Category Archives: Hedonism

It may have closed in 1997, but The Haienda and its spirit have become synonymous with Manchesters musical and cultural history.

At the forefront of music and youth culture in the 80s and early 90s, the legendary venue unleashed the acid house and rave scene, brought us bands like New Order via Tony Wilsons Factory Records, and influenced many others, including Oasis.

But it wasnt just about Manchester. Named The Most Famous Club In The World byNewsweek Magazine, The Haiendas influence extended across the globe.

Now, as The Haienda prepares to celebrate its 40th birthday with an epic party on the original site, we spoke to Peter Hook, DJ Paulette and Graeme Park to find out what it was really like to be part of it.

The Haienda was so popular everywhere because there was nothing else like it, says Haienda resident and house pioneer Graeme.

It was kind of like the blueprint for everything else that followed.

The guys that set up Cream used to come to The Haienda and said, we want to do this in Liverpool. Similarly, the guys who set up Ministry of Sound came along, also Renaissance.

The whole of the London record industry used to come up to Manchester on a Friday night because they wanted to hear the tracks that Mike [Pickering] and I played and sign them for their labels. People travelled from all over.

It was like a Mecca for hedonism, really.

You didnt have to dress up, there were no rules on the door, and Mike and I played records you just couldnt hear anywhere else at the time.

People flocked to the Hacienda to escape, and they lost their minds.

DJ Paulette says she was desperate to be a part of the club.

My first encounter with The Haienda? Its funny, it was before I was working for Piccadilly Radio. I really wanted to come to a night here, so I lied and said I was a journalist writing a feature on it, she laughs.

I got in on a complete blag.

Then I was there all the time. I managed to get a lifetime membership. I used to drag everyone there.

Before The Haienda, people went to clubs depending on what music they were into, and dressed to fit, says Graeme.

At The Haienda, all those rules went out of the window.

You had barristers dancing next to cleaners, next to nurses, next to football hooligans, next to accountants all together. Nobody cared, everyone just got on as one happy family.

The Haienda is so important, culturally speaking, because it changed the landscape of clubbing in the UK and beyond, believes Graeme.

It was the first of its kind. And its had such an effect on people. People met their life partners at The Haienda. Or maybe they met someone else and got a new partner.

Ive had people tell me their children were actually conceived at The Haienda, or after a night there.

DJing at Flesh every month was memorable in its own right, says DJ Paulette.

You brought your A-game. The Haienda was special anyway, but Flesh was multiplied, it was so colourful, it was about being out and safe and happy.

The building was iconic. The DJs became superstar DJs, and legends themselves. It keeps evolving, it never ended.

It was a cultural and creative hub and melting pot.

Its hard to quantify how many people The Haienda has touched. Its about so much more than just the club.

Peter Hook agrees that it is amazing to be here to celebrate the 40th birthday and to trumpet the legacy and the changes that The Haienda and Factory Records made to music, to culture and to fashion.

I dont think well see the like of it again. It was a revolution, says Peter.

The Haienda managed post-punk, Acid House, and Madchester and they went right round the world.

To be in one place at the right time was pretty good, but to be in as many as I was Factory Records, Joy Division, New Order and The Haienda was f***ing amazing.

The legacy for me is about inclusivity. About being open to doing anything, with anybody and reaping the benefits of being nice.

These moments have been so special in my life, and were so lucky to now have another one.

Another rave, in a car park, in Manchester and streaming globally, too.

Adds Graeme: Ten years ago, if you didnt manage to get a ticket to the 30th birthday, you didnt get in.

But now, you can log on, pour yourself a drink, plug your device into some massive speakers, get your friends over, and party like its 1988.

The Hacienda 40th Birthday Party Pt 1 will take place on Saturday 21st May 2022, 6pm to 2am at The Hacienda Apartments, 11 15 Whitworth Street West, M1 5DD. Tickets on pre-sale 10am Thurs 12th May 2022 and on general sale 10am Fri 13th May 2022 atfac51-thehacienda.com.

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'It was a Mecca for hedonism': Haienda legends share memories of the iconic club - I Love Manchester

HBOs puzzle-filled robot show that always packed extra sides of hedonism and murder is close to making its return, as fans apparently dug up a teaser trailer for season four of Westworld before its scheduled debut.

HBO media relations director Chris Godefroy confirmed it was an Easter Egg set up for dedicated fans, and as weve seen ahead of previous seasons, there will be more to come. You can watch it right here on HBOs YouTube channel (via Reddit), to see that many of our android friends, foes, and friends who didnt know they were androids will continue to have roles to play. This link showed up on Thrillists Instagram story over a picture of NYC, teasing a setting in the upcoming season.

On Tuesday HBO made the news official, confirming returning cast members Evan Rachel Wood, Thandiwe Newton, Ed Harris, Jeffrey Wright, Tessa Thompson, Luke Hemsworth, Aaron Paul, and Angela Sarafyan. It also mentioned new recurring guest star Ariana DeBose, who recently won an Oscar for her performance in West Side Story.

