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subset: commoncrawl


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The police have concluded investigations into the death of former Debswana Managing Director Louis Goodwill Nchindo. This was revealed by the Deputy Commissioner of Botswana Police, Kenneth Kapinga, who said they have since sent the results of their investigations to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions.
The DPP will then make a decision as to whether there is a need for an inquest or not. Kapinga said the decision to investigate Nchindo's death was solely made by the police, without influence from anyone.
He, however, declined to reveal the results of their investigations, saying they are not for public consumption. He also confirmed that Nchindo's body was found without the head, and denied reports that the police said the head was eaten by wild animals.
"We do not know anything about the head being eaten by wild animals. We never said so," he said.
Two weeks ago, the leader of the opposition Botswana Congress Party, Gil Saleshando, said at a political rally at the Gaborone Bus Rank that rumours that Nchindo's head was eaten by wild animals are unfounded as wild animals never eat the head of their prey.
"This is a lame excuse, and Batswana deserve to be told the truth about what really happened to Nchindo," said Saleshando.
Meanwhile, the late Nchindo's lawyer, Lawrence Khupe, told The Telegraph that they have not asked for an inquest into his client 's death because the family is satisfied that there was no foul play.
"We did not ask for an inquest because we feel there was nothing suspicious about his death. It is clear that he committed suicide," said Khupe on Monday.
The criminal case in which the late Nchindo, his son Garvas Nchindo and Joe Matome are facing charges of corruption is expected to resume for two straight weeks on August 16th.


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I've been working on a desktop application to make managing databases easier. I've always been frustrated that existing tools are designed to help you write SQL, rather than help you understand and change your database.
I've just launched my website at https://modeldba.com/. I'm looking for some objective feedback on my messaging. Do you understand what the product is and what it does? If you work with databases or are building an app, is this something you wish you had?
Context: I'm not a programmer by background, but I've taught myself quite a bit about backend dev over the past two years by building side projects and tackling tasks programmatically at work.
I'd say that I understand at a high-level the problem that your product solves, but I'm not going to go through the effort of downloading it without more details. My biggest question is whether this just applies some sort of Microsoft Access-esque UI on my DB or does it do more?
I think it'd be super beneficial to include some sort of < 3 minute demo video that demonstrates the 2-3 core features that differentiate your product from a mysql workbench or pgadmin.
Hope that helps!
Thanks so much for taking a look, this is excellent feedback!
I was already planning to create more detailed landing pages for the four main features I mention, but wasn't considering creating a video before. I agree that a video would be very beneficial to better familiarize potential users. I'll create one around the time of my launch.
As for your question, for the MVP it is a lot like a Access-esque UI for databases. I have much bigger ideas for the product in the long-term, but it needs to start somewhere :). Thanks again for the thoughtful feedback.
I'm a programmer, am working with Postgres databases. I don't use visual tools currently, just plain psql. I'm using Django and so typically don't need to manually change database schema, and use Django migrations instead.
Not sure about the "Spend less time writing SQL. More time getting s#!* done." tagline. Writing SQL is how I get things done :-) Also, subjectively, I would not have the "s#!*" bit in a such a prominent place. It would be fine when casually pitching the product over beers, but on the landing page it's a bit too pretentious for me. I would tone it down.
As someone who likes to test database migrations in a dev environment, and use automated process to apply them in production, "Changing your database made easy. Add, drop, alter, it's all a simple click away" sounds like a disaster to me...
It seems a tool like modelDBA would be useful when you're dipping in an existing codebase + database, and are exploring and getting familiar with it. I'm not sure how I would use it after that phase.
I would like if the landing page explicitly said what is the target audience for this tool. People doing regular web development? People mocking up new systems? People doing code reviews? People who can't write SQL but want to make schema changes? Is it for me?
As a cli user I'm probably not the target audience, but hope this helps anyway!
Thanks for taking a look and the thoughtful response!
I agree that you're probably not the target audience for the tool like this. It's not really applicable if you're using an ORM like the one built into Django. That said, I think it's a good point about clarifying who the target audience is.
At this stage I'm aiming this at:
I'll need to think more about how to get that across on the homepage. Will it be obvious to those users that this is for them? I'll definitely create a landing page for each type of user at a later date with more direct messaging, but I'm not yet sure how to get that message across to the wider audience from the homepage.
What are you using to generate the database UI model?
I'm using elkjs (https://github.com/OpenKieler/elkjs) to generate the layout, then using Konva.js (https://konvajs.org/) to display it.
Awesome- thanks! I'm working on a (non-competing) database tool and think those might be useful.


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Hey Mom!!!! Where do solid body electric guitars and basses come from? Please don't give me the stork story again, okay? A Les Paul is too heavy for a bird to deliver….
To begin, the electric guitar has been around near as long as electricity has been harnessed in the American home. Around 1930, most urban homes in the United States had been retrofitted from gas to electrical power. Electricity, an everyday part of life that is now taken for granted, provided power for the electric lamp, refrigeration, hot water, and fancy door bells. As time went on, more important luxuries like the electric guitar, and of course the iron (both curling and waffle varieties), came along.
The electric guitar (of sorts) was right there. One of the first electric guitars is the famous Beauchamp/Rickenbacker frying pan. Just like today, guitar players looked for a way to be louder. The well-suited for folk music and easy-to-transport acoustic guitar was not always loud enough to compete with brass instruments, the banjo, resonator steel guitar, drums, piano, or
sometimes even the voice. Amplified archtops began to transform the way the guitar was heard, and played. The louder amplified guitar could now be used as a soloist's instrument since a single note was now loud enough to be heard over a band.
For the most part, the first electric guitars were acoustic archtop guitars retrofitted with an electrical pickup. The acoustic properties of the guitar were no longer needed if it was to be heard electrically. Some of the awkwardness that came along with the archtop design could be designed out. In fact, just about any shape or geometric figure could be used, and soon, new and different awkwardness could be designed in. The solid body electric guitar was born, and will dominate popular music for the next half century and beyond.
The Great Debate
Electric guitar players are a breed unlike any other. While they/we/me come from all walks of life, and play all kinds of different styles, there are a few things shared commonly. We all have our own ideas about what is the best, and usually for different reasons. Some may agree that the Fender Stratocaster is the greatest instrument ever built, while others may favor a Fender Telecaster. Some will disagree to the point of a fist fight. Strat lovers will not always agree what music it's best suited for, what is the best year of manufacture, or even what color looks best. Others will like a Gibson Les Paul best, and not like the Strat, or sometimes, not even like a Strat player! This is kind of like a Yankees/Red Sox, Biggie/Tupac, Hatfield/McCoy, Star Wars/Star Trek, Ginger/Maryanne, and for some, Mrs. Howell type thing.
Of course, the reverse is true as well. Many diehard Fender players will refuse to play a Gibson. We "electric guitarists" may be a loathsome crew, but boy do we have fun playing guitar, debating about guitars, and sometimes, even playing well with others.
The truth is, most people love both schools of guitar design, but lean towards one or the other. One thing that's an absolute undebatable truth is nearly all solid body electric guitars built today have roots in the Gibson or Fender designs from the '50s.
Coke and Pepsi. Gibson and Fender.
Most guitars made today have elements from one or the other, or even both. Fender and Gibson are arguably the most popular and influential solid body guitar makers on the planet.
I'd like to note at this point that Rickenbacker, Mosrite, and even Valco brands were also pioneers of early solid body electric guitars, and did make some fantastic, game-changing designs. In terms of volume of sales, structural popularity, and distinctiveness, Gibson and Fender are the big boys of the solid body world.
Dang. Time out. This is not a value judgement, and in no way am I defining any one company or design as being better or worse. Okay, Time in.
The Fender School of Thought: Lets Meet Leo
Though not the first man or company to design, build, or offer production of a solid body electric guitar or solid body bass guitar, Fender was the first wildly successful man at doing so. I am talking about the now-legendary Henry Ford of guitars, Mr. Clarence Leonidas Fender (referred to as "Leo" from here out).
Time out again. Thanks. Paul Tutmarc's horizontal bass came first by over a decade, but the teeming masses didn't notice. Only 4 examples are known to have survived to this day. There could be other builders whose work never left the garage. Leo made it work, first. Cool? Time in.
Leo started his career as a radio repairman and Public Address System maker. By the late 1940s, this became Fender Musical Instruments. His first mass-produced electric guitar model arrived in late 1951. Leo's solid body guitar ended up with the name "Telecaster"—a revolutionary and never-out-of-production icon.
