other areas. For more information, email Kathy Mannahan at pjacobs21@tampabay.rr.com.

POLO PARK MENS TUESDAY SCRAMBLE, 7:30 a.m. sign in. Random team draw. 18-Hole. For more information, call Polo Park Pro Shop at 863-424-3341.

POLO PARK MENS SATURDAY SCRAMBLE, 7:30 a.m. sign in. Random team draw. 18-Hole. For more information, call Polo Park Pro Shop at 863-424-3341.

RIDGE MENS THURSDAY QUOTA POINTS TOURNAMENTS, 7:30 a.m. tee time starts. Call Carroll Lasseter at 863-299-5350.

WEDGEWOOD THREE-MAN SCRAMBLE, nine holes; Tuesdays at 5 p.m.; call Marcus at 863-858-4451 by 2:30 p.m. to play.

WEDGEWOOD TWO-ASIDE GAME, 9 a.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays; 18-hole points game with skins and blind draw; call Marcus at 863-858-4451.

WEDGEWOOD MIXED CO-ED SCRAMBLE, 2 p.m. Thursdays. Call Marcus at 863-858-4451 by 1 p.m. to play.

E-mail results of local golf tournaments, aces and upcoming tournaments to mquinn@theledger.com; or mail to Golf News, Ledger Sports Department, P.O. Box 408, Lakeland, Fla., 33802. Include complete scores and league names. Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m.

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Local golf league results and upcoming events around Polk - The Ledger

Ron Conway, Zillow CEO agree to give away fortunes with Giving Pledge – Business Insider – Business Insider

A new round of billionaires has signed onto Bill Gates and Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge, whose signatories agree to give the majority of their fortunes away.

The new billionaires include Zillow cofounder and CEO Rich Barton as well as famed Silicon Valley "super angel" investor Ron Conway, according to the Giving Pledge's website. Early Facebook employee Jeff Rothschild, who has a net worth of $3.8 billion according to Forbes, and Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwartzman also signed this year. As Forbes estimates, the combined net worth of the new signatories sits at more than $40 billion.

The Giving Pledge was founded in 2010 by Bill and Melinda Gates and investor Warren Buffet as a "movement of philanthropists who commit to giving the majority of their wealth to philanthropy or charitable causes, either during their lifetimes or in their wills." Signatories must be bona fide billionaires.

It has since garnered the signatures of over 200 billionaires across the world, like Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff.

But a 2020 report from the think tank Institute for Policy Studies found that the majority of the original signatories are now much richer than they were when they signed back in 2010, suggesting that they are making money faster than they are giving it away.

As Forbes notes, the pledge isn't binding, meaning Giving Pledge can't force those who sign to give their fortunes to charitable organizations. The Giving Pledge also doesn't oversee donations made by signatories.

Read more: Jeff Bezos is the first person ever to be worth $200 billion. This is how the Amazon CEO's immense wealth stacks up to the average US worker, the British monarchy, and entire countries' GDP.

Some billionaires have been criticized for not donating enough to charity organizations Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has accumulated a net worth of more than $200 billion since first becoming a billionaire in 1997. He is the richest person in the world and the only American in the world's five richest that has not signed the Giving Pledge.

Bezos' ex-wife, Mackenzie Scott, signed the Giving Pledge in mid-2019 after her $38 billion divorce settlement. She has donated more than $4 billion over the last few months to more than 300 organizations to help people hit hard by pandemic-driven economic trouble.

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Ron Conway, Zillow CEO agree to give away fortunes with Giving Pledge - Business Insider - Business Insider

Ronald Goeke | The Standard Newspaper – Waukon Standard

Ronald A. Goeke, 96, of Waukon died Monday, December 21, 2020 at Northgate Care Center in Waukon from complications of COVID-19. Private family graveside services will be held Saturday, December 26 at Waterville Lutheran Cemetery in Waterville with Pastor Kim Thacker officiating. In consideration of concerns regarding COVID-19, social distancing and wearing of a mask is required.

Cards may be sent to Wendy Ebner at 984 Ebner Drive, Lansing, IA 52151 or to Randy Goeke at 654 Dry Hollow Road, Waterville, IA 52170. Martin-Grau Funeral Home in Waukon is handling the arrangements.

Ronald Aaron Goeke was born March 21, 1924 in Waukon, the son of George and Gertrude (Shindoll) Goeke. He was raised on a farm in North Fork Hollow in rural Waukon, attended grade school at McCabe Jefferson #3 School and graduated from Waukon High School in 1942.

Ron was confirmed at Zion United Church of Christ in Waukon, where he sang in the choir. He left home at an early age, after his mother died, and worked for area farmers; Ron liked to tell stories of operating threshing machines at the age of 16. Ronald rode his motorcycle to Texas in the winters. June 16, 1951, he married Clarice Marie Tysland at the Waterville Lutheran Church, where he became a member and served on the church council.

Ron was a hard worker and held various jobs: hauling can and bulk milk, working for Purina Feeds and Meadowland Creamery, and doing maintenance work for Good Samaritan Center and Veterans Memorial Hospital, both in Waukon. He also farmed, raising horses and Ayrshire cattle. Later in life, he went to work for Design Homes in Prairie du Chien, WI, retiring at the age of 84.

In 2011, he moved to Southcrest Manor in Waukon and lived there until he moved to Northgate Care Center in Waukon in 2015. Ron enjoyed going to horse sales, coon hunting and pheasant hunting when he was younger.

His family was very important to him and he was very interested in his grandchildrens lives. Ron was a kind and gentle person; he was the best dad and grandpa anyone could have and his familys best friend. He will be greatly missed and he loved his family very much.

Survivors include his children: Wendy (Paul) Ebner of Lansing and Randy (Vicki) Goeke of Waterville; six grandchildren: Jacob Ebner, Andrew (Stephanee) Goeke, Troy (Esther) Pierce, Tony (Abigail) Pierce, Chris (Jason) Grady and Sandy Goeke; nine great-grandchildren: Gabriel Goeke, Hailey, Ahren, Rhett and Jase Grady, and Cai, Cortland, Abraham and Shepherd Pierce; a brother, Allen (Ella Mae) Goeke of Waukon; a sister, Karen Delatte of Madison, MS; and several nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Clarice, who died in 1993; two sisters, Ruth Dotseth and Lorna Miller; a brother, Wesley Goeke; a sister-in-law, Carol Goeke; and three brothers-in-law, Vernon Miller, John Dotseth and Lawrence Tysland.

Online condolences may be left at http://www.martinfunerals.com.

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Ronald Goeke | The Standard Newspaper - Waukon Standard

Ron Perlman Will Follow Monster Hunter Director Paul W.S. Anderson to the Ends of the Earth – ComicBook.com

The new live-action adaptation of the Monster Hunter video game series promises audiences some truly colossal beasts being featured throughout the adventure, with one of the biggest figures being actor Ron Perlman channeling a character that was lifted straight out of the games. Throughout his career, the actor has become a presence whose persona feels nearly as large as the creatures in the upcoming film, thanks to roles in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Blade II, and Sons of Anarchy. His most beloved role, however, arguably is as Hellboy for Guillermo del Toro's two films featuring the comic book character.

In the new film, "Behind our world, there is another: a world of dangerous and powerful monsters that rule their domain with deadly ferocity. When an unexpected sandstorm transports Lt. Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and her unit (TI Harris, Meagan Good, Diego Boneta) to a new world, the soldiers are shocked to discover that this hostile and unknown environment is home to enormous and terrifying monsters immune to their firepower. In their desperate battle for survival, the unit encounters the mysterious Hunter (Tony Jaa), whose unique skills allow him to stay one step ahead of the powerful creatures. As Artemis and Hunter slowly build trust, she discovers that he is part of a team led by the Admiral (Perlman). Facing a danger so great it could threaten to destroy their world, the brave warriors combine their unique abilities to band together for the ultimate showdown."

ComicBook.com caught up with Perlman to discuss his interest in the project, collaborating with the cast and crew, and reflecting on the reception to last year's Hellboy reboot.

ComicBook.com: This film is coming out at an interesting time, as Hanukkah is just ending and Christmas is right around the corner, so seeing some huge monsters on the big screen is an unconventional way to celebrate the season. Do you and your family have any unconventional ways to ring in the holidays?

Ron Perlman: My family is very eclectic. There's a lot of religions, there's a lot of races that are represented in my family and we've always taken our favorite parts of all of the cultures, melded them into our own version of what we want to celebrate and give thanks to. It's been a kick, there's always a tree, there's always a menorah. It's eclectic and it's very festive and sometimes exciting, always joyous.

That's the way it should be, celebrating in the ways that spread the most joy. Your role in Monster Hunter has you appearing early on and returning for the third act, so you have a large presence even without much screen time. What was it about the project that excited you most? The script, the director, the cast?

Well, I think it was the gravitas of the situation. And then when you finally meet the Admiral, you realize that he has a skillset that rises to this mythic sense of needs in this very, very dubious, very tenuous, very dangerous world. The fact that I was asked to play something like that, it's always a thrill, like, "Oh, wow, really? Are you serious? You want me to be that guy? Yeah, let me take a quick look. I'll get back to you in a minute and a half," which is exactly what happened. I was in from the get-go.

