text: When Sirius and XM finished their merger dance it was said that they would be able to offer interoperable radios—that is units that work with the full lineups of both XM and Sirus—within a year of the merger. Then they told the FCC they'd have devices within nine months. Now Mel Karmazin, CEO of the new merged company, has said that we can expect merged receivers "a number of months" before that deadline, likely in the first quarter of 2009. This is both good and bad news for the consumers. It's good because they'll get the full benefits of the merged systems, but it's bad because to get those benefits they'll have to purchase another receiver. Karmazin also said that "a la carte" radios—those that would offer a full lineup of either XM or Sirius and individual channels from the other service—will be here for the holidays, but we'd hold off.[OrbitCast]


text:
Many people find themselves in debt and more often than not, it is purely because they have fallen on hard times, not because they "have a problem with money". I recently read about one woman who was left with the expenses of raising children with no help from their father who had left. She also had her mother and brother living with her, who were both unemployed and had to financially support them as well. She barely had enough money for food and basic essentials, so over the years, had accumulated debt through numerous 'credit card increased limit offers' and deals which she had been drawn into.
She was afraid. She didn't have money to pay lawyers or debt counselors for their advice. She was afraid to answer the phone for fear of so many people she owed money to and even wondered whether she might be put in jail because of her debts.
Sound familiar?
Well the good news is, that there is no such thing as a "debtors prison". It would not be in the interests of society to throw people into prison for misfortune. These are matters for the civil courts (if it comes to that) rather than criminal jurisdiction. This doesn't mean that you won't receive a court judgement against you and that a sheriff won't come knocking one day, wanting to claim whatever he/she can of your possessions to offset the debt. But there are ways to avoid this also.
If your credit history is bad and you're financially strapped, here is some advice that may help.
Firstly, compile a list of all bills and expenses you have. If you have credit card debt, summarize the balance, minimum payment amount and interest charges.
Now break your expenditure list into essential and non-essential payments. "Essential" means survival needs like food, electricity and rent or mortgage as the case may be.
Prioritise the "essential" things to be paid first. Anything left over can be distributed among the non-essential items. If a debt collector tries to harass you, don't even think about using your survival money to satisfy them. The law is on your side here. If debt collectors become hostile or harass you, they are in violation of the law.
From now on, only spend money on essential things. If you have other people you're taking care of beside children, they should be asked to contribute something towards living expenses. Or if not, perhaps they have a skill they can use to help save money (e.g. do repairs, mend clothes, run errands)? They may even be able to develop a hobby into a small money making venture, to supplement the family income.
Debt problems can be very stressful and if unresolved, make life a living hell. But you can take control by working out a plan and educating yourself about how the law works to protect your rights. Knowledge is power!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
|BBC Top Of The Pops 1966
Tuesday, 31 March 2015
The Beatles at the Beeb rebroadcast
Auction tomorrow
|The real deal?
With the "raw tapes" in one's possession, one could establish the correct order of the songs, and it might also reveal more stage banter and perhaps incomplete songs left out of the releases from 1977 and throughout the eighties.
The tapes are likely to be a direct transfer of the material from the four track original, damaged 1962 tape used to record the band on the scene, as rescued by Ted Taylor and Allan Williams in 1973. But until we get a chance to hear the tapes in full, we won't know. Samples from the tapes have been posted on the auction site, and the quality and sonic ambience is said to be similar to the snippets from these concerts as used in the "Living In The Material World" documentary film - and different to the sonic ambience of previous album releases of this material.
|Previously a legal release, until the Beatles won a court case in 1990.
Link to the auction
Meanwhile, another interesting, earlier tape has been found, which is the song "Some Other Guy" recorded at the Cavern Club in Liverpool September 5th, 1962. The tape is to go under the hammer on November 4th, 2015 from Adam Partridge Auctioneers in Liverpool. The contents of the tape is well known from needledrops of acetates featuring this version of the song, but sourced from a tape, the quality is bound to be better than previously heard incarnations of the recording.
Monday, 30 March 2015
Setlist from Jan 17, 1963
Memorabilia specialists Tracks has an interesting item for sale, one which gives us a glimpse of what a Beatles concert, two and a half weeks after they had been recorded playing at the Star Club in Hamburg would have been like. A fan has jotted down the titles of the songs the band played at a gig at the Majestic in Birkenhead. The lead singer is also identified, but unfortunately not on the songs the fan was not familiar with. It seems to me that the set list looks like it's a young girl's handwriting. It also looks too neat to have been jotted down at the gig, she probably scribbled down just some abbreviations and later wrote it down properly, probably at home.
The songs are:
- Unknown (I Saw Her Standing There - Paul?)
- Shimmy Like Kate - John
- Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On - George
- P.S. I Love You - Paul
- H (unknown) (Honey Don't - John?)
- Chains - George
- A Taste of Honey - Paul
- Please Please Me - no lead vocalist indicated, but it's John's song
- Three Cool Cats - George
- Unknown (Till There Was You - Paul?)
- Anna (Go to Him) - John
- Hey, Good Lookin' - George
- Hippy Hippy Shake - Paul
- Talking 'bout You - John
- Devil in her Heart - George
- Some Other Guy - John
- Ask Me Why - John
- Roll Over Beethoven - George
- Love Me Do - no lead vocalist indicated, but it's John's song.
|Probably the first Beatles single in the world with a picture sleeve,
this is the Danish/Norwegian cover of the Please Please Me single.
Friday, 27 March 2015
Star Club raw tape preview
|Sounds quite nice to these ears! Your mileage may vary.
Beatles historians have no use for the fake stereo masters made in 1977, of course, but the full lot is described thusly:
I'd say the real deal here is item #1: The original unedited mono Master 7" safety reels. The bidding starts at £40,000 and the estimated sales price is £100,000 – £150,000.
Link to the auction.