Time out again, please. Around this part in our time together, the "evil and ill-tempered electric guitarists" I warned you about above are stomping their feet and yelling, "This idiot forgot to mention the Esquire, Broadcaster, and the Nocaster" (the early versions of the Telecaster), and, "What about Paul Bigsby, huh?" While they are right about me being an idiot from time to time, this is an article, not a book, and most all will agree that the Telecaster is the first successful mass-made solid body electric guitar. The "Model T" of the modern electric guitar, if you will. Okay, time in.
The Telecaster, Stratocaster, Precision Bass, Jazz Bass, Jaguar, Jazzmaster, Duo Sonic, Musicmaster, Mustang, electric 12-string, and more were all developed over the 13-year period that Leo owned the Fender Company.
Time out. Leo sold to CBS in 1965 because of a misdiagnosed illness that was thought to be fatal. Turned out to be a runny nose and Leo lived for another 26 years. Time In
This list is only solid body instruments, and does not include countless other breakthrough products. After all, what's a solid body electric guitar without an amp? Because the focus here is guitars, let's just say Leo wrote the book on guitar and bass amps. He probably pioneered the solid body guitar and bass just to help sell his amps! The 1950s Fender Co. produced some of the world's most beloved and copied designs ever made (more on this later). Leo Fender was a lot of things, but a guitar player, he was not. He managed to change musical instruments and music itself forever, but didn't bother to learn to play (just like some of the forum guys, OHHHH)!
Time out. Just kidding guys, have a sense of humor (I did mention we are a loathsome set of folks, didn't I?).Time in.
Leo did do a lot of listening, though—no, not to guitars, but instead, to guitar players. His concept of guitar building was fresh, new, hip, and utilitarian all at the same time. Having no lifetime of ideas about what a guitar was supposed to be, Leo was free to break the mold and think in new directions. He designed the electric guitar from the upper left-hand corner, so to speak—a blank slate.
Leo's guitars were designed to be, well….disposable (ouch). That's right…disposable. This is a concept that's totally inconceivable to today's guitarists. However, if you told Leo that his first few years of the Telecaster would be a household icon and a pricey collectable, he'd have probably laughed a hole in your shirt. The never seen in production "bolt-on" neck design was factored in so a player could replace his entire neck when the frets wore out, rather than find a technician to perform a costly and careful repair job. It has since become the accepted and traditional way to build this type of guitar. This is why your Strat, Tele, P-Bass, J-Bass, Ibanez, Tom Anderson, Glendale, Music Man, Charvel, Schecter, or "whoever built" has a bolt-on neck. It was not because someone thought it would sound better, or because it was the accepted method. In 1950, there was no accepted method. In fact, the hard-rocking iconic Strat (and Tele) was invented and produced before there was a thing called "Rock 'n' Roll". Rock 'n' Roll was nothing more than slang for what people occasionally did on a date in the back seat of a sizable Packard at the drive-in.
With all this in mind, Leo was trying to simply build something that was well suited to amplify, (again, after all, Leo was an amp builder) not something that was well-suited to satisfy the tastes of his guitar customers. Leo had no solid body customers in 1950. Nobody did.
Okay, back to the Tele!
The Telecaster (first called the Broadcaster, and no, I'm not telling that story here) was the guitar that defined solid body guitars, and the Fender sound.
A simple utility design, the Telecaster is beautiful, but far from fancy. The silhouette of the instrument is kind of like a boxed-off acoustic guitar, with a simple cutaway for easy upper fret access. The body was just a slab of ash with no contour, just a beveled edge. Ash was not commonly used in guitar making until the Tele. It could have easily been chosen more for its beautiful grain pattern than tonal factors. Much of the sound of the Tele was a happy accident. It sports a simple design layout electronically. The Tele featured two microphones (known simply as "pickups") that were strategically placed on the guitar's body. The neck pickup, or sometimes called rhythm or bass pickup, is as close to the neck as the body will allow. This was one of the few things about the Tele that was not a new idea. Placement of the pickup under a part of the string that is far away from the bridge created what was thought of as a more natural, mellow sound.
The Tele also had something unusual—a luxurious 2nd pickup. The placement of the 2nd pickup is close to the bridge, and the end of the strings travel from the tuners. When the string is plucked in this area, the guitar has a very sharp, bright sound, and that's exactly what the pickup "hears" and sends to the amp. The pickup is tilted at an angle so the low strings are "picked up" slightly away from the most extremely bright sounding area. This was not a brand new idea, but it was usually only seen on lap
steel and pedal steel guitars—a subject Leo was well-versed in having cut his teeth on building lap steels alongside the ampsdesigned for them. A plate of steel seats the pickup, and houses the string saddles as an all-in-one bridge, tailpiece, and pickupring group. A silver cap covers the whole unit. Leo was ashamed or had an irrational phobia to show the guitar's "mechanisms". Metallic covers for the pickups (on bass models) and bridges (on guitars and basses) hid away the naughty bits. However, the covers are incompatible with comfortable playing, not to mention, with technique. Many players (uh, more like all) took the covers off and found other uses for them. They excel at holding tiny screws, and smokers found them to be exceptional for holding a cigar or cigarette, in fact, they are still referred to as ashtray bridges to this day. I don't even know the proper name.
Bass Brief
Even more groundbreaking was the solid body electric bass. Maybe it was because Leo was not a guitarist, but he was able to think outside the box so well. Maybe
it was over cornflakes, or I'd like to think it was while waiting for the waffle iron to warm up when the inspiration came. "Why not make a bass version of the guitar?" Indeed… why not? After 60 some odd years, I think this idea is safe to qualify as a smashing success.
The un-electrified, hollow body bass that was in use before the advent of the Fender Precision Bass (P-Bass going forward) was the double bass or standup bass. At over 6 feet tall, over a foot deep, and a couple feet wide, this instrument was near impossible to efficiently amplify. The double or "standup" bass was better suited for sitting down and playing "bow style". The electric bass changed the game forever. On rare occasions, or for effect, you will still see some nostalgic acts play rockabilly, old-school country, western swing, sometimes jazz, or instrumental blues with a standup bass fiddle, but 99% of the time, it's a solid body electric bass. Up until the '70s, any make or model bass was commonly referred to as a "Fender bass". It was a new instrument. The solid body electric bass owed more to the electric guitar than it did to the standup bass, but it did the job of the upright bass in contemporary music with far greater efficiency.
The fretted bass (a serious innovation) was as portable as a guitar, and amplified very easily thanks to its pickup, and of course, Fender's new line of amps to go along with the re-invented bass. Like the Tele, it was a simple slab body design with one single-coil pickup, and came out about the same time (late '51 with production beginning in '52).
Leo wanted a little more "oomph" out of his bass models and decided to redesign the enormously-successful P-Bass. In the fall of '57, Leo updated the P-Bass from looking like the Tele's big brother to more of a relative of the Strat. The P-Bass was still basic in design, but the body now had comfortable contours, along with a more Strat-like pickguard and headstock. The simple single-coil pickup was gone, and the split-coil offset P-Bass pickup as we know and love it today made its first appearance.
From Outer Space: The Stratocaster
Not one to stay idle, Leo kept listening to players telling him what they wanted. Leo began redesigning the Tele, but soon decided to leave the Tele as it is, and start from scratch again. A few prototypes later—directly from outer space—came another groundbreaking 20th century icon: the Fender Stratocaster. So many new features and luxuries came along in that chilly (maybe it was mild, I don't know for sure, call it author's liberty) October of 1954, when Strats first hit the walls of music retailers. The Stratocaster (Strat from here on out) had a double cutaway body with an offset waist, which helped with the guitar's ergonomics and balance. Also on the cutting edge of design, the Strat featured a tremolo system unlike anything the world had ever seen, a big pickguard that dominated the guitar body, and no less than three (yup, count 'em THREE) pickups. If the Tele was basic and utilitarian, the Strat was flashy and loaded with features and some serious curb appeal. The Strat was a "muscle car" to the Tele's pickup truck.
More Bass
Leo was of course far from done. The year 1960 brought forth the most popular and most widely-copied bass the world will ever know. If the P-Bass was the first car, then the Jazz Bass was the first Cadillac Coupe Deville. The J-Bass had a more radical offset and contoured body. It was sexy and more comfortable. It featured two pickups, a stacked volume and tone knob, and a thinner neck width (a very popular feature). The P-Bass was great for laying down the foundation, and so was the Jazz Bass, but with its wide tonal girth and bright treble position pickup, the J-Bass was well-suited for soloists, and was applicable to more types and styles of music.
Originally intended for the jazz player (yeah, it is called the Jazz Bass, but I'm getting someplace, stick with me), the Jazz Bass was designed to not distort the sort of cuddy bass amps Fender was making (ducking again). Many things made by Leo were before their time, or better yet, made new styles of music possible. Leo might have fallen over if he could look about a decade ahead and see John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin rumbling 60 thousand people to the sound of the low E string droning on "Communication Breakdown".
