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Review: Dinosaur Jr., Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not
Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not is the warm, comforting blanket of Marshall-stack fuzz we need right now.3.5
In an American political climate fraught with chaos and uncertainty, Dinosaur Jr.'s Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not is the warm, comforting blanket of Marshall-stack fuzz we need. The band has become the alt-rock equivalent of AC/DC or Motorhead: Their sound is formulaic, but frontman J. Mascis's guitar tone, his effectively no-frills songwriting, and the rhythm section's synergy is irresistibly familiar. The album barely even bothers tinkering with this familiar template; it has the least distinctive musical identity of any of the four albums that Dinosaur Jr. has released since the long-awaited reformation of their classic power-trio lineup in 2005. Not given over entirely to the atmospherics of Beyond, the heavy jamminess of Farm, or the poppiness of I Bet on Sky, Give a Glimpse instead combines all those stylistic elements into a package that may not feature as many lastingly memorable songs, but is replete with all the welcome signatures of the band's sound.
There's arguably only one song on Give a Glimpse that demands immediate induction into the Dinosaur Jr. classics canon: the opening track, "Goin Down," a prototypical, euphoric powerhouse of heavy power chords and an enveloping, melodic chorus, topped off by a pleasingly unexpected electric sitar solo. Otherwise the songwriting throughout the album becomes secondary. Mascis gets the recipe down to such a science that Dinosaur Jr. fans will be left satisfied, even if the songs mostly fail to offer any surprises beyond that one sitar solo. Mascis is always going to just come up with some standard chord changes, crank the amps up to 11, nonchalantly intone a few simple slacker rhymes in that crusty whine of his, and let the world's loudest rhythm section pound along as he alternates between hard-rock riffage ("Good to Know," "I Walk for Miles"), friendly jangling ("I Told Everyone," "Lost All Day"), and hazy slow-burning ("Be a Part," "Knocked Around") before launching into one of his signature piercing guitar solos. He knows what his fans want, which is probably why the band released a seven-minute supercut of all the guitar solos on the album in advance of its release.
As a result, only rarely does an element of any of the songs on Give a Glimpse stand out as even slightly formula-breaking, like the charmingly poppy melody of the verses on "Tiny" and the moody guitar arpeggios of "Be a Part." The task of injecting some quirk and diversity into the proceedings once again falls to bassist Lou Barlow, whose token two songwriting efforts have been consistent highlights on each of Dinosaur Jr.'s post-reunion albums. That streak continues with the angsty "Left/Right" and "Love Is…," the latter of which is a delightfully campy yet brooding, mostly acoustic-based pop song that sounds like a lost single by Jefferson Airplane or the Yardbirds. It's just the glimpse of a surprise the album needed.
Label: Jagjaguwar Release Date: August 5, 2016 Buy: Amazon
Review: Miley Cyrus's Plastic Hearts Is an Obvious but Unapologetic Genre Exercise
The album uses its glam-rock aspirations to underscore another blast of ne'er-do-well energy from the singer.3
Miley Cyrus's preoccupation with trying on different personas and exploring new musical subcultures continues on her seventh album, the arena rock-influenced Plastic Hearts. At first, Cyrus's latest genre exercise feels stiff, with obvious quotations like the iconic bongo drums and yelps from "Sympathy for the Devil" on the title track and nods to Bruce Springsteen on lead single "Midnight Sky." But even as it feels sometimes strained, Plastic Hearts succeeds on the resilience of Cyrus's skills as a vocalist.
Through Cyrus's flirtations with country, pop, hip-hop, and psych-rock, the singer's husky mezzo-soprano has anchored even her soppiest and most tepid of pastiches, but she falls prey to a number of unnecessary affectations here. The Pink-style opener "WTF Do I Know" introduces a forced yelp that thankfully only takes the lead in a handful of places on the rest of Plastic Hearts. Several tracks, including "Night Crawling," curiously bury her vocals, which should be a driving force. On spirited midtempo numbers "Angels Like You" and "Hate Me," however, she convincingly inhabits a Dylan-esque reptilian croak, and both "High" and "Never Be Me" provide unfussy platforms for her to belt.
With its canned guitar solos and production that mixes melancholy with menace, Plastic Hearts uses its glam-rock aspirations to underscore another blast of ne'er-do-well energy from Cyrus. "I've always picked a giver 'cuz I've always been the taker," she growls alongside guest Joan Jett on "Bad Karma," and implores a seeming stranger to "just give me what I want or I'll give it to myself" on "Give Me What I Want." It's not the first time she's asserted her status as a boundaries-averse badass, and she pulls it off well, as evidenced by the playful moans of satisfaction that punctuate the ends of the verses on "Bad Karma."
Cyrus makes hay of her recklessness on the album's slower songs, like "Angels Like You" and "Never Be Me," on which she movingly welcomes self-acceptance and acknowledgement of the parts of herself that won't change. "Angels like you can't fly down here with me," she sings on the former, positioning her narrator as the incorrigibly compromised soul to a former partner's saintliness, and the wide-open country arrangement invites Cyrus to sing with aplomb.
Would that the album's musical choices didn't insist on themselves quite so much. Cyrus's habit of enlisting high-profile artists from the upper echelon of a given genre continues here with appearances by Jett, Billy Idol, and Stevie Nicks, who all adequately do their thing. As usual, though, Cyrus is most indelible when her own voice takes center stage and the music mingles with and amplifies her messages of self-empowerment and emotional culpability. If nothing else, Plastic Hearts gives her license to unapologetically rock out.
Label: RCA Release Date: November 27, 2020 Buy: Amazon
Review: Smashing Pumpkins's Sprawling CYR Is Marred by Unchecked Ambition
The album vastly improves on its stagnant predecessor, but its 20-song tracklist is invariably bloated.3
On the heels of the 25th anniversary of their seminal Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, the Smashing Pumpkins offer up another ambitious album, CYR, crafted with the dystopian nature of the 21st century in mind. Founding members James Iha and Jimmy Chamberlain reassume their positions on guitar and drums, respectively, as Billy Corgan unburdens his anxieties with the modern age's spiritual drought. In a decisive pivot away from their signature aesthetic, the Pumpkins forgo massive multi-tracked guitar walls for synth experiments that flirt with darkwave. But while CYR vastly improves on its stagnant predecessor, Shiny and Oh So Bright Vol. 1/LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun., the album's 20-song tracklist is invariably bloated, a symptom of Corgan's unchecked ambition.
Though the Pumpkins have periodically incorporated synths into their music since 1998's Adore, CYR marks the first time they serve as the center of the band's sonic universe. On "Save Your Tears," latticed synth arpeggios replicate the overpowering sensation of layered guitar harmonies while maintaining the impossible lightness that the Pumpkins impart through distorted sound. Chamberlin's propulsive kick drum backs a M83-esque synth patch on "Adrennalynne," a pandemic-era paean to the thrill of performing that finds Corgan basking in the adoration of a crowd. Though typically relegated to second fiddle elsewhere on the album, a devilish guitar lick offsets the softer synth work on the darkly alluring "Wyttch."
Throughout, Corgan's foreboding images of the occult conjure a hazily apocalyptic portrait of the world. In the album's accompanying five-part animated series, In Ashes, three cyberpunk friends challenge the proverbial Man, a cloaked figure who forces the trio to sing and dance along with the masses. On "CYR," Corgan is defiant ("Stare down your masters"), but elsewhere his messaging is more murky and hopeless, as on "Haunted": "If this be life, our evening's prayer/Or death's denouement…Then father, I'm nowhere/I'm no closer to your throne." He refrains from providing answers for his vague warnings and calls to action, resulting in labyrinthine lyrics that ultimately lead to narrative dead ends.
By the album's midpoint, the songs become more sluggish and their elements increasingly familiar: drum-and-bass interplay that teeters on sinister and seductive; pillowy female vocals, courtesy of Katie Cole and Sierra Swan, to back Corgan's ageless whine; and those brooding analog '80s synths. As a result, CYR's last stretch of songs predictably bleed into one another. "The Hidden Sun" and "Schaudenfraude," for instance, echo each other with booming refrains that are more reminiscent of Simple Minds than Joy Division.
CYR is a sequel to Shiny and Oh So Bright, and Corgan has teased a separate 33-song rock opera to serve as a follow-up to Melon Collie and the Machina series. The singer's m.o. has long been to cram each project with every creative idea he has—an approach that, though effective during the Pumpkins's heyday, now largely results in diminishing returns. It would be time better spent fleshing out songs that are too often merely shadows of ideas.
Label: Sumerian Release Date: November 27, 2020 Buy: Amazon
Review: BTS's Be Vies for Simplicity but Proves Too Insular
The album trades overstimulating spectacle for low-key introspection, but it's therapeutic as a cup of tea.3
K-pop boy band BTS's fifth album, Be, represents a departure from their ostentatious, globalized blend of pop, trap, disco, and funk. Unlike on their previous efforts, which made cryptic, needlessly extensive allusions to Herman Hesse and Carl Jung, the group trims the psychoanalytic fat and adopts a message that's quite universal: 2020 has categorically sucked. As its title may suggest, Be vies for simplicity, even lucidity, during these chaotic times, trading in overstimulating spectacle for low-key introspection.
The album's ruminative lead single, "Life Goes On," dresses the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic's seemingly world-stopping force and the group's hopes for the future in acoustic guitar-based alt-hip-hop that nods to South Korean staples Verbal Jint and Geeks. After the aural adrenaline rushes of last year's "Boy with Luv" and "Idol," this stripping back feels palate-cleansing and brings to mind pre-"DNA" BTS's understated hip-hop explorations like "Just One Day." Still, the Covid-centered "Life Goes On" is as therapeutic as a cup of tea.