Meanwhile, bootlegger Misterclaudel have just released what they claim is a CD version of the raw, unedited tape. Misterclaudel's press release in Japan says it is the 1973 raw tape (made from transferring the contents of the damaged 1962 reel tape to a new reel tape, or several new reel tapes). We are awaiting the release to reach us.
Wednesday, 25 March 2015
On the cover of Rolling Stone...
|Returning to the cover of Rolling Stone
Ringo Starr returns to the Rolling Stone cover solo for the first time since 1981 this week, musing on everything from a hypothetical Beatles reunion to why he decided to get clean in 1988. Film and teaser here: Rolling Stone Magazine. They also give you a guided tour through Ringo's solo career, courtesy of videos they found on YouTube.
Ringo will also be talking about his new album, "Postcards from Paradise" on "the Ellen DeGeneres show" on 31. March as well as on "Conan" April 1 (true). Uncut Magazine is looking for questions to ask Ringo for an upcoming feature, submit your question(s) through this page.
Tuesday, 24 March 2015
Fourfiveseconds out on CD-single
|The CD-single
The release may be because Germany is either very hesitant to, or awaiting the collapse of the digital revolution. I just came back from a Beatles themed cruise from Oslo to the German city of Kiel, and was surprised when I had to withdraw cash in order to shop, because accepting credit or debit cards was not commonplace, even in high street shops in Germany. And when we stopped to have breakfast at a diner, they didn't accept Visa, only Mastercard. So the future may take Visa, but the present is still not there.
Friday, 20 March 2015
Ringo's Photograph book - cheap edition
|New edition of Ringo's book, "Photograph".
In an original manuscript of over 15,000 words, join Ringo growing up amidst the excitement of the emerging Merseybeat scene, as he remembers his first car, drum-kits, girls and bands on his 'road of happy drumming'. From Pwllheli to Delhi, obscurity to superstardom, his travels are recounted with honesty and hilarity.
"I love pictures put together, showing different times of your life, "Ringo said about the book, "At the time, I never thought that there would be a whole book of my photographs."
|The limited edition from Genesis Publications.
PHOTOGRAPH was originally conceived as a limited edition book of only 2,500 copies, which sold out within weeks. A short edition is also available as an e-book from iTunes.
Two years later, Ringo Starr and Genesis Publications announce the 'Open Edition' - a more accessible and affordable printing of his book to be released in bookstores this September 2015. The author is donating all royalties to the Lotus Foundation.
The book is available for preordering from Amazon.
Thursday, 19 March 2015
The Beatles: Alpha Omega
|The Beatles: Alpha Omega 4 disc boxed set
These four-LP collections were advertised on TV and radio stations in the Midwest and were sold by mail order. Instead of taking legal action, Capitol Records countered by putting out two official Beatles anthologies, The Beatles 1962-1966 (the red album) and The Beatles 1967-1970 (the blue album).
However, in March, a $15 million lawsuit was filed by manager Allen Klein on behalf of George Harrison, along with Capitol and Apple Records, against the manufacturers and distributors of the pirate package, and against American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., who had been advertising it.
Unlike the official release, the Alpha Omega sets was not ordered chronologically but somewhat alphabeticaly, and with a few solo songs thrown in to boot.
|The boxed set lying face down
Alpha Omega Volume I:Side 1:
- Act Naturally
- All I've Got To Do
- All My Loving
- And I Love Her
- Baby's In Black
- Yesterday
- Ballad Of John And Yoko
- Bangladesh
- Can't Buy Me Love
- Come Together
- Day Tripper
- Do You Want To Know A Secret
- Eight Days A Week
- Eleanor Rigby
- Uncle Albert
- I Should Have Known Better
- It Won't Be Long
- I Want To Hold Your Hand
- Lady Madonna
- Ticket To Ride
- Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds
- Michelle
- Mr. Moonlight
- I Feel Fine
- If I Fell
- I'll Be Back
- Hey Jude
- I'm A Loser
- I'm Happy Just To Dance With You
- I Saw Her Standing There
Alpha Omega Volume II:Side 1:
- Nowhere Man
- Obladi Oblada
- Paperback Writer
- Penny Lane
- Help!
- Roll Over Beethoven
- Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- Get Back
- Hello Goodbye
- Revolution #1
- Here Comes The Sun
- I'll Follow The Sun
- Imagine
- Honey Don't
- We Can Work It Out
- With A Little Help From My Friends
- Yellow Submarine
- Baby You're A Rich Man
- You Can't Do That
- You've Got To Hide Your Love Away
- Maybe I'm Amazed
- A Hard Day's Night
- She Loves You
- Something
- Strawberry Fields Forever
- Tell Me Why
- The Long And Winding Road
- Let It Be
- Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
Someone also pressed up copies of this release on CDs, taken from vinyl drops of the LPs.
You can find out more about this release (which was also out on 8-track) on the About The Beatles site. And check out a YouTube video.
NME: Beatles issue
|NME Beatles Special
NME is out with a bumper issue with a theme: 100 Greatest Beatles Songs As Chosen By Music's A-Listers.
Read the countdown from 100 to 51 online.
Wednesday, 18 March 2015
Beatles monument in Austria - and an unknown concert
|Before the unveiling
|The Beatles monument
|Installation 1.
|Installation 2.
The monument and installations were erected during the "Beatle Week" in Obertauern, which is still happening.
The Unknown Beatles ConcertHerbert Lurzer was Paul McCartneys ski teacher and stunt double in the film. He was just a local lad at the time with no real idea who his famous pupil was.
" I had never heard of them before, it was incredible to be suddenly involved in the inner circle of madness for those weeks. I was teaching Paul to ski and playing his parts in the movie, it was an amazing time"
"I remember Paul falling the first time and shouting me to pick him up. I refused, I said you have to learn to fall before you ski, then you have to learn to get up! I don't think he was used to people talking to him like that anymore. I remember we were on the top of a mountain and he forgot his cigarettes so he just clicked his finger for somebody to get them! Remember at this time they were so famous and so young, they were not used to it yet and everything was available to them instantly"
|John gets a helping hand after a fall. Photo: © Christian Skrein (Salzburg Museum)
"Because we hadn't really heard the songs before, they played all the ski teachers a concert."