Fender's bass amps didn't find favor with bass players due to their tendency to overdrive and distort, but the guitar players from Bakersfield, California sure loved the sound. Far away in England, a young Jim Marshall sure took note of them, and started a little company called (no points awarded if you got it right) Marshall Amps that made some of the most coveted amps ever built. Mr. James "Loud" Marshall based his first creations on the Fender Bassman circuit. To a large degree, Mesa Boogie started from humble beginnings upgrading Fender Bassman amps, same as the legendary Dumble, Fuchs, and countless more.
In short, even Leo's mistakes were a fantastic success! Ol' Leo was no dummy. He may not have looked like a 1950s So-Cal hipster, but he was more than just on the cutting edge, he defined the cutting edge. Leo's products were the very definition of the West Coast new-school coolness, and a giant 6-foot middle finger to the old-school establishment. Nobody, even Leo, could know what people would think when they saw the Strat for the first time. It must have looked like a prop from a Roger Corman film, more than a guitar. It was the Strat, and it was here to stay.
At the very crest of the wave, Leo and his new-school approach made him a "man of the century" not just an innovator. He made history by adding new applications to an old idea. He made people look at, play, and listen to music in a whole new way. He did most of his trailblazing work with simple designs that were just plain different. Leo's designs offered a whole new school and new design of guitar making, which gave birth to new styles of music and players, from Ike Turner and Buddy Holly to Muddy Waters, Jimi (still the king) Hendrix, and literally tons of British musicians.
The "Big Four" for Fender's original line up, the Tele, Strat, P-Bass and J-Bass, have all been in production from the time of their inception to today. It is impossible to count the variations, copies, and guitars designed with most of the same features. Not many people or companies can enjoy such a boast.
The Gibson School of Thought
Gibson was already a huge and influential company before Leo Fender was born. By the time Leo started looking at girls; Gibson already got their second wind. In order to understand the differences between Fender and Gibson schools of design, we need to start the narrative long before the birth of the solid body electric guitar age.
Orville Gibson made mandolins in his Michigan home while working at a restaurant to pay the bills. Orville was brilliant, but totally "crackers". Orville's wacky but not entirely unusable idea was making mandolins with a top, back, and sides cut out of a solid block of wood. It owed more to the violin than the popular bowl back design. Orville's improvement and design was a brilliant, but non-practical solution. Making the side for a mandolin required a block of wood large enough to cut the side from one piece, without carving or shaping. About 98% of the block was waste. On the strength of Orville's growing reputation, as well as his new designs and construction methods, the Gibson Company was founded in 1902. Orville Gibson had less and less to do with the company that bore his name over the next 8 years, and by 1908, he was gone from his namesake company. By all accounts, he was very ill, paranoid, and was creeped out by most people, including his investors and business partners. Actually, he sounds pretty normal by today's standards. By 1908, Orville's company bore his name, but not much else. Sadly, Orville died in a home for the mentally ill in 1918, having not been to the factory his ideas gave birth to for over 10 years.
It is quite possible that his illness forced him to think outside the box. While his methods didn't catch on, his concepts of design sure did. The A and F-style mandolins were a smashing success, and were louder, warmer, and richer than the bowl back design that dominated the past 500 years. Orville's designs not only outlived its creator, but will likely outlive our grandchildren, as well.
Gibson chugged along gaining customers and worldwide recognition when a designer just as brilliant as Orville came along in 1919. Lloyd Loar's arrival to Gibson assured the company's future, their reputation for new ideas, and the first quality instruments. Under Loar's short stay came the improved F-style mandolin (none other than the famed F-5, the one all others have to call "daddy"), the improved A-style mandolin (still popular today, as a more affordable model), and the new standard for arched top guitars, the luxurious and functional L-5.
With the introduction of the L-5, a newer and much higher bar was set for what acoustic archtops could be. Gone were the oval sound holes of the Orville era, which were replaced by the old-school Stradivarius-style F-holes. A much louder acoustic instrument was born, making the guitar a more viable alternative to the plectrum banjo. The L-5 offered so much volume that it could even be played in ensembles with brass instruments and still be heard. Loar was most likely not crackers, but like Orville, he did not care for his partners. In a short 6-year run, Loar hit the high road. His inventions/improvements are still felt today.
Bill Monroe, the king, president, ruler, and father of bluegrass all rolled into one adopted one of Loar's first Gibson F-5 mandolins. The L-5 guitar found its way to the embrace of one of country music's matriarchs and living legend (at the time, anyhow…) Maybelle Carter. Soon, no self-respecting bluegrass man would be seen without an F-5. In the guitar world, the L-5 [and later on the L5C, and L5CES (C for cutaway, and CES for cutaway electric Spanish) is as popular as it ever was amongst archtop enthusiasts. Competitive companies and luthiers like John D 'Angelico, Charles Stromberg, and rival Epi Stathopoulo (yup, Epiphone) also made world-class instruments. Some may argue that D 'Angelico and Stromberg made equal or superior-quality instruments. Opinions will always vary, but Loar's Gibson L-5 has been in production from its inception. It is the only guitar of its kind that has enjoyed longevity to today's marketplace. The L-5 has been undoubtedly played by more jazz, western swing, and country artists than any other premium archtop the world has ever known.
As the guitar began to gain in popularity beyond the 4-string banjo, Gibson's popularity and influence grew alongside the guitar's growth. Breakthroughs and standards were set with flat-top acoustic guitars like the Advanced Jumbo and the Super Jumbo 200 (yup, the SJ-200 or J-200 we know and love to this day). The SJ-200 was a full-blown showboat of a guitar, with plenty of bells and whistles—a Gibson that would surely stand out from the crowd. Some of the more inexpensive and common models will share at least some of the show-stopping high-end model's appointments. The J-45—the Gibson "workhorse" acoustic flat top—gained popularity for its sweet tone, its obtainable price tag, and of
The Gibson L Series (Loar) archtops came in many shapes, sizes, and budgets, from the affordable L-3, L-4, L-37, L-50, L-48 (and many more) up to the L-5. Flat-tops from the L-1 (Robert Johnson, anyone?), the L-0, and the L-00 evolved into the more modern Jumbo "J" Series acoustics, which included the J-45, J-50, and J-200. Archtop and flat-top guitars are the establishment. Solid body? At this period in history, there is no solid body guitar. There is no electric blues, there is no rock 'n' roll. Rock 'n' roll is give or take 25-30 years away, and you will have to wait even longer for frozen waffles and an iPhone. Gibson continued to adapt archtop guitars to be electrified, including the ES-300 with its 5-foot-long slanted pickup (alright, it's not 5 feet long but geez…look at the thing). The Charlie Christian pickup helped the guitar become a viable soloist instrument, as it could be electronically amplified to audible levels.
The world-famous P-90 pickup was introduced around 1946, and it was big, loud, noisy, and full of tone. This became Gibson's addition to most archtops. Now they could fill the role of a soloist's instrument, as well as a rhythm instrument. While the sound and versatility was groundbreaking, the guitars themselves looked like models made generations ago. Electrified Gibsons may have been great guitars, but they were your dad's, or even granddad's guitar. Most Gibsons (even the newfangled electronic pickup models) looked about the same as guitars without electrical capability. In 1950, Gibson's mind set was to build in the traditional Gibson way. Leo's mind set was to offer the world something brand new, just about to jump from local popularity in Southern California to the stages and studios of planet Earth.
Solid Body Showdown
The solid body electric guitar, the electric bass guitar, guitar amps, and bass-specific amps… things were about to change, and change FAST. Squaring off for the dollars of pro and aspiring musicians were the stalwart Gibson Company, and the new wave of solid body guitars from Leo. The stage was set for two soon-to-be legendary captains of industry: Gibson's Ted McCarty and Leo Fender. At a feverish pace that would nearly rival the coming space race, Leo & crew and McCarty & company were about to reinvent the whole machine.
By 1950/1951, Leo's solid body Broadcaster/Nocaster had not yet lit the world on fire; however, it did catch the attention of Gibson. Newly-elected Gibson president Ted McCarty decided it was time to add a solid body to the catalog. This sounds like a no-brainer, but it was a risk. Gibson had a strong reputation, and the solid body guitar was looked upon with disdain by the old guard (change of any kind is nearly always unwelcomed). It is said that the Gretsch Company asked of Gibson, "How could you build one of those wooden slabs of garbage? ANYONE can make something like that! "
Many guitarists called the new solid body "small" or "little" guitars. Though close to, or the same scale length, the big ol' hollow body guitars were actually hard to reach around for a person with a smaller frame. A Telecaster must have seemed like a pea shooter compared to someone used to playing a Gretsch Country Club, or a Gibson Super 400.
