Trance Box Office Collection and Review – Primetime

Language: Tamil

There was gigantic promotion encompassing Karthick Narens Mafia Chapter I, his second discharge after the profoundly amazing and discussed Dhruvangal Pathinaaru. It has an energizing star cast the charming Arun Vijay, a fine entertainer like Prasanna and the flawless Priya Bhavani Shankar, and is bankrolled by driving makers Lyca Productions. The trailer and character blurbs of the Narcos-style spine chiller had turned into a web sensation and the pre-discharge buzz excessively was certain.

Mafia is bundled as a ultra-snappy film with a slender storyline and looks increasingly like another age wrongdoing arrangement on a gushing stage. It is moderate paced despite the fact that the run time is just 112 minutes, arrives at a crescendo in its take out large uncover peak, which is the feature. The shocking turn toward the end looks increasingly like a base for the one-line story for a Chapter II. The film doesnt satisfy everyones expectations and desires you would foresee out of a Karthick Naren film.

It appears the screenplay was assembled in the wake of marking Arun Vijay and Prasanna together in the film. The fight lines are obviously drawn, as the slogan of the film says the tracker versus the brute. The story depends on the go head to head between the Narcotics Control Bureau boss Aryan (Arun Vijay), who is attempting to chase down Diwakar (Prasanna), the medication master taking on the appearance of a good specialist. At an early stage, we are given a great deal of measurements that opiates use is expanding in the state which has seen a 60 percent spike and 300 revealed passings due to overdose of medications like cocaine.

Aryan chooses to take on the medication cartel, alongside his associates Sathya (Priya Bhavani Shankar) and Varun after his chief and another enemies of medications social dissident Mugilan (Thalaivasal Vijay) are shot dead. In the interim, Diwakar with the support of influential individuals in high places, attempts to frustrate his endeavors to reveal the medication mafia. What follows is a fascinating wait-and-see game between the two preceding their ways cross in the peak.

The primary half is loaded with character presentation and trudges alongside a feebly composed story. It additionally does not have the vitality that one may anticipate from such a plot. Nonetheless, Karthick causes it to up in the pacey second half, with the amazement and astounding peak wind. As it were, the unexpected turn toward the end raises the crowds desires for Chapter II. Arun Vijay is essentially tremendous and looks crushing as Aryan, while Prasanna as the smooth and calm enemy leaves an effect. Furthermore, Priya Bhavani Shankar might not have a lot of screen space yet one single scene in the peak when she weapons down a trouble maker shows the entertainer in her. Another major in addition to of the film is the music and sound plan. Jakes Bejoys experience score makes the correct state of mind and lifts the film. The activity scenes are arranged in an alternate example. In any case, there are excesses of moderate movement scenes, particularly in the principal half to show the swag for character presentation.

In general Mafia: Chapter I is gorgeously cut however has next to no substance. Be that as it may, the peak has aroused the desire meter for Chapter II. Actually, only for the brief peak shock wind we are going with a higher rating than it would have merited.

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Trance Box Office Collection and Review - Primetime

Groove Cruise Returns to the West Coast with Groove Cruise Cali – EDM Identity

After taking over Catalina Island last year for an epic edition of Groove Island, Groove Cruise Cali returns for another sailing from Los Angeles!

Whether its the infectious atmosphere brought forth by the GC Fam or the fantastic artists they book, theres nothing quite like the party that happens on the high seas while aboard Groove Cruise. Now, after a successful sailing out of Miami earlier this year, Whet Travel has announced that theyll be returning to the West Coast with a fresh edition of Groove Cruise Cali.

This year, Captains who set sail on Groove Cruise Cali on October 15-18will be treated to 72-hours of nonstop music to dance the day and night away from over 50 DJs, plenty of artist interactions and exclusive experiences, and six costume parties to attend among other fun activities on board the NCL Bliss.

Related: Check out our interview with Whet Travels Founder Jason Beukema for a deeper look at what Groove Cruise is all about!

Speaking of the NCL Bliss, this ship for this sailing is one of the best in the fleet with over 30 unique restaurants appealing to any taste and an amusement park featuring a racetrack, waterslides, mini-golf, aqua park, and laser tag. There will also be single staterooms offered for those who are traveling to Groove Cruise solo or cant find a roommate to split with.

Register now for your chance to win a stateroom for two and get first access to bookings.

While were not sure who will be taking the stage during Groove Cruise Cali if past lineups are any indication then were sure its going to be a fantastic time. Expect plenty of house, techno, and trance to dominate the lineup and keep your feet moving, sea legs or not!

The public on-sale begins March 4 via GrooveCruise.com with online with payment plans starting at just $92! Dont forget to use code EDMIDENTITY for a $50 per person discount!

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Armin van Buuren announces all ages ‘This is Blah Blah Blah’ show – We Rave You

In May this year,Armin van Buurenwill embark on his series of shows titledThis Is Me. Some of the most special shows of his career so far, it will celebrate his achievements and successes through his music career when he started all the way up to present day, and will be uniquely intimate in the iconic venue Ziggo Dome. Now, these shows have the age limit of 18+ (like most electronic shows that go on through the evening), but Armin has announced something that will allow children to be involved in the action too. Together with events companyALDA(who have been responsible for hosting a lot of Armins events in the past and will be alongside him for the This Is Me shows), van Buuren has announced his This Is Blah Blah Blah show.

The all ages show will be aimed at those under 18 who still share the same passion for trance music as adults, and who wouldnt usually get to see the trance king in action. The afternoon show slots into the schedule of the other shows and will also take place in the Ziggo Dome. Explaining his reasoning behind the show and its concept, Armin had this to say:

I want to spark the younger fans with my love for music, having fun on stage, doing what I love most. Thats why I decided to add an all-ages show to the This Is Me series on Saturday May 23rd, called This Is Blah Blah Blah. This one is for all my fans who arent able to visita regular 18+ show. But most of all, this one is dedicated to my kids.

Taking place on Saturday23 May, you can now sign up the Armin van Buuren This Is Blah Blah Blah ticket pre-sale by clicking here, which starts Thursday 27 at16:00 CET. Get ready to be a part of something truly special!

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Armin van Buuren announces all ages 'This is Blah Blah Blah' show - We Rave You

8 DJs Discovered By Tisto – EDM.com

Among the shifting sands of the electronic music industry, one name has remained steadfast.Tisto(real name Tijs Michiel Verwest) has been producing music since the '90s, and his life's work has elevated dance music to where it is today. Without his influence, the electronic music and festival industry would have completely different DNA.

When Verwest is not producing super hits, it seems that he's following social media closely, always ready to extend his support to artists who catch his attention. In honor of Tisto's discerning ear, we've compiled a list of some of the world's biggest DJs who all interacted with Tisto early in their careers.

Having regularly toured through Dutch clubs since he was 14, Hardwell'scareer was already formidable at a young age. In 2010 Tisto reached out via Twitter, and in 2011 they released the collaborative track Zero 76. The song has been billed as one of the iconic dance anthems of the 2010s, and no doubt helped contribute to Hardwells spot among the top electronic music acts in the world.

Sied van Riel is said to have been discovered by Tisto sometime in 2006. After van Riel released his first single, Fearless, Tisto is rumored to have called him one of the hottest producers around. Van Riel would go on to release several singles the following year, and in 2008, his single Rush would be featured on Tistos In Search Of Sunrise 7.