As it turns out, this is the only gig they ever played in Austria, and there was only a handful of people there!
"It was amazing, and they asked us - do you like this song, do you like that song? Imagine! Them asking me!"
"We hung out with them, drinking and smoking as they were always waiting around for something to happen, they were our friends for two weeks and they asked a lot of questions about Austria and about us, they were such great guys."
Herbert now owns the hotel the Beatles had stayed in during the time they spent there. The Beatles stayed at the Edelweiss hotel in rooms 502, 504, 506 and 507, and these rooms, now modernised, are available to book. The rest of the film crew stayed at the Marietta hotel.
Another concert happened when John and Paul joined Hamburg mate Jacky during their stay in Austria, but we already blogged about that here.
The year after, Paul returned to Austria with his girlfriend Jane Asher for a holiday, as he wanted to learn to ski properly.
Source for Beatles monument
Source for Herbert Lurzer's story
Source for Beatles installation
Ringo Starr October dates
Just as we thought, it was just announced that Ringo and his All Starr Band will undertake another tour this autumn. Again, USA and Canada are the countries he will visit. Ringo will be on stage in Vancouver on the 75th anniversary of John Lennon's birthday. However, Ringo will first turn 75 himself on July 7, and Paul McCartney has a concert in Norway that day, so he will not be able to attend. Busy days for the surviving Beatles. Here are the October dates of Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band.
Oct 1 The Masonic, San Francisco, CA
Oct 2 Vina Robles Ampitheater, Paso Robles, CA
Oct 3 Field of Dreams, Sonoma, CA
Oct 6 Century Link Arena, Boise, ID
Oct 8 Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre Victoria, BC
Oct 9 Queen Elizabeth Theatre Vancouver, BC
Oct 10 South Okanagan Event Ctr, Penticton, BC
Oct 12 Jubilee Auditorium, Edmonton, AL
Oct 13 Jubilee Auditorium, Calgary, AL
Oct 14 Brandt Centre, Regina, SA
Oct 16 State Theater, Minneapolis, MN
Oct 17 Riverside Theater, Milwaukee, WI
Oct 18 Fox Theater, Detroit, MI
Oct 20 Massey Hall Toronto, ON
Oct 21 St Denis Theatre Montreal, QU
Oct 23 Wang Theater, Boston, MA
Oct 24 Foxwood Theater, Mashantucket, CT
Oct 25 State Theater, New Brunswick, NJ
Oct 27 Heinz Hall, Pittsburgh, PA
Oct 28 Lyric Opera House, Baltimore, MD
Oct 30 Tower Theater, Philadelphia, PA
Oct 31 Kings Theater, Brooklyn, NY
Monday, 16 March 2015
McCartney's new "Save us" video
Paul McCartney's new video for the song "Save Us" from the "New" album was just published by Ticketmaster as a "UK exclusive". The video was also available on the collector's edition of "New", so the exclusivity is not very apparant.
The poster story
|The Norwegian singles collection
The place where I was working at the time had acquired a wonderful piece of equipment - a colour copy machine. The machine was also capable of reducing the size of the copy. So I set about the task. I got me some plain white big cardboard sheets, gathered together all my Norwegian Beatles 45's, borrowed a couple that I didn't have and went ahead and produced it. When I had all the miniature single covers I needed, each one was hand glued to the cardboard poster.
I think I made in all five of these posters, one for each of us, me and my two friends, one was presented as an extra prize to a TV competition winner of a Beatles quiz at the time, and one for Paul McCartney. The reason why we thought of Paul, was that we had heard that his friend, Elvis Costello, was a collector of Beatles records. We thought that perhaps next time Costello was visiting Paul, McCartney could show off this poster. Also, Paul was due to give two concerts in Norway in the near future (this was in 1993), so we thought that we might get to present it to him on that occasion.
There were slight variations between each poster, and for Paul we decided to include the two picture sleeves from his solo career that were printed in Norway (the later ones either had standard factory sleeves or were imports). You can see this poster (or rather, a recreation of it) in the photo above.
We had the poster glazed and framed, and were all set when Paul's tour was heading for Scandinavia. At the time, we were on friendly terms with Paul's publicist, Geoff Baker, so we rang him. Baker was kind enough to be able to get us a couple of photo credits for the first concert, and he was also able to get me in to the pre-concert press conference. One thing he didn't accomplish, was to get us that one on one with Paul, so that we could present him with our poster gift. As Paul was giving two concerts, we also tried to deliver it to him the next day, but unfortunately the daily TV news show wanted to interview him at the time slot we had been given, and there was no time left for us. After travelling to the next venue in Stockholm, Sweden with the same result, we gave up.
But we still wanted to give Paul our poster, so we decided to dispatch it by mail to MPL in London.
A couple of months later, the poster came back to me, damaged in the mail. The glass had been shattered and some of the miniature covers were damaged. After a repair job and new glazing, I decided to keep the poster until I could travel to London and deliver it myself.
|The poster included with the "1" vinyl album.
Photos of these singles were were supplied to Apple by
German Beatles collector Joachim Noske, who later
released an 800 page book of Beatles records from
around the world, called "The Beatles Covered".
Upon arriving in London, my good friend Peter and I went over to the Apple headquarters in Ovington square and rang the bell. By this time, the Anthology promotion was in full operation and Geoff Baker had been employed by Apple to deal with the press, under Derek Taylor. So, instead of delivering the poster to the staff at MPL, we thought we'd go to Apple where we might get to talk with Geoff and remind him of our non-deliverance of the poster back in Norway a few years earlier. However, this didn't happen. Some secretary opened the door and we unceremoniously presented her with the poster, said it was for Paul and asked her to give our best to Baker.
