Category Archives: Hedonism

Sex, drugs, rock n roll, hippie flower power, racial tension and, above all, the looming sense of terror in young men facing the very likely possibility of being drafted to fight in the Vietnam War.

It was the Age of Aquarius, a period of massive social upheaval in the culture of this country (and beyond), which perhaps reached its apogee in 1967 with the summer of love in San Francisco and the march on the Pentagon a few months later. Meanwhile, in New York, it was the shock-and-awe of Hair (The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical), opening the next year on Broadway, where its knowingly transgressive songs included one (Hashish) that served up a lexicon of drug terminology; another (Sodomy) that named the full spectrum of sexually explicit behavior; others that celebrated interracial relationships (Black Boys and White Boys), plus the somewhat scandalous Be-In, in which everybody got naked as they chanted the Hare Krishna mantra.

HAIR Recommended When: Through Sept. 17 Where: Mercury Theater Chicago, 3745 N. Southport Tickets: $30 $65 Info: (773) 325-1700; http://www.mercurytheaterchicago.com Run time: 2 hours and 20 minutes with one intermission

The cast of Hair, the 1960s era musical now in a revival at Mercury Theater Chicago. (Photo: Brett A. Beiner)

Now a half century old, Hair has returned, this time in a Mercury Theater Chicago production that is at once grand-scale yet intimate as well as fiercely energetic, and aims to capture the fashion (via Robert Kuhns fringe, beads and neo-gypsy costumes), attitudes (a brew of peace, love, militancy and hedonism), anxieties and marijuana haze of the period (even if, ironically, the stuff is increasingly being legalized).

The 1960s are an incredibly tricky period to reinvent without seeming fake and kitschy. But while not everything old in Hair is new again (something understood by those who lived through the era, as I, along with a brother of draft age, did), the current sense of a country profoundly divided over many issues has its parallels in the musical. And as an anthropological artifact (the show even has a cameo turn for Margaret Mead, although she is horribly trivialized), it has both its truths and half-truths. Best of all, there is the shows still iconic, and both bracing and embracing (and largely sung-through) score by composer Galt MacDermott, and lyricists Gerome Ragni and James Rado. Hair, it should be recalled, was the Rent and Hamilton of its day.

At the Mercury, director Brenda Didier (in collaboration with choreographer Chris Carter) has given us a classic environmental staging, making extensive use of Jeffrey D. Kmiecs squatter-like set with its scaffolding and slanted wooden beams suggesting communal squalor, and its flamboyance emphasized by a thrust perch that projects into the audience. This in-your-face quality fits a show about young people reveling in the flesh even as a far-off war (and the war in the streets) magnifies their sense of mortality.

At the center of the shows tribe are two friends in late adolescence: Claude (Liam Quealy), the sensitive guy from a middle-class family in Queens, New York, whose parents cannot accept their sons rebellion, and Berger (Matthew Keefer, who moves like a wild cat), the angrier and more overtly sexual guy who gets expelled from high school. It is Claude who gets his draft notice but, but despite pressure from all around him, cannot burn it. Yet he celebrates every part of his still unbloodied body and spirit in I Got Life, a song to which Quealy brings exceptional fire and conviction. That sentiment is reiterated later in a beautiful rendering (led by Caleb Baze) of What a Piece of Work Is Man (and of course who better to borrow lyrics from than Shakespeare)?

The clarion voices of this theatrical tribe are top notch, and beyond Quealy and Keffer include Evan Tyrone Martin (star of Paramounts Jesus Christ Superstar) as the angry Hud; Aaron M. Davidson, who is in love with Mick Jagger, as the quirky Woof; Sheila (Michelle Lauto, so stellar in Spamilton) as Sheila, the activist who goes to the Pentagon march, and who knocks out the torchy Easy to Be Hard; Jeannie (Lucy Godinez), who is in love with Berger but pregnant from a casual encounter; Cherise Thomas as Dionne, the voice of Aquarius; Candace C. Edwards (who does a terrific job in a race-reversed take on Abraham Lincoln); Leryn Turlington as the innocent Crissy, who brings effortless charm to Frank Mills, the funny-sad tale of her crush on a guy she encountered once in the West Village. Music director Eugene Dizon and his five-piece band also give full power to the score.