Sander van Dien

Insomniac

Though First State have changed members a few times, the duo was comprised of Sander van Dien (the only current member of First State) and Ralph Barendse when they first caught Tistos ear. Tisto featured the track Falling from First States 2007 album Time Frame on In Search of Sunrise 6.

In 2012,Oliver Heldenswas completely unknown. In 2013 he sent a version of Gecko, written while in the back of his parents car on family vacation, to several labels. Tisto replied by signing Gecko to his label, Musical Freedom. Heldens track would go on to take first place in the UK Top 40 in 2014, and remain in the top 5 of both that chart and theBeatport Top 100 Tracks for six consecutive weeks. Heldens career skyrocketed soon after, and he continues to tour all over the world.

Unknown before 2016, Ryan Shepherds music and skill found the limelight after Tisto signed the track Fill Me In to his AFTR:HRS label. It was originally a collaborative track between Shepherd and Loud Luxury, and Tisto is said to have reached out to Shepherd after being shown the piece by the latter act.

Another Dutch trance artist, Mark Normans first releases were through Tistos labels, Black Hole Recordings and Magik Musik (a Black Hole sub label). Dropping Stream in 2003, Lenden would go on to release nearly all his mixes and tracks through the former imprint.

One of EDM's youngest prodigies, Martin Garrixwas a 15-year-old bedroom DJ when Tisto discovered his work. Once again reaching out over Twitter, Tisto got into contact with the young producer and helped him with his breakthrough release, "Animals." With a little early help from Tisto, he has become one of the worlds most well-known electronic musicians.

Ruud Baan

Despite occasional rumors of rivalry or feud between these two gods of trance, Armin van Buuren only has good to say of Tisto. He was one of the guys who could get me my first gigs, and get my first compilation on Black Hole [Recordings] back in 1999, van Buuren said duringYour EDM's 2016asQme. Shortly after that first compilation, van Buuren and Tisto would go on to release Eternity and Wonder Where You Are? together in 2000, bolstering van Buurens already rising fame.

Brian Baker is a writer, photographer, and designer based out of St. Louis. You can find his portfolio here.

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Check Point Software Technologies Recognized as a Microsoft Security 20/20 Partner Award Winner for Most Prolific Integration Partner – Yahoo Finance

Microsoft Azure customers select Check Point as their top choice for cloud security

SAN CARLOS, Calif., Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Check Point Software Technologies today announced it has been named a Microsoft Security 20/20 award winner for the Most Prolific Integration Partner category. The company was honored among a global field of top Microsoft partners for demonstrating excellence in innovation, integration, and customer implementation with Microsoft technology.

At the inaugural Microsoft Security 20/20 partner awards, held February 23, Microsoft announced award winners in 16 categories that span security integration partners, system integrators and managed security service providers. Check Point Software Technologies is a winner for Microsoft Security 20/20 Most Prolific Partner award.

Today, the cloud computing environment is the most complex it has ever been. The number of cloud services offered to enterprises has grown exponentially. The manner in which businesses store and scale data has changed dramatically. At the same time, the number of technologies deployable in the cloud has multiplied significantly, while application architecture has moved to micro-services, which has redefined the perimeter for security to that of the workload. All of these changes have made for a drastic increase in attack surface in todays cloud computing environment. Enterprises everywhere face the stern reality of multiple attack points - both ephemeral in nature and fragmented across a vast landscape in the cloud.

To meet the unique security needs of todays cloud and that of Azure customers, Microsoft and Check Point began working together. Microsoft shares Check Points belief that prevention supersedes detection. That, if youve detected an attack - most likely in the form of a breach - it means that you are already undergoing damage control to your company and brand. As a result, multiple integrations connect Microsoft and Check Point CloudGuard security products, including Azure Security Center, Azure Sentinel and Intune. These integrations ensure the assets of Azure customers are fully protected while allowing them to benefit from the elastic, dynamic and cost effective nature of Azure cloud.

Azure customers are choosing Check Point as their top choice in cloud security. Microsofts Most Prolific Integration Partner Award underscores Check Points leadership and vision in cloud security, and further emphasizes Check Points ability to meet the new and complex nature that surrounds todays cloud.

Microsoft and Check Point have significantly aligned their efforts, said Itai Greenberg, VP, Product Management and Product Marketing Check Point Software Technologies. Security is continually cited as a key barrier to wide-spread enterprise cloud adoption and expansion. Together, Microsoft and Check Point deliver one of the most advanced threat prevention solution to Azure customers, keeping their cloud network, data and applications protected from the most sophisticated Gen VI cyberattacks today.

Only through collaborations can organizations help customers get clarity and become more secure. The security ecosystem must work together to create a vision for the future where people, information, and companies are made safer. Microsoft Security 20/20 provides an opportunity to honor Microsoft partners that have developed and delivered exceptional Microsoft-based solutions and services during the past year.

Deployed by over 4,000 organizations worldwide, the Check Point CloudGuard portfolio of cloud security solutions addresses all aspects of the Cloud threat landscape. The solution delivers public and private cloud advanced threat prevention, posture management and compliance, runtime protection for cloud workloads, SaaS application security, as well as cloud threat intelligence and analytics.

Follow Check Point via:Twitter:http://www.twitter.com/checkpointswFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/checkpointsoftwareBlog: http://blog.checkpoint.com YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/user/CPGlobalLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/check-point-software-technologies

About Check Point Software Technologies Ltd.Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. (www.checkpoint.com) is a leading provider of cyber security solutions to governments and corporate enterprises globally. Check Points solutions protect customers from 5thgeneration cyber-attacks with an industry leading catch rate of malware, ransomware and advanced targeted threats. Check Point offers a multilevel security architecture, Infinity Total Protectionwith Gen V advanced threat prevention,this combined product architecture defends an enterprises cloud, network andmobile devices. Check Point provides the most comprehensive and intuitive one point of control security management system. Check Point protects over 100,000 organizations of all sizes.

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Check Point Software Technologies Recognized as a Microsoft Security 20/20 Partner Award Winner for Most Prolific Integration Partner - Yahoo Finance

This time, Microsoft will ensure Cloud is not just a pie in the sky – BusinessLine

Microsoft may have missed the mobile race and traditionally worked in a closed ecosystem, but one revolution which it will certainly not miss out on is the Cloud that is gaining ground in India and around the world.

Satya Nadella, the third CEO of Microsoft who is credited with changing the direction of the company with a revised mission statement, wants to do exactly that. The companys new mission statement reads: Empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft is open to working with companies and technologies with which it competes.

Currently, around 50 per cent of Microsofts India revenues comes from its cloud computing infrastructure and services, which were under 20 per cent just three to four years back. However, under Nadellas leadership, Microsoft aspires to be one of the forerunners in the cloud computing business, taking on rivals AWS, IBM and Google, say analysts.

Microsoft Azure is the Swiss Army Knife of Cloud and not just a knife and is poised to be one of the forerunners of the Cloud wars that will play out in 2020-21. It is a multi-purpose cloud that can cater to the needs of large enterprises, the developer community and the digital-first economy of new age start-ups, says Sanchit Vir Gogia, Chief Analyst of Greyhound Research.

He further said, Microsoft has forged deep partnerships with Reliance Jio; it is expanding its engagement with new-age start-ups like Myntra, Ola, InMobi; is investing heavily in B2B start-ups by powering them with Azure and working closely with the Government to be empanelled as a priority partner for cloud. It also has Azure ARC as its hybrid, multi-cloud platform.