Anyway, back to Ted McCarty's venture into solid body guitars, okay? Okay.
Ted McCarty (Ted from here on out) knew that he could manufacture a more refined and less disposable (Leo's words, not mine, okay?) solid body than the pesky upstart Leo could. The Tele was not much more than a flat plank of wood. The new-for-'54 Strat was more or less a plank with some contour and belly camphor—same as the Precision Bass and Jazz Bass. It was sexy, but as flat as the top of Boris Karloff's head.
Ted set out to make a more traditional solid body, with lots of appointments that Gibson customers would recognize from previous popular models. He also equipped his new solid body with an arched top, like every previously electrified Gibson, and even sharing kinship with the F- and A-style mandolins that served as Gibson's cornerstone. Ted used trapezoid inlays for his new guitar—a familiar feature found on many previous mid-priced and higher-end archtops. Just about every inch was much more luxurious than Leo's stark but potent Telecaster. The headstock had the familiar Gibson pitch, and retained the 3-on-a-side tuner layout and headstock shape. Two of Gibson's new P-90 pickups adorned the new solid body. This was a feature that was previously reserved for Gibson's higher-end archtop models. Most student model electrics had only one P-90, and intermediate offerings like the ES-175 could be equipped with two P-90s by special order. Though somewhat sleeker and with a narrower waist, the new solid body had roughly the same silhouette as the ES-175, L-5, ES-125C, and just about any archtop that Gibson manufactured that featured a cutaway.
Okay. A BIG time out goes here….The electric solid body guitar owes a lot, if not all, of its lineage to the already well-developed flat top and archtop guitars, but it was something completely new and different. The first instrument that relied entirely on electricity, outside of the theremin (don't get me started on that crazy thing—I have one set up in the basement to scare away unwanted guests). Many things will rely on amplification in order to reach larger audiences, but the electric guitar relies on electricity, for even the player to hear it. It's not an electrified "something" (like a voice and a microphone). The electric guitar's tonal shape does begin like a traditional guitar, but the overall volume and a good deal of the tone come from the other 50% of the total electric guitar experience-the guitar's amplifier. Without one, an electric guitar is about as audible as the day after eating White Castle burgers next to kick starting a motorcycle.Okay. Back to the mystery guitar Ted and his crew are sweating over.
So…Ted's checklist…
Gibson's general shape, bound neck, familiar inlay on familiar rosewood fingerboard, world-famous Gibson logo on traditional 3-on-a-side tuner headstock, a mahogany body and neck, a familiar arched maple top, standard Gibson scale length and nut width, and a pair of premium P-90 pickups. What else do we need? How about the endorsement of a famous and influential musician, who just so happens to be keenly interested in solid body guitar development and cutting-edge tech? Oh yeah, and he has his own radio and TV show? Well heck, Ted must have thought over a similar waffle iron as Leo's that one fine morning: let's get that Rhubarb Red fella, or whatever he calls himself now….Les Paul…that's the guy!
Les Paul was a monster player in his youth. He was keen on what electronics and music could do when used together. His collaborations with singer and wife Mary Ford were far ahead of their time, and just plain good songs. "Tico-Tico" and "Vaya con Dios" (as well as MANY others) featured double speed and pitch guitar licks, with the help of a sped up tape machine. "How High the Moon" featured multi-layer harmonies of Mary Ford's voice—sounds nobody ever heard before—thanks to electronics. Ted must have been beside himself to get a star like Les Paul to lend his name to his answer to Leo's simple-by-comparison Tele. Okay, time out? Thanks.
Some say Les Paul himself had all to do with the design on the Les Paul guitar. He does have one patent (for a tailpiece that was used only on the first year of production). The Les Paul tailpiece rendered the Les Paul guitar nearly unplayable. The first-year-of-issue Les Paul guitars are not the collectors' items that the following year Les Paul models had become because of this flaw. Nearly every feature of the Les Paul was seen on previous Gibson models in one way or another. You can believe Les Paul if you like, or Ted McCarty if you like. They both claim to have designed the instrument. I don't want any part of the middle of this debate. I will leave that to the guys that were there. If you were 25 years old in 1950, you are 93 years old now. Happy Birthday! Well…. we all love the Les Paul model right? Right. Moving on.
The Les Paul seemed destined to be the solid body guitar that Gibson hung their hat on during the 1950s. They did make several versions of the Les Paul model in those years, including the Les Paul model in 1952, with an improved tailpiece and neck angle in '53. Also, towards the end of 1953, the Les Paul Custom came to be—a gold-hardware, triple-bound, highly-appointed version of the Les Paul model. This was the first Les Paul to feature the stopbar tail/Tune-O-Matic bridge combination that would come to be a hallmark and strength of the model right up to today. The year 1954 gave the world a more affordable Les Paul model, the Les Paul Junior. The Les Paul Jr. offered a simple slab body with one P-90 pickup. In 1955, Gibson gave the world the Les Paul Special, which was a model up from the Les Paul Junior, offering the same exact specs except for two P-90s instead of one.
Gibson made four solid body guitar models called "Les Paul" in the '50s. Each went under subtle to extreme changes each year, but all bore the name "Les Paul". Gibson also introduced the EB-1 electric bass in 1953 to chase some of Leo's money. Although a fine instrument, its popularity would never approach Leo's Precision Bass and soon-to-be Jazz Bass. The 1950s were a 3rd golden age for Gibson. The year 1958 brought the way, way, way ahead of its time Flying V and Explorer models. That same year brought the last great guitar design to date—the semi-hollow body guitar. Looks like an old-school F-hole guitar, but its backbone is more of a solid body. This was a hybrid born out of a hope to boost sales of the solid body design to the old-school player. Of course the Flying V and Explorer were for the beyond adventurous. Several ES (Electric Spanish) and older Loar model guitars were electrified, like the L5-CES and the Super 400. Electric solid bodies, though? Nah. Not yet. Okay, have to add this part…
The years 1957 and 1958 brought the Les Paul to its ultimate design. Humbucking pickups (oh yes, more on this later) were added to the model in 1957, and the Sunburst finish made its inaugural appearance in 1958. This incarnation of the Les Paul was discontinued in 1960 and nobody cared… yet. Solid body guitars caught on with a lot of country players, but most "jazz" and "pop" players of the time did not want to give up the hollow body. The Les Paul was more or less extinct in 1961 (along with Les Paul and Mary Ford's marriage and TV shows), after a complete redesign in 1961 of the instrument that was later dubbed the SG (short for "solid guitar"). By 1962, Les Paul's endorsement was taken off the guitar. He wasn't making hits. Stores had a hard time selling the Les Paul. During the '50s, the Les Paul was seldom seen unless Les Paul was holding it. Quite frankly, it was a bomb.
What was Fender up to? Fender was enjoying sales of his Precision Bass, amplifiers, lap steels, pedal steels, and some Strats & Teles. Americans took note of Fender's solid bodies a bit more than Gibson's. Sales of Gibson hollow body guitars and electrified hollow bodies are what kept them afloat.
The decade that produced the world's most beloved guitars had not yet produced a guitar hero on the solid body. Chuck (the true king of rock 'n' roll – come at me Elvis fans, I double dog dare you) played a Gibson electric, but it was an electrified hollow body ES-350. Buddy Holly played a solid body Fender, but his life was too short to catapult the Strat into the nation's consciousness. The first so-called "rock 'n' roll" record "Rocket 88" was released in 1951, well before Ike Turner would become famous for upgrading to a Fender Strat.
So…why are Gibson's Les Paul & ES-335 and Fender's Strat & Tele the world's most played, valued, copied, influential, and frankly, venerable guitars on this Earth?
It was an accident. A mistake. Luck. Serendipity.
The Revolution
Someone needed to be louder. Some say he was in Bakersfield. Some say it was London. Maybe EVERYONE needed to be louder. Everyone was about to be, that's for sure. Anyway, that someone had a solid body guitar. Legend has it that a certain someone turned up a Fender Bassman's volume control up to ten, and things would never be the same. No feedback in the conventional way, and the powerful humbucker drove the amp's tubes to compress and produce a wonderful, rich harmonic distortion. The story goes back just a few years before this Reese's Peanut Butter Cup moment. Remember?
As promised, here is some more on those humbucking pickups I mentioned earlier (I know you are undoubtedly thrilled that I remembered). Gibson and Gretsch came out with a brand-new "Patent Applied For" pickup in '57. The "humbucker" was designed to help eliminate the hum that came along with single-coil pickups. It works by adding a 2nd coil to the pickup. It is wired in a magical way that eliminates the 60 cycle hum that makes single-coil guitars so noisy. This "malfunction" helped produce a pickup with a lot more power and girth. The extra output of the Humbucker was especially useful on Gibson's version (not because it was any less noisy or sweet-sounding than Gretsch's humbucking "Filter'Tron" pickup, but because it was mounted on the solid body Gibson Les Paul). The result was unintended: the sustain that was never before thought possible from a plucked string (the power of Gibson humbucker, and the guitar's inherent design are both huge factors). It was a brand new sound. It was the solid body electric guitar's potential, unveiled. This was a REALLY HAPPY accident.