And what about that nude scene? Nick Belleys lighting, and the subtly camouflaging psychedelic projections by Pete Guither (of The Living Canvas) are just artful and revealing enough. Besides, by now youve seen far more on the Internet.

Liam Quealy plays Claude in the Mercury Theater Chicago production of Hair. (Photo: Brett A. Beiner)

See the original post here:

A revival of 'Hair' that sings out in a new age of discontent - Chicago Sun-Times

The guitarist had a five hour operation to have the growth removed.

The Rolling Stones Ronnie Wood has spoken out about the surgery he had to remove a growth in his lung.

The musician received the diagnosisback in Mayand underwent a five hour operation to have part of his lung removed.

He spoke exclusively to the Mail on Sundays Event magazine, saying he prepared to say goodbye to his family after the diagnosis.

There was a week when everything hung in the balance and it could have been curtains time to say goodbye, he told the mag.

You never know what is going to happen.

He revealed that hed been surprised that he hadnt fallen ill sooner after his life of hedonism.

I had this thought at the back of my mind after I gave up smoking a year ago: How can I have got through 50 years of chain-smoking and all the rest of my bad habits without something going on in there?' the guitarist said.

So I went along to see our good old doctor, Richard Dawood, because we [Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts] all have to be checked before we go on tour, and he asked me if I wanted him to go deeper and check my heart, lungs and blood. I said, Go for it.'

Wood told the mag that hes fine now, and will be going for regular check-ups.

He quit smoking before his twins were born in 2016 and is now sober after being in rehab eight times, and having treatment for alcoholism.

But what doesbandmate Keith Richards think of his sobriety?

He was more bothered Id quit the fags, Wood revealed. I took Champix [a nicotine inhibitor] for three weeks. That stuff is heavy duty. Makes me sick even to think of it now. I just stopped wanting the ciggies.

Wood is expected to join the band on their No Filter European dates in September.

The Rolling Stones upcoming No Filter European tour dates are below.

9 September Hamburg, Germany: Stadtpark 12 September Munich, Germany: Olympic Stadium 16 September Spielberg, Austria: Spielberg at Red Bull Ring 20 September Zurich, Switzerland: Letzigrund Stadium 23 September Lucca, Italy: Lucca Summer Festival-City Walls 27 September Barcelona, Spain: Olympic Stadium 30 September Amsterdam, Holland: Amsterdam ArenA 3 October Copenhagen, Denmark: Parken Stadium 9 October Dusseldorf, Germany: Esprit arena 12 October Stockholm, Sweden: Friends Arena 15 October Arnhem, Holland: GelreDome 19 October Paris, France: U Arena 22 October Paris, France: U Arena

Go here to see the original:

Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood opens up about his lung cancer - NME.com

You can't build marriage on a foundation of selfish hedonism, because that would be to promise people only roses, and marriage is also thorns. Alan Keyes

the tree of life [was] also in the midst of the garden, Bible

All of us live and make our decisions according to some rationale. Perhaps its arbitrary and capricious, changing day by day. Or maybe we have a stronger set of standards that we have developed and utilize because they seem to work for us. At the extreme, we may accept and adhere to a more rigid set of rules established by a higher authority, which may include consequences for both good and bad behavior.

Our life-behavior is like a tree. This tree has three basic components: the fruit and leaf-bearing branches, the trunk, and the roots.

The branches (fruits, leaves) are what we enjoy in life. They may be all those blessings God gives us (whether or not we know God), such as health, success, happiness, etc. They may be the fruits of our own labors. They may be our family and friends. They are frequently the consequence of obeying the rules of society, adhering to common-sense rules and life styles, or following the Bible.