Then, four years later, Apple/EMI released the hugely successful "1" album by the Beatles (best selling CD of the decade 2000-2010). I purchased the vinyl edition and was awestruck by the giant poster that was included, depicting Beatles single sleeves from around the world. They even kept a few of the Norwegian ones (circled around in yellow in this photo of the poster)!
Years later, in 2012 Paul McCartney released a Record Store Day edition of his single, "Another Day"/"Oh Woman Oh Why?". For the front cover, he elected to use the Norwegian edition of the single, as depicted on the poster we had delivered at the Apple office many years earlier.
Two of the Norwegian single front covers both depicted on our original poster and the "1" poster has since been licenced away by Apple for usage on various memorabilia/souvenir products. The "Something" front cover is a carrier bag, among other things, and the "Can't But Me Love" front cover has been used on items such as coffee mugs, coasters, t-shirts and a die cast model car. It'd be nice if someone who has visited the Apple offices or the MPL building could report about our poster decorating some wall...
Sunday, 15 March 2015
Ringo - back on the road
|Recovered: Ringo and his All Starr Band ends their current tour tonight in Las Vegas.
Photos from the Pala Casino concert.
Saturday, 14 March 2015
Ringo postpones concerts due to illness
|Ringo sings "Act Naturally" at a recent concert in Alabama. Photo: Rick Glover/Beatlefan
It's the concert that was due to happen on Thursday at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California and Friday's concert at the Masonic in San Francisco, California that have been cancelled or postponed.
Tonight's concert at the Pala Casino in Pala, California, as well as Sunday's concert at the The Pearl at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas have so far not been cancelled or rescheduled.
The concerts that were planned for Friday has been rescheduled to October 1, the concert at the Chumash Casino has not yet been given a rescheduled date.
We don't know what kind of illness Ringo is experiencing, but it appears to be something he reckons to recover quickly from, since just one and one concert is being cancelled so far.
Friday, 13 March 2015
McCartney: Second night in Amsterdam added
|Another addition to the tour announced.
Updated European tour schedule:
Saturday May 23rd – The O2, London, Great Britain
Sunday May 24th – The O2, London, Great Britain
Wednesday May 27th – Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, Great Britain
Thursday May 28th – Echo Arena, Liverpool, Great Britain
Friday 5th June - Nouveau Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France
Sunday 7th June – ZiggoDome, Amsterdam, Holland
Monday 8th June – ZiggoDome, Amsterdam, Holland
Thursday 11th June - Stade De France, Paris, France
Saturday 4th July – Roskilde Festival, Denmark
Tuesday 7th July – Telenor Arena, Oslo, Norway
Thursday 9th July – Tele2 Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
The Danish album
|Denmark 1965: The Beatles' Hottest Hits. Parlophone PMCS 306. Photo: Parlogram
Side 1:
- I Feel Fine
- I Call Your Name
- I'll Get You
- From Me To You
- This Boy
- She Loves You
Side 2:
- Long Tall Sally
- Thank You Girl
- Matchbox
- She's A Woman
- Slow Down
- I Want To Hold Your Hand
|The back cover of the Danish album. Photo: Parlogram.
|The label for side 1 (Denmark). Photo: Parlogram
Matrix numbers: XSTX 115 I and XSTX 116. In Sweden, the same album with the same catalogue number (and matrix numbers) was released as The Beatles' Greatest Hits on the 31st of March 1965, but sporting a different cover.
|Sweden 1965: The Beatles' Greatest Hits. Parlophone PMCS 306.
|The back cover for the Swedish album.
|The label for side 1 (Sweden)
The Danes are likely to have selected the "eskimo" photo, taken backstage at the Hammersmith Odeon during the 1964/5 Beatles Christmas shows, due to the fact that Greenland (where eskimos live) is Danish territory. They could not have chosen a concert photo from The Beatles' only visit to Denmark, because Jimmy Nicol was substituting for Ringo on those two concerts.
Beware of fakes
Due to its popularity and rarity, the Danish album has had the dubious honour of having been counterfeited by modern day pirate vinyl pressing plants, usually on coloured vinyl.
|Available in several colours, the counterfeits are quite common.
|The counterfeited back doesn't have the wraparound flaps like the original had.
Usually, whenever you find an original, it's not in a great shape. The white sections of the album cover has usually yellowed with age, and the record will have been played to death. When a decent original comes on the market, prices will be around 500-650 GBP. However, due to the scarcity and collectability of this album, even beat up originals command high prices. Unless you're lucky and the dealer doesn't know what he has. A Swedish "Greatest Hits" will be priced at around 100-150 GBP.
Thursday, 12 March 2015
Star club boot claims to be raw tape
|The Beatles at the Star Club, Hamburg 1962.
It's a 5 disc extravaganza featuring not only The Beatles, but also recordings by Kingsize Taylor and the Dominos, the Rebel Rousers and Tony Sheridan. This is the most comprehensive outing of these recordings to date, we believe.
Largely ignored by the public, fans of the Beatles are very fond of this historical document, and once one learns to live with the mediocre quality of the recordings, the concerts can be enjoyed for what they are, a glimpse of what the Beatles sounded like in Hamburg, taped just a few months before they became a household name.