As stated above, during the '50s, the Les Paul model was not a smashing success, nor was any solid body Gibson. If the Les Paul was a bomb while it was originally offered, it morphed into an atomic fireball with a turned up tube amp. In the hands of Yardbirds' guitarist Eric Clapton, it knocked the world on its ear. The sound of rock 'n' roll was morphing also. The '50s rock 'n' roll records mainly featured piano, a sax section, and a bit of guitar. Elvis' guitar player, the great Scotty Moore, used whatever the King bought him (mostly pricey electrified hollow body archtops). Bill Haley's guitar man, Danny Cedrone, played the infamous "Rock Around the Clock" (1954) solo on a Gibson ES-300 (an electrified hollow body Gibson). He may have become a solid body guitar devotee, but we will never know, as he shuffled loose the mortal coil a month after he recorded the world-famous tremolo picked solo that would become his legacy. Another forward thinker and pioneer of electric guitar (hollow, solid body, or whatever he could win in a game of cards) was Link Wray. Wray was amongst the first to experiment with distortion, but it was a busted up old amp that got him there, not a humbucker.
Fender, for the most part, stayed with the single-coil pickups. The single coil can drive a tube amp to distort and compress without feedback like the humbucker-equipped Gibson, but not quite as fiercely. The Fender guitar's signature sound is a twangy, slinky, bright tone. Most models have some kind of tremolo bar, a bolt-on neck, and offset body. On the other hand, Gibson featured the fat-sounding humbucking pickups on nearly all non-student-level guitars. Nearly all Gibson models feature a laminated neck joint and stoptail bridge. As a result, the sound is very different from the Fender trademark "twang". Gibsons are known for powerful, darker, thick tones and the capability of great sustain. The one trait both Gibson and Fender solid body guitars shared was the way they worked with, rather than against, the guitar's amplifier. The sound of the solid body caught fire (though it took nearly a decade) in the early '60s. The "new" rock 'n' roll and now "electric blues" would never sound the same. In 1955, 90% of electric guitar players used a hollow body, by 1965, it was closer to 25%. By 1975, the number was probably closer to 99% in favor of the solid body.
Talking Legacy
Fender, Gibson, Supro, Mosrite, thinline Rickenbacker, thinline Gretsch, Hofner, and later, many more companies would become top picks of the new generation, of rock 'n' rollers and electric blues players.
Gibson and Fender are the forerunners, and arguably, the most popular, best-selling, and most widely recognized brands of solid body electric guitars in the world. Nearly any brand that will follow leans towards the Gibson or Fender school of design. Some even try to bridge the gap and borrow traits from each company.
If you're a guitar player, you already know how to identify the sound of a Strat or Les Paul-type guitar on the radio without seeing it actually being played. Yes, this was back in the dark ages, before YouTube, and even before MTV (MTV played video clips of the hits, often featuring the band playing their instruments, before developing extra-reality shows like "Break the House Rules" and the "Jersey Beach Summer Rental Incident
A conversation between two guitar players listening to the radio may sound something like this:
"Sure sounds like a Strat to me, Sam!"
"I don't know, Mike. It might be a Tele, but one thing is for sure: It's a Fender tone, not a Gibson."
For those of you that don't play, you still know the sounds. They are part of the popular consciousness. You may not recognize the guitar by name, but the sound? Yes. You have the sound ingrained.
Slash's Les Paul in the opening riff of "Sweet Child O' Mine"
Ed King's twangy Strat starting up "Sweet Home Alabama".
Jimi Hendrix with his tremolo bar explosions in "The Star Spangled Banner" or shimmery, dreamy dive bomb on "Little Wing"—all played on one of his many beloved Strats.
Jimmy Page holding long, sustained notes in "Since I've Been Loving You", or sonic wall of sound in "Whole Lotta Love" (Jimmy says this was his Black 1960 Les Paul Custom).
Think how much sound changed is such a short time—this nearly all rests on the back of the solid body electric guitar. In 1957, the great Buddy Holly topped the charts with "That'll be the Day". Ten Years later, the master of the Fender Stratocaster James Marshall Hendrix unleashes Electric Ladyland on an unsuspecting planet Earth. If Buddy Holly could have heard "Purple Haze" back in the late '50s, he may not have recognized the main instrument in the song as a guitar. He may have said something like "Great Caesar's ghost! What the heck instrument makes that sound? It's making the dogs go crazy and the cats' eyes spin!" Of course, Jimi primarily played the same type of guitar that Buddy had, but its potential had not yet been realized. Jimi fixed that, "but real good".
From the R&B, C&W, and dang near Barbershop-influenced rock of the '50s through the explosive new sounds of the '60s, '70s, and beyond, we owe most of the growth to the solid body guitar. It made new sounds at new volume levels not only possible, but accessible.
Remember, next time you hear an electric guitar (for many of us, that shouldn't take too long), that It all started with a guy named Leo Fender who wanted to sell some amps, and a clever CEO of Gibson Ted McCarty that was not going to let a changing world render his established company go the way of the Betamax.
Of course the talented, forward-thinking, innovative new school of players helped keep the solid body alive, and turned it into something aside from a disposable electrified archtop. Anyone that ever enjoyed a rock record of any genre owes a debt of gratitude to these guys, just as much as to Leo and Ted.
The early sound would join the electric solid body, but the foundation was laid in the early '50s. It would be unfair to not mention the founders, just because they didn't have a solid body electric guitar to help craft the sound. Rhythm and blues, blues, pop, folk, doo-wop, rockabilly, and even jazz melded together. Rock 'n' roll has DNA from all these sources and even more. The right tool was waiting, and the rest is history.
Ike Turner was ripping it up with "Rocket 88" in 1951, and "covered" by Bill Haley in '54.
Bo Diddley rocked "Sixteen Tons" hard with his thinline Gretsch Roundup (shaped like a Les Paul) in '55.
Ray Charles and Fats Domino rocked a piano, up one side of "Blueberry Hill" and down the other side of Arkansas.
Little Richard's piano could make your knees freeze and your bladder splatter.
Jerry Lee Lewis was raw power even before Iggy Pop picked up the ball and ran face first into the fray.
Country and rockabilly great Carl Perkins donned "Blue Suede Shoes" and an early Les Paul while Johnny Cash's main guitar man laid it down on "I Walk the Line" on one of Leo's Esquire model.
Link Wray? Rock 'n' roll rebellion royalty. He poked holes in his speakers to make them distort, and was more than just a littleahead of his time. He also managed to get an instrumental song banned from the radio. Anyone who has ever seen Pulp Fiction knows the rock 'n' roll electric guitar masterpiece, "Rumble".
The King of rock 'n' roll, Elvis Presley, and his right hand (no, not Col. Parker) man, Scotty Moore, helped bring rock 'n' roll to the nation's consciousness.
Roy Orbison, anyone? Yes, please!
Let's not forget the president, sultan, and father of rock 'n' roll guitar—the mighty Chuck Berry. He and his thinline hollow and semi hollow Gibson models were groundbreaking. He is probably the most influential rock guitar player that ever stomped earth. Today, there are guitar players that are using recycled Berry riffs, without ever needing to hear a single Chuck Berry record. His influence is far and wide. As far as the early sound goes, nobody was within a parsec of Berry's masterful double stop riffs and string bends. He was rhythm, lead, writer, and singer. Stand back man… Chuck is coming through.
Famous Examples
The new solid body sound: you know it, and if you have read this far, you love and live it. This is far from a complete list, but a good example of some famous players and famous riffs on Fender or Gibson solid body electric guitars.
- "That'll be the Day" and "Peggy Sue" feature Buddy Holly and his '50s Strat.
- The Shadow's Hank Marvin with his Fender Strat on "Apache" (the whole band was outfitted with Strats and a P Bass).
- The ironically-named "Fendermen" play the 1960 hit "Mule Skinner Blues" on Strats and Teles.
- "Walk Don't Run" starts the surf rock sound with The Ventures and their Fender guitars (later on, the Mosrite guitar will be a mainstay of the band).
- "Let's Go Trippin" with Dick Dale is rippin' on a Strat.
- "Wipe Out" by the Surfaris. Yup, that's a Strat, and a great idea of what a clean Fender guitar sounds like.
- The songs "Till the End of the Day" and the infamous "All Day All Night" riff, both played by Dave Davies of the Kinks with his Gibson Flying V.