Id go more into the potential plot lines revealed in the flashes and scenes, but even after sticking around for seasons one and two, I dont really remember watching season three of this show. Launching roughly two months ahead of the debut of HBO Max and squarely in the center of early coronavirus pandemic lockdowns here in the US on March 15th, 2020, the third season didnt quite have the impact of the first two.

The teaser wraps up by promising a release date for season four on June 26th, 2022, with eight episodes planned. The early warning is appreciated, because now I have time to try and watch season three again.

Correction May 9th, 11:15PM ET: Updated to note the trailer link is an Easter Egg ahead of the new season, not a leak, as it first popped up in an Instagram story for fans to find.

Update May 10th, 3:15PM ET: Added cast information from the official PR.

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HBO leaks Westworld S4 teaser trailer and June 26th release date - The Verge

British holidaymakers seeking hedonism in the sun are being warned they could fined as much as 85,000 if they attend an illegal party in the Balearics. The British Embassy has warned tourists heading for Ibiza and Majorca against going to such gatherings.

It says that while parties at licenced establishments are commonplace across the islands, those that are held in villas and in private homes are illegal. The warning applies to British citizens on holiday in the country and comes following a number of worrying incidents, reports Birmingham Live.

A spokesman for the British Embassy said: "There have been a number of serious accidents involving people attending irregular commercially promoted parties in villas and private homes on the islands of Ibiza and Majorca. Licensed clubs and bars are required to meet safety and security standards, including emergency exits and capacity limits, and to have trained, licensed security staff. Irregular commercial parties may not meet these standards."

READ MORE:Radio 1 DJ Jordan North to host masterclass in Coventry ahead of Big Weekend 2022

The government adds: "You should take care of your belongings, ensure you know where emergency exits are located and not take unnecessary risks. Heavy fines may be imposed by local authorities to anyone attending irregular commercial parties."

The new regulations, which come into force this summer, have been presented by Balearic councillor for the Presidency, Mercedes Garrido, and the president of the Council of Ibiza, Vicent Mari. They are keen to put a stop to illegal parties which have increased "exponentially" in the last two years with the closure of discotheques due to the pandemic, said Mar.

Landlords who rent out properties where these parties are held will also be fined between 100,000 and 300,000 euro, as they will be held responsible for them. Under the new rules financial punishment could filter down to the attendees, with fines of between 300 and 30,000 euro possible depending on the seriousness of the infringement.

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85k fine warning for Brits heading to Spanish islands this summer - Coventry Live

Formetal fans, one of the major draws of the genre has always been its affinity for the dark side. Metal has a unique ability to explore the darker impulses of human nature, while also wrenching the listener between giddy euphoria and sinister despair at the drop of a hat.

As such, the metal genre has lent itself well to other cultural tropes, chief among these is the vampire genre.

From Ozzy Osbournes affinity for bats to the spate of hit vampire films that are furnished with stellar metal soundtracks, it seems that vampires and metal are a match made in hell. Lets take a closer look at why metal fans and vampire fans have plenty in common.

In the annals of music, no genre has paid ode to the fanged undead as much as metal. There are countless iconic metal songs that celebrate vampire tropes or find fitting parallels between the myth of the vampire and the heavy metal archetype of the dark-sided hedonist.

For true metal fans, Cradle of Filth is the ultimate vampire-loving band. This is bestexemplified by their unforgettable trackFuneral in Carpathia, with tells the tale of Count Dracula commanding his army of the undead to take over the underworld, complete with bat-swarm drumbeats and piercing shrieks.

On a more humorous note, theres Black Dahlia Murders hit trackNocturnal, which tells the tale of a secret vampire society living parallel to our own, plotting ceaselessly to murder the sun. For 80s metal excellence, Slayers legendary trackAt Dawn They Sleepis a riotous celebration of the unceasing evil and hedonism of a vampiric cult, one that will have you thrashing about the room in no time.

The crossover between metal and vampires is not only confined to music. In the rich genre of vampire films, youll find no shortage of truly epic death metal soundtracks that accompany the on-screen excess. Theres the iconic Aaliyah filmQueen of the Damned, which has a metal-tastic soundtrack compiled by none other thanKorns Jonathan Davis and Richard Gibbs.

Theres the 2000 vampire slasher filmDracula, which saw the debut of Slayers chart-topping songBloodline, as well as contributions from Disturbed, System of a Down, Monster Magnet, and Pantera.

For some lighthearted metal weirdness, the 2015 comedy-horrorDeathgasmtells the tale of a metalhead who accidentally summons hordes of vampires and the undead with his guitar, complete with a soundtrack from Skull Fist, Midnight, and Emperor.

If youre a metal fan who also has a fond appreciation for vampires, there are also plenty of games for you to try out. TheresVampire: The Masquerade, where you can play as a powerful vampire lord marauding his way through the land of the living. Then theres the 2018 gameVampyr, in which you play a freshly-bitten victim who must satisfy his bloodlust on the streets of WW1-era London.