And then, of course, what was on the page was phenomenal. It wasn't something I was expecting because when you're doing an adaptation of a comic book or a video game, you're not ... nuance and real diverse dynamics and great character elements are not necessarily going to rule the day. Whereas, when I started reading this thing, that's what [writer/director] Paul [W.S. Anderson] had infused in the script and the storytelling. It was a real page-turner. It was something that I felt was in a world that was very original, very unique, and it was being handled in a way that you always felt the jeopardy. You always felt like, if we get this right in the making of it, that people will be on the edge of their seats. You always felt like you were working on characters that were not one-dimensional or just servicing the plot, but that had their own interesting little quirks and idiosyncrasies, which, for me, that's everything. I was very enthusiastic from the moment I first read it.

Then, of course, I got [interested] even more so when I met PWS Anderson, a phenomenal guy. I would go to the ends of the Earth with this guy. He's very kind, got a beautiful temperament. He's quick to laugh. He loves to have a good time. He doesn't take himself seriously, but you can tell some really major wheels and gears are turning in the making of the film and it's all going to find its way onto the screen. So that was great. And then I had already known Tony from many, many years ago, had been adopted brothers through a whole set of other circumstances, but we hadn't worked together. We'd worked together one time, but never really where we had scenes together. So that was great. And then I met Mila and, okay. Game on.

I know what you mean. I only briefly spoke with her and was also ready to hunt monsters with her.

She is a doll. She's a really beautiful person and very generous to the rest of the cast. Very sweet, very humble, really hard-working, all the things that I admire in a fellow artist and somebody who I now can call a friend for life.

When I previously interviewed Paul about the film, he pointed out two things about your involvement in the film. He first said how disappointed he was that you had given up smoking cigars and that he couldn't smoke one with you. He also said you had some choice words when you picked up your weapon and realized how heavy it was. Do you remember your reaction to your prop?

Not only do I remember it, I don't quite remember what choice of words I used, although if you follow my Twitter feed, my choice of words is rather expansive. Yeah, it was humbling. I mean, it was like, "Wait, you actually ... I get the theatricality of these weapons, but did you actually have to make them be 55 pounds and then expect us to twirl them amidst our fingers and swinging and kill monsters with them?" It asks a lot of me, but you know what? It should have, because this is a very big dude in a very big position, in a very dangerous world. And anything that gets the attention of the actor in that way, where you go, "There are things around me that are bigger than myself, including the weapon that I'm using," that's a good thing. That's going to find its way onto the screen.

Since the film ends with an exclamation point of this big battle, but also with an ellipsis and the tease of more adventures, when you came on board, were you thinking about exploring more of your character in follow-up films or were you mostly just interested in this first installment?

Hopefully I'm not breaking any news here, but there was always this unspoken desire to see this turn into something other than just one film. I hate to use the word "franchise" because it's a hackneyed word, but maybe "trilogy" is more apt, but you don't dare talk in those terms because then you're just setting yourself up for failure.

So everybody put all of their love and attention into this one film, hoping that it resonated in a way where we were invited back to re-explore, and I'll just leave it at that.

People love you as Hellboy and I know you've said you weren't interested in last year's reboot, but when that movie fell short of expectations with audiences, did it give you any sense of relief in how it confirmed what you and Guillermo del Toro did was so special, or had you hoped for it to succeed because any attention towards the character is a good thing?

Well, I'm fond of [star] David Harbour. He's a really good guy and he's a really good actor, so I was hoping for the best for him, but I had my Hellboy epoch, era, was what it was. This has really nothing to do with it. There was no overlap. They were two completely different entities, so I didn't have an opinion about the new Hellboy or a wish for it to succeed or fail, but I did make it clear that if there was a chance to finish the trilogy with Guillermo, as we had done the first two films and in the image of what he had in mind in terms of closing all of the circles, that is something that I would, to this day, consider doing. But since it [didn't happen], then I had moved on and I didn't have an opinion about any of it. And I'm not being effusive or hyperbolic, that's just the truth of it.

*****

Monster Hunter lands in theaters on December 18th.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. You can contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter.

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Ron Perlman Will Follow Monster Hunter Director Paul W.S. Anderson to the Ends of the Earth - ComicBook.com

Guest column: State is shortchanging teachers – The Florida Times-Union

Chris Guerrieri| Florida Times-Union

Gov. Ron DeSantis called this the Year of the Teacher with his plan to raise starting teacher salary. He recently bragged that Florida was now fifth in the nation.

This might make a good sound bite or headline, but the reality is this year has become a nightmare for tens of thousands of teachers statewide and thousands in Jacksonville as they are on the precipice of receiving a pay cut.

The union and the district, both claiming this was the best they could do, have tentatively agreed to a contract which sees first- through nine-year teachers get massive raises (something they deserve), some as much as $6,000, while veteran teachers will receive a $91 pay increase.

You might be thinking that I said teachers will receive a pay cut, and they will. Let me explain how. To fund DeSantis starting salary increase, the state ended two bonus programs, Best and Brightest, and school recognition funds. While flawed these two programs did put money into lots of teachers pockets, money the $91 will not make up, not by a long shot. DeSantis robbed Peter, veteran teachers, to pay Paul, people not even or just barely in the profession.

I hope you can imagine how this blatant disrespect makes teachers feel who have dedicated their lives to the children of Jacksonville.

Now I know what some people are going to say. Times are tough, and people should be grateful just to have a job. The problem is when times were tough with the Great Recession, teachers did sacrifice. Tallahassee dramatically cut education budgets, and veteran teachers saw their salaries rolled back and their contributions to the pension increase. Statewide, teachers lost out on billions.

Then as the economy turned and later boomed, they were left out in the cold; nothing was done for them. Teachers, especially veteran teachers, have already sacrificed for the last decade, and I ask you when is enough? How much are they expected to sacrifice?

I wont be supporting the contract proposal. I believe if we are creative, we could do better; we just must have the will to do so.I would like you to do something too, and thats please dont believe the lies about this being the Year of the Teacher coming out of Tallahassee, and to demand all parties do better, the future of our schools may just depend on it.

Chris Guerrieri is a Jacksonville school teacher.

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Guest column: State is shortchanging teachers - The Florida Times-Union

UGA part of Battelle Savannah River Alliance selected by DOE for $3.8B contract to manage Savannah River National Laboratory – University of Georgia

The University of Georgia is a member of the Battelle Savannah River Alliance (BRSA), a consortium of universities and private firms that has been selected by the Department of Energy to manage one of the countrys premier environmental, energy, and national security research facilitiesthe Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL).

Employing approximately 1,000 staff, SRNL conducts research and development for diverse federal agencies, providing practical, cost-effective solutions for the nations environmental, nuclear security, energy and manufacturing challenges. As the DOEs Environmental Management Laboratory, SRNL provides strategic scientific and technological support for the nations $6 billion per year waste cleanup program.

UGAs contribution to management of the Savannah River National Lab will draw on the expertise of faculty from across UGAs 17 colleges and schools and will encourage the growth of STEM areas as proposed in the universitys strategic plan.

The University of Georgia has a 60-year history with the Department of Energys Savannah River Site through our embedded Savannah River Ecology Lab, said President Jere W. Morehead. We look forward to new and expanded collaborations with the Department of Energy, Savannah River National Lab and our Battelle Savannah River Alliance partners.

BSRA is led by and wholly owned by Battelle, one of DOEs leading laboratory management contractors. The BSRA team includes five universities from the regionUGA, Clemson University, Georgia Institute of Technology, South Carolina State University and University of South Carolinaas well as small business partners, Longenecker & Associates and TechSource.

Work performed under the new contract will include operations and maintenance of SRNLs nuclear and non-nuclear facilities and DOE mission roles focused in the following areas:

This M&O contract will position SRNL to maximize its potential as a national laboratory to benefit the Department, the American scientific discovery and innovation ecosystem, the local communities near the lab, and the American taxpayer at large, said DOE Undersecretary for Science Paul Dabbar.

This is a unique opportunity for UGA to assist DOE with its quest to expand the mission and impact of SRNL, nationally and regionally, said David Lee, UGA Vice President for Research. This important initiative is in keeping with our land-grant mission and will provide many opportunities for our students.

The contract includes a five-year base with five one-year options. The estimated value of the contract is $3.8 billion over the course of 10 years if all options are exercised.

We are honored by DOEs decision to award the Savannah River National Laboratory management and operations contract to our team, said Battelle President and CEO Lou Von Thaer. We have the lab management experience to make a difference and were committed to ensuring the success of this important national resource.

Were honored and excited to have this opportunity, said Ron Townsend, Battelles executive vice president for global laboratory operations. BSRAs approach will ensure the delivery of high-impact science, technology and engineering solutions into the future through a significant expansion of SRNLs core competencies. Our team offers an exciting, compelling vision for the future of SRNL and provides DOE a leadership team that will deliver with excellence.