At the Future Decoded Tech Summit in Bengaluru on Tuesday, Nadella said developers must dream about creating a broad cross-sectoral impact in the Indian economy in every sector including retail, healthcare, agri-tech. He said one of the most important responsibilities of the 4.2-million strong developer community in India one of the largest communities in the world must be to create a more inclusive world by building trust into technology, around privacy and AI models that are deployed, and core cyber security of assets and customers data.

We have 57 data centre regions around the world; we have three regions in India. We will build the infrastructure for openness, so that every layer of the tech stack should meet the real world needs. As we are expanding around the world with all these regions, that means we are also maintaining all the data sovereignty/residency laws. If a start-up developer wants to build an app and reach the world, there cant be a better time than now. We are compliant with all the regulations in the world, said Nadella.

An analyst tracking Microsoft said Nadella is transforming Microsoft from a traditional on-premise software company to a cloud computing services company and has opened up the company to open source software/technologies; forged partnerships with other organisations and made significant investments in SaaS (software as a service) and PaaS (platform as a service).

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This time, Microsoft will ensure Cloud is not just a pie in the sky - BusinessLine

Comprehensive Growth of Cloud Computing in Healthcare Market is thriving worldwide with Microsoft, International Business Machines (IBM), Dell, ORACLE…

A new informative report on the global Cloud Computing in Healthcare Market titled as, Cloud Computing in Healthcare has recently published by Contrive Datum Insights to its humongous database which helps to shape the future of the businesses by making well-informed business decisions. It offers a comprehensive analysis of various business aspects such as global market trends, recent technological advancements, market shares, size, and new innovations. Furthermore, this analytical data has been compiled through data exploratory techniques such as primary and secondary research. Moreover, an expert team of researchers throws light on various static as well as dynamic aspects of the global Cloud Computing in Healthcare market.

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The research lists key companies operating in the global market and also highlights the key changing trends adopted by the companies to maintain their dominance. By using SWOT analysis and Porters five force analysis tools, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of key companies are all mentioned in the report. All leading players in this global market are profiled with details such as product types, business overview, sales, manufacturing base, competitors, applications, and specifications.

Global Cloud Computing in Healthcare Market is thriving worldwide with Microsoft, International Business Machines (IBM), Dell, ORACLE, Carestream Health, Merge Healthcare, GE Healthcare, Athenahealth, Agfa-Gevaert, CareCloud.

Different leading key players have been profiled to get better insights into the businesses. It offers detailed elaboration on different top-level industries which are functioning in global regions. It includes informative data such as company overview, contact information, and some significant strategies followed by key players.

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The report is based on research done specifically on consumer goods. The goods have bifurcated depending on their use and type. The type segment contains all the necessary information about the different forms and their scope in the global Cloud Computing in Healthcare market. The application segment defines the uses of the product. It points out the various changes that these products have been through over the years and the innovation that players are bringing in. The focus of the report on the consumer goods aspect helps in explaining changing consumer behavior that will impact the global Cloud Computing in Healthcare market.

Regional outlook:

Geographically, the global Cloud Computing in Healthcare market has been analyzed in various regions such as North America, Latin America, Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, and India. The global region is dominating this market in the upcoming future.

Different questions addressed through this research report:

Table of Content (TOC):

Chapter 1 Introduction and Overview

Chapter 2 Industry Cost Structure and Economic Impact

Chapter 3 Rising Trends and New Technologies with Major key players

Chapter 4 Global Cloud Computing in Healthcare Market Analysis, Trends, Growth Factor

Chapter 5 Cloud Computing in Healthcare Market Application and Business with Potential Analysis

Chapter 6 Global Cloud Computing in Healthcare Market Segment, Type, Application

Chapter 7 Global Cloud Computing in Healthcare Market Analysis (by Application, Type, End User)

Chapter 8 Major Key Vendors Analysis of Cloud Computing in Healthcare Market

Chapter 9 Development Trend of Analysis

Chapter 10 Conclusion

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Comprehensive Growth of Cloud Computing in Healthcare Market is thriving worldwide with Microsoft, International Business Machines (IBM), Dell, ORACLE...

EdgeConneX Sees Growth in New Wave of Edge Applications – Data Center Frontier

Cabinets inside a data hall in an EdgeConneX data center facility. (Photo: EdgeConneX)

Edge computing is all about knitting together a growing universe of devices and applications. Colocation provider EdgeConneX has been on the front edge of this trend, working with a range of stakeholders to enable distributed computing.

We continue to see cloud content going further and deeper, said Randy Brouckman, the CEO of EdgeConneX, This is wave three of the edge. This is going beyond the on-ramps and moving to specialized instances of cloud.

This week EdgeConneX announced a multi-site deployment for one of those new cloud providers. Ori Technologies will deploy its global edge cloud platform at EdgeConneX facilities in Amsterdam, Munich and Warsaw.

The companies say the partnership will adddress common challenges developers face when deploying compute, storage and network resources across different providers, a critical requirement with apps for the Internet of Things (IoT), 5G, gaming and other edge-dependent services in Europe.

The next generation of cloud is driven by collaboration, says Mahdi Yahya, CEO at Ori Industries. But a gap currently exists between the needs of IT developers and the business models of MNOs (mobile network operators) and other telecommunications companies. Our technology merges the two, creating an ecosystem that gives infrastructure providers the necessary tools to transform their footprint into distributed edge-clouds, instantly ready to power applications in a fast, flexible and intelligent way.

Yahya said working with EdgeConneX allows Ori to help a growing number of developers build the exciting latency-sensitive applications of tomorrow.

In our 2020 Forecast we predicted that the economics of edge computing will come into sharp relief in 2020. End users and investors will focus on near-term cost/benefit analyses rather than long-term potential.

Ori is keenly focused on this challenge, using software to tie together disparate networks which could involve ISPs, data centers, telcos and smart cities infrastructure and manage and orchestrate these networks so developers can deploy workloads seamlessly across them. The Ori Global Edge allows participating networks to define how they offer resources, and simplify how developers can use these platforms.

Developers need the ability to dictate where their edge is and simplify workload deployment among distributed locations, says Dick Theunissen, Managing Director for EMEA at EdgeConneX. Thats exactly what Oris deployment in our data centers enables and how EdgeConneX can empower the edge for cloud service providers. Developers in Amsterdam, Munich and Warsaw can locally access Oris platform with the services in our edge data centers.

EdgeConneX sees this as the third wave of edge deployments. The first wave involved the growth of over the top (OTT) streaming video from Netflix and other new content services. The second wave was the mainstreaming of cloud services.

The third wave is driven by next-generation technologies including AI, 5G, the IoT, virtual and augmented reality and autonomous vehicles.

Each of these new technologies creates tons of data and bottlenecks at the edge, said Phillip Marangella, Chief Marketing Officer of EdgeConneX. This is what we mean when we say we are now seeing the next wave of edge computing, and are architecting the edge.

The Internet was not constructed to handle the traffic flows of today, Marangella says, and will get more congested in the coming months and years. He provided a deeper dive into these trends in a recent Voices of the Industry column on key trends for 2020.

EdgeConneX was an early player in edge computing, and was distinctive in its attention to evolving workloads and their requirements. The company built data centers at key network pain points, designed to handle high-density racks and operate without on-site staff. That vision has positioned EdgeConneX as an experienced hand in a young ecosystem, where the customers range from startups to tech giants.

EdgeConneX CEO Randy Brouckman (left) and Chief Marketing Officer Phillip Marangella at the recent PTC20 conference in Honolulu. (Photo: Rich Miller)

In a recent discussion at the Pacific Telecommunications Council (PTC20) conference in Honolulu, Brouckman and Marangella outlined how EdgeConneX is building its platform to address these trends.