Beyond this, there are also online casino slot games that feature plenty of vampire aesthetics, alongside real cash prizes. There are many examples to choose from, but one of the most popular right now is Blood Suckers.

This 5-reel slot is named as one of the most popular real money games on this guide to PayPal casinos and features plenty of vampiric characters that wouldnt look out of place in a contemporary metal band. For those who get lucky, a top prize of $45,000 is also up for grabs.

The vampire canon and the heavy metal genre have a lot in common, and we can probably expect plenty more metal songs that feature vampires, as well as plenty of vampire movies with death metal soundtracks.

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Vampires and Metal: A Match Made in Hell - Metal Addicts

At OAK Long Bar + Kitchen at the Fairmont Copley Plaza, office workers from John Hancock and Wayfair are returning, and in larger configurations, says food and beverage director Jean-Philippe Cote. Theyre lingering longer and even drinking (gin and tonics, mostly).

People are happy to come to lunch in groups who havent seen one another for a while, Cote says. Instead of quick salads, theyre gravitating toward bigger-ticket items such as $55 ribeye and $36 halibut.

In the aftermath of two-plus years confined to sad home sandwiches and stiff Zoom meetings, is the business lunch back, persistent pandemic be damned? Ross Chanowski, CEO of small-business investment platform NuMarket, sure hopes so. While he acknowledges that risk tolerance varies, hes begun enjoying in-person lunch meetings again with those willing to take them.

It felt great like I was an intern entering the working world. Youve lost the muscle memory, but at the same time, youre excited to be back on a bicycle, he says, recalling his return to the dining scene at places like the South Ends Buttery and Mamalehs in Kendall Square.

[After] two years of having all of your person-to-person experience be in a very delineated environment: 45 minutes on the calendar, heres the Zoom invite, suddenly we have this more open, natural human-to human interaction, he says.

Fellow lunch-lover Jennifer Hernandez runs Worcesters GEM Marketing Solutions. Shes grateful for their return, calling Zoom meetings terrible for their lack of personal connection.

I want my client to feel that I care, feel my enthusiasm about their business goals, and feel supported, she says. Taking the time to have these power lunches makes them feel heard and appreciated.

And, to that extent, a pent-up hedonism has been unleashed on the midday lunching landscape. At the Banks Fish House on Stuart Street, chef-partner Robert Sisca is doing about 100 covers at lunch an uptick that started around March and a busy after-hours drinks business consisting mainly of people in suits, he says, from nearby businesses such as John Hancock and Liberty Mutual.

You feel a vibe and an energy picking up, he says.

While business isnt at pre-COVID levels, the experience itself recalls three-martini lunches of yore. Workers who either stood aimless in front of an open refrigerator at lunchtime in their pajamas or rushed out for a quick salad and darted back to their desk now want to live a little, it seems.

[People] want to spend money. Were seeing more caviar and tons of oysters, he says.

At swank steakhouse Abe & Louies, site of many a pre-COVID power meeting, guests are networking, talking, and actually enjoying their lunch again, says general manager Dave Wilson, whos seen many dining trends come and go since starting his career at Bennigans on Stuart Street in 1992. Theres really no time limit. They call it a working lunch. Theyre not running out the door in under an hour.

On the menu: ribeye, filet mignon, and lobster casserole. Wilson senses that customers might have bigger expense accounts these days, maybe because budgets have been cut elsewhere, particularly for travel.

They have bigger discretionary funds to come in. Rather than get the salad, theyll get the steak and salad. Rather than get the glass of wine, theyre going to get the bottle, he says, noting that his bar is standing-room-only by 5 p.m.

People have been stuck at home, and their palates changed. I feel people are more relaxed, and theres less pressure to go to work on time. People are here for a good time and they realize, we went through a big event and we need to enjoy our lives, OAKs Cote agrees.

On a good day, hell do about 200 lunch covers. But those good days are variable; many offices are shifting to hybrid schedules wherein workers commute in for half the week and stay home other days.

Around the corner at Precinct Kitchen + Bar at the Loews Hotel, The most significant change is Fridays, says general manager Robert Rivers. He reopened his restaurant, which offers a roomy patio, on April 1 for lunch.

I drive in from North Andover, and it feels like a Saturday, he says.

But when groups from nearby Deloitte, Draft Kings, or John Hancock do come in midweek, they tend to linger longer.

For Brian Poe, who has reintroduced lunch at his Tip Tap Room near Beacon Hill, its a go-go throwback to his early days at the Bostonian Hotel 20 years ago. He noticed a change in mid-March or so, when employees from Mass General, Government Center, and Verizon began coming in and ordering fancy dishes. For a while, he wasnt sure what to serve. It quickly became apparent that people wanted to splash out, unwind, and enjoy themselves.

People are willing to order higher-end stuff. They want to get back out and have a nice meal: lobster bisque and tenderloin tips, he says. They have a good lunch, a good glass of wine, a good beer. (And, thus fortified, maybe clock out of work early.)

Theres one downside to all this newfound togetherness, though.

I just had two tables of colleagues who asked not to be seated next to each other when they came in, Poe says, laughing. It was: I just spent three hours with you. Im done.