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UGA part of Battelle Savannah River Alliance selected by DOE for $3.8B contract to manage Savannah River National Laboratory - University of Georgia

Im planning a summer of post-vaccine hedonism… and the shame of Spotify Wrapped – Evening Standard

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EXT year will be the year of hedonism for millennials. I know this because as of yesterdays announcement, my twenty-something serious friends with serious jobs are acting like theyre 16 and Van-Tam is giving us fake IDs rather than a vaccine in spring; everyones dropping links to grimy nightclubs and all-inclusives to Ibiza in the group chat. Today a friend who works as a civil servant sheepishly confessed to me she shed a tear at the thought of being able to sesh at Bestival this summer. Not partying for nine months has left people with a dopamine deficit they need to relieve and a cash surplus.

Not that well need to spend much. A heavy night will probably consist of spritzer given our alcohol tolerance these days. Especially for me, given it would be my first drink in three years in theory Ive given up alcohol, but Im desperate for a release to mark the end of lockdown. I know that the lesson of Covid is supposed to be along the lines of those swirly-lettered quotes which pepper my Instagram feed, that slowing down has been good for us and made us appreciate what we have. Were supposed to have learnt that wild swimming is forever, but booze and sex are transitory pleasures. But if theyre transitory, surely all the more reason to pursue them while we can we never know when we might lose them again to seasonal Covid.

So well all be making some big life changes post-vaccine. I plan to go to more parties it took one year being squirrelled away to Covid to realise I squirrelled away one too many years to work, and vague, long-term career objectives over immediate pleasures. But thats nothing compared to some people one of my old colleagues is planning to try drugs for the first time, lockdown made her regret all the things shed never done. Young people viewed their lives as over for the last year so theyre celebrating coming back to life with cocaine instead of swimming with dolphins. And, of course, single Londoners will have a years worth of pent-up frustration. I can only imagine therell be some sort of collective climax in April (and hope chlamydia wont be the new Covid). Were on a ridiculous quest for hen do hedonism, desperately clutching at willy straws because were trying to get something we cant have a refund, two years worth of hedonism in compensation for the one we lost. To be honest though, well probably settle for an exchange. As one friend whos listened to Radio 2 since Covid says: I just want to go back to Radio 1.

SOCIAL media has become a group confessional. Were bringing up repressed memories in the way you do in an AA circle, but in the form of screenshots from Spotify Wrapped the music streaming platforms summary of what we listened to this year. 2020 has been bleak, but knowing Celine Dion helped you get through it all is the digital equivalent of caressing our wounds with Maldon salt crystals. I can almost hear Spotifys Silicon Valley programmers sniggering as they realise theyre far from the uncoolest people on Earth. I can only hope the trend for wrapping 2020 wont extend to other platforms. I imagine a lot of guys would be scarred for life by a Pornhub Wrapped, but can you imagine Hinge telling you about the number of times youve been rejected this year, and Citymapper saying you barely left the house in 2020? Ignorance is bliss, and Ill be using the incognito tab in 2021.

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Im planning a summer of post-vaccine hedonism... and the shame of Spotify Wrapped - Evening Standard

BLACK SABBATH: Breaking The Band To Premiere This Sunday; Trailer Available – bravewords.com

December 5, 2020, 12 hours ago

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This Sunday, December 6th, Reelz will air Black Sabbath: Breaking The Band at 8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST. Following is the program overview courtesy of Reelz.com:

"Black Sabbath: One of the greatest rock bands on the planet the so called fathers of heavy metal came from very humble origins to become among the most successful and outrageous of rock stars. Their hedonism was legendary, as was their volatility. Black Sabbath: Breaking the Band will follow their journey from their early beginnings to sell-out tours and chart-topping success, to their eventual break up. Combining high-end stylized drama reconstruction, extensive archive and revealing interviews, well chart the turbulent history of a band who battled with egos, Satanists, crippling drug and alcohol addictions and music business mobsters who robbed them of everything they had."

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BLACK SABBATH: Breaking The Band To Premiere This Sunday; Trailer Available - bravewords.com

Film review: the immoderate adventures of Oliver Sacks – The Conversation AU

Review: Oliver Sacks: His Own Life, directed by Ric Burns

Apropos of nothing but a bowl of jello placed before him, a stifled laugh escapes from Oliver Sacks, the famed neurologist, writer and public intellectual.

What are you thinking about? asks a voice offscreen.

Sacks demurs at first or perhaps feigns reluctance then relents.

Until a few years ago, I would wake up at night with an erection. Nothing to do with sexual excitement But it was at times irritatingly persistent. So, I would sometimes cool my turgid penis in orange jello.

Such vignettes from Oliver Sacks: His Own Life reveal the usually shy, but often cheeky and sometimes shockingly honest character of the late Sacks.

Shortly after receiving a fatal diagnosis in January, 2015, Sacks invited documentarian Ric Burns and crew for a series of interviews in his New York City apartment. Sacks second memoir, On the Move, would be published in April. He passed away just a few months later.

Read more: 'I want to stare death in the eye': why dying inspires so many writers and artists

The film is structured around Sacks reading brief passages from his memoir, accompanied by archival footage of the avuncular physician in action. Also interspersed are pithy recollections from fellow neurologists, writers, editors, patients, family and friends.

Rather than retreading previous thoughts on Sacks style of romantic science, its worth considering what the documentary offers that existing memoirs, biographies and other accounts do not.

Firstly, for those unfamiliar with Sacks, the film provides the most efficient but palatable jello anecdotes aside summary of his life, work and character.

Moreover, it reconciles how Sacks seemingly wild contradictions would (eventually) become complements. A recurring theme is that Sacks was immoderate in all directions, living a life that whiplashed between extremes of hedonism and self-discipline.

Sacks possessed a curious mix of extraordinary erudition, voracious appetite and self-destructive tendencies. This was leavened by seemingly boundless empathy for the neurologically marginalised, for whom he so poetically advocated.

Read more: How Oliver Sacks brought readers into his patients' inner worlds

By all accounts, including those of his partner Bill Hayes, Sacks could be painfully shy, yet effusively gregarious when taken by sudden, ebullient outbursts of boyish enthusiasm.

As a young man wracked with anguish regarding his sexuality and unrequited affections, Sacks once resolved never to live with anyone again. So began 35 years of celibacy, when Sacks took on an almost monastic dedication to his work.

However, Sacks first turned to drugs as a sort of compensation, acquiring a fierce amphetamine habit that proved inspiring and corrosive.

Yet Sacks also sought mastery over his body, becoming an exceptional weightlifter.

Oscillating between roles as Dr Squat the athlete, Wolf the speedfreak biker, and Ollie the kindly but unconventional neurologist, Sacks often remained ill at ease.

Perhaps only in his very late years, through his relationship with Hayes including a very late discovery of French kissing on his 76th birthday did Sacks find comfort.

Read more: Oliver Sacks, the brain and God

Born into a typical, Orthodox Jewish, middle-class family during the 1930s, Sacks father, Sam, was an affable GP, while his mother, Elsie, was a highly regarded gynaecologist, and among the first women surgeons in England.

Sacks reports an an uneasy closeness with his mother.

I think she wanted me to be like her. Sometimes, especially when I was very young she would bring a fetus home, and suggest I dissect it. That was not so easy for a child of ten or eleven.

Later, upon discovering Oliver was gay, his mother declared him an abomination. Though they remained close, Sacks lamented that her words haunted me for much of my life.

Sacks and his brother Michael were sent to boarding school during the Battle of Britain. Soon after this harrowing experience Michael was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Sacks became both terrified of him, terrified for him and retreated into a fondness for chemistry.

Only after many years could Sacks work his way back towards contemplating the minds of others.

Famously clumsy, Sacks initially aspired to be a lab scientist, but after numerous calamities was instructed to Get out, see patients, youll do less harm.

His vocational approach as a neurologist often more resembled a naturalist than a clinician. For Sacks, observation and play trumped diagnosis and prescription.

Indeed, in a biography by Lawrence Weschler, Sacks notes his main neurological tool is the ball You can learn much from how patients play.

Read more: Celebrating Oliver Sacks' romantic science and a life now ending

To compress any life let alone one as Forrest Gumpian as Sacks into a two hour film is something of a fools errand.

Hence, narrative compromises were always likely. Sacks travels in Canada, where he briefly tried joining the Royal Canadian Air Force, are skipped entirely.

Similarly, perhaps in deference to a subject granting privileged access during his last days, the documentary veers ever so slightly into hagiography, framing Sacks as a unifying figure between the clinical and experimental neurosciences.

Still, Sacks influence is undeniably staggering, and His Own Life provides a compelling account of the empathetic labours needed for otherwise lost souls to be storied into the world.

Oliver Sacks: His Own Life is in cinemas now.

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Film review: the immoderate adventures of Oliver Sacks - The Conversation AU

Yinka Ilori brings much-needed cheer with the launch of his debut homeware range – Creative Boom

Yinka Ilori with his new homeware collection. Photography by Andy Stagg

Yinka Ilori has just revealed his first-ever homeware collection, bringing his contemporary, colourful patterns and distinct personality to what he deems "unexpected and functional" household items that remind him of his own childhood.

Inspired by his British Nigerian heritage, the new range begins with a focus on tabletop accessories and textiles, all complemented by a mix of accent pieces to inject some positive and vibrant colour into any home. "It's a colourful celebration of two cultures expressed through abstract, technicolour pattern and contemporary craft," explains Yinka. "Each has its own narrative and back-story, meant to instil a sense of optimism and joy, to act in their own small way as a distraction to the dark times that we're facing this year."