- In "Time Is On My Side", the infamous Keef of the Rolling Stones plays a Bigsby trem-equipped Sunburst Gibson Les Paul. Keef Richards is known for playing many guitars including a Telecaster with a Gibson pickup that is often seen live, but the massive hit "Brown Sugar" was recorded on a Gibson SG Custom!
- "My Generation" by The Who may have been played on a thinline hollow Rickenbacker, but the drive came from a Fender Bassman amp. Live versions soon after the recording featured a Fender Strat.
- The Beatles George Harrison gave up his thinline hollow body guitars in time for the "Revolver" album. A Gibson SG Standard model was frequently used along with a 1961 Sonic Blue Strat on the "Nowhere Man" solo. The same Strat got a psychedelic paint job just in time for the fold out of the Magical Mystery Tour. The same guitar would be used 22 years later for the guitar solo of the Tom Petty classic "I Won't Back Down".
- The Yardbirds' Eric Clapton played a Fender Tele during most of his time with the group. Clapton shifted gears and made the world reconsider the Gibson Les Paul and overdriven Masrhall amp on the John Mayall and The Bluesbreakers Beano
- The Yardbirds' Jeff Beck ripped the world a new…"elbow" with his Fender Esquire on "Over, Under, Sideways, Down".
- The Yardbirds' Jimmy Page played his Dragon painted Tele on "Happening Ten Years Time Ago".
- Jimi Hendrix freaks out Clapton and every other guitar god with the sounds that he can coax from a Fender Strat. Those who dared would pick up a Strat and try to copy Jimi. "Purple Haze", "Hey Joe"… you know….that Jimi Hendrix!
- The Beatles classic, 'While my Guitar Gently Weeps", is performed by Clapton, with a borrowed Les Paul of George Harrison.
- The Allman Brothers' Dwayne Allman and Dickey Betts lashed out on dual Les Pauls… an all-out assault on the Live at the Fillmore
- The Who's Live at Leeds defines massive, loud, and over the top "crunch". The axe of choice is Pete's SG Special, bought at the world-famous Manny's Music on 48th in Manhattan, New York.
- Manny's Music would also supply the "Black Strat" used by guitar tone master David Gilmour of "Pink Floyd" for a lot of his most admired work, including the "Comfortably Numb" guitar solo and most of the Dark Side of the Moon album that you probably have on vinyl, 8-track, cassette, CD, and on your iPod (Just like The Beatles' White album).
- Pete Townsend explodes 3 massive power chords on anthem "Baba O'Riley" with massive Les Paul crunch on live performances. In the studio, he used a P-90-equipped Les Paul Junior.
- Mick Ronson rocks a Les Paul as one of Bowie's "Spiders from Mars".
- Charles Pitts "whaka whakas" his Strat into history with Isaac Hayes on "Shaft".
- Curtis Mayfield and his Fender Strat would "Super Fly" into the world's ears for decades.
- "Sweet Home Alabama" performed by Ed King and his Strat.
- ABBA with… never mind, just kidding.
- Peter Frampton makes his Les Paul Custom talk on Frampton Comes Alive!
- Out of Texas, ZZ Tops' Billy Gibbons gets tone to die for on "La Grange" on his Les Paul.
- AC/DC's Angus Young gets high-voltage tone from his Gibson SG.
- Boston's Tom Schulz used an electronic tech degree and a Les Paul to create massive distortion on "Foreplay/Long Time" and "Don't Look Back".
- The Sex Pistols' Steve Jones' basic but furious playing absolutely burns on "Never Mind the Bollocks" with his infamous white Les Paul Custom, which was rumored to be acquired with a 5 finger discount dash, and the "original" Les Paul is said to be sold every time Jones needed some ready cash. Love 'em or hate 'em, it's a great, big, massive, in-your-grill, tidal wave of Les Paul. "Never Mind the Bollocks"… indeed.
- Eddie Van Halen turns it all upside down again with a modified Strat, which had elements of both the Fender Strat and the Gibson Les Paul. Parts from each were used to make a hybrid. This was all the rage until…
- Slash shows up with Guns 'N' Roses to scare the hairspray and spandex off the pop-inspired "Heavy" metal '80s Super Strat players. "Sweet Child O' Mine" makes the world safe for Les Paul players again.
Cycles of Gibson and Fender domination ebbed and flowed, but neither of them has ever fallen out of popularity. Many great electric guitar manufacturers will arrive and prosper—some domestic and some from overseas. Just about every solid body guitar that was made after 1950 owes some or most of its design or components to Gibson or Fender, or both.
I imagine that as long as people play, listen to, and admire the solid body electric and the music it helped give birth to, the Gibson/Fender influence will "Not Fade Away".


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Instagram's editing tools now stand at an even dozen, with the addition of the the Color tool and Fade tool to both its Android app and iPhone app. You'll find both nestled between the Saturation and Highlights tools.
The Color tool lets you tint the highlights or shadows in one of eight different colors. The color options are yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, blue, cyan or green. Tap Shadows or Highlights, below the image you're editing, then tap to choose a color. You can select one color for shadows and a different color for highlights. You can also tap again on the color picker after selecting a color to call up a slider to adjust the intensity of the tint.
As with Instagram's filters and other editing tools, you can tap on the image to see the original to compare it against your edits.
The Fade tool lets you "bring a quiet tone to your photos by softening colors," according to Instagram. The tool features a simple slider to control the amount of fade. I found it added a retro, washed-out look to images, recalling Polaroids from the '70s.
(Via Instagram Blog)


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Saturday, January 5, 2019
Saginaw, MI – The Saginaw Spirit extend their winning streak to five games with a 5-2 victory over the Kitchener Rangers.
Newly acquired Ryan McLeod and Owen Tippett each scored two points in their Spirit debut in front of 5,133 fans at The Dow Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan, the biggest crowd of the 2018-19 season to date.
The Edmonton Oilers prospect McLeod notched his first Saginaw point just 3:39 into his Spirit debut. McLeod drew the attention of the Kitchener defenders and sent a crisp pass to Saginaw leading scorer Cole Coskey at the back door. Coskey redirected the puck into the wide-open net.
With the goal, the Zion, Illinois native extended his point streak to 10 games with 21 points during the stretch.
McLeod added another assist on Saginaw's second goal of the game with a great pass to Overager Albert Michnac. After using his speed to split the Kitchener defenders, McLeod made a nice deke on the Rangers goaltender Lucas Pfeil and dropped a pass back to Michnac in the slot. Michnac was able to send the puck into the net for his 11th goal of the season.
Michnac and recently acquired McLeod were former line-mates last season with the Mississauga Steelheads and combined for 130 points last season.
New York Islanders prospect Bode Wilde nearly added to the lead late in the first period. While on a two-on-one rush with Michnac, Wilde sent a wrist-shot from the top of the right circle.
Kitchener goaltender Pfeil was able to deflect the shot with his right-shoulder to keep the Rangers within two goals.Saginaw lead, 2-0 heading into the first intermission and allowed just four shots in the first period of play.
Rookie Cole Perfetti gave the Spirit a 3-0 lead midway through the second period. Perfetti received a pass from Florida Panthers prospect Owen Tippett at the blueline and skated down to the right face-off circle.
The Saginaw first round pick used a Kitchener defenseman as a screen and sent a wrist shot top corner for his 16th goal of the season.
Perfetti came into the game second among OHL rookies in points and goals. The Saginaw center extended his point-streak to four-games with the goal.
The Rangers got on the board with 7:37 remaining in the second period on a two-on-one rush. Former Saginaw Spirit Ryan Stepien scored his fourth goal of the season with a wrist shot from the right circle that beat Saginaw goaltender Ivan Prosvetov top-shelf.
Dallas Stars prospect Riley Damiani brought the Kitchener Rangers to within a goal with less than nine-minutes remaining in the third period. Damiani sent a wrist shot from the left face-off circle that ricocheted off the crossbar into the Spirit net for his 14th goal of the season.
Just 16 seconds after the Kitchener second goal, Saginaw's Michnac lit-the-lamp for the second time in the game. Bode Wilde, second round pick of the New York Islanders, sent a great pass from the point over to Michnac to the left of the net. The Czech forward hammered the puck into the open net to give the Spirit back a two-goal lead.
Saginaw's newest player Owen Tippett added an empty-net goal with just 26 seconds remaining in regulation. The goal was Tippett's 20th goal of the season and first as a Saginaw Spirit.
Arizona Coyotes prospect Ivan Prosvetov has been victorious in his last seven starts with the win. The Russian goaltender allowed just two-goals on 20 shots for his 19th win of the season.