Theres so much data being generated at the edge, said Marangella. Were a brick and mortar CDN. Since we established that edge platform, it allows us to bring cloud to the edge.

In its early days, EdgeConneX helped cable companies extend their networks to cell towers and office buildings. Then came Netflix and the surge in OTT traffic, which stressed the networks of cable operators and telecoms. The solution was a national network of edge data centers that could cache video content locally, easing the traffic burden on network operators.

EdgeConneX built 24 data centers in about 18 months, extending large-scale content distribution to second-tier markets across the U.S. and Europe. Each facility was a 2- to 4-megawatt data center with about 10,000 square feet of space, with an anchor tenant that was usually a cable multi-system operator (MSO) like Comcast, which is an investor in EdgeConneX.

EdgeConneX has continued to grow in some of these regional markets, including Atlanta, Toronto, Miami, Denver, Portland and Phoenix. Youll see us to continue to grow and fill out the second and third builds in those type of markets, Marangella said. Were pretty well established in the States.

Were also seeing a ton of demand in Europe and South America, he added. With GDPR, theres so much demand in Europe. Were also going to have some dots on the map in South America. Its just not good enough to serve it from Miami and Dallas.

In recent years, EdgeConneX has begun working with hyperscale providers, building large data center campuses in Amsterdam, Dublin and Chicago.

We love that we have this inertia, said Marangella. Form factor doesnt matter to us. Were building for the customer, and have the ability to span the entire spectrum. Were starting to do cable landing stations, and we do hyperscale data centers where well have 100 megawatts.

The companys data centers are designed as lights out unmanned facilities, using sophisticated monitoring and remote hands for maintenance. These things have to be unmanned to be economic to be economically viable, said Marangella. Thats where EdgeOS comes in.

EdgeConneX use its EdgeOS data center operating system to monitor and manage its facilities, with more than 500,000 sensors used in the companys data centers, monitored every 15 milliseconds. Facilities are managed from a central network operations center in Santa Clara, with remote hands support when on-site maintenance is required. The company has the ability to remotely control the generators and UPS systems at each data center.

In addition to Ori, EdgeConneX has worked to deploy networks focused on the Internet of Things, and network specialists providing cloud on-ramps. In 2020, the company sees growth opportunities in cloud gaming, where a new breed of platforms are seeking to deliver content to a latency-sensitive audience.

Latency is a big deal for multiplayer gaming, said Marangella. They do not want to have the network impact their business.

Gaming is getting bigger, said Brouckman. The technology can now happen in the cloud, and you couldnt say that a few years ago. Gaming also features lots of power density.

The market for distributed computing is expanding, and Brouckman believes that may be the case for a while.

Its not even early innings, he said. Its very early, and very active.

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Tips from the Top: Jancis Robinsons best wine addresses in London – Financial Times

Cocktails, craft gin and now no-alcohol bars may be fighting for attention in London, but the UK capital is still a wine city.

It has been the focus of the worlds wine trade since long before the Bordeaux region was governed by the English crown in the Middle Ages.

Today, visitors to London can choose from hipster wine bars in the citys trendy eastern quarter, some of the worlds most eclectic restaurant wine lists and wine stores staffed by unusually knowledgeable and enthusiastic wine geeks. And, if you can score an invite, the city now has at least three private members clubs devoted to wine. Here are some places to look out for:

67 Pall Mall, Londons first private members club for wine lovers, in the heart of St Jamess, boasts a far, far wider array of fine wines 1,000 available by the gossamer-thin Zalto glass than any of the traditional gentlemens clubs in the vicinity. Women are welcome and members may store their own wines in its cellars.

This also applies to the newer Oswalds club, a wine-soaked, more spacious sister of proprietor Robin Birleys 5 Hertford Street, with fine wines at such low prices you could, in effect, save your membership fee with a single dinner.

Trade in Soho is more raffish, aimed at hospitality professionals who want to drink great wine after work.

Russian-owned Hedonism Wines in Mayfair, a shop that is effectively a luxurious wine cave, offers visitors a frequently changing roster of 48 wine treasures available to taste (for a fee). It has spawned a restaurant on Piccadilly, Hide, where customers can order any wine to be ferried round from Hedonisms shelves as well as those on the restaurants list.

The other obvious magnet for wine browsers is Berry Bros & Rudds new shop, challengingly across the street from 67 Pall Mall. Its not quite as atmospheric, nor nearly as ancient, as this family companys original premises round the corner at 3 St Jamess Street but, like Hedonism, its one of remarkably few places in London where you can buy all that fine wine that is traded in and around the capital by the single bottle.

Another possibility is one of the five Lea & Sandeman stores, in Chelsea, Fulham, Kensington, Barnes and Chiswick. Other small groups of wine shops include Jeroboams, Vagabond (whose stores double as wine bars) and The Sampler, both of which always have interesting wines on taste. Seek out Bottle Apostle and Theatre of Wine for a particularly idiosyncratic range.

A magnet for serious wine lovers is Noble Rot, a wine bar and restaurant in Bloomsbury and home of the ground-breaking wine magazine of the same name. Its proprietors are adding a second branch in Soho, on the site of the now-closed Gay Hussar restaurant, one of the most famous names in Londons political dining history.

Vinoteca, a small group of bustling wine bars with wine shops attached, has locations dotted across central London. Its wine selection traditionally has been particularly strong on Italy a much-needed specialism in Francophile London.

Quality Wines on Farringdon Road is run like a salon for food and wine lovers, with a rotating selection of wines available by the glass and a small-plates menu featuring wine bar classics and staples from neighbouring modern British restaurant Quality Chop House. Disclosure: it is co-owned by our son Will Lander, but Gus Gluck, who previously ran two Vinoteca restaurants, is given complete and particularly effective autonomy over it.

Wine importer Les Caves de Pyrene was an early advocate of natural wines. Its wine bars Terroirs and Soif, in Charing Cross and Battersea respectively, have long championed these wines made by the simplest of methods, and are not quite as prevalent on the London wine scene as in, say, north-east Paris.

London even has its own wineries now places where wine enthusiasts can experience how wine is made, using not just English grapes but those from mainland Europe too. London Cru, based in a Victorian warehouse and former gin distillery in west London, offers wine tastings to the public as well as winemaker for a day events, guiding participants through tasting and blending wine. Blackbook, located in a railway arch in Battersea, also offers tours of the winery and tastings of its range of pinot noir and chardonnay.

Where are your favourite places to buy and drink wine in London? Wed love to hear in the comments below

Follow @FTGlobetrotter on Instagram for insider tips from our global network of correspondents to help you make the most of your work travel. Let us be your locals

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Tips from the Top: Jancis Robinsons best wine addresses in London - Financial Times

The Roots of Mardi Gras Arent Just in New Orleans – The Mary Sue

Courtesy Christopher Bryant, Mobile

Its Mardi Gras time! The annual tradition will culminate tomorrow on fat Tuesday with parades, booze, moon pies, beads, and general hedonism, but where did this tradition come from? I know your first instinct is to say New Orleans, of course, since no city in the US more associated with Mardi Gras, but you may be interested to know that the first Mardi Gras celebrations in America didnt start in NoLa they started slightly to the East, in Mobile, Alabama.

Now before we discuss Mardi Gras in America, we have to discuss its continental roots and larger history. Mardi Gras is one of many iterations around the globe of Carnivale, which is technically the period between Epiphany and Shrove Tuesday/Ash Wednesday.