For better or worse, Be's sights are trained on BTS fans, meaning the album is too insular for broader appeal. The music video for "Life Goes On" captures the pajama-clad, quarantined Bangtan Boys lounging in bed, before transitioning to the seven members singing in an empty arena, with light sticks occupying the seats where the audience should be. It's a gesture fans will appreciate (BTS canceled their 2020 world tour, and light sticks are a requisite K-pop concert accessory), but artists risk diluting their impact when they rely too heavily on fan service, especially if a song's hook fails to completely stick, as it does on "Life Goes On."
Following the pretty balladry of "Blue & Grey," a skit discloses BTS's reaction to scoring their first Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper with "Dynamite" in August. You can sense the group's surprise and excitement in their impassioned words—the sort of behind-the-scenes transparency that earned them their diehard fanbase. At odds with the immaculate artificiality engrained in K-pop idols from years in the trainee system, BTS's candor when it comes to their struggles with depression, anxiety, and imposter syndrome is partly responsible for their international appeal. But whereas fans will relish the thrill of this intimate moment, for the casual listener, the skit is a skippable intermission before the album's short-lived final stretch.
These last songs play out like a testament to the K-pop industry's love affair with pastiche. Informed by the musical cornucopia extended by the internet age and globalization, K-pop songwriters survey the earworms of the past and present, mixing and matching trends to arrive at sui generis soundscapes that don't belong to a single time or place. The Bruno Mars-inspired "Telepathy" and the sedate, distinctly early-2010s-era club-pop of "Stay" don't leave lasting impressions, but the hip-hop-infused "Dis-ease" is a fine offering to this eccentric canon. The song unfolds with spare jazz guitar, before launching into a chopped-n'-screwed drum breakdown and culminating with grandiose trumpets.
"Dynamite," the album's bubbly nü-disco coda, is BTS's first English-language song, now well-known from steady radio play and the group's stateside TV performances of the song. In spite of their immense fanbase and record-breaking streaming numbers, BTS's prior Korean-language singles have received scant airplay in the U.S., so the success of "Dynamite" raises the question: If the group wishes to continue topping American charts—or getting Grammy nods—will they have to make the leap to English-language releases? BTS may follow in the footsteps of international artists with English-language crossover appeal like Shakira or Enrique Iglesias, but slight, self-referential releases like the pleasantly lukewarm Be won't be enough for them to maintain a lasting foothold stateside or outside of their devoted fanbase.
Label: Big Hit Release Date: November 20, 2020 Buy: Amazon
Review: With Good News, Megan Thee Stallion Boldly Authors Her Own Narrative
The album is a heavy-hitting rejoinder that rearticulates the headlines of a year fraught by global and personal trauma.3.5
From the petty gatekeeping of anime bros to the dismissive remarks that she only raps about sex, the vitriol leveled against Megan Thee Stallion since her recent rise to fame has been relentless, exposing the minefield of double standards that female rappers are forced to navigate. And that animus reached a nadir of some kind when rapper Torey Lanez shot Megan in the foot last July—an incident of domestic violence that was met with accusations of Meg having lied and snitched. She sets the record straight on Good News, a high-octane, heavy-hitting rejoinder that rearticulates the headlines of a year fraught by global and personal trauma for the Houston rapper.
Megan wastes no time going for the jugular on the album's opening track, "Shots Fired." Over a sample of the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Who Shot Ya?," she skewers Lanez for offering witnesses hush money about the shooting. Her use of the famous Biggie track turns a hip-hop script on its head: Whereas the late rap icon reveled in the aggression of pulling the trigger, Megan imbues defiance and dignity to her role as victim, proving that her morale is bulletproof and vowing not to take the higher ground next time. "Kick me while I'm down bad, I remember all that/Next nigga send a shot, I'ma send it right back," she warns.
Megan underpins her attack with commentary on the violence perpetrated against black women and the way hip-hop and the justice system condone that violence: "Now here we are, 2020, eight months later/And we still ain't got no fuckin' justice for Breonna Taylor." Here the diss track merges into a condemnation of the deep-seated prejudice and violence that black women face on all fronts, from white supremacy, systemic racism, and black men.
Once the smoke clears from "Shots Fired," Megan posits the album's thesis: that sex is power just as much as it is a source of pleasure. Within her framework, sexual prowess is the means of production and intercourse more often than not zeroes out to economic influence over a man. But Megan doesn't break a sweat over earning her own coin, as she puts it on "Movie": "I'm a boss, I could buy the same thing my man bought." She isn't flexing about getting money from men, but about the thrill of having that power over them.
To describe these sorts of obsequious men, she introduces a new archetype to her cast of characters: the crybaby, a needy, would-be suitor who'll get in his feelings over a read receipt and still dish out cash after. "Invest in this pussy, boy, support black business," Meg snarls on "Sugar Baby," before firing witty, withering one-liners like "He said, 'Let's make a movie,' and nutted so quick, we made a story." Megan subverts the misogynistic lyrics of Southern rap giants like Three 6 Mafia and UGK, aiming their objectifying language at men and venerating herself as is the gloriously self-aggrandizing custom of hip-hop.
Still, one would be remiss to make Good News out to be some grand consciously feminist manifesto. To emasculate men, Meg often likens them to women, reinforcing stereotypes and gender roles that belittle women in the process. Her Spotify Storyline annotation for "Sugar Baby" outright declares, "The worst type of man is one that's emotional like a woman." She encounters a conundrum other female rappers have tripped over time and time again: While subverting the baked-in misogyny of hip-hop, how do you avoid perpetuating the harmful beliefs that keep women down? What's more, how do you fully participate in a tradition that denigrates you without channeling that subjugation back on yourself and other women?
The solution to this complicated caveat is out there, but it's unfair to thrust the responsibility solely on Megan's shoulders, given that she's never postured at being a mouthpiece for the disparate, far-flung movement that is contemporary feminism. From day one, she's made clear that she makes music for women to feel like bad bitches. To that end, she masterfully succeeds with enthrallingly nasty anthems like "Body" and the SZA-assisted "Freaky Girls."
The latter entries of the album consist of a mixed bag of sensual, more melodic cuts. On the lewd dancehall escapade "Intercourse," Megan effortlessly falls in step with guest Popcaan, remaining grounded in the Dirty South ("Treat my body like some oxtails, lick your fingers") and proffering some particularly pearl-clutching innuendos ("Let you put your hook in my bumper like a repo"). On "Work That," which lifts the hook from Juvenile's "Rodeo," Megan's rap-singing radiates sweetness and Southern twang. But her heavily Auto-Tuned vocals on "Don't Rock Me to Sleep" come off as rudimentary, the track's sing-song refrain like something out of a nursery rhyme—"Blah, blah, blah, la-la-la/If you wanna leave, then bye, bye, bye"—and its saccharine synth-pop strays too far from her riveting club-ready beats.
But while Megan is still figuring herself out stylistically, she's undeniably in touch with herself. Throughout Good News, Megan doesn't spend all that much time referencing her beloved alter egos: the pimp persona of Tina Snow, the lustful Hot Girl, and the relatable Suga. Rather, she coalesces qualities of each in her lyricism and delivery, suggesting that the mask is off and she's being wholly, 100% herself. She's a bundle of apparent contradictions throughout: an advocate for black women and a sex-positive vamp, a college student and a chart-topping rapper. Sadly, women in hip-hop are subject to small-minded efforts that would limit and categorize them as either serious MCs or "strippers turned rappers." With Good News, Megan says to hell with all the scrutiny and authors her own narrative.
Label: 300 Entertainment Release Date: November 20, 2020 Buy: Amazon
Review: Dirty Projectors's 5EPs Highlights the Band's Strengths as a Collective
The collection is a satisfying showcase for the group's range while making plain their core appeal with refreshing directness.3.5
Dirty Projectors's latest project is a series of EPs that have been released over the course of 2020, now bundled together as an anthology, 5EPs. Fittingly, given the band's fondness for arpeggios, the collection breaks down their considerable breadth of genre variations into separate parts, providing a satisfying showcase for the group's range while also making plain their core appeal with refreshing directness.
The EPs Windows Open and Super João deal in straightforward folk, while Earth Crisis winds through solemn art rock and Ring Road, the culminating chapter, embraces Dirty Projectors's most popular register as progenitors of Talking Heads's brand of post-punk and funk. Most excitingly, Flight Tower employs hip-hop-influenced instrumentation, from the emphatic metronomic thump of "Empty Vessel" to the jangling low-end bass redolent of '90s acts like Mobb Deep and A Tribe Called Quest on "Self Design."
With a couple exceptions, the songs across all five chapters are pared-down distillations of the band's best ideas. This choice also connects to the lyrical content, which has a feeling throughout of wanting to get to the point of life's meaning even as it questions if one will ever truly figure it all out. In doing so, the lyrics focus on roads and journeys, often physicalizing emotional and existential processes. On "Search for Life," Maia Friedman sings, "She goes to other heights/She wades dunes, sands, and lime/In search for life." On "Self Design," there appears to be a clarity reached, but then Felicia Douglass's narrator doubles back in self-doubt: "What once was a mystery's visible/I finally feel I can see…closer, closer I come…burrowed into the endless night/And I'll never find." Past Dirty Projectors albums, especially 2009's Bitte Orca and 2018's Lamp Lit Prose were built upon ascensions to ecstatic epiphanies, and these songs feel simultaneously closer than ever to reaching such breakthroughs while also intelligently, movingly deflating such an idea in the first place.