|Rare colour photo from inside the Star Club (not the Beatles on stage)
LIVE AT THE STAR CLUB RAW TAPES - Misterclaudel MCCD470-474 (5CD)
RELEASE Date :25th March
1st SHOW "1973 TAPE" reel #1
01. Be-Bop-A-Lula
02. I Saw Her Standing There
03. Hallelujah I Love Her So
04. Red Hot
2nd SHOW "1973 TAPE" reel #2
05. Adrian Barber Voice Memo
06. Shelia
07. Kansas City - Hey Hey Hey Hey
08. Shimmy Like Kate
09. Reminiscing
10. Red Sails In The Sunset
11. Sweet Little Sixteen
12. Roll Over Beethoven
13. A Taste Of Honey
14. Money with TONY SHERIDAN
15. Sparking Brown Eyes
16. Lovesick Blues
17. First Taste Of Love
18. Dizzy Miss Lizzy
19. Do You Believe
20. Ooh Pooh Pah Doo
21. Twist And Shout
22. Cannonball with BETTINA DERLIEN
"1973 TAPE" reel #3
01. Nothin' Shakin'
02. I Saw Her Standing There
03. To Know Her Is To Love Her
04. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
05. Till There Was You
06. Where Have You Been All My Life?
07. Lend Me Your Comb
08. Your Feet's Too Big
09. Talking About You
10. A Taste Of Honey
11. Matchbox
12. Little Queenie
1st SHOW "1973 TAPE" reel #3
13. Twist And Shout
14. Mr.Moonlight
15. Besame Mucho
16. Talking About You
17. Falling Love Again
18. Long Tall Sally
2nd SHOW "1973 TAPE" reel #3
19. I Remember You
20. tuning
21. Roll Over Beethoven
22. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry Over You
23. Hully Gully
24. I Take What I Want
"1973 TAPE" reel #4
01. tuning
02. Road Runner
03. Hippy Hippy Shake
04. A Taste Of Honey
05. ' It's five to twelve '
06. ' Ein Zulage '
07. Ask Me Why
08. ' Goodnight '
09. Horst Fascher Announcement
10. You Can't Sit Down
11. Roll Over Beethoven
12. Black & Blue
13. Do You Love Me
14. Let's Twist Again
15. Red River Rock
16. Mashed Potatoes
17. Forty Days
18. Ja-Da
19. The Sheik of Araby
20. Buckeye
21. La Bamba
22. Early in the Morning
23. The Twist
24. The Kid
25. The Paris Jam
01. I Saw Her Standing There
02. Red Hot
03. Kansas City
04. Shimmy Like Kate
05. Roll Over Beethoven
06. Fallin' In Love Again
07. Red Hot - Shimmy Like Kate - Red Sails In The Sunset
08. Red Hot - Shimmy Like Kate - Red Sails In The Sunset
09. ' Lost Tapes '
10. A Taste Of Honey
11. Hippy Hippy Shake - A Taste Of Honey - I Saw Her Standing There - Lovesick Blues
12. Till There Was You
13. Where Have You Been All My Life?
14. Red Hot #1
15. Red Hot #2
16. A Taste Of Honey
17. A Taste Of Honey
18. Till There Was You
19. Where Have You Been All Of My Life?
20. Lend Me Your Comb
21. Your Feet's Too Big
22. I'm Talking About You
23. To Know Her Is To Love Her
24. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
25. Matchbox
26. Little Queenie
27. Nothin' Shakin'
28. Roll Over Beethoven
RARE LIVE! '62 Complete Version
01. Introduction
02. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry Over You
03. I Saw Her Standing There
04. Roll Over Beethoven
05. Hippy Hippy Shake
06. Sweet Little Sixteen
07. Lend Me Your Comb
08. Your Feet's Too Big
09. Twist And Shout
10. Mr. Moonlight
11. A Taste Of Honey
12. Besame Mucho
13. Reminiscing
14. Kansas City - Hey Hey Hey Hey
15. Where Have You Been All My Life?
16. Hully Gully REBEL ROUSERS
17. Till There Was You
18. Nothin' Shakin'
19. To Know Her Is To Love Her
20. Little Queenie
21. Falling In Love Again
22. Ask Me Why
23. Be-Bop-A-Lula
24. Hallelujah I Love Her So
25. Sheila
26. Red Sails In The Sunset
27. Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby
28. Matchbox
29. I'm Talking About You
30. Shimmy Like Kate
31. Long Tall Sally
32. I Remember You
Meanwhile, the tapes and tape recorders that went unsold on Heritage Auctions last December is due for another auction from Ted Owen & Co. Here are the descriptions:
The year was 1962, the place Hamburg, Germany. Ted "Kingsize" Taylor and the Dominoes were in town for a three-night stand at the Star-Club. Taylor had asked for a recording of the gig, and someone at the club obliged with a simple one-microphone setup plugged into a mono tape recorder (offered above). The machine ran continuously, capturing Taylor's performances and those of two lesser-known acts also on the bill: Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers and an up-and-coming quartet from Liverpool that called itself the Beatles. The complete set of original un-edited mono Master recording tapes and the subsequesnt re-mixed and remastered tapes that became Beatles live at the star club lp Comprising- The Original unedited mono Master 7" safety reels. The Original First Generation Master(s) for the double album LP A set of two 10 ½" reels USA version 15 ips DBX sides (C&D), (A&B) The Original Studio Masters used for the matrix and subsequently the pressing of the Hamburg, Star-Club double album. The complete DBX work reels, both edited and unedited consisting of 1 x 10 ½" reel 15 ips 2 TR (mono) DBX edited, 1 x 10 ½" reel 15 ips Mono DBX master, 1 x 10 ½" reel 15 ips Mono DBX safety and 1 x ½ " reel ¼ tr. Unedited mono work reels (1&4), (2&3) and All in plain white / black ink marked cartons. The Master tapes are being sold with a written hard backed history of the origin and ownership title of the tapes comprising the history of the original release and the intervention of Apple and the offers made to Yoko Ono. Described as the crossroads of the Beatles rise to fame. The tapes provides a crucial glimpse into the Beatles' development. In a very short time, they would play to massive audiences, and would rely much less on the early rock and R&B covers that dominated their earlier set lists. Lennon and Harrison would later assert that their best days as a live band were in their Liverpool and Hamburg days, and these recordings document that time period, flaws and all. Note for further details please contact Ted Owen & Co
Estimate: 100,000 GBP - 150,000 GBP
Beatles - Portable Reel To Reel Tape Recorder Used At The Star-Club, Hamburg With a Tape Recording of The Beatles. This vintage Phillips portable tape recorder is of great importance to the history of the Beatles, for it is the machine on which the album Live! At The Star-Club, Hamburg, Germany; 1962 was originally recorded. The four-track recorder was purchased in Berlin in October 1962 by Ted "Kingsize" Taylor, the leader of the Liverpool group Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes. The Dominoes shared a Star-Club residency with the Beatles in December 1962, during the last of the Beatles' extended trips to Hamburg. Taylor had suspended a microphone from the ceiling of the club which ran to the Phillips recorder, and had taken to recording his group - and then others - at the venue. According to Taylor, he approached John Lennon one evening and asked if he had any objections to Taylor recording a Beatles performance. John's reply was that it was fine "so long as you get the ale in"- which Taylor did, and he also rolled the tape. Taylor, left the tape at his mother's home upon his return to Liverpool, and didn't address the recording again until 1965 when he presented an edited version to Brian Epstein to gauge his interest for possible release. Epstein purportedly replied that due to the substandard quality of the recording there would be no commercial interest, with a purchase offer to Taylor of 20 pounds for the tape Offered in this lot are two portable recorders owned by Kingsize Taylor: one, the Phillips recorder purchased in Germany and used to record the Beatles at the Star-Club, and two, a Grundig recorder subsequently purchased in Great Britain, and used by Taylor to create the edited tape presented to Brian Epstein. The Grundig recorder does include a microphone, however, it is not the mic that was used to record the Beatles at the Star-Club. A copy of the edited tape as presented to Epstein is also included. This tape is not the master used for the Lingasong release, and no copyright is conferred with its purchase. A two-record vinyl copy of the Lingasong release is included for listening enjoyment.