Epiphany, also known as Three Kings Day, by the way, is the celebration of the three magi actually making it to Bethlehem to give Jesus his presents and when Christ received the holy spirit. There was a dove and thats why the twelve days of Christmas are actually the twelve days after Christmas. But anyway! Back to Carnivale!

Most Carnivale traditions dont go on for that entire time (thank god), but the general idea is living it up before the fasting and prayer of Lent. Mardi Gras literally means Fat Tuesday and is the Tuesday well you get, well, fat before lent. (The Monday before is Lundi Gras). Its a very catholic thing, but of course like all good holiday traditions, it probably has deeper pagan roots in winter and early spring festivals like Saturnalia and Lupercalia where the Romans (who liked any excise to a party) would go wild.

Now to America. The first celebrants of Mardi Gras in America were French soldiers led by a guy by the name of Pierre Le Moyne dIberville. In 1699, they were exploring the area around was is now New Orleans. They came to a point around sixty miles upriver and made camp and realized it was Shrive Tuesday and names the spot Point Du Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday point!).

Now, Pierre was on this expedition with his younger brother Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, who went on to found a settlement in the same general area near the Gulf of Mexico, the first capital of French Louisiana Mobile. The first organized Mardi Gras celebration in America happened in Mobile in 1703. The capital of Louisiana was moved to New Orleans in 1723 (five years after the city was founded in 1718), but the Mardi Gras tradition in Mobile continued, mainly thanks to the parades and festivities as organized by mystic societies or krewes of which Mobile had the first.

Joe Cain day float in Mobile. Photo: Christopher Bryant.

While Mardi Gras continued as a tradition in much of the French-influenced and settled areas of the deep south, like New Orleans and Mobile, it wasnt always met with approval by the various controlling governments. First the Spanish and then the Americans either banned or tolerated Mardi Gras and the first official Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans didnt happen until 1837.

Mardi Gras in Mobile for its part had a similarly checkered history under various controlling governments, including the victorious Union forces that were occupying Mobile in 1868, when a man named Joe Cain, inspired by the Parades in New Orleans, decided to stage his own parade in front of Union troops dressed as a fiction Chickasaw Indian as a means of mocking them. The racial and historical context of that is complicated and fraught, but Joe Cain Day is still celebrated in Mobile with the peoples parade the only procession not run by a formal parade krewe.

Mardi Gras is a beloved tradition in Mobile and other strongly cajun southern cities, but thats not to say Mardi Gras is the same in those places as it is in New Orleans. For one thing, its much smaller and less of a tourist draw and tends to be a little more family-friendly and community-focused than its raucous cousin in Lousiana. But there are still beads, masks, and treats aplenty.

So whether youre enjoying King cakes or moon pies tomorrow when you throw on your green, gold, and purple, remember that the Mardi Gras we know and love today has deep roots and a fascinating history thats worth knowing.

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The Roots of Mardi Gras Arent Just in New Orleans - The Mary Sue

Euphorias Jules was based on Hunter Schafers teen years – i-D

Its been a good six months since Euphoria left our screens, and honestly were still hurting from the loss of it. The hit HBO series, which follows a group of high school teenagers discovering sex, drugs and general hedonism, was all anybody could talk about last summer. Production -- thank God -- has finally begun on its follow-up, which means new episodes should hit our screens by the time 2020 draws to a close.

In the meantime, the shows breakout stars have become darlings of the fashion industry but none so flawlessly as Hunter Schafer. The actor, who plays trans teenager Jules in the series, has cemented herself as a veteran of the frow, from Givenchy to Burberry. Its a well deserved spot, considering she was walking these runways herself as a model just a few years prior.

But although fashion month is still fully in swing, Hunter took time out of her schedule to chat to Arca for a cover story in V Magazine, in which the two cultural pioneers dissected their respective works, and navigating their industries as trans people. In the interview, Hunter unpacked the ways in which Jules -- a girl embroiled in a strange flurry of identity, sexual agency and learning to feel loved in her body -- was a reflection of herself. She effectively acted, Hunter explains, as a consultant on her own character.

It didnt feel natural at first, Hunter says of putting such a personal story on show for an audience of millions. Part of surviving [that] experience was just, like, getting through shit. Letting it rest, and not addressing it. I think thats what I had been [doing] up to that point: just going and going, fighting to be on the other side of my transition. There was so much that I was working towards, and I was so excited to [be out of] North Carolina that I dont think Id ever looked back on [that experience]. The show, in a sense, gave her the chance to.

When they were shooting, Hunter tells how shed have ...to remember a new detail, to dig up an artifact from within myself, and hold onto that moment for the scene. Jules yearning to escape her home town and find someplace new correlates closely with Hunters own segue into the fashion world: she moved, at the age of 17, to New York and started afresh. Its an interesting mirror to her still unravelling plotline in Euphoria, and to Juless uncertain future.

I know she has dreams, [many of] which she stated in the first episode, Hunter says. Which is just what I did in a way: escaping to New York, and working or interning in fashion. And that was [part of the character] before I was even cast, so it was really freaky to see that written into the script.

So there we have it: maybe Euphorias second season will widen its world view, and hop states to portray the lives of its characters travelling even further afield. Well have to wait a few months to find out.

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Euphorias Jules was based on Hunter Schafers teen years - i-D

Obituary: Andrew Weatherall, music producer renowned for his groundbreaking work on Primal Scream’s Screamadelica – HeraldScotland

Died: February 17, 2020

ANDREW Weatherall, who has died of a pulmonary embolism aged 56, was a British musical polymath of wide-ranging tastes and skills, a DJ, producer, musician, songwriter, record-label owner and noted gentleman of style. He was as responsible as any other individual for the sound and style of British club and alternative music in the 1990s.

First coming to recognition through his DJ residency at the seminal London acid house club, Shoom, Weatheralls most enduring achievement came soon afterwards. As the main producer of the Glasgow-founded indie-rock group Primal Screams 1991 third album, Screamadelica, he was widely credited with a significant role in fusing the sounds of guitar-pop and euphoric acid house with elements of soul, gospel and psychedelic rock in a way which was both singular and would come to be much imitated.

The majority of songs on the record bore Weatheralls influence (often in tandem with Alex Paterson of The Orb and engineer Hugo Nicolson), including the enduring hymn to joyous hedonism, Loaded; essentially a remix of Primal Screams ballad Im Losing More Than Ill Ever Have, married to a loose beat taken from a remix of Edie Brickells song What I Am, a joyous, ska-style trumpet line, and a vocal sample of Peter Fonda from the 1966 cult Hells Angels film, The Wild Angels.

The album won the first Mercury Prize, and from this point on, guitar-based groups could often be heard declaring in interviews that there had always been a dance element to their music. Weatheralls influence could be heard trickling down through the 1990s in various ways. In the spirit of unbound hedonism employed by guitar groups such as Oasis and the Charlatans, and the arrival of arena-level electronic artists such as the Chemical Brothers, Orbital and Fatboy Slim, the spirit of Screamadelica was invoked.

The music archive site Discogs lists more than 400 remix entries for Weatherall. Among the most enduring and popular were his reworkings of the Happy Mondays Hallelujah; Saint Etiennes Neil Young cover Only Love Can Break Your Heart; My Bloody Valentines Soon; Flowered Ups Weekender, and The Future Sound of Londons Papua New Guinea. All helped define the sound of the early 1990s in British music.