"Switch up the perspective," Douglass declares on one of the anthology's standout tracks, "Lose Your Love," a telling moment because this project is the most egalitarian in terms of vocals that the band has released to date. Frontman Dave Longstreth, who produced each song and has been the one consistent member across the group's different permutations over the years, doesn't sing on three of the five EPs, lending his tremulous falsetto only to Super João and Ring Road. Instead, Douglass, Friedman, and Kristin Slipp are handed the reins for the other three installments. It's a move that parallels the National's decentering of Matt Berninger on their 2019 album I Am Easy to Find to make space for several guest vocalists. The approach mostly works on 5EPs, and Slipp in particular is allowed to shine, though there's a perhaps not coincidental similarity between the trio's vocals and the honey-like choral gushing of former band members Amber Coffman and Angel Deradoorian.
5EPs feels like the output of a true collective, borne out by group hallmarks like handclaps, vocal harmonies, indelible combinations of violin and hand-plucked acoustic guitar on songs like "Overlord," and new touches like interlocking drums and clarinet, each cleverly modulated in speed, on "Bird's Eye." There are also candid explorations of relationships that make room for the push and pull of opposing viewpoints: "I wanna eat all the ice cream/I don't wanna go to bed/let's stay up late, watch a movie/Or catch up on Billions instead," Longstreth pleads on "Porque No," to which one of the other bandmates counters a repeated "Wanna save the rest for later?" Taken together, the EPs function as a grab bag of Dirty Projectors's collaborative strengths and interests, affirming their indie bona fides in a new form.
Label: Domino Release Date: November 20, 2020 Buy: Amazon
Billie Eilish Playfully Torches Her Detractors on New Single "Therefore I Am"
The singer employs a conversational tone throughout the song to punctuate her ambivalence.
Pop phenom Billie Eilish's new single, "Therefore I Am," is a stark contrast to her two previous releases, February's dour "No Time to Die" and July's surprisingly spry "My Future." Sonically, the new track can be more directly traced to Eilish's breakthrough "Bad Guy," with its plodding kick drum and disaffected vocal performance.
"Stop. What the hell are you talkin' about?/Fuck. Get my pretty name outta your mouth," Eilish sneers at detractors, opportunists, and the media. She effortlessly slips in and out of her trademark sing-rapping and angelic, distorted harmonies, employing a conversational tone to punctuate her ambivalence: "Did you have fun?/I really couldn't care less." A playful synth hook repeats throughout, suggesting it's not all that serious.
Directed by Eilish, the music video for "Therefore I Am" finds the singer playing a pandemic-era mall rat, prancing around a deserted shopping center while dressed in shorts, a chunky sweater, and high-tops, helping herself to soft pretzels and lemonade before being ejected by a security guard.
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Review: Chris Stapleton's Starting Over Is a Heartfelt, If Derivative, Album
The album's unvarnished style generally works, but there's nowhere to hide when the singer drifts into the saccharine.3
Dave Cobb has become one of Nashville's most influential tastemakers, with more and more artists favoring his rootsy production style. This is due in large part to the wild success of Chris Stapleton's 2015 debut, Traveller, which Cobb co-produced. Stapleton is the most commercially palatable of Cobb's regular collaborators, and while there's no aspect of the Kentucky crooner's work that's especially challenging, his powerful, indelibly soulful rasp can make even the most shopworn turns of phrase sound like emotional revelation.
The singer's fourth album, Starting Over, plays to the strengths of both Stapleton and Cobb. The stripped-down, unfussy arrangements place the focus squarely where it should be—on the raw beauty of Stapleton's voice—and keeps his retro-revivalist tendencies somewhat in check. The opening title track is a lilting acoustic shuffle that locates the same bittersweet, golden-hour magic as Tom Petty's "Wildflowers," underscored by the presence of the Heartbreakers's Benmont Tench on Hammond B-3 organ. The album's most plaintive tracks, like "You Should Probably Leave" and the brooding "Hillbilly Blood," similarly stand out as highlights here.
While that unvarnished style generally works, though, it also means there's nowhere to hide when Stapleton drifts into the saccharine, as he does on "Maggie's Song," a eulogy for a beloved pup, and a cover of John Fogerty's "Joy of My Life." The presence of the singer's wife, Morgane Stapleton, who coos honey-sweet harmonies on many of the songs here, at least confirms the authenticity of his sentimentality, even as his lyrics frequently succumb to cliché: "And I can be your lucky penny/You can be my four-leaf clover," he sings on "Starting Over."
The album balances these syrupy moments with a batch of harder-edged tracks that showcase Stapleton's biting electric guitar riffing but don't do much to elevate his lyrics. Predictably, he just shifts his focus from love and tenderness to mild hedonism. Indeed, for Stapleton, the devil is real, but it seems his evil works are largely limited to making folks go a bit too hard at the bar every now and then. Except, that is, on "Watch You Burn," wherein Satan can be found roasting Stephen Paddock, the shooter who slaughtered 60 concertgoers in Las Vegas in 2017. Co-written with and featuring guitar by another legendary Tom Petty sideman, Mike Campbell, "Watch You Burn" is the album's only remotely topical song, and while Stapleton's invective may not be especially piercing, the howling anger in his voice is undeniable.
The track's call-and-response gospel choir and familiar bluesy melody highlights how one of Starting Over's strengths is also one of its limitations. Namely that Stapleton and his touring band's effortlessly authentic conjuring of retro styles renders even the album's best tunes clearly derivative. Stapleton is content to bellow out a bunch of banal woman-done-me-wrong lines on the mawkish "Cold," amid a preponderance of obvious Philly-soul tropes. On the opposite end of the spectrum is a second Campbell guitar duel, "Arkansas," a full-on boogie-down Skynyrdian Southern rock song that crackles with energy. Equally effective is "When I'm with You," which is reminiscent of Waylon Jennings's "Amanda," another wistful ballad about taking comfort in a steadfast partner while approaching middle age with trepidation. "But when I'm with you/I feel like a dreamer that's had all his dreams come true," Stapleton drawls. It ain't poetry, or very original, but it's nothing if not genuine.
Label: Mercury Nashville Release Date: November 13, 2020 Buy: Amazon
Every Kylie Minogue Album Ranked
To celebrate the release of Disco, we've ranked all 14 of the Aussie pop singer's albums.
In the three decades since Kylie Minogue's debut, the Australian soap actress turned international pop star has released 15 albums and racked up an impressive 34 Top 10 hits in the U.K., though her career trajectory wasn't always assured. After her initial breakout success on both sides of the Atlantic, with a cover of Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion," Minogue struggled to maintain interest among U.S. audiences. By the mid-1990s, she was eager to shake off her bubblegum-pop image, collaborating with the likes of Nick Cave and Towa Tei, and taking more creative control with the experimental Impossible Princess. The album flopped, but a turn-of-the-century renaissance found the singer embracing her dance-pop roots and cementing her status as a gay icon.
After a brief foray into country music with 2018's Golden, Minogue makes a triumph, perhaps preordained, return to the dance floor with the pointedly titled Disco. To celebrate, we've ranked all 14 of the artist's non-holiday albums.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article was published on April 5, 2018.
14. Kylie (1988)
Then famous in her native Australia as Charlene in the soap opera Neighbours, Minogue became an unlikely pop star when her cover of the 1962 hit "The Loco-Motion" became an unexpected international smash. The 19-year-old was plopped onto English production trio Stock Aitken Waterman's assembly line, where it sounds like she was forced to suck down a lungful of helium and sing along to their patented house blend of hi-NRG beats, Italo-disco synths, and Motown melodies. The resulting album, Kylie, is as lightweight and unsatisfying as cotton candy—and goes down just as easy.
13. Enjoy Yourself (1989)
There isn't a whole lot to differentiate Minogue's sophomore effort from its predecessor, right down to the oversized hat on the album's cover. Released just over a year after the singer's debut, Enjoy Yourself repeats the first album's sonic template almost verbatim, including a cover of a classic pop song (in this case, the 1958 doo-wop hit "Tears on My Pillow"). Slight but much-welcomed diversions include the string-laden torch song "Tell Tale Signs" and the baroque-pop "My Secret Heart." Notably, Minogue would later transform the album's tonally incongruent lead single, "Hand on Your Heart," into a poignant acoustic ballad on 2012's The Abbey Road Sessions.
12. Let's Get to It (1991)
On her final album for PWL Records, Minogue continued to peel herself away from the SAW hit factory that helped make her a star. New jack swing, hip-hop, and house are more prominently featured, though none particularly successfully. Produced by the first and last thirds of Stock Aitken Waterman, tracks like "Word Is Out," "Too Much of a Good Thing," and "I Guess I Like It Like That" feel like inferior facsimiles of the distinctly American sound being created by the likes of Clivillés and Cole, Jam and Lewis, Full Force, and others.
11. Kiss Me Once (2014)
Minogue's first album not to spawn a U.K. Top 10 hit since 1997's Impossible Princess, Kiss Me Once lacks a distinct sonic point of view, incorporating pop-rock, disco, dubstep, and R&B in equal measure. If there's an overarching theme to the album, it's sex and its various consequences: Minogue fantasizes about it on "Sexy Love," she sweats about it on "Sexercize," she struggles to define it on "Les Sex." The sleek bonus track "Sleeping with the Enemy" seems to pay homage to Massive Attack's sublime "Unfinished Sympathy," while the Pharrell-produced "I Was Gonna Cancel" makes one wonder what an entire Kylie album of disco-funk might have sounded like. As it stands, Kiss Me Once is the most scattershot of Minogue's latter-day efforts.