Estimate: 25,000 GBP - 35,000 GBP
The Star Club operated from 1962 through 1969 and the building it occupied was destroyed by a fire in 1987. Through the sixties, the club was a popular rock'n'roll club in Hamburg, and was visited by many of the stars from the rock'n'roll era: The Beatles, Chicken Shack (featuring Christine McVie (Perfect)), Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers, Cream, Lee Curtis and the All-Stars, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich, Earth (pre-Black Sabbath), The Graduates, The Jimi Hendrix Experience (US/UK, March 1967), The Jaybirds (featuring Alvin Lee of Ten Years After), Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, The Liverbirds, The Overlanders, The Pretty Things, The Remo Four, The Searchers, Kingsize Taylor and The Dominoes; Richard Thompson, Soft Machine, and Tony Vincent and The Giants, Jane Cane, The Roadrunners, Katch 22, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, Everly Brothers, Bill Haley, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny and the Hurricanes, Brenda Lee, Jerry Lee Lewis (who released a highly praised live album recorded at the club in 1964) and Little Richard, who at that point had Billy Preston in his band.
In an article recently, Rolling Stone magazine made the mistake of identifying the venue as a strip club, something it was definitely not, but it was situated in a street where those kinds of clubs could also be found.
Wednesday, 11 March 2015
RSD 2015: The Family Way on vinyl
|"The Family Way" soundtrack album from 1967 is due out on vinyl for Record Store Day 2015
Paul McCartney
The Family Way: Original Soundtrack Recording
Format: 12" Vinyl
Label: Varese Sarabande
Release type: RSD Exclusive Release
Info by RSD: This 1967 soundtrack composed by Paul McCartney is one of the most elusive Beatles souvenirs. The original vinyl album has been long out of print, and it is commanding sky-high prices on the collector's circuit.
The Family Way is a 1966 British comedy-drama film based on Bill Naughton's play All in Good Time (1963). It began life in 1961 as a television play, Honeymoon Postponed.The film was produced and directed by John and Roy Boulting, respectively, and starred father and daughter John Mills and Hayley Mills.
The soundtrack was composed by Paul McCartney and released on an album in January 1967, effectively the first solo-Beatles outing, musicwise. The album was credited to "The George Martin Orchestra" and issued under the full title The Family Way (Original Soundtrack Album). A 45rpm single, again credited to the George Martin Orchestra, was issued on 23 December 1966, comprising "Love in the Open Air" backed with "Theme From 'The Family Way'", as United Artists UP1165. The Family Way won an Ivor Novello Award in 1967 and was last seen on CD in 2011, remastered from the original first generation stereo master tapes. Varese Sarabande was the company behind the release then, as they are now, only on vinyl. The CD included the unreleased stereo mix of "A Theme From The Family Way" as a bonus track, which had appeared originally as the B-side of the 1966 UK/US 7-inch single by the Tudor Minstrels. It is not known if this track will be included on the vinyl edition, or if it will merely mimic the original album release.
The recording took place over November and December 1966, before the Beatles began work on their album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. McCartney's involvement in the project was minimal, according to biographer Howard Sounes, who quotes George Martin's recollection that he had to "pester Paul for the briefest scrap of a tune" with which to start writing the score. After McCartney had provided "a sweet little fragment of a waltz tune", Martin continued, "I was able to complete the score."
Despite the RSD blurb about the rarity of the vinyl album, it's easily found on ebay, prices range from £3.72 (auction) to £85.12 (Buy it now). When we first came to London on an interrail trip back in 1982, "The Family Way" album, Australian edition was readily available at the HMV shop in Oxford Street.
Record Store Day is April 18, 2015.
Tuesday, 10 March 2015
The Beatles: Filming Help!
|In the swimmingpool
Take a look at the gallery
Another image appeared on an Austrian site recently, showing the Beatles' body doubles in the film:
|Not quite the Beatles
Another "Help!" photo gallery comprising 12 images can be found at msn.com, and those are published in conjunction with the book.
|The upcoming "Eight Arms To Hold You" book.
Monday, 9 March 2015
McCartney adds 2nd show in London
|May 24 added to Europe tour
Updated Europe tour schedule:
Saturday May 23rd – The O2, London, Great Britain
Sunday May 24th – The O2, London, Great Britain
Wednesday May 27th – Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, Great Britain
Thursday May 28th – Echo Arena, Liverpool, Great Britain
Friday 5th June - Nouveau Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France
Sunday 7th June – ZiggoDome, Amsterdam, Holland
Thursday 11th June - Stade De France, Paris, France
Saturday 4th July – Roskilde Festival, Denmark
Tuesday 7th July – Telenor Arena, Oslo, Norway
Thursday 9th July – Tele2 Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
Sunday, 8 March 2015
Paul quits the Beatles....in 1968!
|George and John at George's house. Photo: Michael Herring
Do we need to rethink history? The Beatles' biographers Mark Lewisohn and Hunter Davies also offer their comments on the episode.