As a producer he also worked with Beth Orton, James, and Glasgows One Dove, and as co-producer (with the band) of Kilsyth group The Twilight Sads No One Can Ever Know (2013). Between 1992 and 1995, he and studio engineers Jagz Kooner and Gary Burns were the acid house and dub reggae-influenced Sabres of Paradise (also the name of one of his labels), who released three albums and a number of singles; the single, Wilmot, and the debut album, Sabresonic, were minor hits.

As artist-in-residence with the publisher Faber & Faber, Weatherall created the mini-album Unreal City with author Michael Smith in 2013, and his final album, Qualia, arrived in 2017.

Weatheralls eclectic tastes in rockabilly, glam and punk were explored on the 2007 mix Sci-Fi-Lo-Fi Vol.1, released on Glasgows Soma label. He had an ongoing association with the city, most recently bringing his and Sean Johnstons A Love from Outer Space parties along for a regular residency. In an appreciation for the club site, Resident Advisor, Keith McIvor aka JD Twitch of celebrated Glasgow club Optimo (Espacio) remembered booking him for his seminal Edinburgh night, Pure, in the early 1990s.

With Andrew it was never, ever dull, he said. He had endless uproarious anecdotes and whimsical tales filled with arcane historical knowledge and much hilarity He did it his way, never forgetting the power and value of music A lifelong maverick.

Andrew James Weatherall was born in Windsor, Berkshire, in 1963 and raised in Slough. I had a very nice upbringing, but it was dull, he once told Uncut magazine. He played in a post-punk band, eventually escaping to London. Among other places, he lived and worked in Battersea and Shoreditch, his prodigious beard and distinctive dress sense placing him ahead of the gentrification of the latter area which eventually pushed him out to north London, an area he preferred for its raw reality. Invited to DJ at parties during the 1980s, Weatherall met Shooms Danny Rampling at one such event, and received an invite to the decks at Londons hottest club.

His hunger for music, art, intellectual stimulation and good conversation as many music journalists will attest was prodigious, and his devotion to the act of creation, which he considered a job but never a career, was enviable. Ive always been obsessed with style, not fashion, he would say, the David Bowie of the acid house generation.

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Obituary: Andrew Weatherall, music producer renowned for his groundbreaking work on Primal Scream's Screamadelica - HeraldScotland

Show of the week: Californian Commando – TBI Vision

Fish-out-of-water stories are nothing new, but with Californian Commando we might be getting one of the most extreme cases in recent memory.

The show focuses on 23 year old Van Hamilton (Kian Lawley), a spoiled rich kid from the golden state who is going on an exciting holiday to Finland. At least thats what he thinks. The holiday gets off to a bad start when Van gets knocked unconscious upon arriving in the country, and the next thing he knows he finds himself in an army barracks conscripted to the special forces.

Little does Van know that this was a setup from the start, with his parents shipping him off hoping that time in the army will reform their spoiled son.

On the surface, the shows premise doesnt quite sound like typical Finnish fare and thats by design.

Californian Commando is a comedy drama rather than a thriller, so it isnt as dark as a lot of Scandinavian content, notes Lisa Fidyka, senior scripted acquisitions manager at Red Arrow Studios International.

Despite its broader approach the show is targeted at younger adults and contains quite a lot of slapstick humour, says Fidyka the show is still reverent to its roots.

The series addresses the clash between the hedonism and individualism of youth and those traditional Nordic values about working for the common good, adds Fidyka.

Californian Commando has also been designed to be more accessible to western audiences. Fidyka says that the show is 80% in the English language and that its look and feel is more American than Finnish.

The producer also touts star Kian Lawley who received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for his performance in the go90 original Zac and Mia and co-runs a YouTube channel with over 3.7 million subscribers as being an asset that will definitely help drive the younger audiences.

The show is an original for Elisa Viihde, which has ordered a range of dramas to date such as Bullets and Shadow Lines. Writer and Fire Monkey Productions co-founder Mikko Pll said that Californian Commando is a good complement: I think they were really attracted to the idea of looking at the modern day army in a comedic fashion and through the lens of a Finnish-American pacifist who is forced to join the special forces.

Californian Commando joins Plls other series creations such as crime dramas Black Widows and Easy Living.

He continues: Elisa was 100% committed from the day we pitched the show, then Red Arrow Studios International got involved after reading the pilot script. We also got funding from the Finnish Film Foundation and Business Finland.

Should it prove a hit, Californian Commando will join an ever-growing list of stellar Nordic scripted output and momentum isnt slowing down for the region.

We expect the demand to continue, concludes Fidyka. There is great talent and storytelling coming out of that region and we dont see that changing anytime soon.

Producer: Fire Monkey Productions

Broadcaster/Platform: Elisa Viihde

Distributor: Red Arrow Studios International

Logline: A bratty American-Fin doesnt get the holiday hes hoping for when he gets conscripted into the army as soon as he lands, with his parents hoping the experience will turn their spoiled son into a real adult.

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Show of the week: Californian Commando - TBI Vision

Amsterdams red light district tours will be banned from April – Evening Standard

The latest lifestyle, fashion and travel trends

Amsterdam is a capital synonymous with hedonism and debauchery, particularly in its infamous red light district.

Yet, tourists hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the workers here will no longer be able to take a tour of the district under new regulations.

This new rule, which will be implemented from April 1, is an attempt to fight overtourism in De Wallen, where the red light district is found. While all organised tours within De Wallen were banned in January, the new regulation will disallow all Amsterdam-based tours to visit sex work windows.

Deputy Mayor Victor Everhardt said in a statement: It is disrespectful to treat sex workers as a tourist attraction, therefore tours at De Wallen will be banned. Tours outside the Red Light District will still be permitted, but only if guides and participants of tours adhere to the new, stricter rules. This will help to prevent disruptions for residents and businesses.

The best hotels in Amsterdam

Any tour guide found breaking these rules after the six week warning period will be fined 190 and the tour will be disbanded immediately. Three violations mean the guide will lose their permit and companies face penalties between 2,500 and 7,500.

While tourists are still free to wander this district on their own accord, Amsterdam has seen a boom in tourist activity in recent years. An estimated 19 million tourists visited the city (home to just 850,000) in 2018, a number expected to jump to 29 million visitors per year by 2025.

This is just the latest move by Amsterdams city council to fight overtourism, over the past two years the city has placed a limit on the amount of days residents can place their home on Airbnb for and tourist tax was raised on rooms at the start of this year.

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Amsterdams red light district tours will be banned from April - Evening Standard

Grimes plays the villain we want her to be on Miss Anthropocene – The FADER

Nearly five years have passed since Grimes ended her last album Art Angels with a reminder: If youre looking for a dream girl, Ill never be your dream girl. Few people seemed to grasp that lyric. Trigger happy at the sight of one of its favorite artists getting sucked into the absurdity of the late 2010s, music media (The FADER included) spun her hiatus into a saga: When Grimes mentioned new music, she was a headline. When Grimes expressed discontent about the industry, she was a headline. When Grimes started dating a technocrat, she was a headline and a class traitor and that was just the beginning. By the time would-be lead single We Appreciate Power dropped, nearly everyone seemed to doubt her intentions.

Rather than dial back those suspicions, on Miss Anthropocene, Claire Boucher plays with the idea that she just might be the villain we seem to want her to be. Conceptually, the album loosely emulates the software that the new gods use to design the simulation, pictured on its cover. Its coded in the space where self destruction and global destruction entwine, with an emphasis on the former. Each of the albums most explicitly pop moments are barbed with hedonism: the precision lash and sting of Violence, the Bollywood vertigo of 4M.