10. Rhythm of Love (1990)
From the disco-infused "Step Back in Time" to the techno-pop "Shocked," the potency of Rhythm of Love's singles alone makes it the strongest of Minogue's PWL albums. With "Better the Devil You Know," the singer had begun to shed her girl-next-door image, but the album also saw producers Stock Aitken Waterman developing their signature sound, which, by the end of the '80s, had reached peak saturation on both sides of the pond. The addition of outside producers, including frequent Madonna collaborator Stephen Bray, further expanded Minogue's repertoire to include new jack swing and hip-hop, putting the artist somewhere near, if not in, the same league as her female chart rivals for the first time.
9. Kylie Minogue (1994)
After churning out four albums in as many years with Stock Aitken Waterman, Minogue parted ways with the production team's label in 1993 and signed with Deconstruction Records. The pop star's first album with the label resulted in a creative rebirth that's reflected in the eponymous album's title and embrace of club music. (Perhaps emulating classic 12" house records, a handful of songs—"Where Is the Feeling," "Where Has the Love Gone," and "Falling"—all run about two minutes too long.) But Kylie Minogue's biggest surprise is its midtempo material. Minogue doesn't have the vocal prowess to carry some of these songs—"Surrender" is a less sultry rendition of a song recorded by Tia Carrere a year earlier—but she admirably pushes her voice to its limits on the string-laden "Dangerous Game" and "Automatic Love." The cautionary "Confide in Me," with its hypnotic hook, Middle Eastern strings, and ominous guitar riff, calls for a sensual and understated performance—and Minogue delivers.
8. Golden (2018)
The Nashville-inspired Golden, whose title commemorates Minogue's impending 50th birthday, is the singer's most personal album since Impossible Princess. Both her anxiety about and joyful resistance to her mortality is apparent in songs like "Dancing," "Live a Little," and the title track. "Sincerely Yours" is a "love letter" most likely directed at tour audiences—"This is not the end, I'll come back again/You'll still see me, you'll still hear me"—but it's hard not to imagine Minogue singing it as penance to fans eagerly awaiting her return to dance music. While country signifiers abound, from foot-stomping to fiddling, the songs on Golden also smartly juxtapose contemporary pop elements like soaring synth hooks and pitched-up vocals. If nothing else, Golden further bolsters Minogue's reputation for taking risks—and artfully sets the stage for her inevitable disco comeback.
Review: Kylie Minogue's Disco Is a Sugar Rush Worth the Hangover
The Aussie pop singer's 15th album is content to bask unapologetically in nostalgia.3.5
In my review of Kylie Minogue's 2018 album Golden, I not-so-boldly predicted that the country-influenced set would set the stage for the Aussie pop singer's inevitable disco comeback. It wouldn't be the first time she pirouetted away from the dance floor only to make a triumphant return to it. In fact, Minogue seems to have made a decennial tradition of it, having previously re-embraced dance music on 2000's Light Years and 2010's Aphrodite.
Not to put too fine a point on it, Minogue's follow-up to Golden is titled Disco. In a way, such genre-targeted albums free her from opting into current pop trends—though, it should be noted, 2020 has already seen its share of disco revivalism. But if Róisín Murphy's Róisín Machine and Jessie Ware's What's Your Pleasure? represent a deep dive into the admittedly diverse genre, Disco is content to mine its more superficial virtues.
The first song released from Disco, "Say Something," made for a deceptive introduction to the album: A midtempo synth-pop sleeper in the vein of past lead singles "All the Lovers" and "Into the Blue," the track, with its wobbly bassline and funk guitar licks, works better as a momentary respite among Disco's otherwise frenetic middle stretch. Dance anthems like the bass-driven "Supernova" and the unrelentingly catchy "Last Chance" are Minogue's most unabashedly aggressive in years.
Nothing here reaches the high camp of Minogue's 2001 single "Your Disco Needs You," but the infectious "Monday Blues," which boasts intertwining strands of disco DNA from both Chic and Kool & the Gang, makes a valiant attempt. Occasionally, Disco ventures into parody, with on-the-nose references to Studio 54, "I Will Survive," and Earth, Wind & Fire, among others, scattered throughout. But while the album might be a purely derivative work, its period arrangements—all sweeping disco strings, Nile Rodgers-esque guitar licks, and indiscriminately deployed cowbell—are executed with aplomb.
Disco's opening track, "Magic," sweetens its mix of squelchy bass synth and staccato horn stabs with just a dollop of schmaltz: "Do ya, do ya, do ya/Do ya believe in magic?" The album's lyrics are generic and vaguely uplifting enough to project onto any personal or global disaster: "Oh, we all got wanderlust in the darkest place," Minogue sings on "Say Something." Vocally, her voice sounds tinny throughout, a mixing deficiency that similarly plagued her last few albums, but the singer effortlessly slips into her head voice on "Magic," heightening the song's buoyancy, while talk-box effects and digital editing add some sonic interest to "Real Groove" and "Dance Floor Darling."
Minogue has made a version of this album before. The filter disco of "Miss a Thing" and "I Love It," co-written and co-produced by longtime collaborator Richard "Biff" Stannard, would fit comfortably on 2000's Light Years or 2001's Fever. For better or worse, though, Disco doesn't attempt to adapt the classic titular sound in a contemporary context like those albums did, instead content to bask in unapologetic homage. In the end, it's a sugar rush worth the hangover.
Label: Darenote Release Date: November 6, 2020 Buy: Amazon
Review: Ariana Grande's Positions Too Often Defaults to a Familiar Pose
It might be time for pop's reigning vocal acrobat to more fully commit to some new positions.3
If Ariana Grande's Sweetener found the singer exorcising her trauma through music, and Thank U, Next was a bolt of inspiration she couldn't wait to share with the world, her follow-up, Positions, feels more like an obligation or a product of pandemic fatigue. On the opening track, "Shut Up," Grande admits that "All the demons help me see shit differently," but Positions has less to say about the realities of life in 2020 than other albums written and recorded during Covid-19, such as Charli XCX's How I'm Feeling Now.
Sex is, notably, a recurring theme on Positions. "Just give me them babies," Grande quips on "34+35," while "Nasty" sounds like a Janet Jackson sex jam as sung by Mariah Carey—that is, a lot of empty pillow talk and plentiful dog whistles. Grande is known for her witty turns of phrase, and there's no shortage throughout Positions, the title of which is itself a cheeky double entendre. But clever lines like "Are you down like six thirty?" are too often wasted on wan, repetitive hooks.
"Shut Up" finds Grande venturing into chamber pop, her cascading vocal lines propped up by plucky strings and orchestral flourishes, but the song sputters out soon after it reaches its swirling, cinematic climax. Similarly, the full-bodied "My Hair" nudges Grande into neo-soul terrain only to quickly fade out. The songs are almost all exceedingly brief and seemingly half-realized, including the two-minute "West Side," which barely registers as a song at all. The sole exception is "Off the Table," which stretches out to four whole minutes thanks to its molasses-slow pace.
Given the dearth of uptempo tracks on Grande's last album, the microhouse "Motive," featuring Doja Cat, and the breathless, disco-inflected "Love Language" are a welcome change of pace. Too many of the songs on Positions, however, rely on the same midtempo trap-pop that populated Grande's previous two efforts, particularly Thank U, Next. What once seemed refreshing in its minimalism is quickly starting to feel insubstantial. It might be time for contemporary pop's reigning vocal acrobat to more fully commit to some new positions.
Label: Republic Release Date: October 30, 2020 Buy: Amazon


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Diane Kruger Wears Versace in Paris Pictures
Diane Kruger and Salma Hayek Help Launch Versace Eyewear
Diane Kruger and Salma Hayek Help Launch Versace Eyewear
Donatella Versace hosted at an exclusive dinner at Paris's Restaurant Lasserre on Monday to unveil the Versace Étoile De La Mer eyewear collection. Diane Kruger was one of the lucky stars to score an invite, and wore a wild cheetah and floral minidress designed by her host, Donatella. Inside, fashionable ladies like Salma Hayek, Anna Wintour, and Abbie Cornish tried on pieces from the line, which will be available in stores as of March. Oscar nominee Bérénice Bejo, from The Artist, also joined the celebration.
Diane's been front and center for many of the Couture Fashion Week events in recent days, starting with Donatella's Versace couture show Monday.She then moved on to Giambattista Valli's presentation and Chanel's Haute Couture extravagana. Salma and Diane are traveling in similar fashion circles this month, and were both on hand last night's opening of Prada's 24 h Museum. The actresses partied late into the night and were entertained with a special DJ session from none other than Kate Moss.
Photos courtesy Luxoticca


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Bansal, who had hiked passenger fares across the board last month to net Rs 6,600 crore annually, on Tuesday said he does not want to pass on the impact of deregulation of diesel price and hike in electricity charges to passengers for the time being.
Though passengers would be shelling out more for train travel as the minister has marginally increased the supplementary charge for superfast trains, reservation fee, clerkage charge, cancellation charge and tatkal charge, average rail fares will continue to be cheaper than flight charges.
However, if you choose to travel first class AC on most Rajdhani trains, the fare will be nearly R800-1,000 higher than the cheapest air fares available to the same destination.