These branches are subject to the storms of life, however. We remember the ice storm of a few years ago. I lost lot of branches out of my trees. And then there was the late freeze this spring. The peach crop is not nearly as plentiful this year.

The trunk is also exposed to the tempests and vagaries of life. But its a lot sturdier. I didnt lose any tree trunks during the ice storm, and the peach trees will live to see another year.

The root is the foundation of the tree. The branches may be gone, and the trunk may be destroyed, but the roots are HARD to permanently remove if they are firmly entrenched in the soil. I tried to destroy an undesirable tree by cutting the trunk off at the base, but the next year I see little tree sprouts coming up from the base of the tree its not dead!

Our lives are a lot like the tree. If our life choices are based on our own definition of whats OK, we may get along for a while, but the storms will come. If we live in the branches we will get blown away. Divorce, abuse, and untold distress come from the storms because our way doesnt work it has no authority, no basis.

Now if we live in the trunk we have a lot better chance for surviving the storms. Society provides us with significant help if we are willing to seek it. Doctors are there to help with physical healing. Therapists are available to deal with emotional turmoil. We may have decided to follow some set of rules that seems good to us.

Our best chance for survival, however, (let me assert the only chance) is to live in the root. We have an established foundation that isnt affected by the surface storms of life. That foundation must be something that doesnt change. It isnt based on our opinion. It comes from a much higher authority. For example, it doesnt come from knowing whats in the Bible (or some arbitrary rule book). It comes from knowing the authority behind the rule book. The Bible is the only rule book with the authority that we need, that being the Word Jesus Christ.

If you are living your marriage in the branches, look out. The storms will come and the branches will fall and so will you.

If you are living in the trunk, you will benefit from much of the help available in the world, and may survive for a while. But a forest fire will destroy the trunks as well as the branches.

Choose to live your marriage in the root and make it the Bible. It doesnt change, and the storms dont affect it. In fact it becomes stronger, and so do you.

Roger Rollins is the executive director of The Family and Marriage Coalition of Aiken, Inc. Contact him at 803-640-4689, rogerrollins@aikenfamco.com or http://www.aikenfamco.com.

Go here to see the original:

FAMILY AND MARRIAGE: Where are you in the tree? - Aiken Standard

JERUSALEM Since becoming an adult, the eldest son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly drawn media criticism for what has been portrayed as a life of privilege at taxpayers' expense.

Yair Netanyahu, 26, has been described as someone who hobnobs with world leaders and enjoys a state-funded bodyguard, while living at the prime minister's official residence.

But his recent behavior, including a crude social media post, has now drawn public rebuke from the children of a former Israeli leader, along with threats of a libel suit. It has also revived criticism of the Netanyahu family's perceived hedonism and sense of entitlement, at a time when the prime minister faces multiple corruption allegations.

Israeli police on Thursday disclosed that Netanyahu is suspected of fraud, breach of trust and bribes in a pair of cases, just as his son was being pilloried in the press.

The younger Netanyahu hit the tabloids last weekend when a neighbor posted an account of how he refused to pick up after the Netanyahu family dog at a public park and then, when confronted, gave the neighbor the finger.

Yair Netanyahu then lashed out on Facebook at a website run by a liberal think tank that detailed what it said was his lavish lifestyle at taxpayers' expense.

In the post, Netanyahu alleged the site is funded by what he claimed are foreign interests, referring indirectly to the dovish New Israel Fund, which he renamed the "Israel Destruction Fund." He signed the post with emojis of a middle finger and a pile of excrement.

The Times of Israel said Thursday that the Molad organization which runs the site served the younger Netanyahu with a notice of intent to sue. The notice reportedly said that his posts "had no iota of truth to them" and that Molad stopped receiving money from the NIF last year.

Representatives of Molad could not be reached for comment.

The New Israel Fund noted that Yair Netanyahu made the comments on Tisha B'Av, the day Jews mourn the destruction of their biblical Temples, brought upon by internal divisions and hatred.