The collection comes after Yinka noticed a growing audience interacting with his works that promote positivity and, "act as a form of creative hedonism on social media". Of course, with a number of in-the-flesh installations put on hold this year, Yinka found the time to work on this "joy project", something that could "translate this creative optimism offline".

Yinka Ilori Homeware collection. All photography by Andy Stagg

Yinka Ilori Homeware collection. Photography by Andy Stagg

"Ive worked on several functional items to act as individual canvases, using various forms, scales, materials and techniques to translate pattern in different ways. It is left to you to decide whether they will be functional or art," says Yinka, who has spent a lot of time sourcing specialist suppliers with a focus on craft and quality to ensure he's creating designs that will have a long life-span.

"Hand-turned stoneware comes from Portugal, along with luxury jacquard table linens and cushions," he adds. "Industrial enamelware is handmade in Poland. Hand-knotted wool rugs are crafted in Nepal, whilst tableware comes from here in the UK."

OMI Cushions by Yinka Ilori. Photography by Andy Stagg

Yinka Ilori Homeware collection. Photography by Andy Stagg

There are trays, bowls, plates, enamel mugs, tea towels, cushions, rugs even placemats and coasters, which feature some of Yinka's famous chair designs. "Chairs have been central to my design work for well over a decade as I see them as inspirational, powerful objects that have many stories to tell. Status, hierarchy, wealth, chairs they all have their own individual narratives which I've explored through a number of re-interpretations my most meaningful of which I've included as illustrations in the Parable collection of placemats and coasters."

The only problem now is figuring out what to snap up. Discover Yinka Ilori's new Colour Happy collection at yinkailori.com.

AAMI Tablecloth by Yinka Ilori. Photography by Andy Stagg

OMI Rug by Yinka Ilori. Photography by Andy Stagg

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Yinka Ilori brings much-needed cheer with the launch of his debut homeware range - Creative Boom

MEDA: The Drinks Brand Designed With The Healthy Hedonist In Mind – The Handbook

First launched in January 2019, MEDA is a drinks brand thats designed to help you to bring balance to your everyday life, without having to forgo on flavour. From targeted functional wellness drinks that can help you ease tension, stress and anxieties to the Espresso Medatini, the healthy alternative to the cocktail classic, these drinks are designed to help you stay calm, focussed and centred, whilst also having a bit of fun.

The Handbook has teamed up with MEDA to offer our readers an exclusive 20% off all orders (excluding alcohol).

Simply use the discount code HB20 at the checkout. Excludes alcohol, T&Cs apply. Valid until the end of January 2021.

Read on to find out more about MEDA and why its our CBD favourite.

With the importance of keeping fit and healthy so prevalent right now, were all searching for ways to help be a little kinder to ourselves and become more aware of what were putting into our bodies. Designed with the Londoner lifestyle in mind, MEDA drinks are formulated to bring balance to an active lifestyle, across their award-winning range of Functional Wellness concoctions, NO-LO Mixers and their pre-mixed Espresso Medatini Cocktail, which contains half the sugar and calories of the traditional serve but with the same full flavour. Meaning you can enjoy the flavours you crave, whilst still being kind to yourself and your body.

Weve all heard about the CBD revolution; its full of so many wide ranging health benefits, from helping to relieve stress and anxiety to reducing inflammation and helping you sleep better at night.

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MEDA: The Drinks Brand Designed With The Healthy Hedonist In Mind - The Handbook

Inside the most extravagant aristocratic Christmas parties of all time – Tatler

Has your inbox felt surprisingly empty lately? Is your doormat strangely free of reassuringly thick invitations? Tis traditionally the season to be out, out, out, but thanks to the pandemic Christmas parties are, by and large, off the cards this year. But dont be too downcast: there are no rules against opening countless bottles of champagne and slipping into your finest festive outfit on a casual Wednesday at home. Cast your mind back to the best and most extravagant parties from years gone by when social distancing simply meant ignoring the bore in the corner and take inspiration from their hedonistic traditions.

Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall on a beach in Mustique, 1987

Georges De Keerle / Getty Images

With a bit of imagination, you may even be able to transport yourself from a damp, grey England to the shores of Mustique, where Lady Anne Glenconner and her husband, Colin Tennant, would spend Christmas. Genial and hugely popular local Basil (who still runs a bar on the island today) would dress up as Father Christmas in a red suit and fake beard though he was famous for arriving by boat, rather than a sleigh. The festivities were also enjoyed by rock royalty, from Mick Jagger to David Bowie, who would uproot thorn bushes in place of fir trees and festoon them with fairy lights. Carol services hosted in the tiny bamboo church and attended by global superstars, rather than those from the neighbouring estate were also an update on the traditional. These days, Mustique is popular with the Royals all year round; the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge even invited Basil to their wedding.

Lady Mary Charteris and Poppy Delevingne at the LOVE Christmas Drinks, 2019

Dave Benett / Getty Images

Back in Europe, parties are notoriously high-voltage: billionaire banker Maurice Amon, for example, is known for hosting bombastic annual get-togethers in jet-set ski resort Gstaad, complete with bowls of cigarettes and bottomless champagne. Those with no invite dont go without fun, however after a significant amount of Glhwein from the little stand in the village (known by all to sell the best) or fondue at Le Cerf in Rougemont (keep your eyes peeled for an appearance from local resident, Julie Andrews) everyone ends up downstairs at The Gstaad Palace hotels GreenGo nightclub. The next day? Its best spent having lunch at the Eagle Club, avoiding the slopes until your headache has died down.

Sabine Getty at the launch of the Claridge's Christmas Tree 2019 designed by Christian Louboutin

Dave Benett / Getty Images for Claridge's

Closer to home, the smart set know how to do Christmas right. The Marchioness of Bath and Sabine Getty are known to frequent the Claridges bash (last year hosted by Christian Louboutin and featuring by far the most popular canape of the season, Lobster Wellington). Alice Naylor-Leyland, Poppy Delevingne and Mary Charteris all of whom can be relied upon to know a good party rarely miss the famously good LOVE magazine shindig, always attended by the brightest designers of the day (and, on occasion, Coco the Camel).

Youd be forgiven for thinking Christmas parties held at country estates would be more low-key, but English aristocrats arent always known for their best behaviour. Lady Annabel Goldsmith recalls her first Christmas at the family pile, Wynyard Park, with her then-husband Mark Birley, as a rather eventful one: Mark remained quite calm one evening when Daddy persuaded the local vet's daughter to remove her clothes and dance naked on the dining-room table, she has said. He drank champagne from one of her shoes, held impassively by Robert the butler. Its food (or indeed champagne) for thought, should spending the Christmas season at home seem rather gloomy. And if all else fails, take a leaf out of the Queens book: her traditional, black-tie dinner on Christmas Eve may be cancelled this year, but we doubt shell be forgoing a Zaza, her favourite cocktail. Pass the Dubonnet

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Inside the most extravagant aristocratic Christmas parties of all time - Tatler

The untimely death of Led Zeppelin – The Independent

J

ohn Bonham threw his fourth quadruple vodka of the morning down his neck and took a single bite of a ham roll. He grinned at Led Zeppelins assistant Rex King, charged with getting one of rocks most mercurial and hedonistic drummers to rehearsal in a fit state to play. Breakfast, he said.

It would be the last of his life. Back in the car en route to Berkshires Bray Studios on 24 September 1980, Bonhams mood turned sour, hinting at a devastating split approaching far faster than anyone could have imagined. As we drove to the rehearsal, he was not quite as happy as he could be, Zeppelin singer Robert Plant said later, recalling the events that led up to the break-up of one of the biggest and most influential bands of the Seventies, 40 years ago on Friday (4 December). He said, Ive had it with playing drums. Everybody plays better than me. We were driving in the car and he pulled off the sun visor and threw it out the window as he was talking. He said, Ill tell you what, when we get to the rehearsal, you play the drums and Ill sing.

At rehearsal, for the bands first US tour since 1977, in support of their eighth album In Through the Out Door, Bonham Bonzo to his friends never slowed down. Having collapsed onstage during the third song at a show in Nuremberg a few months earlier (the band claimed he had overeaten), his furious alcohol intake had made him prone to blackouts, and as he worked his way through a reported 40 units of vodka during the 12-hour rehearsal his playing began to deteriorate. Bonzo had been getting a bit erratic, said Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones. I cant say he was in good shape, because he wasnt. There were some good moments during the last rehearsals but then he started on the vodka I think he had been drinking because there were some problems in his personal life.

When the band retired to guitarist Jimmy Pages home at the Old Mill House in Windsor for the night, Bonham passed out on a sofa at midnight and was put to bed by an assistant, lying on his side. The following day, when he hadnt arrived for rehearsal by 1.45pm, Jones and Zeppelins tour manager Benji Lefevre went to check on him.

We tried to wake him up, Jones said. It was terrible. Then I had to tell the other two I had to break the news to Jimmy and Robert. It made me feel very angry at the waste of him.