At the same time, the difference between AC two-tier fares and air fares remains high despite the recent discounts offered by various airlines on domestic routes.
On the lucrative New Delhi-Mumbai route, one-way fares for AC first class after the increased charges was R3,920 while air fares on the same route was around R3,201. But AC two-tier fares are more affordable at R2,325.
The travel industry was pleased that there was no increase in railway passenger fares.
We expected that after recent increase of rail fare, there will not be any increase in the rail fares in the budget. It is good to see that there is no hike in fares, said Subhash Goyal, president of Indian Association of Tour Operators. However, he echoed the railway minister's concerns on the quality of services offered in trains.
Travel agents also said due to the high difference between air fares and second AC rail fares, people who can afford to have more travel time will continue to prefer railways.
The cheapest airfares are nearly twice the cost of second AC fares and Third AC is even cheaper, said a travel agent affiliated to the Mumbai-based Travel Agents Association of India. The difference has increased over the last year as airlines have raised fares and even the recent discounts by airlines haven't brought them down to rail fare levels. So, most rail travelers will continue to travel by rail and the absence of a passenger fare hike will only help to that effect.


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Information and knowledge are essential elements of poverty alleviation strategies, and ICTs offer the potential of easy access to huge amounts of information useful for the poor wherein it can transform the economy and the society.
However, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report 2015, the world's developing and emerging economies are failing to make use of the capabilities of information and communications technologies (ICTs) to build social and economic transformation and catch up with more advanced nations.
The Networked Readiness Index (NRI) identifies the potential of countries to leveraging ICT, by evaluating the overall political and business environment, the level of ICT readiness and usage of ICT among the population, businesses and government, including the overall impacts of ICTs on the economy and society in general.
The 2015 results, which include 143 economies, confirm the dominance of advanced economies and the persistence of the multiple-faceted digital divides not only across but also within economies. They reveal the gap between the best and worst performing economies is widening. Those in top 10 percent have seen twice the level of improvement since 2012 as those in the bottom 10 percent.
This shows the degree of the challenge facing developing and emerging nations as they seek to develop the infrastructure, institutions and skills needed to obtain the full benefits of ICTs, as only 39 percent of the global population enjoys access to the internet even though that more than half now owns a mobile phone.
The NRI ranks Singapore as the top country in the world when it comes to utilizing ICTs for social and economic impact wherein it replaces Finland, which had been number one since 2013. The other Asian country that also made it to the top 10 was Japan, which climbs to the 10th position after being in the 16th position last year.
Taking up the third place behind Finland is Sweden, while the highest-placed Group of 7 (G7) economy is the United States which is 7th place, followed by the United Kingdom in the 8th place. The world's fourth largest econoy, Germany, ranks down to 13th place.
The Russian Federation is the highest-placed BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) nation, climbing nine places in 2015 to 41st. It is joined in the top half of the ranking by China, which continues to be at 62. All other members of the nation have dropped their rankings, with South Africa which ranks in the 75th place (down five), followed by Brazil (84th, down fifteen) and India (89th, down six).
Report says that other countries that have improved their NRI ranking over the last decade or so are now facing stagnation or regression. This is partly down to persisting divides within countries between rural and urban areas and around income groups, which is causing large portions of the population being left out of the digital economy.
Given the persistent pace of technological development, the digital divide across nations is increasing and raising great concern because less developed nations are at risk of being left further behind and definite actions are needed immediately to deal with this.
It is expected with high-income economies to occupy the top 30 places. The report identifies a number of countries that have made significant improvements, both in terms of their index score and ranking such as Armenia (58th) and Georgia (60th), which are among the most improved nations since 2012. Outside of the Caucasus, the UAE (23rd), El Salvador (80th), Macedonia FYR (47th), Mauritius (45th) and Latvia (33rd) all improved notably during the same period.
Countries like Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda are being witnessed with early-stage improvements. They have all liberalized their ICT markets, while Kenya and Tanzania are starting to see the benefits of similar reforms.
The report also notes that government leadership in the creation of a good regulatory and business environment with competitive ICT markets is an important requirement for all countries. However, while government action is necessary to address digital divides, efforts must also be made to motivate the people to engage in the digital economy.
With the theme of "ICTs for Inclusive Growth", the 2015 edition of the report provides solutions fromleading experts and practitioners to reduce digital poverty and make the ICT revolution a global reality.
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doctor monica santa sciatica - Herniated Disc and Sciatica Pain - What is the Connection?
Herniated Disc and Sciatica Pain - What is the Connection?
Is your sciatica pain common to herniated disc? If so, how do you get pain relief now? There certainly are a lot of different things that can go wrong with our backs. One of the worst problems that we can have, however, is if we have a herniated disc, especially if it is irritating the sciatic nerve. A herniated disc occurs whenever the padding that exists between the individual vertebrae begins to break down and eventually ruptures or protrudes. This can cause enough pain on its own but there are times whenever the bulging material will press against the sciatic nerve, either pinching it or irritating it in some way or another. This can cause a lot of suffering for the individual that has these kinds of problems.
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Article courtesy of http://www.losethebackpain.com. Get the facts on sciatic nerve pain that your not getting from your doctor... free access to back pain articles, information, and research.
Recovery Tip: In severe cases, the sciatic pain can run from the top of the hip to the bottom of the foot. It is very important to recognize that changes and shifting of pain is often times a sign of improvement. Further more as a way of gauging recovery, take note of how far down the leg the pain goes. If the pain goes to the foot one day and then only makes it to the calf and then to the knee and then it can only make it to the hamstring that is a sign of improvement. You should feel good about those noticeable improvements and this should give you encouragement to keep working toward a full remission of pain.
I wanted to talk to you about sciatica exercises that relieve back pain. Most people would say that back pain is probably about the worst pain that you could ever experience. It's not like a paper cut that effects a tiny fraction of your body. Back pain is an electrical storm of pain that travels across your back. It's crippling in a way because any little movement could lead to it. You could be reaching into your refrigerator and you feel the sharp pains spread throughout the back. It's a rough time and being able to get easy relief is important. This is why I wanted to share with you sciatica exercises that relieve back pain.
2. Pressure caused by spinal stenosis, which is a decrease in the space between the vertebrae. This is primarily caused by uneven pressure and compression due to muscle imbalances.
As you can see, there is a trend here... in nearly every case, muscle imbalances are the primary cause of the pressure being placed on the sciatic nerve.
However, from a technical stand point the process really describes the development of the muscle imbalance in your hip. The Piriformis muscle is responsible for external rotation (moving your leg so your feet point outward). So over time that muscle gets tight from the positions you put your self in and weakens from lack of use.
These are just two examples of how muscle imbalances can affect the Piriformis muscle and cause Sciatic pain. You may not be a runner or cyclist but I'll bet you have muscle imbalances that are causing your sciatic pain!
2. Another example is runners and bikers who actually work very hard tend to get
because they fail to keep a strength vs. stretch balance in their workouts. Hence the imbalance creates a greater pull toward external rotation and the result is a tight Piriformis and an irritated sciatic nerve creating pain.
Essentially what is happening is that there is some nerve or nerves are getting irritated. A common reason is due to your spinal discs. They're supposed to hold onto liquid and slowly compress throughout the day. If you have a burst disc or one that is too low, your vertebrae will actually grind together and most likely on a nerve. You can also experience the pain of
when a tight muscle compresses on a nerve. The idea of the exercises is to help get the stress off the nerves and get rid of the pain.
Accurate Diagnosis of your condition - The first thing is to get an accurate diagnosis of why you are in pain. Often times
is caused by muscle tension or imbalances which can directly affect the discs and vertebrae in your back which results in a irritated sciatic nerve. Other 'structural' problems with your spine can also cause this irritation and that is why an accurate diagnosis is essential for finding the best treatment.
To learn more about muscle imbalances and how they affect your body, please read our article "Aches, Pains, and Injuries" which you can find on our website here: http://www.losethebackpain.com/achesandpainsarticle.html
So how do you get rid of your pain? Will learning one new stretch be enough? It very well may be. However depending on the severity of your condition you may need to change your activities of daily living to include new stretches, new exercises that include the use of the hip rotators like roller-blading, basketball, tennis, etc, and even better, specific corrective exercise specific to your situation... like those covered in our video. As always, learn as much as you can about your condition, so that you can ask the tough questions to your healthcare providers and get the best care possible.
Anti Inflammatory/Pain Relieving Medication - No doubt one of the most important steps to easing your sciatic pain is to reduce any inflammation of the offending area and of course to limit your pain so you can get on with life. Unfortunately this is where the use of NSAID's or non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs is the road most doctors take. Sure, they may ease your pain and reduce inflammation but if you had any idea of the unwanted effects these drugs can have on you I'm sure you would think twice.
If you're reading this article, it's a good bet that you have a radiating pain running down the back of your leg that just won't go away. If what I'm about to tell you sounds familiar, don't worry, help is on the way.
The sciatic nerve is the largest nerve that exists in the body. Starting in the lower back, it runs through the area of the buttox and then down into the legs. Since it is such a large nerve and covers a lot of ground inside of your body, there are a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong with it. Typically, the pain will occur because of problems that are experienced in the lower back. If this nerve is pinched or irritated in some way, perhaps through a herniated disc, the pain may be localized or it may even travel down into your legs. In order for you to get rid of the pain that you are experiencing, you need to remove the pressure from the sciatic nerve.
In most cases, people go to physical therapy or minimize their physical activity to break the pain - spasm cycle and in most cases your symptoms subside. However...the event will also set you up for a life time of sciatic pain if the Piriformis muscle does not recover 100% in both strength and flexibility.