Kara Baskin can be reached at kara.baskin@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @kcbaskin.

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Steak. Caviar. Lingering over bottles of wine. Has the power lunch returned? - The Boston Globe

Little, Bedke, Critchfield

Its great to see so much interest in our political system. Its sad to see so much disinformation, distortion and outright lies about our leaders. If one were to believe the distortions, then we live in a nasty hell hole where we enthusiastically promote hedonism, abortion, porno in schools, critical race theory, corruption, gender identity confusion and gun confiscation.

Of course, none of this is true. And Idaho is not a hell hole.

Idaho is, in fact, one of only five states to defund CRT. Period.

We have powerful protections for gun ownership. Period.

We have outlawed abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. Period.

We passed laws making it illegal for men to compete in womens sports. Period.

We have a budget surplus. Period.

We are the least regulated state in the Union. Period.

Ill be voting for the leaders who made that happen: Brad Little, Scott Bedke and Debbie Critchfield for starters. I hope you do, too.

I hope that most of the folks who read Eric Petersons May 5 letter to editor did a little research on their own. For instance, Idaho Code returns all civil rights to felons who have discharged their sentence, except the right to firearms. This includes those from other states. See Idaho Code Title 18, Chapter 3.

Its sad that some Republicans can overlook the past legal history of some people and nominate them to fill a state legislative office and then turn around and attempt to destroy another person who wants to be a precinct committeeman, the lowest position in the party hierarchy.

Bradburys ads irrelevant

As an attorney practicing primarily in Nez Perce County for the last 26 years, I am very interested in the 2nd District Court judicial election. I was especially curious why John Bradbury would want to run for the same position he held in Idaho County from 2003 until he retired in 2011.

Unfortunately, Bradburys series of advertisements in this newspaper titled Why Im running for district judge dont answer the question their title promises.

He raises some legitimate issues. Some of his positions I agree with and some I dont. But that is not the point.

The issues Bradbury raises will not be changed one bit by who wins this election. They are mostly questions of policy and politics and would be most effectively raised with the Legislature, Supreme Court and the Idaho Judicial Council.

Instead of dwelling on the legitimate, but unrelated issues raised by Bradburys ads, voters should focus on which of the candidates would be the best judge.

In her bid to outlast Scott Bedke in the May 17 primary election, Priscilla Giddings has posted more than 35 campaign emails. Each one duplicates the same format and fomentations. ...

She should have just typed ditto.

Here is a consolidation of her thematic redundancies peppered with pleas for donations. (The number of repetitions is parenthesized):

Send $$; Bedkes special interests/deep pocket donors (17).

Send $$; Bedkes corporate friends (37).

Send $$; Bedke closing the campaign donation gap (17).

Unsurprisingly, her propaganda is loaded with Second Amendment protection promises (43) punctuated by the giveaway of two AK-15 assault weapons as a donation enticement and more fear-mongering.

With decades of take your guns alarms, who can actually cite one instance of the government confiscating citizen guns without lawful purpose?

And the clincher? The National Rifle Association endorsed Bedke.

Giddings decries big government spending yet she has long been attached to the government tit as the child of public employees, as a military member and state legislator.

Her legislative career has been sketchy a second-string qualifier enabled to win in the monopolistic deep red state (formerly known as Idaho).

The highlights: She lied to the House Ethics Committee, reneged on a critical public debate, purposely outed the identity of a rape victim and repeatedly voted against education funding and Medicaid expansion.

The lieutenant governor should be a bright star with diplomatic credentials, leadership talent and a positive demeanor. Giddings doesnt qualify.

I am writing in support of Lynn Guyer for the Idaho House in District 7.

I first met Guyer when I was working as a probation/parole officer in Lewiston and he was a probation/parole officer in District 3 Caldwell-Nampa. I found Guyer to be extremely honest and ethical. We have kept in touch since my and his retirements.

He has strong Christian values and will work hard for District 7.

He is also the only candidate in this race to be endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, Idaho Professional Firefighters and the Idaho Education Association.

I believe that Lynn would make an excellent representative.

Its time to get rid of career RINO politicians like Brad Little, Scott Bedke, Lawrence Wasden and lets not forget Carl Crabtree and others who have become so deeply embedded in the pockets of lobbyists, they have forgotten why we put them in office.

We are losing our state to national and global interests whose sole purpose is to take away our liberties and freedoms.

While Little, Bedke and Wasden were cozying up to lobbyists, Rep. Priscilla Giddings was serving and defending our country as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot.

She loves our country, our state, our flag and will fight to defend our liberties and freedoms.

Giddings is the right choice for lieutenant governor.

Crabtree says hes for parental rights and education but his voting record indicates otherwise. He votes yes in committee but votes no on the Senate floor, clearly appeasing the powerful teachers unions. Crabtree can no longer be trusted to do what is in the best interest of our children, our schools and our Idaho.

My vote goes to hard-core conservative Cindy Carlson for the Idaho Senate.