Billy Connolly, left, interviewing John Bonham in 1979, the year before Bonhams death

(Rex)

Bonhams death from inhalation of vomit that night, aged just 32, didnt just mark the tragic loss of one of rock historys most celebrated drummers, famed for his incendiary 20-minute live solos and the bedrock of Led Zeppelins elemental power John Bonham played the drums like someone who didnt know what was going to happen next, like he was teetering on the edge of a cliff, said Dave Grohl but also the demise of a band that would come to represent the cornerstone of both classic rock and heavy metal.

The North American tour was cancelled and six weeks later, on 4 December, Led Zeppelin announced their dissolution with a short press statement. We wish it to be known that the loss of our dear friend and the deep sense of undivided harmony felt by ourselves and our manager, have led us to decide that we could not continue as we were. The band swore publicly at least not to continue without a founding member and, bar the occasional charity and anniversary reunion, have kept their word ever since.

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Independent Culture NewsletterThe best in film, music TV & radio straight to your inbox every week

After losing John I didnt want to touch the guitar, and that feeling lasted for quite a few months, Page writes in his new book Jimmy Page: The Anthology, while Plant recently spoke about the split inspiring him to go solo during his Digging Deep podcast. I was just 33, he said, and the whole [of] my last previous 12 years have been in the warmth and occasional tepid and freezing climate of Led Zeppelin. So when we all lost John there was only one thing to do and that was to carry on, to try and carry on and distance myself if I could from the wondrous shadow of the past.

Bonhams son Jason, who performed with the remaining members at several one-off shows, told Billboard that after their much-lauded 2007 reunion at the Ahmet Ertegun Tribute Concert at Londons O2 hed asked Plant if Led Zeppelin were going to reform. He said, I loved your dad way too much I cant go out there and fake it. I cant be a jukebox. I cant go out there and try to do it that way He told me, When your father left us, left the world, that was it for Led Zeppelin. We couldnt do what The Who did. It was too vital. Elsewhere, Plant has been more figurative. It would be like sleeping with your ex-wife again, hes said, without having sex.

Zeppelin were certainly behemoths of the Seventies rock kingdom. Over 12 years and eight albums they recast the blues rock, folk psychedelia and powerhouse pop of Sixties greats such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones and The Who (along with plenty of Tolkein references and borrowed blues tunes) into a primal new form of hard rock: the heaviest band of all time according to Rolling Stone. Along the way they sold anywhere between 200 and 300 million copies of seminal albums such as Houses of the Holy, Physical Graffiti and their self-titled early records, and condensed the hedonistic and mystical leanings of the likes of Keith Richards, Jimi Hendrix and George Harrison into a unified symbol of classic rock mythology, peppered with notorious tales that make uncomfortable reading in 2020: under-age girlfriends, the red snapper incident, Pages rumoured Satanic rituals.

Their final two albums, Presence (1976) and In Through the Out Door (1979) might not have matched the critical acclaim or phenomenal sales of Physical Graffiti or 1971s 37 million-selling Led Zeppelin IV, but both topped the charts on both sides of the Atlantic and went multi-platinum. When this Zeppelin went down it wasnt, from the outside at least, in flames. Hence, the bands bow-out in 1980 has become seen as a benchmark of brotherhood in rocknroll. By emphasising the sacred, almost psychic bond between a close family of tuned-in musicians, it was seen as a statement of magical creative unity that many acts have adhered to since: acts as diverse as Beastie Boys, A Tribe Called Quest, The Cribs and Coldplay have decided that their bands would cease to exist if one member was lost.

Beyond their vast musical impact then, Zeppelins split also helped instil, in more righteous acts, the tenet of music over money. Led Zeppelin wasn't a corporate entity, Page told Rolling Stone in 2012. Led Zeppelin was an affair of the heart. Each of the members was important to the sum total of what we were. I like to think that if it had been me that wasn't there, the others would have made the same decision. And what were we going to do? Create a role for somebody, say, You have to do this, this way? That wouldnt be honest.

All was not quite as Musketeers-like as it seemed, however. The couldnt do it without him story is just an excuse, argues Mick Wall, author of Led Zeppelin biography When Giants Walked the Earth, Zeppelin were in a completely awful place when Bonham died. Its one of the reasons he died, they were rotting from the head down. Wall argues that the heroin abuse and tragic events of the bands late-Seventies era had exacerbated animosities between Page, Plant and Bonham and driven the band to the brink of collapse some years earlier.

Struggling with touring and recording in the aftermath of a 1975 car accident on the Greek island of Rhodes, which almost killed his wife Maureen and confined him to a wheelchair for several months, Plant had long felt frustrated with the Zeppelin machine. I was furious with Page and [band manager] Peter Grant, he told biographer Chris Welch. I was just furious that I couldnt get back to the woman and the children that I loved. And I was thinking, is all this rock and roll worth anything at all?

The 1977 US tour was, according to tour manager Richard Cole, f***ing horrible. There was no camaraderie between anyone. Fuelled by vodka, Bonham was becoming unruly and violent a written set of backstage rules warned journalists not to look him in the eye for your own safety. Pages heroin habit, meanwhile, made him a surly presence, darkening the mood in the Zeppelin camp and spitting at sound technicians mid-set. There were bodyguards everywhere, and that was a real big sea change from 75 to 77, journalist Jaan Uhelski told Barney Hoskyns for his 2012 oral history Trampled Under Foot. There was just a cloud that seemed to hang over everybody.

Page, Plant and Bonham performing during Led Zeppelins 1977 tour

(Getty Images)

It was just a mess, Plant added. Where was the actual axis of all this stuff? Who do I go to if its really bad for me? There was nobody. Everybody was insular, developing their own worlds.

That last ever American Zeppelin tour was cut short in New Orleans when Plant received word of the death of his five-year-old son Karac from a stomach infection. In the wake of such a devastating loss the band were put on hold; Plant no longer cared about strutting around stages singing Whole Lotta Love. I lost my boy, he told Rolling Stone, I didn't want to be in Led Zeppelin. I wanted to be with my family. I didn't really want to go swinging around, he explained to Q in 1990. Hey hey mama, say the way you move didn't really have a great deal of import anymore.

Quitting all of his drug habits in one day, he even strongly considered swapping life as a golden rock god for the blackboard jungle. All of us had been thinking about what would happen next because the illusion had run its course, he told the BBC in 2010. Id already lost my boy and then you think, I really have to decide what to do. I applied to become a teacher in the Rudolf Steiner education system. I was accepted to go to teacher training college in 1978. I was really quite keen to just walk.

I just thought there was something far more honest and wholesome about just digging in and putting the ego away in the closet, he told GQ in 2011. Because no matter what we say, entertainers are usually quite insecure, wobbly characters underneath and maybe that bit of glory or that bit of expression or whatever it is compensates in some area. But I thought I should be rid of it.

His bandmates differing reactions to the tragedy drove further wedges between them. During the absolute darkest times of my life when I lost my boy and my family was in disarray, it was Bonzo who came to me, Plant said in 2005. The other guys were [from] the south and didnt have the same type of social etiquette that we have up here in the north that could actually bridge that uncomfortable chasm with all the sensitivities required to console.

Wall cites Page not attending Karacs funeral as an unforgivable breaking point, dissipating Plants mystique for his guitarist foil and giving him the power of being willing to walk away. Bonzo was the only one who went to the funeral, he said. Plant understood that when youre with people that are deep into heroin multi-millionaires with ounces and ounces, their whole life, their religion, their heart is all heroin it produces bad s***. Plant being the eternal hippy who believes in karma, felt convinced that every rotten thing that had happened to him and Zeppelin, which had begun in 1975 with the terrible car crash, all related back to the fact that Zeppelin had taken a very dark turn Plant left the group at that point, he was gone, they just didnt announce it because they were hoping to get him back.

It fell to Bonham and Page to hold the band together. I was thinking about leaving the group, but Jimmy Page kept me from doing it, Plant told German magazine Bravo at the time. He said without me, the bands nothing. He wanted me to take a break until I felt ready for playing again. I realised that we are more than business partners. We are real friends.

The only reason Plant went back in 1979 was because Bonzo more or less begged him, says Wall. After Jimmy became completely incapacitated [by drugs] it was all about keeping Robert happy. The way they kept him happy on those final shows in Europe in 1980 was to cut their hair, stop wearing flares, lets not do Stairway To Heaven, lets make the songs shorter and tighter.

Jones remembers 1980 as the point where we had all come back together again we had high hopes it was all coming right. But according to Wall, Plant could hardly bear to be in the same room as Page They were completely in disarray, utterly hanging on by a thread. Page, who was literally over the other end of the rainbow, a major junkie for at least five years at that point, beyond Keith Richards, he had it in his head well go to America and itll rekindle the spark. When Bonzo died, everybody got found out that day, the whole rotting edifice exposed itself.

Bonhams death was a definitive full stop for Plant. John had been incredibly supportive to me, he told the BBC, so to lose him, that was the end of any naivety. It was very evident that my last connection was severed. As far as strong affairs of the heart and a confederacy, it was gone.

Following 1982s swansong rarities compilation Coda, the band retreated into myth-shrouded legend. A reunion for the Philadelphia leg of Live Aid with an un-rehearsed Phil Collins sitting in fresh from a Concorde flight from Wembley only justified Plants stance that it wouldnt be Led Zeppelin with any other drummer. It was a f***ing atrocity for us, Plant said. It made us look like loonies.