Read more: The Daily Mail
Friday, 6 March 2015
McCartney plays in Europe in May-June-July
|Poster for the Europe tour
Paul said: "I'm often never aware of these anniversaries until someone points it out. People always say to me 'hey, did you know it was 30 years since this and 30 years since that', so it's impossible to stay on top of it all. But I never need an excuse to celebrate so it's always nice to hear! "For me it's a happy coincidence that The O2 show falls at this time. It's great that people all over the world reacted so well to the song, it's all you can hope for! It feels like it has taken on a life of its own over the years. "The song still is and always has been an important part of our live show. "It's always very emotional for me to hear crowds singing it so loudly at my concerts and I'm looking forward to singing it along with the audience at the O2 in May."
Paul said: "It's always great when you get to play in your home country. It's been a little while since I've performed here so we're planning a few surprises and looking forward to playing some songs we've never played here. We've taken this tour all over the world but there's nothing quite like rocking out with your home audience. We'll see you soon."
Tickets for the UK dates go on sale on Monday at 10am, probably Saturday or Sunday from Paul McCartney's own web site. The Birmingham concert is Wednesday May 27 at the Barclaycard Arena, and in Liverpool Paul will play at the Echo Arena on Thursday May 28. In June, Paul visits France and Holland before heading over to play at the Firefly festival in Delaware June 18th - his 73d birthday.
McCartney returns to Europe in July, when he will play three concerts in Scandinavia, one of them at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, then he's off to Norway before finishing the European tour in Stockholm, Sweden - the first country The Beatles toured in outside of Great Britain.
The full European tour:
Saturday May 23rd – The O2, London, Great Britain
Wednesday May 27th – Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham, Great Britain
Thursday May 28th – Echo Arena, Liverpool, Great Britain
Friday 5th June - Nouveau Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France
Sunday 7th June – ZiggoDome, Amsterdam, Holland
Thursday 11th June - Stade De France, Paris, France
Saturday 4th July – Roskilde Festival, Denmark
Tuesday 7th July – Telenor Arena, Oslo, Norway
Thursday 9th July – Tele2 Arena, Stockholm, Sweden
PaulMcCartney.com will have tickets for sale prior to the general sale from this page, the UK concerts will be available from tomorrow, Saturday from this page. To order from PaulMcCartney.com, you must be registered at the site at least two hours before you can order tickets.
Thursday, 5 March 2015
Ringo preview
Ringo Starr has made available three of the songs from his new album, Postcards From Paradise on Spotify in the shape of a virtual EP. The songs are the title track, "Postcards from Paradise", "Right side of the road" and "Not looking Back"
Link: Spotify
Monday, 2 March 2015
Spoof interview confuses fans
|The fake news item
In reality, Ringo is currently touring, and on 24. February he was giving a concert in Sarasota, Florida, and while "the interview" was supposedly done in his home in LA the next morning, Ringo was really en route to Brazil, where he played in Sao Paolo on the night of the 26. February.
While not 'satire,' per se, World News Daily Report follows the old-school Tabloid-styled faux-journalism of its predecessors, such as the Weekly World News. As such, you will find disclaimers neither revealing its satirical nature nor reveling in its journalistic integrity. It's just for entertainment purposes, so they rely on the sheer audacity of the topics covered to be its built-in disclaimer.
To be blunt, World News Daily Report is one of the sites on the internet who just publishes fake sensational stories in order to earn money from people clicking on their advertisements.
This is the second time in a short while that a fake news story has been confusing Beatles fans, last week a story of a 2015 remake of Abbey Road, featuring Kanye West as John Lennon caused similar controversy.
Source: World News Daily Report
The "Paul is dead" rumour on Wikipedia
Carol Tyler's Fab 4 mania
|Carol Tyler's illustration of Beatles '65
Her blog can be found here: http://fab4mania.blogspot.com.
The blog is written in 50 years ago real time, and will lead up to August 20, which is the concert date. After that, it becomes a book.
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Datavs cert petition
Here's the QP from the cert petition in Datavs v. United States, No. 12-1113:
Whether, as a matter of law, trial defense counsel were ineffective when, despite their lack of knowledge and experience with sexual assault examinations, they failed to obtain an expert consultant in the field and, as a result, failed to contest or counter critical circumstantial testimony from the prosecution's expert medical witness.
We've posted the full cert petition here.


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PITTSBURGH -- A federal judge in Pittsburgh has dismissed one lawsuit from people who bought tickets to the February 2011 Super Bowl in Dallas, but had to watch it on TV because their seats weren't properly installed in time for the game.
U.S. District Judge David Cercone dismissed the fraud claim saying the four buyers can't prove that the National Football League and the Dallas Cowboys intended to defraud anyone. The Cowboys' new stadium was hosting the game between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers.
The judge says the case is a contract dispute but the ticket-holders can't pursue it in federal court because the combined ticket, travel and hotel costs don't exceed $75,000.
A separate trial for hundreds of other ticket holders is scheduled in Dallas in October.


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Monopolies and Startups
Christina wrote a post yesterday that got me thinking. It's not quite like working together but when a former colleague blogs, you get a bit of that "in the halls" thing that makes working in a group so great. Fortunately, Charlie, Andrew, and Eric all blog too.
Christina makes this point about medallions and monopolists:
I've started to believe the leverage in the "sharing economy" will be in opening regulated industries. SF cabs were atrocious because there are too few medallions. (Turns out the medallion holders, keen to restrict medallion supply, were well-incented lobbyists, as any good monopolist should be.) The revolutionary part of Lyft and Sidecar is that those companies decided, forget the medallion battles! and let's just increase the number of drivers on the road.