We need a watchdog like Carlson in the Capitol, to fight for our freedoms guard against government overreach and protect our most valuable assets, our children.

Other conservative Republicans to vote for are: Janice McGeachin, governor; Dorothy Moon, secretary of state; Mike Kingsley, District 7A representative and other conservatives.

Quote from Rep. Heather Scott: Vote May 17 like your liberties and freedoms depend on it. They do.

We like Mike Mike Kingsley, who is running to represent District 7 in Nez Perce, Adams, and Idaho counties.

He has a proven conservative voting record as a District 6 representative. Some of his endorsements include the Farm Bureau, Idaho Chooses Life, Gem State Patriot and the National Rifle Association.

As a current representative, Kingsley works hard to defend the unborn, reduce property taxes and stop government overreach.

He also understands how crucial dams are to our region. According to Kinglsey, We can save fish without destroying livelihoods, power generation, transportation, recreation and our rural communities. Vote for Mike Kingsley on May 17 because Idaho is too great to liberal.

Attacking the middle class

Rich elites are donating to and voting for Democrats.

Super-wealthy media giants, corporate boards, public unions, sports franchises and so on, are all singing from the same radical sheet music.

Thundering to the left, they virtue signal and donate their billions to the Marxist extremists that have stampeded the Democratic Party over a cliff.

A lawless and violent underclass is taking over your streets, enabled by wealthy criminal syndicates running the deteriorating (Democratic) cities.

Runaway inflation punishes the middle class as it further entrenches the entitled welfare state.

The commarxucrats are crazy like a rabid fox.

Every one of their seemingly insane policies is a calculated attack on the middle class.

Marxism requires a ruling oligarchy of wealthy elites and a subservient underclass of have-nots.

There can be no in-between.

A healthy and productive middle class is the surest defense against an all-out Marxist takeover.

Open borders? Runaway inflation? Lockdowns? Small business closures? High fuel prices?

Universities that are actually Marxist training camps?

State agencies that coddle criminals while being weaponized against law-abiding citizens?

These are not coincidental. They are all part of a coordinated attack on the middle class.

The cardboard recycle bins in Clarkston are often overflowing and there is almost no room to put cardboard boxes in them. Sometimes during the holidays, such as Christmas, there is no room at all.

I would like to encourage everyone to break down their cardboard boxes so more cardboard can be recycled and people dont have to haul their cardboard back home because there is no room left in the recycle bin.

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May 8 Letters to the Editor, Part 3: Our Readers' Opinions - Lewiston Morning Tribune

Published: Wed 11 May 2022, 9:49 AM

Thomas Lyons

I dont remember for some reason that I cant explain, but he says that we met very early on after he arrived in Ireland, Iarla Lionird says of his stage partner ahead of their appearance at Cavan Arts Festival. Its the sort of rock and roll hedonism youd expect of someone who sang on a Peter Gabriel album or had two Grammy nominee, or appeared in an Oscar nominated film.

Yet not what you would expect of a traditional sean-ns exponent who has just finished picking up the kids on the school run. Which he is and has.

I think I might have been living in Dublin at the time, but Steve says we formed a band called Gale Force. Apparently we rehearsed for several weeks, but we never did a gig, Iarla tells down the phone line from his Kilkenny home. I dont recall it. He has enormous detail about it. There were other musicians in it too. I dont know.

Its an amusing anecdote, told as an aside, but pushed to the top of the story because its funny. Lionird and Steve Cooney will perform in Urney Church of Ireland, Farnham Street towards the end of the month as part of this years Arts Festival. Only go if you like music.

Before his success with The Gloaming there was Afro-Celt Sound System. A wonderful fusion of cultures ACSS provided a soundtrack to an Ireland on the cusp of change, moving from mono to multicultural. Prior to that Lionird was a member of Sean Riadas Cr Chil Aodha.

Its a storied history of how tradition can evolve while retaining what makes it traditional. The current leg of his musical journey sees him joined by acoustic guitar virtuoso Cooney. Together they forged a unique musical partnership.

The Urney Church will provide the perfect venue to showcase their evocative music.

His observations on his craft are considered. The discoveries of a life in music. A conversational thread on the voice as instrument in sean-ns is a case in point.

I started singing quite young, he recalls. I did think that the words were secondary. None of my teachers thought so. They were very much of the view that it was primary.

I thought it was secondary because I was having what I felt were musical experiences when I was performing. As time has gone on, definitely for me, the importance of the words has reasserted itself in a huge way, in a very profound way. The language itself contains so much music. Even if you werent to sing it, if you were actually to say it. Its just a profoundly musical language.

A short visit to a Gaeltacht emphasises that musicality. To have grown up immersed in the osculating rhythms of the Muskerry region must have had a profound influence on how the sean-ns reveals itself in performance.

Lionird says his awareness of the relevance of the lyrics came later: I learned that actually, perhaps paradoxically, from singing abroad, from singing with classical music ensembles, with classical music composers. They were the ones who said to me This is such an incredibly musical language to write for and to listen to.