As a result, the band turned down $90 million each to tour the US in the wake of Live Aid, and Plant also scuppered plans for a year on the road following the O2 reunion. Page and Jones rehearsed with Steven Tyler standing in for Plant and Jason Bonham on drums, but that unprecedented payday never happened. The Roger Waters tour around the same time grossed about $700 million, Wall says. Zeppelin wouldve doubled that. Robert walked away from it to do a tour of college towns with Alison Krauss, partly because the whole experience of getting back together was so awful. At the O2, Jimmy was in his own enclave with armed guards. The Zeppelin fables of recent years have been more financial than hedonistic; in 2014, rumours circulated that Plant had ripped up an $800 million offer from Richard Branson to reform.

Their split might have come about due to internal fractures more than band-of-brothers unity, and their reluctance to tour may be far from unanimous, but as Led Zeppelins influence swamped the coming decades, inspiring vast swathes of acts as cool as The White Stripes and as corny as The Black Crowes, Plants refusal to capitalise on their history since Bonhams death has smacked of a certain nobility, leaving the Zeppelin legacy untainted and the arcane fantasy of their mystical bond intact. The truth may be messy, sour and inconvenient but, with Zeppelin, the myth always mattered most.

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The untimely death of Led Zeppelin - The Independent

Is this app going to save clubbing in 2021? – Dazed

The coronavirus pandemic forced clubs and live music venues across the world to close, while festivals and other large gatherings were cancelled or indefinitely postponed. However, there may now be hope that partying could return sooner rather than later with the help of a new app, Liberty Pass, which could pave the way for a return to clubbing next year.

The app was announced at the virtual edition of the seventh annual International Nightlife Congress, an organisation committed to promoting positive contributions from nightlife entrepreneurs. It works by collecting official information from medical centres regarding antigen testing, PCR tests, and vaccines. The app then displays a QR code with a green tick if an individual's tests come up as negative, allowing them access to particular venues or events.

The results stay active for 72 hours for each individual, allowing them to access clubs and events over that time period. Once the QR code expires however, they will need to produce another negative test. If a user is vaccinated then their status will remain active for the length of time the vaccine is valid.

The Spanish party island of Ibiza could be an early adopter of the technology in a bid to get its vibrant clubbing scene back in motion. Spain Nightlife and International Nightlife Association secretary-general Joaquim Boadas, told DJ Mag that the app could be used to open venues in 2021, along with other health measures including regular hand sanitising and the wearing of masks when not drinking.

The Spanish nightlife association, Spain Nightlife, has made an agreement with Liberty Pass to introduce the app, although a launch date is yet been announced. In the UK, however, there are no plans to adopt this type of technology as the nightlife sector continues to struggle after many venues have been closed since March.

Michael Gove, Minister for the Cabinet Office said on Tuesday that: There were no plans for vaccine passports to allow people into pubs and restaurants. He told Sky News: Certainly I do not plan to introduce any vaccine passports and I do not know anyone else in the government who is planning it.

Last month, experts warned that UK nightclubs face extinction due to the coronavirus pandemic. While other venues such as pubs, bars, and cafs have been able to reopen in some capacity since the first UK lockdown in March, nightclubs have for the most part remained closed. Speaking to Dazed, Michael Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), said: The failure in many ways has been (the exclusion of nightlife) from the narrative, as well as the lack of economic and cultural recognition and value, robust financial support packages for businesses, and an exit strategy or direction of travel.

Back in October the iconic LGBTQ+ club G-A-Y launched a lawsuit against a 10pm curfew imposed by the government to try and curb rising levels of coronavirus cases in the UK. It questioned the arbitrary decision which led to many pubs, bars, and clubs taking heavy financial hits from having to close early. The result of G-A-Ys hearing, held on December 3, is yet to be disclosed.

In the wake of closed venues and curfews, partygoers in the UK have been flocking to illegal raves to get their hit of hedonism. Back in July, pictures emerged from a lockdown rave near Manchester showing large crowds, thought to be approaching 4,000-strong, drinking, dancing, and inhaling nos in a woodland opening. It was just one of many illegal parties held across the UK since the outbreak, with several others popping up in London, Leeds, Norfork, Essex and various other locations.

Lockdown in the UK was lifted on December 2 and the country has transitioned to a tiered system. In tier one, pubs and bars can open but must stick to table service, while in tier two, the sale of alcohol is only permitted alongside a substantial meal. In tier three, pubs, bars, and restaurants must stay closed. This approach has been widely criticised as many venues must remain shut without the same level of support offered to them during the country-wide lockdowns.

With no vaccine passport technology planned for implementation in the UK, and many clubs still facing an uncertain future, Kill suggests that staying tuned in and engaging with your favourite venues is a good way to support them, whether thats financially, or through sharing messages of support.

Read our feature here on the future of post-pandemic partying.

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Is this app going to save clubbing in 2021? - Dazed

Top 10 spirits launches in November 2020 – The Spirits Business

1st December, 2020 by Nicola Carruthers

From Lebron James and Teslas first Tequila ventures to Glengoynes oldest Scotch whisky to date, there were plenty of innovative products launched last month.

Roe & Cos first single malt Irish whiskey and a Tequila backed by Lebron James made our list of top spirits

Given its growing popularity, its no surprise that a number of celebrities have entered the Tequila sector in recent years. Over the past month weve seen basketball player Lebron James invest in Lobos 1707, and car maker Tesla also jumped on the bandwagon with a namesake bottling.

Meanwhile, Glengoyne created its oldest Scotch whisky to date and is offering one group of five a free bottle of the 50-year-old expression.

Diageo also moved into single malt Irish whiskey with a new release from Roe & Co, and zero-ABV Everleaf unveiled its first line extensions last month, alongside a new bottle design.

Click through the following pages to discover our favourite spirits launches from last month.

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Top 10 spirits launches in November 2020 - The Spirits Business

The year that shook the economy – New Statesman

The United Kingdom recorded its first cases of Covid-19 on 31 January, the day it formally left the European Union. After more than three years of parliamentary deadlock and political drift, some on the right believed Boris Johnsons ebullience and resounding general election victory would translate into a mini economic boom. The Boris Bounce Begins, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Leader of the House of Commons, tweeted on 18 February after it was confirmed that average real wages had finally exceeded their 2008 level. They would not do so for long.

If the Conservatives were unprepared for a traditional cyclical downturn, they were still less prepared for what followed. Within a few months, the UK was in the grip of the coronavirus pandemic and plunged into the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. The 25 per cent fall in GDP between February and April returned the economy to the size it had been in mid-2002, when Tony Blair was prime minister, Iain Duncan Smith was the leader of the opposition and Barack Obama was yet to be elected to the US Senate.

The recession suffered by the UK was the worst of any G7 member state and of any advanced economy except Spain. After years of ultra-low unemployment, the UK suffered a record 314,000 redundancies in the three months to September (with a total of 782,000 since March). The budget deficit, which the Conservatives once vowed to eliminate, is forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to reach 394bn by the end of the year, its highest level since the Second World War. The national debt (2.1trn) has risen above 100 per cent of GDP for the first time since 1963. Why was the UK hit so hard? And what does the pandemic mean for its future economic model?

In November 2016, Rishi Sunak, a committed Brexiteer, wrote in a pamphlet for the Thatcherite think tank the Centre for Policy Studies, Upon leaving the EU, Britain will find itself with more opportunities for economic innovation than at any time in almost 50 years. Sunak was proved broadly correct but not for the reasons he thought. Having replaced Sajid Javid as Chancellor on 13 February, because he was considered by Dominic Cummings and others to be more compliant than the incumbent, the task of shielding the economy during the worst pandemic in 100 years fell to him. Confronted by the effects of Covid-19, Sunak embraced the mantra of Gordon Brown, when he was prime minister during the 2008 financial crisis, and Mario Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank, vowing to do whatever it takes.

Sunak was initially true to his word. Through the widely praised Job Retention Scheme, the state undertook to pay 80 per cent of furloughed workers wages (up to a maximum of 2,500 a month). The Chancellor also temporarily increased the standard Universal Credit allowance by 1,000 a year, taking unemployment support to its highest ever real-terms level. Next to the indolent and often absent Boris Johnson, who presided over a late lockdown, Sunak appeared a model of clarity. Len McCluskey, the general secretary of Unite, was among the Chancellors unlikely cheerleaders. Rishi Sunaks wage support measures are a historic first for this country, but are bold and very much necessary, he said.

***

The Chancellors interventions helped limit the scale of the economic shock but they could not prevent it. In August, it was confirmed that the UK had suffered the worst recession of any G7 country, having alreadyrecorded the highest number of excess deaths in Europe during the first wave of the virus. The juxtaposition of the two was no coincidence: by causing a surge in deaths, the late lockdown helped destroyeconomic confidence.

Many of the stringent measures that were belatedly imposed by the Johnson government endured for longer than in other European countries because the virus had already spread so widely. As Devi Sridhar, aprofessor and the chair of global public health at the University of Edinburgh, recently told me: The [states] that went in hard, dealt with their public health problem and then released had a better economicrecovery.