She punctuates My Name Is Dark with insomniac screams and then sings about listening to Smashing Pumpkins while watching over the city with bloodshot eyes. When she coos about imminent annihilation sounding so dope, it reads as both a mission statement for the album and a potent distillation of everything weve demanded from Grimes. Its pop excellence written from the brink of insanity.

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Grimes plays the villain we want her to be on Miss Anthropocene - The FADER

‘I didn’t recognize you with your clothes on’: woman recounts visit to Nygard Cay – Winnipeg Free Press

She thought it was an opportunity for a relaxing Caribbean vacation.

Instead, for a few weeks in the late 2000s, she said she found herself squarely in a den of iniquity, captained by its hedonistic owner Winnipeg fashion mogul Peter Nygard at his compound in the Bahamas.

"I wasn't a part of the sexual lifestyle and I never witnessed any sex or sodomy but everybody went around topless," a former Winnipeg woman, who asked her name not be published, said Friday.

The woman said she was visiting the Nygard Cay compound as the guest of an employee.

"(Nygard) would have 'pamper parties' he had a (stripper's) pole on his plane... There was a lot of parties... I took one girl to a dentist once, and I saw a dental assistant and I said, 'I didn't recognize you with your clothes on.' I'd seen her at the pamper parties bouncing around, but now she looked totally professional."

Another time, at the dock as Nygard's yacht came in, the woman said she saw the multi-millionaire on the deck, with a woman performing a sex act on him.

SUPPLIED PHOTO

Nygard at his home in the Bahamas.

"He just stood up, zipped up his pants and that was it," she said. "I heard people asked for the morning-after pill I didn't even know what that was at the time."

Nygard, 78, is currently facing claims in a class-action civil lawsuit that he lured women some under the age of 18 to his Bahamian estate, where he drugged, assaulted, raped and sodomized them. The allegations of 10 women are listed in the 99-page lawsuit, filed in New York City.

Since news of the lawsuit went public more than a week ago, lawyers heading the court action say dozens of other possible victims have come forward, as well as numerous alleged witnesses.

No statement of defence has been filed, and the allegations haven't been proven in court.

Nygard through his lawyer has denied all of the allegations.

Meanwhile, the former Winnipeg woman said Friday she never saw any acts at Nygard Cay that weren't consensual. She said she didn't take in the nightlife there on a regular basis, and only ventured once into the compound's disco.

"No one ever came down asking for assistance," she said. "I didn't hear anybody being raped. If I had, I would have tried to help them.

SUPPLIED PHOTO

Nygard claims to have hosted many star-studded events at the residence.

"You have to remember: it was invite-only; no one snuck in there. The gates... have to be opened by security," she said. "People were there and (Nygard) knew they were there. They would take a photo of everyone going in and they would keep it.

"It wasn't just women anyone who went in had their photo taken."

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The woman said she wasn't just bothered by the hedonism she witnessed, but also the shoddy treatment of employees at the compound.

"There would be workers standing on two-by-fours on top of rocks washing the windows and there were a lot of windows there," she said. "But, if they were to complain, there were 20 people in line to take their jobs.

"It didn't matter which way you looked, there were always people trying to do what they could to survive... I was glad to leave."

More than a decade later, the woman said just hearing the Nygard name or seeing clothes from his fashion lines takes her back to those few weeks.

"I still wear his clothing, I like the quality of some of his clothes," she said. "But it's not somewhere I want to go back and visit."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

Kevin RollasonReporter

Kevin Rollason is one of the more versatile reporters at the Winnipeg Free Press.Whether it is covering city hall, the law courts, or general reporting, Rollason can be counted on to not only answer the 5 Ws Who, What, When, Where and Why but to do it in an interesting and accessible way for readers.

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'I didn't recognize you with your clothes on': woman recounts visit to Nygard Cay - Winnipeg Free Press

After Hours by The Weeknd Review – Pitchfork

The Weeknds epochs can be clearly defined as pre- and post-Cant Feel My Face. The mysterious character of his mixtape trilogy cut an enigmatic figure lurking seedy club and hotel corridors, and producer Max Martin transformed him into a radio-friendly Kids Choice Award nominee, a progression that led to an eventual rebirth as a Daft Punk-retrofitted Starboy. He straddled the line on his last EP, My Dear Melancholy, but there has always been an explicit conflict between the volatile, shapeless R&B of his breakthrough and the sophisti-pop of his star turn.

The Weeknd did it Martins way on the upbeat, incandescent Blinding Lights, an obvious contender for Top 40 radio charts. Now hes reverting back to old habits for After Hours, the title track from his upcoming album. Well, sort ofwhile the track is moody, long, and somewhat restless, it is never as spellbinding as his old work nor as advanced as his newer material. Co-produced by the Weeknd, Trilogy mastermind Illangelo, frequent collaborator DeHeala, and singer-songwriter Mario Winans, the song opens with his old signature stylefalsetto, echoes, and recurrent tonesuntil suddenly it erupts into dance production. I turned into the man I used to be, he sings, but the transformation is incomplete, and he seems stuck halfway.

While the songs dark atmospherics are reminiscent of the Weeknds early music, there is a noticeable thematic shift: After Hours is an apology for who he was and a vow to change. It is a remorseful pivot away from unapologetic hedonism. I was running away from facin reality/Wastin all of my time on living my fantasies, he sings. This is the Weeknd at his most repentant and cliche, willing to give it all up just to hold her close. The irony is that the man hes apologizing for is the same emotionally abusive low-life featured on the albums lead single, Heartless. It seems these shifts in the Weeknds mood are as inevitable as the phases of the moon he prowls under.

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After Hours by The Weeknd Review - Pitchfork

OFFSnar 2020 reveals lineups for Get Losts Europen debut and Drumcode – The Groove Cartel

Iconic Barcelona festival OFFSnar reveals 2020 lineup for Get Losts Europen debut and Drumcode parties.

We are exactly four months ahead of the 2020 edition of the legendary OFFSnar festival. Less than a month ago, OFFSnar presented its phase 1 lineup including Innervisions and Amelie Lens; now the festival is back with the 2nd and last phase that welcomes Get Losts Europen debut and Drumcode. With its four-day parties, prepare to return to Barcelonas historic Poble Espanyol complex on June 18 to 21.

On Saturday 20th June Crosstown Rebels and OFFSnar will present the inaugural Get Lost party in Europe, led by the main-man himself Damian Lazarus. Located in three of Poble Espanyols iconic spaces (Monasterio, Carpa & Picnic, and La Terrazza) the party sees an epic lineup featuring Dubfire, Felix Da Housecat, Art Department, Bedouin, Acid Pauli and many more. Renowned for its bohemian atmosphere and immersive environments, Get Lost will bring a day and night of hedonism to OFFSnar. After having thrown parties in Miami, New York, Los Angeles and Mexico City over the past 15 years, this will be the first-ever outing in Europe.

Pairing with Get Lost on Saturday, Drumcode label will make its return to OFFSnar. The lineup features some of the biggest international artists and upcoming acts in the modern techno scene in tow. Joining label boss Adam Beyer will be Cirez D, the darker, techy-nuanced alter ego of Eric Prydz, plus a host of Drumcode family and friends in Ida Engberg, Victor Ruiz, Bart Skils, Layton Giordani Joel Mull, Wehbba and Raxon.