"On this day ... it would be appropriate for the prime minister to educate his son to spread the love of Israel," the fund said in a statement.

But perhaps the harshest reactions came from some of the other targets of his post, in which he claimed the children of former Israeli leaders Shimon Peres, Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert did not come under such scrutiny.

It included an insinuation that one of Olmert's sons had an "interesting relationship with a Palestinian man" that affected national security.

Olmert's son Ariel fired back on Facebook, denying he was gay, dismissing the claims as a fabrication and accusing the younger Netanyahu of "racism and homophobia."

"I've ignored that until now, maybe because in my opinion there's nothing negative about being either gay or Palestinian," he wrote. "Your attempts to drag me into your twisted reality are doomed to fail."

Ariel Olmert added that he works for a living, never slept in the prime minister's residence and "on principle, try to pick up my dog's doody."

His older brother Shaul then chimed in, calling Yair Netanyahu a fascist thug.

Their sister Dana Olmert declined comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

The online exchanges highlighted Yair Netanyahu's pronounced presence of late around his father.

In May, he was on hand to welcome President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at the official Netanyahu residence and was heard telling Mrs. Trump how he related to their youngest son Barron's struggle with the spotlight.

He has also reportedly taken a leading role in his father's social media platform.

Yair Netanyahu has also been questioned though not as a suspect about a corruption scandal in which his father was asked by police "under caution" about ties to executives in media, international business and Hollywood.

Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are said to have received more than $100,000 worth of cigars and liquor from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, who reportedly asked Netanyahu to press the U.S. secretary of state in a visa matter.

Australian billionaire James Packer has reportedly lavished Yair with gifts that included extended stays at luxury hotels in Tel Aviv, New York and Aspen, Colorado, as well as the use of his private jet and dozens of tickets for concerts by Packer's former fiancee, Mariah Carey.

Police are trying to determine whether these constitute bribes, since Packer is reportedly seeking Israeli residency status for tax purposes.

The prime minister has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, portraying the accusations as a witch hunt against him and his family by a hostile media.

His office declined comment Thursday on the latest affair.

David Bitan, the coalition whip from Netanyahu's Likud party, said Netanyahu's son was not involved in policy and dismissed the chatter as kid's stuff on Facebook.

"He's a private person and that is how it should be treated," he told Israel's Army Radio.

Others disagreed.

Columnist Sima Kadmon wrote in a front-page piece in the Yediot Ahronot daily Thursday that the prime minister's plea to the media to leave his family alone had no merit once his son had written "one of the nastiest and most vile posts ever."

____

Follow Heller on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aronhellerap

See the rest here:

Israel's 'crown prince' Netanyahu under fire for crude post - Fox News

Written by Vivek Deshpande | Nagpur | Published:August 5, 2017 4:06 am RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat (File Photo)

DOES Hindu dharma stress on self-correction, or does it tell followers to strive to lead the world on the path of correction?

The valedictory function of Vishwa Sangh Shiksha Varga (world Sangh training camp) saw conflicting views being expressed by chief guest Bibek Debroy and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat here on Friday.

While the NITI Aayog member expressed the opinion that Hindu dharma directs followers on the path of self-correction and any attempt to bring about correction in others is reflective of egotism, Bhagwat clarified that the god-ordained (ishwar pradatta) duty of Hindus is to free the world of the ills of unbridled consumerism and hedonism engendered by uncontrolled capitalism.

We are too insignificant to change the world or the universe. If you feel you have to change others, then it reflects your ego. The Hindu dharma says that if each one of us corrects oneself, the world will automatically get on the path of correction, Debroy said addressing a gathering of 112 young men and women from different parts of the world.

Bhagwat, in his speech, referred to Debroys opinion, saying, The chief guest spoke of involvement of ego in trying to bring about change in others. When K B Hedgewar founded the RSS, he was of the opinion that the Hindus should blame themselves for all their ills, not the British or the Muslim rulers. But one of the resolutions pushed by Hedgewar during the Nagpur convention of Indian National Congress, where he was a key organiser as its member before he went on to set up the RSS, was to usher India on the path to help the world rid itself of the ill-effects of unbridled consumerism. So, if we have to carry out that responsibility, we need to spread the Vishwa Dharma named Hindu Dharma by visitors from outside world.