Let me give you some examples of what I mean: 1. If you sit on the edge of your chair with you legs separated and your feet pointing outward you are keeping your Piriformis muscle in a shortened position and that's how it gets tight and with extended sitting in that position, it gets weak form lack of use. Hence the imbalance.
You might be interested to know that there is some controversy over exactly what is going wrong in this particular case. Some doctors will refer to it as a ruptured disc while others may refer to it as a torn disc or perhaps even disc disease. Regardless of what they are calling it, however, you are probably interested in what can be done in order to alleviate some of the symptoms that you are experiencing. Although this will have a lot to do with the different diagnosis that you get, there are some things that can be done in order to take some of the pressure off of the sciatic nerve.
One thing that you may be told to do is to use hot and cold treatments on this area of your back. This is a very common thing whenever it comes to herniated discs and they can actually help to ease some of the pain by reducing swelling. In the case of sciatica pain and a herniated disc, however, more may be needed in order for you to totally overcome the problem.
Did you go see your primary care physician and get diagnosis of Sciatica only to have them refer you to an orthopedic specialist and than get a diagnosis of Piriformis Syndrome... and than be told to see a Physical Therapist and the PT tells you a little heat, ultra sound, electrical stimulation and some therapeutic exercises and we will have you good as new???
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Sciatic pain is simply caused by pressure being placed on the sciatic nerve and there are primarily four things that can create this... you may have one or more of the following:
First, let me tell you why today's traditional treatment methods just flat out miss the boat. The medical community is so conditioned and focused on treating only the symptoms and trying to get in as many patients a day as possible, that many people are misdiagnosed and/or mistreated.
4. Pressure caused by a herniated or bulging disc. A herniation is when a disc protrudes out from between the vertebrae and this can either be caused by an event like a car accident, or, by months or years of uneven pressure due to muscle imbalances. It is also important to note that many people with herniated discs don't even experience pain or symptoms, and many don't know they have the condition.
So how do we protect ourselves against these problems while still getting the pain relief and reduced inflammation that we need? The answer is natural medicines that do the same job without jeopardizing our future health. There are many great all natural products on the market these days and for peace of mind there really is no other choice.
The other way sciatic pain creeps into your life is due to your lifestyle and habits, and that is what we like to call the process. The process can be described as a prolonged onset of symptoms based on your everyday activities...
Find out what's causing your sciatic pain and learn exactly which exercises and stretches you should be doing by watching our Lose the Back Pain Video. Order your copy now online at http://www.losethebackpain.com
Heat and Cold Packs - many people report gaining relief through the use of heat and cold packs particularly where the problem lies with increased muscle tension. Alternating between both hot and cold packs on the affected area has also been reported as a good pain reliever. The hot pack promotes blood flow and can release tensed up muscles and the cold pack helps in reducing the amount of inflammation so you are getting the best of both worlds when alternating between the two.
The sciatica exercises that relieve back pain are really easy. The first one involves you laying on your back and pulling your knees up to your chest, giving them a hug. The idea here is to stretch out the lower back, which rarely ever gets a stretch. The other exercise is grabbing onto something above you and allowing it to stretch out your upper body. It's sort of like hanging on the monkey bars.
If this is the path you have been down and you're tired of all the worthless treatments that just don't work, you must read this article! I guarantee you, it will likely be far different than what you have read or heard anywhere else!
and Piriformis Syndrome are the same condition... it is just that the medical community is starting to call the condition by the muscle (Piriformis) that is involved and getting away from calling it by the name of the nerve that is involved (sciatic) nothing more than semantics.
Physiotherapy - this is something that I have not had any success with in dealing with my sciatica, however combined with the right exercises and assuming that your condition is suitable to be treated this way there is no reason not to give it a go. Many doctors see physiotherapy as the first step to easing the problem and once again the blood flow in and around the muscles and loosening of joints may be beneficial to you.
3. Pressure caused by Isthmic spondylolisthesis which is simply when a vertebrae slips or moves... this can sometimes pinch the sciatic nerve but often times people who have this condition don't have any pain, symptoms, or even know they have it!
When you have an injury to a muscle, both strength and flexibility are compromised, and if your recovery ends before strength and flexibility return, you will never be 100% and will likely struggle with the problem forever.
Sciatica pain is something you won't want to live with for an extended length of time. Effective treatment is available now that will ease your sciatica pain sooner than you might think.
Sciatic pain comes about either due to a traumatic event, muscle imbalances, or a combination of both. The event scenario is most likely the catalyst for sudden onset of sciatic pain. So what happens... when there is undue stress on the Piriformis muscle that stress causes it to go into spasm and then you have pain due to the Piriformis muscle putting pressure on the sciatic nerve.
Many back pain and sciatica sufferers are forced to use these drugs long term, previously myself included, as most back complaints are not easily or quickly resolved. This long term us of NSAID's can have lasting effects on your health. Problems with kidneys, the liver, the intestines and the stomach lining itself are not uncommon and of course add to this the noticeable side effects like cramping, headaches and drowsiness just to mention a few.
There are several types of physical therapy that you may have to go through in order to overcome the pain. Typically, this is accomplished through stretching and at times strengthening exercises that are done in the presence of a qualified physical therapist. There are also some specific exercises that you may be able to do at home in order to help speed along your recovery process.
About the Author:
Verona Raymond gets effective results when dealing with herniated disc and sciatica pain. Learn her secret to eliminate herniated disc pain entirely and get her special Back Pain Bonus Report to discover how you can find immediate relief. To receive your own free back pain bonus report, visit: http://www.herniated-disc-treatment.com
There are several self assessments you can perform to help identify which specific muscle imbalances you have and these are covered in our Lose the Back Pain Video along with step-by-step instructions on what to do to eliminate your imbalances and pain. You can learn more by visiting http://www.losethebackpain.com
1. Pressure caused by shortening and tightening of the piriformis muscle. This is almost always due to months or years of muscle imbalances in the hip rotator muscles.
If you have ever suffered from Sciatica or Sciatic Nerve problems you will know how uncomfortable and painful this condition can be. Sitting to eat dinner, driving the car, even sleeping can be greatly affected by sciatic pain and unlike many other joint or muscle problems it is simply not possible to isolate and immobilize the affected area until your body has had a chance to heal itself but if you follow these couple of tips you will have the best chance at keeping your sanity!
If you are not sure which one of the four is causing your sciatic pain, I recommend you start with the basics. Most cases of sciatic pain are caused by muscle imbalances so if you begin to work on correcting any muscle imbalances you have, you should start to see improvement right away.
One last point, sciaitic pain is not caused by a lack of prescription medications so don't think that taking some anti-inflammatories or muscle relaxants will fix it... it won't! Also, many people are able to eliminate sciatic pain within days just by performing a few exercises and stretches... but not general exercise... the exact corrective exercises and stretches they need to do.
Give your body a break! For more information on the best all natural pain relievers and anti-inflammatories please head on over to http://back-pain-products.org and check out the all natural Heal N Soothe. Your body will thank you for it!
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Located in Plano, TX the Legacy Spine and Rehabilitation Center provides a variety of non-surgical therapeutic approaches to help address conditions ranging from Cervical spine disorders, Degenerative disc disease, Degenerative spinal conditions, Herniated disc, Ligament strain, Lumbar spine disorders, Muscle strain, Myelopathy, Osteoarthritis, Sciatica, Scoliosis and deformity, Spinal...
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Sen. McCaskill (the luckiest politician in America) is asking a laundry list of questions to enable Hagel to state his support for preventing Iran from obtaining nukes, keeping the military strong, baseball, and apple pie. These questions are meaningless, of course, without a discussion of Hagel's past votes and statements.
So far, Hagel is zero for two in answering targeted questions (those of McCain and Sessions) that focus on his past votes and statements.
Hagel says that when you're at war, the number one focus is protecting your people. I always thought it was defeating the enemy, but what do I know?
Sen. Chambliss is focusing on Iran, which he says (quite reasonably) is the key issue in the hearings. Chambliss wants to know why Hagel didn't vote to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards a terrorist organization. He also wants to know about "red lines" and why we should have a dialogue with Iran, a terrorist state.
As to the vote, Hagel starts weakly by saying that there were 22 votes against it. He hides behind Sen. Webb, who opposed the resolution on the grounds that the U.S. has never designated a part of a legitimate (Hagel's word) government as a terrorist organization. Doing so, says Hagel, is tantamount to authorizing the president to go to war with Iran. Hagel also notes that Joe Biden and John Kerry voted against this resolution and that Obama didn't vote (if I heard correctly).
Hagel doesn't bother to defend the view that designating the IRG a terrorist organization would authorize the president to go to war. All he says is that "you can agree or disagree" about this, but he was persuaded. As in his responses to McCain, Hagel doesn't seem to think it matters whether his votes were good votes or not — it's enough to have had reasons for voting as he did.
On red lines, Hagel doesn't want them. He thinks it's enough that Obama has said he "has Israel's back." I suspect this statement impresses Iran even less than it impresses Israel.
Sen. Wicker reminds Hagel that he has said he doesn't support unilateral sanctions against Iran because they don't work and isolate the U.S. He notes that this statement flatly contradicts a statement he made soon thereafter in a letter to Sen. Boxer. Wicker tells Hagel that people need to be able to rely on the word of the Secretary of Defense. Hagel's word doesn't seem to be worth much.