That definitely influenced my thinking. I think the language has actually evolved as a musically transmissible form in an older Ireland, which was Gaelic speaking. We know from studies done by writers who travelled in Ireland, three centuries ago and more, that the Irish were given to making music and song in a really, really distinct way.

The Urney Church visit is a return to the Breffni county for Iarla and Steve: Steve and I were recording a beautiful harmonium instrument belonging to Father Darragh Connolly, he tells of his visit to Crosserlough. We were there for a day recording. Its a really beautiful experience and I have been hiring that harmonium from Father Daragh for the last ten years.

When The Gloaming started we had such awful instruments to play. They were broken and they were terrible. So I remember finding a reed organ on reedorganireland.com. I just wrote to the guy. It turns out it was a lovely gentleman by the name of Fr Darragh Connolly. His passion is maintaining and refurbishing these beautiful 19th century instruments. We hired an instrument from him every year for our shows in the NCH in Dublin. When it came to recording with Steve, we didnt want to move the instrument. So we went to Crosserlough to record it where it was played by my friend Ryan Molloy, he says by way of explaining Cavans input to his latest recording.

Iarla Lionird and Steve Cooney perform at Urney Church of Ireland on Friday, May 20 at 8pm. Tickets cost 22.50 at cavanartsfestival.ie

Published: Wed 11 May 2022, 9:49 AM

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Tradition in transition - Anglo Celt

LJUBLJANA Toward the end of April 2022, barely two months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the world became aware of a deep change in what the war means for the future. Gone is the dream of a quick resolution. The war has already been strangely normalized, accepted as a process that will continue indefinitely. Fear of a sudden, dramatic escalation will haunt our daily lives. Authorities in Sweden and elsewhere are apparently advising the public to stock up on provisions to endure wartime conditions.

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This shift in outlook is reflected on both sides of the conflict. In Russia, talk of a global conflict is growing louder. As the head of RT, Margarita Simonyan, put it: Either we lose in Ukraine, or a third world war begins. Personally, I think the scenario of a third world war is more realistic.

Such paranoia is supported by crazed conspiracy theories about a united liberal-totalitarian Nazi-Jewish plot to destroy Russia. Upon being asked how Russia can claim to be denazifying Ukraine when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is himself Jewish, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov replied: I could be wrong, but Hitler also had Jewish blood. [That Zelensky is Jewish] means absolutely nothing. Wise Jewish people say that the most ardent anti-Semites are usually Jews.

On the other side, especially in Germany, a new version of pacifism is taking shape. If we look past all the lofty rhetoric and focus on what Germany is actually doing, the message is clear: Given our economic interests and the danger of being pulled into a military conflict, we must not support Ukraine too much, even if that means allowing it to be swallowed by Russia. Germany fears crossing a line beyond which Russia will become truly angry. But only Vladimir Putin decides where that line lies on any given day. Playing on Western pacifists fear is a major part of his strategy.

Obviously, everyone wants to prevent the outbreak of a new world war. But there are times when appearing too cautious will only encourage an aggressor. Bullies by nature always count on their victims not to fight back. To prevent a wider war to establish any kind of deterrence we, too, must draw clear lines.

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So far, the West has done the opposite. When Putin was still only preparing to launch his special operation in Ukraine, US President Joe Biden said his administration would have to wait and see if the Kremlin would pursue a minor incursion or a full occupation. The implication, of course, was that a minor act of aggression would be tolerable.

The recent shift in outlook reveals a deep, dark truth about the Western position. While we previously expressed fears that Ukraine would be quickly crushed, our real fear was exactly the opposite: that the invasion would lead to a war with no end in sight. It would have been much more convenient if Ukraine had fallen immediately, allowing us to express outrage, mourn the loss, and then return to business as usual. What should have been good news a smaller country unexpectedly and heroically resisting a large powers brutal aggression has become a source of shame, a problem we dont quite know what to do with.

Europes pacifist left warns against any re-embrace of the heroic-military spirit that consumed earlier generations. The German philosopher Jrgen Habermas even suggests that Ukraine is guilty of moral blackmail vis--vis Europe. There is something deeply melancholic in his position. As Habermas well knows, post-war Europe was able to renounce militarism only because it was safely beneath the US nuclear umbrella. But the return of war to the continent suggests that this period may be over and that unconditional pacifism would require deeper and deeper moral compromises. Unfortunately, heroic acts will be needed again, and not only to resist and deter aggression, but also to cope with problems such as ecological catastrophes and hunger.

In French, the gap between what we officially fear and what we really fear is nicely rendered by the so-called ne expltif, a no that carries no meaning on its own because it is used only for reasons of syntax or pronunciation. It mostly occurs in subjunctive subordinate clauses following verbs with negative connotation (to fear, to avoid, to doubt); its function is to emphasize the negative aspect of what came before it, as in: Elle doute quil ne vienne. (She doubts hes /not/ coming), or Je te fais confiance moins que tu ne me mentes.(I trust you unless you /dont/ lie to me).