Applebee's Three Stars of the Game:
1. Albert Michnac (SAG) 2G +3
2. Cole Coskey (SAG) G, A +4
3. Ryan McLeod (SAG) 2A +3
Saginaw continues the three-game home stand Sunday, January 6 against the Sudbury Wolves for the second and final meeting of the season.
Puck drop is set for 5:30 p.m. and fans are encouraged to bring their skates to skate with the Spirit players following the game. Cat Boy from PJ Masks will be appearing in the Budweiser Red Room beginning at 4:00 p.m. presented by Fairy-Tale Entertainment.
The Spirit dropped the first game against the Wolves, 3-2 in a shootout thriller on the road back on November 23.
To purchase tickets to any Saginaw Spirit home game call (989) 497-7747, visitsaginawspirit.com, or by visiting the Saginaw Spirit Store at 5789 State Street, Saginaw, MI.


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Welcome to David Mundy's nearly-daily blog. David is now retired after 37 years as a United Church minister and has kept a journal for more than 30 years. This blog is more public but contains his personal musings and reflections on the world, through the lens of his Christian faith. Follow his Creation Blog, Groundling (groundlingearthyheavenly.blogspot.ca) and Mini Me blog (aka Twitter) @lionlambstp
Sunday, July 08, 2018
Who Doesn't Support Breastfeeding?
Through the ages Christianity has had an ambivalent relationship with the incarnation of God in the person of Jesus. The church celebrates Jesus' birth at Christmas every year as one of the "big three" of our festivals (Easter and Pentecost are the others) but we tend to keep the focus soft. There did seem to be permission for Mary to be a mother, in essence The Mother of God, although in early depictions Mary appears to be a distant queen and Jesus a pint-sized adult man in her arms.
As time went on the Madonna was often allowed to be a peasant mother, who breastfed a human baby. There is a poignancy to these nursing images, the reminder that both the Queen of the World (in Roman Catholic theology) and the Saviour of the World experienced one of the most nurturing and powerful human relationships.
Enter the United States of What the Hell? and its recent decision not to support a resolution to encourage breast-feeding brought forward at a multi-national gathering of the United Nations-affiliated World Health Assembly. It was assumed that what was literally a motherhood statement would be approved quickly and easily by the hundreds of government delegates who gathered this spring in Geneva. Who doesn't know that mother's milk is healthiest for children, even though alternatives are sometimes necessary.
Some of you may have participated in boycotts of international companies making baby formula which were encouraging mothers to forego breastfeeding in favour of their "superior" products. Many denominations, including the United Church of Canada participated in putting the pressure on giants such as Nestle, with mixed success.
Yet at the Geneva gathering the United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations and actually threatened Chile, the country sponsoring the resolution, with economic penalties if they didn't water down the wording.
This is one more irony from the country where many conservatives want to reaffirm the United States as a Christian country, just as long as acting according to the gospel of Jesus Christ or by Christian principles of justice are not expected.
Perhaps we'll see a painting of Mother Mary feeding the infant with a bottle with a strategically placed brand label in the near future.
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i'm already getting all jittery over christmas time, and i'm so excited to start gift shopping and getting ready for the holidays. each year i try to do something different with my wrapping paper. you know, something that's signature. something that doesn't even need to have a 'from: bonnie' sticker on it, 'cause they just know it's from me! one year it was newspaper (embellished, of course!), another year i attached big glittery letters that represented the recipients first name. i haven't quite decided on what i'll do this year yet, but i'm either going to buy some beautiful handmade paper or do something diy style (see some ideas at the bottom of this post!). what about you?
wrapping paper from love, mae.
eco friendly wrapping paper from arboreal.
wrapping paper from smock shop.
ring-a-ding | chairs | daisies | chandeliers
chevron flame | winterberry birds | chevron | elderberry
snow forest | snowy pines | winter wind | birch luxury
gift wrap from the nimbus factory.
gift wrap from forma.
faux bois | birdhouse | peace, joy, love | candy canes
paper scraps + celery | paper bag gift wrap | holiday greenery | hand drawn gift wrap
and for all you do it yourselfers, here are a few more ideas! also don't miss creature comforts super duper free printable holiday gift tag round up, it's amazing!


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For Zodwa Wabantu, splashing the cash is no big deal, especially on things she only dreamt about before becoming one of Mzani's most in-demand stars
The dancer and reality TV star is becoming quite the fan of body enhancements and shared with her fans a video of her latest procedure, done at a Durban cosmetic medical centre.
In it she undergoes a session of body reshaping and contouring (probably something the Kardashian/Jenners use to give them their famous curves) using a machine that not only tightens the skin, but pretty much rearranges it too for a smoother look.
She wrote of the procedure in the post; "This machine is a Vela Smooth Machine, it is also called a body iron. Irons out cellulite and dimples. Tightens skin in butt,arms,stomach,things. No more loose skin perform at your best, rejuvenate, age backwards, look younger
A week ago, Zodwa shared a video of herself undergoing a cellulite reduction procedure on her stomach and thighs. The procedure involved getting shots of 'lipodissolve' injections that target tiny pockets of fat.
And just last month the star underwent vaginaplasty - a procedure that tightens and rejuvenates your erhm lady-bits. The popular surgery is heralded for increasing stimulation and orgasms!
"There's going to be magic coming out from there… Baby, are you coming," she said in the TMI video!
She's also undergone a platelet rich plasma (PRP) treatment for hair loss in which her blood was drawn out, processed, and then injected back into her scalp.
Then Zodwa had her "saggy" breasts lifted in a non-surgical procedure ahead of the Durban July.
And she's also had the must-have cosmetic treatment – the 'vampire' facial which also involves the PRP method of withdrawing her blood and injecting it back onto her face- giving her fans a very gruesome look into her quest for perfection.
To add to the list she's also undergone facial peels, fillers and 'glow drips'.
Looks like Zodwa is working on her summer body way ahead of schedule!
Read more:
Celebs who have undergone cosmetic surgery
Black Twitter Divided Over Zodwa Wabantu Video
Image credit: Instagram @zodwalibram


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It appears that rapper Sage the Gemini has agreed to give American Idol winner Jordin Sparks a shot.
Jordin posted this tacky bathroom photo of herself and her new beau on social media. The 25-year-old Phoenix, AZ native has a failed history of relationships with men -- partly due to her rumored needy, clingy personality.
The "No Air" singer was unceremoniously dumped by pop singer Jason Derulo, who got tired of her incessant demands for an engagement ring.
Jordin and Jason were the subjects of a recent Blind Item that asked which singer repossessed a car from his ex-girlfriend.
Many incorrectly guessed the singer was Chris Brown and the ex-gf was Karrueche Tran.
Jordin is not unlike singer Ciara who also has difficulty maintaining healthy relationships with men due to her daddy issues.
Ciara rebounding nicely from a brief engagement to rapper Future Hendrix by dating Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, with whom she reportedly moved in.
Moving in with someone after dating a month is always a bad sign.
Neither relationship is expected to survive 2 years. I'll let you know how their story ends.
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|About this Recording
NA316012 - CLELAND, J.: Fanny Hill (Abridged)
John Cleland
Fanny Hill
or Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure
"I beg of your Grace to give proper orders to stop the progress of this vile Book which is an open insult upon Religion and good manners…"
— Thomas Sherlock, Bishop of London (1750)
Sherlock's condemnation, fierce as it was, was in reference not to the original version of Cleland's erotic masterpiece, but an edition expurgated by the author himself (entitled Memoirs of Fanny Hill) and published in March 1750. The novel itself, in its fuller and original version, had appeared in two parts, the first in November 1748 and the second in March 1749, both published by Ralph Griffiths, and each selling for three shillings. There is evidence that the book, at least in manuscript form, was read at a meeting of the "Order of the Beggar's Benison and Merryland" in 1737. However, both parts of the novel were published during Cleland's incarceration for debt in Fleet Prison having first being revised by their author. It was some six months after the publication of the second part until Cleland was arrested for issuing an obscene publication, but shortly released. After publication of the bowdlerized version he was again arrested, but no charges seem to have been made against him.
The book became one of the most popular of the 18th century with several editions, often with illustrations, appearing on the market. However, for 200 years the book was treated purely as pornography and this resulted
in its literary worth being ignored. It was only after the legal action in America and Europe in the early 1960s coupled, no doubt, to the changing mood of those times to matters sexual which that the work began to be reappraised.
Fanny Hill contains echoes of several other novels of the mid-18th century, most obviously Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders (also available on Naxos AudioBooks), although the latter work is deliberately less explicit being "wrapped up so clean". There are many influences also from French
libertine literature. Indeed translations of erotica from the continent were readily available in England at this time, and Cleland's moral outlook — the open enjoyment of sexual pleasure — would seem to be more attuned to the French than to the English literary approach.