OFFSnar is the companion event of the annual Snar festival. With its four-day schedule, OFFSnar offers an unrivaled party experience in a truly breathtaking setting. Even if phase 2 has been revealed, more surprises are expected as lineups for Circoloco and the OFFSnar Special with Paul Kalkbrenner and Boris Brejcha are still to come. If this wasnt enough an additional party is yet to be revealed. With the series boasting showcases from the most forward-thinking labels and brands in electronic music, it attracts like-minded music lovers from across Europe for Summers most important party-week.

Starting at only 20, tickets for OFFSnar 2020 are now available from Resident Advisor.

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OFFSnar 2020 reveals lineups for Get Losts Europen debut and Drumcode - The Groove Cartel

‘This is no time to stop crying’: punk’s high priestess is back – The Sydney Morning Herald

"When Tim is telling this story [in the film] he gets choked up, because he said he'd never seen anything more compassionate," Lunch continues. "It was his friend, who then not only wrote me this incredible letter but also he got sober and has been sober ever since.

"That moment really flips the script of the documentary. It makes you go, 'Well of course, she's f---ing compassionate'."

I am always trying to get to the root of not only my own insanity, but this global and political patriarchal insanity.

Skyping from her Brooklyn apartment, Lunch speaks with the ravaged resonance of a woman who's been shouting all her life. Her musical output is staggering, from her noise-punk debut with Teenage Jesus and the Jerks in 1976 to countless other bands and collaborations (Rowland Howard, Sonic Youth, Die Haut)

Her spoken-word works are no less intense. Daddy Dearest from 1988 contextualises her rage in harrowing detail. The sexual violence began at her house when she was six or seven. She left at 16 and has been flipping that script ever since. The results are not for the faint-hearted.

"My goal has always been to try to make sense of those things that nobody else was talking about," she says, "whether it was familial trauma, imbalance in all power relationships, climate change [since 1984, for the record], the prison-industrial complex when Bill Clinton was president...

Retrovirus featuring Lydia Lunch (left).Credit:Jasmine Hurst

"I am always trying to get to the root of not only my own insanity, but this global and political patriarchal insanity. I still feel like I am the woman on the mountain with a bullhorn. I do feel like the town crier. And this is no time to stop crying," she adds with a dry cackle.

The ever-present gallows humour is one weapon that signifies Lunch's refusal to surrender power alongside the abrasion of her music, the unflinching content of "a pathological f--king truth-teller", and a truly ravenous hedonism.

Her "message of resistance," says Retrovirus guitarist Weasel Walter, is about "turning abuse outward instead of inward." Just don't infer victimhood, and nobody needs to get hurt.

"Oh please. Mine was far from the worst situation," she says. "By the age of nine, I was getting vindictive. I was actually becoming very murderous and having dreams every night of murdering my family."

She started writing at 12, she says, "so that I could actually defend myself. I also realised when I started reading Selby, Miller, Foucault, de Sade when I saw the pattern [of abuse], that it never starts with the person in your house. They had to be polluted by this behaviour. So once I recognised this, not only did that makes sense to me, but then I knew what path I had to take."

The phrase The War Is Never Over is an acknowledgement of eternal vigilance for those who have been on the wrong side of power. When she defines that as "any kind of persecution or abuse or trauma or prejudice or injustice," the size of her mission these last 45 years looms into view.

"Art is a salve to the universal trauma," she says. "If it burns in you, and you have to create, other people are going to be afflicted by the need to see or hear what it is that you're doing. Because people. Burn. Deeply."

Lydia Lunch's Retrovirus is at Melbourne's Corner Hotel on Friday, February 28, then Theatre Royal in Castlemaine on Saturday, and on to the Brisbane Hotel in Hobart on March 1.

Michael Dwyer is an arts and music writer

Originally posted here:

'This is no time to stop crying': punk's high priestess is back - The Sydney Morning Herald

My Wild and Sleepless Nights by Clover Stroud review what does being a mother feel like? – The Guardian

What does being a mother really feel like? Clover Strouds powerhouse of a memoir gets closer than anything else I have read to answering that question. The motherhood she describes is the very antithesis of the sanitised, smiling vision we are sold in washing powder ads. There are no pastel colours here; Strouds mother-love is as raw and rare as cutting through the soft dark crimson of uncooked liver. When someone gives her new baby a stuffed toy monkey, she longs to surround him with more ancient and serious things: the Bible, The Complete Works of Shakespeare. The business of bringing a person into the world, after all, is not cute or clean or fluffy.

The book follows Stroud and her family through a tumultuous year, in which her fifth child, Lester, is born. We get a remarkable 360-degree view of many different stages of mothering, all happening at once: she lives through the passionate intensity of her first attachment with Lester, just as her eldest son, 16-year-old Jimmy, is in the process of separation, his adolescence compelling us further and further apart, once magnets, now repelled. Meanwhile her daughter Dolly is grappling with dyslexia and the onset of puberty. As Stroud battles through pregnancy, labour, breastfeeding, and meetings with the school about Jimmys weed habit, her third and fourth children, Dash and Evangeline, wheel about in a world of spilled cornflakes and imaginary cats.

Stroud was shortlisted for the Wainwright prize for nature writing for her debut memoir, The Wild Other. Her new book is nature writing, too; but this is nature as experienced from the inside. She excels in evoking the feral, instinctive forces that motherhood unleashes, which can be so difficult to explain or describe (hence the shocked refrain of new mothers: Nobody ever tells you!). And while she is acutely alive to its joys sexual, exhausting, earthy joys these are always intertwined with darkness and difficulty. Motherhood hurts, she writes. And I like to be hurt.

Childbirth itself is the ultimate expression of this heady cocktail of pleasure and pain. For Stroud, there is no question of an epidural: labour is and needs to be an extreme experience, which takes her to the brink of life and death, and feels to me like the very reason I was put on this planet. As the baby crowns, pain rips through her body and Stroud reaches down to press her clitoris. Just as being fucked so hard it hurts can feel good, this pain becomes something I recognise as clearly as I know myself. The agony of early breastfeeding, too, is offset by the pure liquid heaven hormones that course through her, which she compares to the effect of heroin. These natural processes are strong drugs, and she proudly tells us shes an addict.

This is a vision of motherhood for the (now middle-aged) MDMA generation

This is a vision of motherhood for the (now middle-aged) MDMA generation. Its not about duty, or even about juggling the demands of kids and work; mothering for Stroud has more to do with hedonism and adventure, about escape, and exploring the outer limits of human experience. Her own mother was brain damaged in a horrific riding accident when Stroud was 16: Much of my life has been about seeking strong motion both to make me feel alive and distract from the pain of existence.

As a motivation for creating new humans, this is not without its ethical problems. Stroud briskly shrugs people off when they question the practicality of having a fifth baby (I want messy), and cheerfully admits that in many ways another child is the last thing they all need. But the imperative of obliterating her own inner pain is more urgent to her than the imperative of giving time and attention to the children she already has. After all, wheres the fun in providing boring old steadfast support when you could be out there getting buzzed on oxytocin? When they grow up and write their own books, perhaps her children will tell us how her messiness felt to them.

There is no arguing, however, with the sheer force of her writing. The reader is simply swept up in her painful, wonderful world. Buy it, read it, and enjoy it for the wild ride it is but do think twice before you throw away the contraceptives.

Alice OKeeffes novel On the Up is published by Coronet. My Wild and Sleepless Nights by Clover Stroud is published by Doubleday (16.99). To order a copy go to guardianbookshop.com. Free UK p&p on all online orders over 15.

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My Wild and Sleepless Nights by Clover Stroud review what does being a mother feel like? - The Guardian