Wicker also focuses on Hagel's statement about the "Jewish lobby." Although Hagel has retracted the term, Wicker wants to know whether he still believes the Israeli lobby "intimidates" people into doing "dumb things" to the detriment of U.S. policy. He also asks Hagel which groups are part of the Jewish lobby.
Hagel responds, self-servingly, that he doesn't take positions based on political expediency. But how, then, does he explain his contradictory positions on sanctions? Hagel can't answer this. Wicker gently asks whether Hagel is saying that the two statements he quoted about unilateral sanctions aren't inconsistent. Hagel ducks the question.
Hagel says he didn't really mean that the pro-Israel lobby intimidates people, but rather that it "influences" people. This doesn't pass the straight-face test. Hagel must be flat out lying here.
Hagel also recants on the term "dumb things," saying he shouldn't have used that term. If Hagel made this many miscues in a single set of responses in an interview, he has no business holding a posiiton like Secretary of Defense. But, of course, they weren't miscues at all — they are a true reflection of Hagel's contempt for Israel's Jewish supporters.


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Is there a specific ref that states this? CMP 20/04, CFAOs, DAODs... none seem to define what Acting/Lacking is, other than to say that members may, in certain circumstances, be promoted Acting/Lacking.What differentiates A/L from AWSE, for example?
I heard a "rumour" that the ILP was being phased out and the ILQ and SLC would be the only two leadership courses required for NCM`s. Anyone here this or have some reliable information like a DAOD or CANFORGEN?I have tried the search function and couldn't find anything
The CANFORGEN removes the "hard" requirement for Primary Reserve personnel to have met ALL the prerequisites prior to being promoted. Previously in the Reserves, if you didn't meet ALL the prerequisites, then you could NOT be promoted.
... Does this sound like grounds for a grievance or redress of some sort?
I thought I saw a regulation that said an acting lacking MCpl should not be put in charge of other MCpl's who are PLQ qualified. It
Thank you kindly,
I suppose I will reg-rat around for a better definition of seniority, it might be just a pay thing
However,if the Wo said, random Cpl is the supervisor and the Sgt reports to him. Im sure there would be a legitimate complaint. So, where does a AL/MCpl and a substantive MCpl fall into this if at all
3.08 – MASTER CORPORAL APPOINTMENT(1) The Chief of the Defence Staff or such officer as he may designate may appoint a corporal as a master corporal.(2) The rank of a master corporal remains that of corporal.(3) Master corporals have seniority among themselves in their order of seniority as corporals.(4) Master corporals have authority and powers of command over all other corporals.
So, where does a AL/MCpl and a substantive MCpl fall into this if at allEDIT: im thinking it don't btw, MCpl wise, I always thought it did but more I read into it, im not finding anything.
They're both MCpls. If the course mattered in attaining the promotion/appointment, you'd be required to complete PLQ before being appointed.I really think it comes down to this: If you're going to be a good leader, you need to be a good follower. If someone junior to you (but same appointment) is placed in charge over you, you should be supporting that person as much as you would your Sgt. You should also ask the Sgt politely why its happening, as its either due to professional development of the junior member, or the job performance of that "substantive" MCpl being subpar.
Now get your touque and gloves on with your winter coat ****ers its the RULES! (its not really)


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text: If you've got a smartphone, it's increasingly likely that you're also carrying a tablet as a sidearm. ComScore understands that 23.6 percent of American smartphone owners also have an iPad, Kindle Fire or some other large touchscreen slab as of April. That's only 16.5 percent of all cellphone owners in the land, but that's a huge jump from 9.7 percent of smartphone owners (4.7 percent of cellphone owners) just one year earlier. And if you do own a slate, odds are that you're watching your fair share of movies and cat videos. More than half of tablet users, 53 percent, fire up the likes of Netflix or YouTube at least once a month, with almost a tenth (9.5 percent) tuning in daily. Tablet lovers are unsurprisingly three times more likely to watch than their smartphone counterparts, suggesting that it's just a short hop from buying a tablet to catching up on Daily Show episodes.


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Last February, I thought it was too soon to bid adieu to Baidu (BIDU).
After that article, the stock tacked on 12% and almost hit my $160 price target. But by May, the stock began a slow 34% decline. Is it time to buy, or is the stock going lower?
As you recall, Baidu is China's largest search engine and the sixth most trafficked website in the world. Like Google (GOOG) in the U.S., Baidu holds a commanding lead in Chinese search. But cracks are emerging.
At the time, analysts and investors were concerned about Chinese accounting and unsustainable margins. Other worries were rising competition and Baidu's dependence on large advertising customers.
Unfortunately, those concerns turned out to be real. Margins, for example, peaked in fiscal 2011 at 78.7%. In the next three years, margins are likely to decline into the mid-60s as the company takes more ad business from less profitable small advertisers.
Revenue growth is also slowing. Like margins, revenue growth slowed from 90% to something in the mid-20s. Revenue growth has slowed as domestic competitors keep taking market share.
Operating income is headed down as well. Operating margin peaked at 56.2%. Operating margins are under attack because research and development spending as a percent of revenue is rising from 9.9% to 13%, as the company is forced to increase spending to develop new products.
Slowing revenue, margins under pressure and increased spending to fend off competition mean only one thing: a lower stock price. If I'm right, Baidu's stock multiple is in the process of getting crushed. The stock will probably fall into the low $80s before it finds any kind of valuation support. If you haven't bid adieu to Baidu, I suggest you do.


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Peace, love & sandy feet… hope to see you out on the beach this summer!


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Local or online multiplayer
Whose side are you on?
Dive into an arena where the rules mean everything and nothing. Overruled turns classic arena brawling on its head by placing the rules of the game in your hands. What you're fighting for changes from one minute to the next as you and your opponents rewrite the rules mid-fight in a bid to outdo each other.
Choose from a selection of twenty "change 'em up" cards and steer the match in strange new directions as you go. Team up in "King of the Hill" mode, go it alone in "Death Match" and then run like hell in "Race" mode – all in the space of a single round.
In Overruled, nothing ever stays the same. Combine a wide array of characters and arenas with the constantly changing rules of play and you've got a brawling experience that'll keep you permanently on your toes.


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Meet PlayStation 4
PlayStation 4 Pro
One of the key features of the PS4 Pro are the spectacular graphics - 4K TV owners can experience higher quality visuals as well as faster and more stable frame rates than ever before.
The PS4 Pro has double the power of a standard PlayStation 4 console, as well as a 1TB hard drive, enhancing both perfomance and enhanced, more realistic, vivid imagery which is truer to what the human eye would see in the real world. PlayStation 4 Pro complements and works with the PlayStation 4, all games are fully cross compatible and you can connect with friends on PlayStation Plus.
Key features
- The world's most powerful console
- Spectacular graphics
- Ultimate performance
- High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology
- Extraordinary entertainment
- Enhanced gameplay
- Ultimate Share Play and Remote Play
- Improve your current setup
- Play the best games
- More connections
- Slick interface
- Exclusive PS4 features
PlayStation 4
The world's best selling console has a brand-new look! Slimmer, lighter and more energy efficient than before, PS4 now supports HDR tech for strikingly vivid visuals. If you want an awesome all-round gaming and entertainment system - at great value - this is for you.
Combining powerful graphics and speed with intelligent personalisation, integrated social capabilities and innovative second screen features on PlayStation Vita, the PlayStation 4 is a powerful machine to keep up with the demands of the modern gamer.
That power comes from 8GB of unified system memory and new processors, custom built for the speed and strength needed to unleash the rich graphics and immersive gameplay experiences that PS4 will offer.
Key features
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Greg Dohrmann, who owns and operates his family's insurance business, Dohrmann Insurance Agency in Stockton, has been named president of the board of The Angelman Syndrome Foundation.
Greg Dohrmann, who owns and operates his family's insurance business, Dohrmann Insurance Agency in Stockton, has been named president of the board of The Angelman Syndrome Foundation.
Dohrmann will lead the group, which supports people with Angelman syndrome, a disorder that causes intellectual and developmental disability.
Dr. John H. Zeiter of Stockton has been promoted from assistant clinical professor to clinical professor of the University of California, Davis, Department of Ophthalmology and Vision Sciences.
Zeiter has served for more than 20 years as a member of the university's volunteer clinical faculty, providing services and teaching at the university's School of Medicine.
Law & Politics magazine has honored four Stockton attorneys as super lawyers.
Two attorneys with the Stockton law firm of William Parish PLC were honored. Erin Guy Castillo was selected as a rising star, and William H. Parish was named a super lawyer.
At Herum Crabtree in Stockton, Steve Herum was named a super lawyer for the ninth consecutive year, and Brett S. Jolley was designated a rising star.
The Minnesota magazine's designation, which includes peer reviews, recognizes attorneys who have distinguished themselves in the practice of law, the publication says.
The North Stockton Rotary Club said Jim Dugoni of University of the Pacific athletics will serve as president-elect and Brett S. Jolley of Herum Crabtree will serve as president for 2013-14.
The 62-year-old service club, which has 70 members, said other officers for next year will be immediate past President Jeff Kroll of State Farm; Secretary Marion Sweetnam; and Treasurer Steve Groom of Groom CPA.
Susan Goulding of Tracy Crown Key Realty has joined the Top 5 in Real Estate Network, which helps consumers identify top real estate agents in North America.
Goulding, a Tracy resident for more than 20 years, represents clients in Tracy, Mountain House, Livermore, Lathrop, Ripon and Brentwood.