He added: There is no ego involved in this mission. There is atmiyata (affinity). Like how the squirrel did by contributing its mite in the construction of Ram Setu during the Ramayana war. She didnt have ego, she had affinity for the cause and a will to contribute.

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App

Continue reading here:

It's duty of Hindus to rid world of unbridled consumerism: RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat - The Indian Express

A A

JERUSALEM Since becoming an adult, the eldest son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly drawn media criticism for what has been portrayed as a life of privilege at taxpayers expense.

Yair Netanyahu, 26, has been described as someone who hobnobs with world leaders and enjoys a state-funded bodyguard, while living at the prime ministers official residence.

But his recent behavior, including a crude social media post, has now drawn public rebuke from the children of a former Israeli leader, along with threats of a libel suit. It has also revived criticism of the Netanyahu familys perceived hedonism and sense of entitlement, at a time when the prime minister faces multiple corruption allegations.

Israeli police on Thursday disclosed that Netanyahu is suspected of fraud, breach of trust and bribes in a pair of cases, just as his son was being pilloried in the press.

The younger Netanyahu hit the tabloids last weekend when a neighbor posted an account of how he refused to pick up after the Netanyahu family dog at a public park and then, when confronted, gave the neighbor the finger.

Yair Netanyahu then lashed out on Facebook at a website run by a liberal think tank that detailed what it said was his lavish lifestyle at taxpayers expense.

In the post, Netanyahu alleged the site is funded by what he claimed are foreign interests, referring indirectly to the dovish New Israel Fund, which he renamed the Israel Destruction Fund. He signed the post with emojis of a middle finger and a pile of excrement.

The Times of Israel said Thursday that the Molad organization which runs the site served the younger Netanyahu with a notice of intent to sue. The notice reportedly said that his posts had no iota of truth to them and that Molad stopped receiving money from the NIF last year.

Representatives of Molad could not be reached for comment.

The New Israel Fund noted that Yair Netanyahu made the comments on Tisha BAv, the day Jews mourn the destruction of their biblical Temples, brought upon by internal divisions and hatred.

On this day it would be appropriate for the prime minister to educate his son to spread the love of Israel, the fund said in a statement.

Read more here:

Netanyahu's son under fire for social media post, lifestyle - The Columbian

Much-loved party crew Magic Door are set to return to Birmingham tonight (Friday 4th August), taking over Lab 11s terrace, warehouse and yard with music from regular residents and special guests from 10PM until 6AM.

Maxxi Soundsystem, Jukes of Hazard and Deano Ferrino are all set to spin this eve, alongside brand-new resident Mr Doris, who joins the fun-loving party crew after knock-out sets for Magic Door in London and Birmingham.

Jit Coulter-Patel, one of Magic Doors founders, explains his connection to Mr Doris: We had actually had our eye on getting Mr Doris to come and play for a while. I would like to say we had caught him take the roof off at one his Ibiza residencies, Space, Carl Cox, El Chirnguito, etc but the truth is my better half has been a massive fan of his mixes for years, and so they have been getting heavily played and little afters and chills for a while now.

"We were all hooked in, then back in March we had the PBR Streetgang guys booked in for our party in London and Mr Doris came up conversation when we were chatting, he is mates with them so we drafted him in last minute. He played exactly the sound we are after for our room 2 and smashed it, so we immediately asked him to play our next party in Birmingham. He absolutely nailed it again, so we pretty quickly offered to bring him over to play at all our parties when his diary allows.

As usual theres a few secret DJs and special guests thrown in for tonights fiesta, plus enough crazy costumes, glitter make up and unbridled hedonism to sink a battleship, with tickets still available on the door and via RA.

To get yourself in the Magic Door mood, you can listen to an exclusive mix by Mr Doris below.