Jacques Lacan used the ne expltif to explain the difference between a wish and a desire. When I say, I am afraid the storm will /not/ come, my conscious wish is that it will not come, but my true desire is inscribed onto the added no: I am afraid the storm will not come, because I am secretly fascinated by its violence.

Something like the ne expltif also applies to European fears regarding the cessation of Russian gas deliveries. We are afraid that the interruption of the gas supply will cause an economic catastrophe, we say. But what if our stated fear is fake? What if we are really afraid that an interruption of the gas supply would not cause a catastrophe? As Eric Santner of the University of Chicago recently put it to me, what would it mean if we could quickly adapt? Ending Russian gas imports would not inaugurate the end of capitalism, but it would nonetheless force a real shift in the European way of life, a shift that would be most welcome irrespective of Russia.

To read the ne expltif literally, acting upon the no is perhaps the most genuine political act of freedom today. Consider the claim, propagated by the Kremlin, that stopping Russian gas would be tantamount to economic suicide. Given what must be done to put our societies on a more sustainable path, would that not be liberating? To paraphrase Kurt Vonnegut, we will have avoided going down in history as the first society that didnt save itself because doing so wasnt cost effective.

The Western media are full of reporting on the billions of dollars that have been sent to Ukraine; yet Russia is still receiving tens of billions of dollars for the gas it delivers to Europe. What Europe refuses to consider is that it could exert an extraordinarily powerful form of non-military pressure on Russia while also doing much for the planet. Moreover, to renounce Russian gas would allow for a different kind of globalization a sorely needed alternative to both the Western liberal-capitalist variety and the Russian-Chinese authoritarian brand.

Russia does not only want to dismantle Europe. It is also presenting itself as an ally of the developing world against Western neocolonialism. Russian propaganda ably exploits many developing and middle-income countries bitter memories of Western abuses. Was the bombing of Iraq not worse than the bombing of Kyiv? Was Mosul not flattened as ruthlessly as Mariupol? Of course, while the Kremlin presents Russia as an agent of decolonization, it lavishes military support on local dictators in Syria, the Central African Republic, and elsewhere.

The activities of the Kremlins mercenary organization, the Wagner Group, which is deployed on behalf of authoritarian regimes around the world, offer a glimpse of what Russian-style globalization would look like. As Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Putin crony behind the group, recently said to a Western journalist: You are a dying Western civilization that considers Russians, Malians, Central Africans, Cubans, Nicaraguans, and many other peoples and countries to be Third World scum. You are a pathetic endangered bunch of perverts, and there are many of us, billions of us. And victory will be ours! When Ukraine proudly declares that it defends Europe, Russia responds that it will defend all of Europes past and present victims.

We should not underestimate the effectiveness of this propaganda. In Serbia, the latest opinion polls show that, for the first time, a majority of voters now oppose accession to the European Union. If Europe wants to win the new ideological war, it will have to alter its model of liberal-capitalist globalization. Anything short of radical change will fail, turning the EU into a fortress surrounded by enemies that are determined to penetrate and destroy it.

I am well aware of the implications of boycotting Russian gas. It would entail what I have repeatedly referred to as war communism. Our entire economies would have to be reorganized, as in the case of a full-blown war or similarly large-scale disaster. This is not as far away as it may seem. Cooking oil is already being informally rationed by shops in the United Kingdom because of the war. If Europe renounces Russian gas, survival will demand similar interventions. Russia is counting on Europes inability to do anything heroic.

True, such changes would heighten the risk of corruption and provide opportunities for the military-industrial complex to grab extra profits. But these risks must be weighed against the larger stakes, which go well beyond the war in Ukraine.

The world is dealing with multiple, simultaneous crises that evoke the four horsemen of the apocalypse: plague, war, hunger, and death. These riders cannot simply be dismissed as figures of evil. As Trevor Hancock, the first leader of the Green Party of Canada, has noted, they are remarkably close to what we might call the four horsemen of ecology, which regulate population size in nature. In ecological terms, the four riders play a positive role by preventing overpopulation. But when it comes to humans, this regulatory function hasnt worked:

The human population has more than tripled in the past 70 years, from 2.5 billion in 1950 to 7.8 billion today. So what happened Why are we not controlled? Is there a fifth horseman that will cause our populations to crash at some point, as lemmings do?

Until recently, Hancock observes, humanity was able to hold the four riders in check with medicine, science, and technology. But now the massive and rapid global ecological changes we have triggered are moving beyond our control. So, although of course an asteroid strike or super-volcano eruption could wipe us out, the greatest threat to the human population, the fifth horseman if you like, is us.

Whether we will be destroyed or saved is up to us. Yet while global awareness of these threats is growing, it has not translated into meaningful action, so the four riders are galloping faster and faster. After the plague of COVID-19 and the return of large-scale war, hunger crises are now looming. All have or will result in mass death, as will the increasingly severe natural disasters wrought by climate change and biodiversity loss.

We should, of course, resist the temptation to glorify war as an authentic experience to lift us out of our complacent consumerist hedonism. The alternative is not simply to muddle through. Rather, it is to mobilize in ways that will benefit us long after the war is over. Given the dangers we face, military passion is a cowardly escape from reality. But so, too, is comfortable, non-heroic complacency.