It was the severity of the UK recession that prompted the rush to reopen the economy in the summer. Workers were implored to return to the office or face redundancy. Sunak, who had become the countrysmost popular politician, launched Eat Out to Help Out, which offered diners a discount of up to 10 per head on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in August. But he dismissed demands for the furloughprogramme to be extended beyond 31 October and cut the wage schemes subsidy from 80 per cent to 60 per cent. One could have been forgiven for assuming, in Johnsons words, that Covid-19 had been sentpacking. It had not.

[See also:Leader: Reimagine the high street]

Throughout the summer, epidemiologists consistently warned of the threat of a second wave of the virus in the autumn. In an interview with theNew Statesmanin July, Neil Ferguson, the Imperial Collegeepidemiologist whose modelling had panicked the government into changing policy in March, and a Sage member before his resignation, said of the planned reopening of schools: All our modelling suggests thatthis will lead to an increase in transmission and the [reproduction rate] going above R-1.

By 22 September, faced with a recrudescence of the virus, the government again ordered workers to work from home if they were able to do so. As new local lockdowns were imposed across the north of Englandand the Midlands, the governmentspublic health and economic policies were misaligned: new restrictions were brought forward as state support was rolled back.

Only on 9 October did Sunak announce that the furlough scheme would continue for workers whose firms were forced by law to close (with a 67 per cent wage subsidy, up to 2,100 a month). On 31 October theday the programme was due to end Sunak responded to a second national lockdown in England by restoring the original 80 per cent subsidy and, on 5 November, extending furlough until March 2021. This slowmotion capitulation came at a cost. The timing of redundancies coming through very fast as we moved into the autumn is to do with the planning around the Job Retention Scheme and the short notice of it being retained, Torsten Bell, the chief executive of the Resolution Foundation, told me.

***

In a speech in July 2015, two months after he was elected to parliament, Sunak said of George Osbornes promise of a budget surplus: Britain will live within its means. No more irresponsible borrowing. No morespiralling debt at the taxpayers expense. No more passing the debt to the next generation. In his Conservative conference speech on 5 October of this year, Sunak elevated balancing the books to a sacred responsibility. It was this superstitious fear of government borrowing even with interest rates at record lows that drove his initialreluctance to extend the furlough scheme.

In 2010, heedless of the threat of a double-dip recession, Osborne imposed austerity on the United Kingdom. In 2020, heedless of the threat of a second coronavirus wave, Sunak similarly withdrew economicsupport. And on 25 November, with eerie symmetry, Sunak used the spending review to announce the return of the public sector pay freeze imposed by Osborne a decade ago. Though average real earnings inthe public sector are 1.5 per cent lower than in 2010, only NHS workers and the lowest paid were spared.

The loose talk of a V-shaped economic recovery that dominated much of the summers political conversation has dissipated. Though GDP rose by a record 15.5 per cent in the third quarter of 2020, the economyremains 9.7 per cent smaller than it was before the Covid crisis. Following the second national lockdown in England, forecasters expect the UK economy to shrink once more.

The consolation for Britain is the advance towards a Covid-19 vaccine, or vaccines perhaps the most potent stimulus. Once the economy truly reopens, sectors such as hospitality, leisure and travel shouldrapidly recover. Affluent consumers who have saved during the pandemic household savings rose by 100bn in the first six months of this year will rush to spend as animalspirits are unlocked.

[See also: How the UKs economic problems began long before the pandemic]

The history of pandemics shows that people want to go out afterwards, said Torsten Bell. Thats why the Twenties were called the Roaring Twenties, with new dances like the Charleston invented. Thehedonism was in part a reaction to coming out of the Spanish flu pandemic.

A renewed hedonism, or exuberance of spirits, will not compensate for the original economic shock, however. The OBR forecasts that the economy will be 3 per cent smaller in 2025 than previously expected. Justas coronavirus sufferers report enduring symptoms, so the UK will suffer a form of long economic Covid.

The 2019 Conservative manifesto vowed to level up the poorer regions of the UK, while simultaneously avoiding major tax rises and maintaining strict limits on borrowing. It seemed like an unrealistic promiseeven then. And Covid-19 has rendered the have-cake-and-eat-it economics favoured by Johnson and his enablers unviable. In order to meet their spending promises, the Conservatives will be forced either torelinquish their fiscal hawkishness as the US Republicans have done orraise taxes.

Sunak has already annexed several policies from Labours doomed 2019 manifesto: the creation of a national infrastructure bank, the establishment of a Treasury HQ in the north of England, and the rewriting ofthe departments investment rules to end a pro-southern bias. He may yet raise corporation tax, as John McDonnell would have done, from 19 per cent to 24 per cent, and tax capital gains at the same rate asincome.

***

The pandemic, combined with Brexit, has intensified the UKs economic identity crisis. Its present model is a strange fusion of social-democratic welfarism (the NHS, the second highest spending on family benefitsin the OECD), neoliberalism (market-driven globalisation, privatised utilities, an ultra-flexible labour market) and, now, populist Keynesianism.

Rather than Brexit heralding a new economic order, as was predicted by some on the Tory benches, the UK is more likely to muddle through, as it often does. In common with other Western states, the country thatit increasingly resembles is Japan, which has anaemic growth, high national debt and an ageing population. Whatever the democratic justification for Brexit, the notion that it will open the way for national revivalis a consoling delusion.

It would be a mistake to speak of Covid-19 ravaging an otherwise healthy economy. For too many people, the pandemic merely felt like a new chapter in an unending crisis. Owing to welfare cuts, the poorest tenthof households in the UK were already no better off in 2018-19 than they were in 2001-02. Low levels of unemployment have long hidden the problem of underemployment: a lack of adequate full-time or good,secure, well-paid jobs. Covid-19 has interacted with social deprivation to lethal effect.

The UK has suffered for not building back better from the 2008 financial crisis and from the free-market shock therapy of the 1980s. Its economy is characterised by a lack of investment and exports, antiquatedinfrastructure and a public realm degraded by austerity. After the worst pandemic in a century, building back better has onlybecome harder.

[See also:Boris Johnson has failed to adapt his economic policy to vaccine success]*/]]]]>]]>

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The year that shook the economy - New Statesman

What is the Electoral College? Which states have the most electoral votes? How it works – syracuse.com

What is the Electoral College? As America votes in the 2020 election, voters may be wondering how it works, why we have it, and where the magic number 270 comes from.

For starters, the college is not like a university or other institute of higher learning. Its a group of people 538 to be exact who chooses the president and the vice president of the United States of America. The White House race is not decided by the popular vote, unlike local and state elections.

As a result, the winning presidential candidate only needs to secure 270 electoral votes and can still end up with fewer total votes across the U.S. This political phenomenon has happened five times: In 2016, when Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton with nearly 3 million fewer total votes; in 2000, when Al Gore lost to George W. Bush; in 1888, when Benjamin Harrison beat the more popular Grover Cleveland; in 1876, when Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Samuel Tilden; and in 1824 when John Quincy Adams lost the popular vote to Andrew Jackson but had the electoral college support.

Why 538? The number of electors in each state (and the District of Columbia) is equal to the number of congressional seats that state has in the House and Senate. Each state (and Washington, D.C.) has at least three electoral votes; the number of votes per state is determined by the number of representatives, which is determined by the population count from the most recent Census.

Congress has a total of 435 House members and 100 senators (two per U.S. state). The Electoral College has 538 members because the District of Columbia was awarded three electors with passage of the 23rd Amendment.

The magic number 270 is simply the minimum number of electoral votes required to secure a majority and win the presidential election.

Which states have the most electoral votes?

California has the most electoral votes with 55, followed by 38 in Texas, 29 in New York and Florida, 20 in Illinois and Pennsylvania, and 18 in Ohio.

Alaska, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming each have the fewest electoral votes: Three.

Battleground states are typically U.S. states with a large number of electoral votes with a balanced number of Republican and Democratic voters. Most states vote the same way every year, which is why analysts often say a candidate can win the election if they simply win a small handful of states.

In the 2020 race between President Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden, Politico reports eight battleground states are being eyed as crucial to winning: Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

When a presidential candidate receives the most votes in a state, they get all of that states electoral votes except for Maine and Nebraska, which split electoral votes based on popular voting. So when millions of U.S. voters cast their ballot for a presidential candidate, theyre actually not voting for Trump or Biden theyre voting for their chosen electors.

According to the National Archives, political parties in each state choose electors before Election Day, typically at conventions. Electors are typically party members rewarded for service and are all but assumed to vote for their partys nominee some states require it, and electors rarely go rogue. (There were seven faithless electors in 2016, the most since 1972, who went against voters' wishes and cast votes for people like Colin Powell, Bernie Sanders, Ron Paul and John Kasich.)

If all of this sounds confusing, youre not alone. It gets even more complicated when you realize 538 is an even number and a presidential election can technically end in a tie. This happened in 1800 and 1824, forcing the House of Representatives to choose the president.

When do electors vote?

The winner in the 2020 presidential election is not expected to be announced on Election Day, due to the large number of absentee and mail-in ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic. It may take weeks to determine a winner, but technically the race wont be decided until the electors cast their votes on the first Monday after the second Wednesday in December or Dec. 14 this year.