*Photo credit: Here & Now

Continued here:

MAGIC DOOR RETURNS TO LAB 11 IN BIRMINGHAM WITH MR DORIS, MAXXI SOUNDSYSTEM AND MORE - DJ Mag

s s

Sections

You've read 3 of 10 free articles this month.

Get unlimited access to PressDemocrat.com, the eEdition and our mobile app starting at 99 cents per month.

You've read 6 of 10 free articles this month.

Get unlimited access to PressDemocrat.com, the eEdition and our mobile app starting at 99 cents per month.

You've read all of your free articles this month.

Get unlimited access to PressDemocrat.com, the eEdition and our mobile app starting at 99 cents per month.

We've got a special deal for readers like you.

Get unlimited access to PressDemocrat.com, the eEdition and our mobile app starting 99 cents per month and support local journalism.

Thanks for reading! Why not subscribe?

Get unlimited access to PressDemocrat.com, the eEdition and our mobile app starting 99 cents per month and support local journalism.

Want to keep reading? Subscribe today!

Ooops! You're out of free articles. Starting at just 99 cents per month, you can keep reading all of our products and support local journalism.

2 killed in sky-diving accident near Lake Tahoe

Northern California authorities seize 27,000 pot plants in 4-day raid

Southern California thunderstorms leave damage

Shuttered Santa Rosa recycling center gets major overhaul

CSU to drop placement tests, remedial class

Longtime Univision news anchor to step down

ARON HELLER

ASSOCIATED PRESS | August 4, 2017, 7:53AM

| Updated 2 hours ago.

JERUSALEM Since becoming an adult, the eldest son of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly drawn media criticism for what has been portrayed as a life of privilege at taxpayers' expense.

Yair Netanyahu, 26, has been described as someone who hobnobs with world leaders and enjoys a state-funded bodyguard, while living at the prime minister's official residence.

But his recent behavior, including a crude social media post, has now drawn public rebuke from the children of a former Israeli leader, along with threats of a libel suit. It has also revived criticism of the Netanyahu family's perceived hedonism and sense of entitlement, at a time when the prime minister faces multiple corruption allegations.

Israeli police on Thursday disclosed that Netanyahu is suspected of fraud, breach of trust and bribes in a pair of cases, just as his son was being pilloried in the press.

The younger Netanyahu hit the tabloids last weekend when a neighbor posted an account of how he refused to pick up after the Netanyahu family dog at a public park and then, when confronted, gave the neighbor the finger.

Yair Netanyahu then lashed out on Facebook at a website run by a liberal think tank that detailed what it said was his lavish lifestyle at taxpayers' expense.

In the post, Netanyahu alleged the site is funded by what he claimed are foreign interests, referring indirectly to the dovish New Israel Fund, which he renamed the "Israel Destruction Fund." He signed the post with emojis of a middle finger and a pile of excrement.

Avner Inbar, the chairman of the Molad organization that runs the site, said they had served the younger Netanyahu with a notice of intent to sue if he does not retract his comments. He said Molad stopped receiving money from the NIF last year and that the posts "had no iota of truth to them."

He also said their item on Yair Netanyahu was the most viral in their four years online and viewed by 1.25 million Israelis.

"It's probably because his antics have just irked so many Israelis," said Inbar. "It's not just that he lives off the taxpayers in an unprecedented fashion but that he thinks he belongs to the royal family and is therefore immune from criticism. He thinks he is above the people."

The New Israel Fund noted that Yair Netanyahu posted the comments on Tisha B'Av, the day Jews mourn the destruction of their biblical Temples, brought upon by internal divisions and hatred.

"On this day ... it would be appropriate for the prime minister to educate his son to spread the love of Israel," the fund said in a statement.

But perhaps the harshest reactions came from some of the other targets of his post, in which he claimed the children of former Israeli leaders Shimon Peres, Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert did not come under such scrutiny.