text: I need help with a small project that I am doing for my client. My clients have a company that does staffing for hotel workers and when they sign up with him, they have to watch 4 separate training videos. What I need help with is a script of some sort that will pop-up a sign in box of some sort after every video was finished so we can log a record of that person watching each video. How can I accomplish this with an open source free script? Thanks in Advance


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Union files grievances on behalf of Aaron Hernandez
- NFLPA seeks to protect rights of players in action against New England Patriots
- Grievance looks to collect %242.46 million
- Hernandez was indicted in August for murder
The NFL Players' Association filed two grievances this week on behalf of Aaron Hernandez over millions of dollars in guaranteed money remaining on his contract with the New England Patriots, who cut the star tight end within hours of his June 26 arrest on a first-degree murder charge.
The filing has as much to do with procedure and precedent as anything – attempting to make the Patriots state in writing why they released Hernandez and thus establishing the grounds where a battle over the lost wages would be fought, since the collective-bargaining agreement says there must be a reason a player is cut.
"We have an obligation to every player to ensure that their rights under the collective-bargaining agreement are protected," George Atallah, the NFLPA's assistant executive director of external affairs, told USA TODAY Sports on Wednesday.
Filed Tuesday, the grievances seek to collect $2.46 million in guaranteed base salaries for the 2013 and '14 seasons, plus a $500,000 workout bonus in 2014 and a $3.25 million deferred portion of Hernandez's $12.5 million signing bonus that is due March 31.
The grievance regarding the base salaries and workout bonus states that: "On information and belief, the contract was terminated for skill or performance, salary cap reasons, or injury" – three reasons for which the language of the guarantees would protect Hernandez.
The other grievance states the union anticipates the Patriots will refuse to pay Hernandez the final installment of his signing bonus as scheduled.
The Patriots likely will try to argue they don't owe any future money based on the language in the standard player contract that bars players from engaging "in personal conduct reasonably judged by Club to adversely affect or reflect on Club."
Atallah said the grievances are not a judgment call on the situation surrounding Hernandez, who remains incarcerated while awaiting trial.
"Every individual player issue has an impact on the rights of other players in the league," Atallah said. "Every individual player contract issue has implications for every other player in the league."
Hernandez, 23, was indicted in August in the June 17 shooting murder of 27-year-old semipro football player and friend Odin Lloyd. He pleaded not guilty and has been held without bail since June 26.


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Massachusetts officials find problems at three more compounding pharmacies
Three compounding pharmacies found to have problems in how they prepared or stored drugs have received cease and desist notices from the state Department of Public Health, as part of its ongoing surprise inspections of pharmacies that prepare sterile drugs used in injections. But none of their products has been recalled.
At the same time, the state announced Thursday the appointment of three new pharmacy board members from a variety of health care backgrounds, and said a commission that plans to make recommendations to Governor Deval Patrick by the end of the month is considering changes in the board's structure that could ensure more members come from outside the pharmacy industry.
"The issues that were identified did not necessitate a recall; it was more around some of the production approaches,'' said Dr. Lauren Smith, interim commissioner of the Department of Public Health. "At this point, the rationale for interrupting or requiring the pharmacies to cease their operations is so the investigation can continue''
The state began unannounced inspections after contaminated steroids produced by New England Compounding Center of Framingham were blamed for the national meningitis outbreak, which has resulted in at least 36 deaths. In October, regulators shut down Infusion Resource, a Waltham compounding pharmacy. That company is still closed and the investigation is ongoing, a spokesman for the state health agency said.
Todd Brown, executive director of the Massachusetts Independent Pharmacists Association, said only a small number of his members do sterile compounding.
"The ones I do know that have been inspected, the inspections have gone fairly well,'' Brown said. "That doesn't mean the inspections for everybody, or the actions taken by inspectors can't go over the line and be a little bit overzealous. But I think, given the currrent situation, the Board of Pharmacy is really required to try to make sure the standards are met as much as possible.''
More than a dozen of the state's 25 compounding pharmacies that prepare sterile injectable drugs have been inspected so far.
OncoMed Pharmaceutical Services of Massachusetts in Waltham received a cease and desist order on Nov. 21 because of problems with storage of chemotherapy drugs. In a statement, the company said that the problem is a "workplace management issue invoving the method of storage for non-compounded medications'' and that there was no problem with the drugs.
"The integrity and condition of the medications were never compromised, and were never in danger of being compromised,'' the statement said.
OncoMed has suspended operations in Waltham and is working to redesign physical space to fix the storage problem. The company is planning renovations with a general contractor, and on Friday morning, company officials will inform the state about those plans.
Pallimed Solutions Pharmacy in Woburn received a partial cease and desist order to stop production of one drug, sildenafil citrate, which is known by the brand name Viagra. Regulators said the drug was being made with "improper components.''
James Nahill, the owner of Pallimed, said that he has fully cooperated with the state and emphasized that his pharmacy has never received a complaint about the drug. He added that the issue stems from differing "interpretation of rules and regulations of compounding'' and said he is awaiting a hearing date with the state.
"We're fully committed to working with the board and the inspection,'' Nahill said. "Personally, I think that the board is looking at compounding as a safety issue, and every little thing that needs to be investigated should be investigated to its fullest.''
The Whittier Pharmacist Inc. in Bradford received a partial cease and desist order on Nov. 28 to stop sterile compounding. The state said there were "violations in the pharmacy's sterile compounding operations.'' A voicemail left for the company's management was not returned Thursday.
The three new members of the 11-member pharmacy board include executives from an insurer, a rehabilitation center, and a major hospital system.
The new members are Patrick Gannon, chief quality officer of Southcoast Health System; Jane Franke, senior director of performance improvement innovations at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts; and Edmund Taglieri, Jr., executive director of the Beaumont Rehabilitation and Skilled Nursing Center.
They fill a vacancy and replace two members whose terms expired, including Sophia Pasedis, an executive with Ameridose, a sister company that shares common ownership with New England Compounding.
As Massachusetts officials continued their focus on ensuring the safety of sterile compounded drugs, one of the states that received the drugs linked to fungal infections said patients who received tainted pain injections from New England Compounding continue to experience health problems.
Tennessee public health officials said Thursday they are worried about the growing number of patients who are developing localized infections at the site of their steroid injection. These infections, which include arachnoiditis, a painful swelling of the membranes that surround the spinal cord, can be dangerous if not treated, said Dr. John Dreyzehner, Tennessee public health commissioner, during a phone call with the media.
The infections can eventually progress to meningitis, he said. So far, 107 people in Tennessee have been sickened after receiving injections of NECC steroids, and 13 have died.
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Sometimes I would have +1-ed something really useful. And at a later time I want to get back to it. I tried to type my search term in the search bar, but Google+ currently does not show up anything.
Is there anyway you can search through your +1s and find stuff you want?


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Northern Marianas College Stats, Info and Facts
|Institution Type:
|Campus Setting:
|US Territory Town, remote from an urban area
|Highest Degree Offered:
|Bachelor's degree
|Level of Institution:
|Four or more years
it is a great school. it has friendly and diverse people. teachers are always willing to help you.…
it is average.…
It had a great diversity in people. The staff are helpful and nice. The students here are different.…
Although a small campus, it's a great way for an instructor and his/her students to interact and get to know each other on first name basis rather than by pc…
The mission of Northern Marianas College is to provide the best quality and meaningful postsecondary and adult educational opportunities for the purpose of improving the quality of life for the individual and for the Commonwealth as a whole.
Since NMC is a community college, all classes have small class sizes and the general student population is diverse and hospitable.Read More


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Lady E-Hawks Fall At ELC?Tournament
ESTHERIVLLE – An appearance in the Estherville Lincoln Central Volleyball Tournament left Emmetsburg with a 0-3 mark on Saturday, Sept. 29. The Lady E-Hawk would fall to Harris-Lake Park by scores of 16-21 and 13-21 before playing Storm Lake anf falling by game scores of 10-21 and 14-21. In their final match, the Lady E-Hawks fell to eventual champion Humboldt by scores of 9-21 and 11-21.
Ashton Connelly would come away with six of six serves and an ace, along with making 29 of 33 hits with seven kills and also made two digs.
Whitney Kibbie would come away with eight of 10 serves, but connected on 23 of 34 hits with six kills and had a solo block. Kibbie also made 11 digs and dished out nine assists.
Miranda Vlasman would made 11 of 12 serves and 16 of 18 hits with seven kills, while digging out 13 shots and Alexa Naig came up with 11 of 12 serves with two aces and 11 of 14 hits with four kills, as well as making six digs and dishing out 16 helpers.
Emily Noll would completed 20 of 21 serves with four aces and made five of eight hits as well as digging out three shots on the day. Jacque Carlson made 10 of 11 serves with an ace and had five of six hits with a kill while digging out six shots.
Britni Will made two of four serves and dug out six shots on the day and Michaela Rehm added eight digs to the effort.
Emmetsburg returns to Lakes Conference action tonight (Tuesday) with a trip to Storm Lake.
On Thursday, Oct. 4, the Lady E-Hawks will host a "Pink Out" game as they will host the Spencer Tigers. The Junior Varsity game begins at 5:30 p.m. and the Varsity match-up starts at 7 p.m.
The night will include a bake sale by the volleyball team, a raffle by the Relay for Life Committee (Pink ribbon fleece tie blanket), and a silent auction by the marketing class. The silent auction will feature products from local businesses.
All fans are urged to wear "Pink Out" shirts to support the Lady E-Hawks and Breast Cancer Awareness.
All proceeds will be donated to Relay for Life!