In New York, 29 electors will formally vote in Albany with procedures and traditions that date back more than 200 years. Its unclear how Covid-19 will change the proceedings, but the electors typically meet inside the state Capitols Senate chamber to fill out paper ballots and deposit them in a wooden box, leaving it to a clerk to count votes manually.

Why do we have an Electoral College anyway?

The U.S. Constitution set up the Electoral College because the founding fathers were said to be afraid of democracy. James Madison worried about what Alexis de Tocqueville called the tyranny of the majority making the wrong choice for president.

Alexander Hamilton said the Electoral College can ensure a Commander in Chief is chosen by men most capable of analyzing the qualities adapted to the station, and acting under circumstances favorable to deliberation, and to a judicious combination of all the reasons and inducements which were proper to govern their choice.

Today, the Electoral College is considered more of a formality, but it could one day be abandoned for a more direct democratic process. For example, U.S. senators were originally appointed by state legislatures until the 17th Amendment made them directly elected by the public.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, the Electoral College could be abolished by an amendment to the Constitution, requiring a two-thirds vote of both chambers, or by states bypassing the college and joining the National Popular Vote Compact. States in the NPV would give all of its electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the national popular vote, rather than the states popular vote.

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What is the Electoral College? Which states have the most electoral votes? How it works - syracuse.com

Write-ins and third party votes a waste – The Merciad

Ever since the first presidential election, there has been essentially two parties running against each other.

Whether its been the Federalists against the Democratic-Republicans or the Democrats against the Republicans, one party will emerge victorious over the other.

However, there has almost always been a smaller third party weaving its way in and out of elections. From the Whig Party of the early 1800s to todays Libertarian and Green Parties, these lesser-known parties have come up with candidates for mayor, governor, senator, representative or even President.

This year Jo Jorgenson is the Libertarian Partys presidential candidate. In 2016, that honor was bestowed upon Gary Johnson, former governor of New Mexico, while Jill Stein, a physician from Massachusetts, was the presidential candidate of the Green Party, a position she resumed from the 2012 election.

Another thing that US elections have seen in recent years have been write-in votes. In 2016, Queen Elizabeth II was a popular write-in vote since many Americans did not have faith in Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.

Maryland governor Larry Hogan received some backlash recently for putting in Ronald Reagan as his write-in vote, which brings me to my main point: write-in and third party votes arent just a waste, theyre detrimental to elections.

Even if one electoral vote were to go to a third party or write-in candidate, it could completely change who wins the election. Another overseen problem are faithless electors, who are individuals that give their electoral votes to people that are not running for the presidency.

In 2016, there were 7 such individuals. 2 of these votes came from Texas, with 1 vote going to Ron Paul and another to John Kasich. Washington had the most faithless electors, with 4;3 of the votes going to Colin Powell while the other went to Faith Spotted Eagle.

The last faithless elector came from Hawaii, and their vote went to Bernie Sanders. Although these might just look like 7 electoral votes, they could have easily helped strengthen the race between Clinton and Trump.

I dont have anything against those who support a third party, but I believe that when it comes to presidential elections, its best to stick to the two main parties, especially with such a crucial election like this one.

If even one electoral vote goes to someone other than the two main candidates, it could easily devastate the election and change an outcome. No matter how different our ideological views may be, for now lets just put our differences aside, vote for the major candidate of our choice, and see how the election plays out.

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Write-ins and third party votes a waste - The Merciad

Why Mark ZuckerbergAnd George SorosAre Actually Conservative Heroes – Forbes

Nobody likes Mark Zuckerberg. The Facebook CEO has lower favorable ratings across the board than President Donald Trump, according to some polling. But since Zuckerberg runs a Silicon Valley social network, he is especially loathed by Republicans, like the senators who last week accused him and his counterparts at Twitter and Google of censoring conservatives.

Such criticism is unfounded. In fact, in a real way, Zuckerberg should be lauded a patron saint of the American conservative movement. And right-wingers should also be praising George Soros, another one of their undeserved bogeymen. Both are paying big money to limit governments involvement in our lives, a pillar of the intellectual foundation of modern-day conservatism.

This is the face of someone paying to enact a conservative ideal in American government.

In whats become a stylized ritual, Republican senators lined up to bellow at Zuckerberg at a hearing last Wednesday, their punishment for Facebooks treatment of the New York Posts recent report on the contents of Hunter Bidens laptop.

Yet in the aggregate, Facebook does conservatives an enormous service. Right-leaning posts perform particularly well on Facebook, multiple studies show. Most days, the list of the best-performing posts on Facebook is a list of whatever Dan Bongino or Ben Shapiro are thinking that day.

On top of platforming their ideas, Zuckerberg is also bankrolling a classic conservative ideal. Not too long ago, classic conservatives like the Buckley family and libertarian conservatives like former Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Paul presented a united front on the drug war.

Since the drug war allowed law enforcement to enter Americans homes and disrupt their lives for making personal choices about their bodies and their habits, the drug war was considered one of the most obvious examples of a big and intrusive government availableand thus, anathema to a classic conservative.

In an example of horseshoe theory in action, the dogma around legal drugs has switched, and Republican lawmakers have become some of the drug wars staunchest defenders, with the liberals they deride as socialists some of the loudest and most reliable voices calling for an end to prisons stuffed with drug users. And both Zuckerberg and Soros have ponied up cash to actually change these policies.

On Oct. 1, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, the policy-slash-philanthropy outfit founded by pediatrician Priscilla Chan and her more famous husband, contributed $500,000 to the campaign to pass Measure 110, a ballot initiative in Oregon that would decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugsall drugs, including hard drugs.

Soros is also doing this. A monster among conservatives for his support for the American Civil Liberties Union and other perceived progressive causes, Soros has for years been one of the biggest bankrollers of drug-policy reform. His Open Society Foundation funds the Drug Policy Alliance, the New York-based policy shop that advocates for drug-policy reform. And DPAs political shop, Drug Policy Action, is the biggest bankroller of Measure 110. Contributions to that effort total about $2.3 million, according to the most recent campaign finance filings.

Bankrolling small government, amplifying conservative voices. Add in Facebooks natural resistance to government regulationthe company was fined $5 billion by the Federal Trade Commission in 2019, and would not benefit much from stricter government regulation of either its service or the internetand you have an outfit that adheres to politics that are closer to classic conservatism than anything else.

There are some flaws in the orthodoxy. Measure 110, for example, doesnt eliminate government involvement in drug policy. Instead, it would redirect money from law enforcement to drug treatment and counseling. Then again, conservatives have been happy to jump on the revenue train generated by legalized marijuana, with former Speaker of the House John Boehner joining the board of legal marijuana company Acreage Holdings.

You could argue that modern-day conservatism doesnt bear much resemblance to the classic small-government model. You would probably be right. Still, its hard to see how Mark Zuckerberg hasnt done anything but a service to conservatives online. And at least in Oregon, both he and Soros are putting cash on the barrel to bring about a classic conservative ideal.

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Why Mark ZuckerbergAnd George SorosAre Actually Conservative Heroes - Forbes

The Libertarian Moment That Never Comes – The New Republic

Johnsons relatively strong showing in 2016 bespoke significant right-leaning dissatisfaction with Trump. The defeated ranks of the Never Trump crowd might easily have defected to the Libertarian Party in 2017, carrying a significant portfolio of media and donor assets out of the Republican tent along with them. Indeed, most of that cohort fit a socially liberal, fiscally conservative profile that would have required little ideological accommodation on either side. Instead, this faction gravitated toward novel enterprises like the Lincoln Project and formed a de facto armistice with Democrats in an effort to deny Trump reelection.

Rather than consolidating a newly aggrieved legion of supporters, movement libertarianism has spent the last few years in a state of reflective evolution. Prominent commentators like economist Tyler Cowen have observed the birth of a state capacity libertarianism, embodied in new groups like the Niskanen Center, that is more agnostic about the scope of government than traditional organizations like the Cato Institute. Meanwhile, activists and commentators have cast about for new identifying labels, some discarding libertarian for the more nebulous concept of classical liberalism.

Above all else, the chief obstacle to a growing Libertarian Partyone that actually wins office from time to time, or at least regularly claims a vote share in the high single digitsis simply the architecture of the American electoral system, which tends to sideline minor parties. Independent and third-party bids have, at times, broken through, as with Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, George Wallace in 1968, and Ross Perot in 1992. But those men were nationally known figures, each offering a true ideological alternative to what the Democrats and Republicans were serving up.

There might have been such a man for the moment this year: Justin Amash. The Michigan Republican, who won national headlines for breaking with his party and voting to impeach Donald Trump, explored the possibility of running for the Libertarian Party nomination about six weeks into the coronavirus lockdown, a notion that seemed to cause much more anxiety among establishment Democrats than the Trump camp. Amash, however, withdrew his short-lived campaign for the Libertarian Party nomination later in the spring. It seems quite likely in retrospect that he might have been blazing a brighter electoral path than Jorgensen is at the moment, but well never know. Its difficult, and perhaps impossible, to bring capable, ambitious leaders to moribund parties.

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The Libertarian Moment That Never Comes - The New Republic