It included an insinuation that one of Olmert's sons had an "interesting relationship with a Palestinian man" that affected national security.

Olmert's son Ariel fired back on Facebook, denying he was gay, dismissing the claims as a fabrication and accusing the younger Netanyahu of "racism and homophobia."

"I've ignored that until now, maybe because in my opinion there's nothing negative about being either gay or Palestinian," he wrote. "Your attempts to drag me into your twisted reality are doomed to fail."

Most Popular Stories

Rohnert Park police find possible brothels

Marijuana company buys entire California town with hopes of turning it into pot paradise

Passenger on Bay Area flight spots man texting about child sex abuse

Healdsburg driver to be charged in Sebastopol cyclists death

Willits dad arrested after son, 2, found tethered to tree

Ariel Olmert added that he works for a living, never slept in the prime minister's residence and "on principle, try to pick up my dog's doody."

His older brother Shaul then chimed in, calling Yair Netanyahu a fascist thug.

Their sister Dana Olmert declined comment when contacted by The Associated Press.

The online exchanges highlighted Yair Netanyahu's pronounced presence of late around his father.

In May, he was on hand to welcome President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at the official Netanyahu residence and was heard telling Mrs. Trump how he related to their youngest son Barron's struggle with the spotlight.

He has also reportedly taken a leading role in his father's social media platform.

Yair Netanyahu has also been questioned though not as a suspect about a corruption scandal in which his father was asked by police "under caution" about ties to executives in media, international business and Hollywood.

Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are said to have received more than $100,000 worth of cigars and liquor from Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan, who reportedly asked Netanyahu to press the U.S. secretary of state in a visa matter.

Australian billionaire James Packer has reportedly lavished Yair with gifts that included extended stays at luxury hotels in Tel Aviv, New York and Aspen, Colorado, as well as the use of his private jet and dozens of tickets for concerts by Packer's former fiancee, Mariah Carey.

Police are trying to determine whether these constitute bribes, since Packer is reportedly seeking Israeli residency status for tax purposes.

The prime minister has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, portraying the accusations as a witch hunt against him and his family by a hostile media.

His office declined comment Thursday on the latest affair.

David Bitan, the coalition whip from Netanyahu's Likud party, said Netanyahu's son was not involved in policy and dismissed the chatter as kid's stuff on Facebook.

"He's a private person and that is how it should be treated," he told Israel's Army Radio.

Others disagreed.

Columnist Sima Kadmon wrote in a front-page piece in the Yediot Ahronot daily Thursday that the prime minister's plea to the media to leave his family alone had no merit once his son had written "one of the nastiest and most vile posts ever."

____

Follow Heller on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aronhellerap

Most Popular Stories

Rohnert Park police find possible brothels

Marijuana company buys entire California town with hopes of turning it into pot paradise

While total eclipse will shade Sonoma County, others head to path of totality

Passenger on Bay Area flight spots man texting about child sex abuse

Healdsburg driver to be charged in Sebastopol cyclists death

Luxury resort, winery OK'd in Sonoma Valley

Willits dad arrested after son, 2, found tethered to tree

High-speed pursuit through Santa Rosa leads to crash, arrest

Read more here:

Israel's 'crown prince' Yair Netanyahu under fire for crude post - Santa Rosa Press Democrat

Justine Decker August 3rd, 2017 - 7:10 PM

Warped Tour 2017attendees were welcomed with the hateful signs and religious music of protestors from Westboro Baptist Church at the festivals stop in Kansas City on July 27th.

Some of the bands, including Stick to Your Guns, I Prevail, and Blackcraft Spirits took it upon themselves to reciprocate the love to protestors by making shirts that boldly read F*** Westboro Baptist Church, Some people are Trans; Get over it, and other rebellious phrases. Eric Vanlerburger and Brian Burkheiser of the hardcore band I Prevail even swapped a generous amount of spit directly in front of a protestor whose shirt advertised the churchs website domain GodHatesFags.com. Vanlerburger shared the photo on his twitter with the caption Love will always win.