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Heroes of the Apocalypse by Slavoj iek - Project Syndicate

It was a spectacle of outrageous wealth disparity while womens liberation still seems a distant goal

06 May 2022 - 05:07 Chris Thurman

The Met Gala is an annual rite of fashionista hedonism conducted in the name of charity (though the funds raised go to the Metropolitan Museum of Arts Costume Institute, which validates high-end fashion as both historical phenomenon and contemporary art form completing a virtuous circle of sartorial excess).

The organisers of the 2022 event could not have predicted that the night of the gala would coincide with the leaking of a draft opinion from the US Supreme Court that seems set to overturn the 1973 Roe versus Wade ruling guaranteeing a womans right to choose to have an abortion. Nonetheless, the coincidence served as a reminder that there are ethical implications to sustaining the opulent fantasy of the Met Gala by ignoring grim reality...

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CHRIS THURMAN: The disturbing parallels between the Met Gala and Americas Gilded Age - BusinessLIVE

Two music shows which celebrate the talent of a pair of legendary musicians are set to be staged at the Assembly Festival at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer.

Something About Simon - The Paul Simon Story and Something About George - The George Harrison Story will join the line-up at the UK's most hotly anticipated Summer event.

The two shows from Something About Productions will run between Thursday 4 August and Thursday 18 August in The Bijou - a striking 250-seat Spiegel tent - and will join a busy programme of music, comedy, cabaret, theatre, and family shows planned for the 2022 Fringe. Tickets for both productions are now on sale.

Something About Simon - The Paul Simon Story returns to Edinburgh after triumphing at the Fringe in 2019. It was then chosen for a residency at the Fringe Encore Series at the SoHo Playhouse in New York City, where it played six sell-out performances. The show, which was premiered in Liverpool in 2018, then also went on to form part of the programme at the inaugural Liverpool Theatre Festival in 2020.

Singer songwriter Gary Edward Jones not only recites the music of one of his idols, but also tells the unique story of Paul Simon combining visuals, stage design and, of course, the music. A natural storyteller with charisma and charm, Gary weaves together songs and stories that cross The Atlantic from New Jersey to the North West of England. He traces the sometimes poignant moments in Simon's life and career, that occasionally mirror his own.

The show is co-written by Jon Fellowes and features classic ballads like Sound of Silence and America to Wristband, The Boxer, and Bridge Over Troubled Water.

Meanwhile Something About George - The George Harrison Story enjoys its Edinburgh premiere this Summer. The show pays tribute to the man dubbed the "quiet Beatle", and was met with acclaim by both audiences and critics when it closed Liverpool Theatre Festival in September 2021.

Now West End performer and musician Daniel Taylor is set to bring it to the Fringe at the culmination of an eight venue UK tour.

Featuring beautiful songs like My Sweet Lord, Something, and Handle With Care, Something About George showcases Harrison's incredible solo material and music from rock 'n' roll's greatest supergroup, The Traveling Wilburys which was made up of Bob Dylan, George Harrison, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty.

And any show celebrating one of the Fab Four just has to include a few classics from The Beatles. From heartbreak to hedonism and songwriting to success, Something About George celebrates a life that was anything but quiet.

Daniel is an award-winning actor, producer, and director. He has previously played John Lennon in the award-winning Lennon Through A Glass Onion; Sammy in Blood Brothers; and appeared at the very first Liverpool Theatre Festival in his show, The Very Best Of Tommy Cooper.

Both 'Something About' shows will be performed in 60-minute one-act festival version. They are also set to be staged at the Assembly Festival Gardens in Coventry ahead of Edinburgh.

Something About George is written by Jon Fellowes, who co-produces the show alongside Gary Edward Jones and theatre producer Bill Elms. Together they make up Something About Productions.

Co-producer Bill Elms said: "We're absolutely thrilled to be able to bring Something About Simon and Something About George to the Assembly Festival at the Edinburgh Fringe. The Bijou is a really magical and atmospheric venue in which to tell these compelling musical stories. These shows capture and celebrate the life, work, and spirit of two legendary musicians, Paul Simon and George Harrison, and both have enjoyed a fantastic reception from audiences at venues here at home and, in Something About Simon's case, across The Atlantic too."

Gary Edward Jones commented: "We had an amazing time when we brought Something About Simon to Edinburgh three years ago. Audiences really responded to the heart in the show and to have the chance to perform it in New York too was very special. I'm really proud of what we've created, and I'm looking forward to returning and sharing Paul Simon's story and music again."

Daniel Taylor added: "There's nothing quite like the atmosphere at the Edinburgh Fringe, and I can't wait to get out there on stage and perform for Assembly Festival audiences. After all his achievements, George is still one of the most underrated songwriters that has ever lived, and this is a perfect chance to celebrate and shine a spotlight on his musical genius."

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Shows Celebrating Talent Of George Harrison and Paul Simon Come To Edinburgh Fringe 2022 - Broadway World