John Cleland was born in 1710, the son of Major William Cleland, Commissioner of Taxes. He was educated at Westminster and joined the East India Company in Bombay in 1728, where he remained until 1740 having achieved some success in business. He returned to London in 1741 when his father died. A dispute with his mother did nothing to alleviate ongoing financial difficulties and he became a journalist interspersed with periods within debtor's prison.
After the publication of Fanny Hill, for which he was paid £20, Cleland attempted to repeat its commercial success with the publication in 1751 of Memoirs of a Coxcomb which lacked the eroticism of Fanny Hill and, as
a result, sold only a few copies. His later attempts at erotic fiction also fell into oblivion and he spent the rest of days translating and writing poetry, plays and, eventually, scientific treatises. In 1779 Boswell described him as a lonely figure living in shabby chaos "drinking tea and eating biscuits… There was something genteel in his manner amidst this oddity." It was in such obscurity and poverty that Cleland died in 1789.
Notes by Anthony Anderson
Emma Fielding
Emma Fielding trained at RSAMD. She has worked for the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, most notably in John Ford's The Broken Heart for which she won the Dame Peggy Ashcroft Award for Best Actress and the Ian Charleson Award. She has also appeared in numerous radio plays for the BBC.
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Why Should You Depend on an Experienced Commercial Locksmith?
So, you're a business owner in Hollywood and you've done the difficult part of starting up and running a business: you've rented or bought the premises, you've hired your employees, you're on task and motivated, and you know how to handle the money. Great, give yourself a pat on the back! You might think you're all done, but there is still one more step to go – buying a security system. Now, after all the work you've put into running this business you're not going to trust your security to a single locked door, right? You're going to want an experienced commercial locksmith in North Hollywood, like Power Lock & Key.
Why do I need an experienced commercial locksmith?
You might be thinking that using an experienced commercial locksmith in North Hollywood isn't necessary; after all, they are a bit pricier, and can't an inexperienced locksmith do the same thing? Well, when you install security systems you get what you pay for. Proactive business owners know that heightened security will keep their business profitable. Experienced commercial locksmiths make the difference in how well your business is secured against internal and external threats, which is something that inexperienced locksmiths are unable to do. The main draw of experienced commercial locksmiths is their ability to evaluate a property's security weaknesses and strengths with pinpoint accuracy, something they are only able to do after years of experience.
Since you only want the best security for your business, going with an experienced commercial locksmith in North Hollywood is your best option. Businesses with top of the line security are often bypassed by hackers and thieves who abandon your business entirely in search of an easier hit. If you're searching for a reliable commercial locksmith, then consider Power Lock & Key's experienced commercial locksmiths in North Hollywood who will give you the best bang for your buck when it comes to security.
What services can you expect with experienced commercial locksmiths?
Experienced commercial locksmiths in North Hollywood know business security like the back of their hands, and they are the most qualified to update security for your home or business. With easy access to the internet, thieves and hackers can easily learn the skills required to break in, bypass security, and to escape without detection. Luckily, Power Lock & Key provides essential security services that can forestall these thieves and hackers with a variety of services including master key installations, keyless entries, door closure systems, cameras, and more!
This company also offers 24 hour services, seven days a week with a mobile unit that is available to do evaluations of your property! When you use Power Lock & Key's experienced commercial locksmith in North Hollywood, you can expect to receive top quality installations of your security systems as well as consultations to beef up your security. Power Lock & Key also ensures that you have the best possible security system while staying within your budget. These experienced commercial locksmiths know what to include when designing or installing security systems, so you can rest easy in the knowledge that your security is being handled by professionals!


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It's no "Porgy and Bess" on Broadway, and the 2013 Audi allroad has not been nominated for a Tony or any other award. But it's a welcome revival.
The allroad quattro—Audi has a penchant for lower-case letters—has been dark for seven years. When it was in the Audi lineup in the early 2000s, it was an oddity—a luxury compact station wagon with all-wheel drive, jacked up on its suspension for modest off-road ventures.
Today it would be called a crossover, but still on the mild side. It essentially is the former Audi A4 Avant station wagon with the company's quattro all-wheel drive, a modified suspension system, wider track and a full seven inches of ground clearance. Think Subaru Outback but smaller and more expensive like the $44,270 test car.
In its five years in the US, the original allroad had sales of about 25,000. That's little more than a blip now, but Audi has been working assiduously to fill its lineup with vehicles that plug every gap—all with an eye to becoming the luxury sales champion.
The new allroad arrives in a group that includes its platform garage mates—the Audi A4 and S4, and the A5 and S5. The former are sedans and the latter are coupes, with the S designating the high-performance versions.
In the cadre, the big news is a negative. V8 engines no longer are offered in the S versions. The most powerful motor now is a 3.0-liter V6 with 333 horsepower, linked to either a six-speed manual gearbox or a seven-speed automatic with a manual-shift mode.
It's part of a growing trend, in which automakers are offering increasingly powerful but smaller engines in the interest of fuel economy. The sixes in the S4 and S5 models don't flinch in the face of their former V8 brethren.
In a shocker to conventional wisdom, Audi officials revealed that although the S cars go well, they are no longer offered with manual gearboxes in their native Germany. But American enthusiasts can order the stick. If a survey were taken, likely a majority would expect the opposite.
None of this affects the new allroad, which comes with one combination: the company's venerable turbo four-cylinder engine, which delivers 211 horsepower and a respectable 258 pounds-feet of torque, or twisting force, from just 2.0 liters of displacement. It sends the power to all four wheels through Audi's state-of-the-art Tiptronic eight-speed transmission, which enables manual shifting for those so inclined.
The other headline is that the allroad and its platform pals now employ electric power steering—another trend in the industry aimed at improved fuel economy but still in development. Some critics still favor the old hydraulic systems over the spark-induced ones, but the truth is that the electrics get better with every version and the allroad's is no exception.
The allroad tracks cleanly down the highway and the steering provides decent road feel in cornering. Though it loses some of its cornering stance because of its semi-SUV orientation, it grabs the pavement with more competence than the average driver would want or need.
There's enough punch from the turbo four-banger to handle any situation. Audi's published specifications list the zero-to-60 miles an hour acceleration time at 6.5 seconds, with a governed top speed of 130. Fuel consumption is less than outstanding: EPA city/highway/combined mileage is 20/27/23 on premium fuel.
But it's not likely many allroad buyers will focus on mileage. The attraction is that of a luxurious, nimble, quick, good-handling compact wagon that won't get stuck in most winter conditions and can negotiate the occasional turf or logging road.
On the luxury side are deeply supportive front bucket seats and enough adjustments to assure comfortable driving positions both for the petite and the beer-belly spouse (male or female).
Overhead, there's a panoramic glass sunroof, half of which opens to the air, all of which admits light and a view of the sky, trees, mountains and whatever above. The difficulty is that there's no way to fully block it.
There's a current cliché among luxury cars that dictates a sunroof shade made of some sort of perforated cheesecloth that allows bright sunlight to penetrate. Sometimes you simply want the cocoon-like feeling of a closed sedan, which requires an opaque sunshade, but you don't get that in the allroad.
The other difficulty with the allroad is its size. If you envision it as a small sports sedan with a modicum of additional luggage and cargo space—ideally suited for an upscale childless couple—you're in the ballpark. But beyond that, don't expect much.
With the front seats adjusted for a couple of average-sized humans, there's precious little space for two people in back. There's a paucity of both knee and head room in the outboard positions, and the center-rear spot is impossible.
Cargo space with the rear seatbacks up is 28 cubic feet, bigger than the trunk in any mid-size sedan but nothing to brag about in a crossover. However, if there are no kids in car seats, you can fold the seatbacks to haul 51 cubic feet of your stuff.
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Here's a short video about the power of the internet.
4 comments
- 1 don friedman { 10.25.17 at 11:21 am }
I have always said that you tube is a time machine. Recently saw a Miles Davis concert from 1964 in Italy playing 'All Blues'. The 'tube' makes it possible to see and hear jazz history. Used to be we had to read about it. Music history in general is viewable. If H.G. Wells had his way he would take himself to see the concert as it was happening! And he would not have to buy a ticket!!
- 2 MARC Adler { 10.25.17 at 2:06 pm }
Video is great. But robot says Tarra like terrorist and Brandwein mispronounced.
- 3 Ken Goldberg { 10.25.17 at 7:46 pm }
I was fortunate enough to hear Miles Davis in person at SUNY Binghamton in 1971 or '72. Went with girlfriend at the time, who was a trumpeter. No YouTube or other video can possibly compare – at least as to sound.
- 4 dave rowe { 11.01.17 at 7:50 pm }
There are probably a lot of musicians of the past THANKFULLY left unrecorded.
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