A representative of the church released this statement to the press in regard to their protest of Warped Tour:

Our young generation believes they can make a game of sin and mock God but suffer no consequences. The modern lifestyle of decadent hedonism leads to eternal misery as the wages of sin are death. The youth of this doomed nation set up these rock stars like golden idols of old that God warned us about. These musicians and celebrities are not worthy of worship and adulation. They have no power to save your soul from eternal hellfire. Instead of learning the lyrics and chords to these songs, focus on learning what the Lord requires of you.

The elitists of Westboro Baptist Church, which is located in Topeka, Kansas travelas far as Californiato spread unwarranted hate at festivals and concerts ranging in genre from rock to rap. They proudly promote their protest schedule atGodHatesFags.com. Their upcoming schedule includespicketing at Green Day, Kendrick Lamar, and Bruno Mars concerts in Kansas City.

Originally posted here:

Westboro Baptist Church Boycotted the Vans Warped Tour and Artists Responded by Trolling Them - mxdwn.com

Pavel Haas

Summer is still in swing, but Thursday in Putney, Vt., Yellow Barn offers an appealingly offbeat what-I-did-on-my-summer-vacation report: the String Quartet No. 2 by Czech composer Pavel Haas (1899-1944). Subtitled From the Monkey Mountains a nickname for the hilly countryside the composer visited, inspiring the work the quartet is resourcefully pictorial, evoking birds and horses, creaking carriage wheels, and rambunctious late-night frolics. But recent scholarship suggests Haas was also influenced by modernist assertions that such sharply-observed pleasure was not just a summer-getaway souvenir, but the proper purpose of art itself.

Composed in 1925, the quartet was Haass first major work after completing his studies with the Czech master Leo Jancek, and it echoes Janceks folk-like melodic penchant and his idiosyncratic approach to rhythm motives and textures moving among distinct rhythmic strata, each layer casting its own distinct mood. But Haas was also attuned to post-World War I avant-garde musical currents. The quartets illustrative exploits gently heady avian flurries; heavy, groaning glissandi standing in for beast and vehicle; high, keening moonlight; the finales rowdy, rhumba-tinged dance-band thump, enhanced by the audacious addition of a percussionist tweak conventional string writing (and conventional propriety) into something bright and visceral.

Advertisement

Haass goal, perhaps, went beyond mere effect. In a 2016 paper, musicologist Martin Curda connected Haass quartet to the Devetsil group of Czech avant-garde artists that flourished in the 1920s in particular, the theory of Poetism, promulgated by Devetsil writers Karel Teige and Vtezslav Nezval. Equally informed by postwar anti-Romanticism and leftist materialism, Poetism rejected the 19th-century burden of academic craft for an art of living and enjoying, as Teige wrote: Nothing but the immediate data of sensibility. Nothing but the art of wasting time. Nothing but the melody of the heart. Senses partitioned by modern assembly-line life could be reintegrated into lyrical and visual excitement over the spectacle of the modern world. The brash immediacy of Haass postcards parallel the Poetist ideal in Teiges words, a harlequinade of emotions and ideas, a series of intoxicating film sequences, a miraculous kaleidoscope.

Today, Pavel Haas is mostly remembered as a tragic figure, a victim of the Nazi regime who wrote a handful of pieces while imprisoned at the Theresienstadt concentration camp before being killed at Auschwitz. But the second quartet happily, bullishly reveals Haass capacity for pointed delight, finding radical hedonism in the sounds of summer days and nights.

Yellow Barn presents music by Toshio Hosokawa, Bedrich Smetana, Harold Meltzer, and Pavel Haas, Aug. 3, 8p.m., at Big Barn in Putney, Vt. Tickets $9-$18. 802-387-6637, http://www.yellowbarn.org

Get The Weekender in your inbox:

The Globe's top picks for what to see and do each weekend, in Boston and beyond.

Matthew Guerrieri

Follow this link:

Capturing the brash melodies of 'Monkey Mountains' - The Boston Globe