I love this Margaret Mead quote:
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."
So now, after quoting two bright women, I will get to my point.
Monopolies aren't great for society. So we have trust busters in government whose job it is to keep the monopolies in check. But they don't do that so well. And our government is pretty good at handing monopolies out. Just look at the cable industry.
A few entrepreneurs in a garage. Or a few hackers on the Internet. They are the best trust busters of them all. Look what open source Linux did to Microsoft. They put a dent in a machine that the government could not. And look at what Lyft, Sidecar, and Uber did to the medallion owners in San Franscisco. They got cabs on the streets when the government could not.
Never doubt that a small startup can take on a huge monopoly. Indeed, it is the only thing that can.


text: On Saturday, June 22 Masonville Cove was flooded with volunteers, eager to lend a hand in the restoration of this Baltimore City wilderness area. A total of 71 people shared their time and talents to help clean-up debris along the shoreline, plant 4,000 native wetland grasses, and install 10 bird boxes. For many volunteers this was the first visit to Masonville Cove, and they were excited to learn about the wonderful local outdoor opportunities that this site has to offer. There was at least one energized return visitor – Congressman John Sarbanes of Maryland's 3rd Congressional District. Rep. Sarbanes was at Masonville Cove for its grand opening celebration in October of 2012, and he jumped at the chance to check-in and see how the center has evolved! Saturday's event was also a great opportunity for Rep. Sarbanes to speak about the importance of the No Child Left Inside Act. This act aims to increase environmental education and environmental literacy standards nationwide. "It would provide some federal funding through the Department of Education to support, at the grassroots level, getting our kids outdoors; connecting the educational instruction that they get to the environment, to the outdoors. It's a wonderful opportunity to help support student achievement by using the environment and the way the environment brings kids' interest alive - when they're outdoors it makes a huge difference," Sarbanes said. The National Aquarium is part of the nationwide No Child Left Inside Coalition as an official supporter of the NCLI Act. "For over thirty years the National Aquarium has been inspiring thousands of children each year, helping them see their connection to the aquatic world and how they can help," said Joe Harber, Director of Education Programs, "Environmental literacy is critical to a child's education and preparing them for the 21st century." We agree with Sarbanes' sentiment that "By connecting young people to the bay, you're making them into stewards of the environment." The National Aquarium is looking forward to opportunities to connect all generations of stewards to the bay through restoration events at Masonville Cove and throughout the watershed. We hope to see you out there! Tags: congressman-sarbanes, Conservation, living-classrooms-foundation, maryland-environmental-service, maryland-politics, maryland-port-administration, masonville-cove, national-aquarium-experts, rep-john-sarbanes Categories: Conservation, News Previous Post Next Post


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Fable Legends canceled after closing of Lionhead Studios
Bad news, Fable fans. Fable Legends, the online multiplayer spin-off from the classic series, was canceled Monday after Lionhead studios was closed down.
"After much consideration we have decided to cease development on Fable Legends, and are in discussions with employees about the proposed closure of Lionhead Studios in the UK," Microsoft Studios Europe general manager Hanno Lemke said in a news release Monday.
Players who have access to the closed beta will be able to continue playing until 6 a.m. MT on April 13. No new players will be admitted to the beta.
Gold purchases from the in-game bank have been disabled and those who have already bought gold will be given a full refund, according to the developers.
Microsoft also closed Press Play Studios, which was working on the survivor game on Project: Knowville.


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My grandfather Miles Francis Stanley II worked as a draftsman for General Dynamics in Fort Worth. General Dynamics built planes for the Air Force, among other things.
After Granddad died in 1970, my aunts gathered up some of his drawings and used them to create nick-nack boxes and wall-hangings, then gave them to each of us grandkids.
This is my 40-year-old box. Kinda scratched and dinged, but still in use. And the drawings are still clear and show the talent he had. I remember when we were kids and went to my grandparent's house, Granddad was always "doodling", drawing and writing.


text: The one, the only, Liu Bolin, also known as The Invisible Man for self-explanatory reasons, embarked on his most recent performance art piece at Eli Klein Fine Art Gallery in New York, entitled Gun Rack. Standing in front of a gun rack, Bolin, assisted by his team, gradually dissolves into the background. Take a close look at the process of his performance in the gallery above or watch the Beijing-based artist in action below.


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Why Choose Birchwood?
To provide automotive products and services that consistently exceeds the expectations of our customers and to provide opportunities and a working environment that allows our team members to grow both personally and professionally so that together we may prosper and consistently make a positive contribution within our community.
To be the recognized leader in every aspect of the retail automotive industry.
We believe that adherence to the following values is fundamental to the fulfillment of our mission and vision:
- Personal Leadership
- At Birchwood there is no place for mediocrity or half-hearted efforts. We insist upon personal responsibility and accountability from each of our team members and choose to excel in every aspect of our personal and professional lives.
- Trust & Respect
- We have nothing of greater value than our people! We believe that demonstrating respect for the uniqueness of every individual builds teams of confident, creative members possessing a high degree of initiative, self-respect and self-discipline.
- Teamwork
- We are dedicated to a singleness of purpose and insist upon mutual support for one another in everything we do. We believe open communication, encouragement for new ideas and co-operative teamwork produces a better work environment and enthusiastic customers.
- Continuous Improvement
- We choose not to accept the status quo and firmly believe that sustained success depends upon our ability to continually strive to improve each and every aspect of what we do and who we are.


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Pregnancy supplements
Are pregnancy supplements doing you and your baby any good, or are you just flushing money down the toilet?
Do you need pregnancy supplements?
Until recently, the main supplements recommended for pregnancy were folic acid and iron. Increased blood volume and the developing placenta place large demands on iron stores, and maternal folic acid (ideally taken before conception) helps prevent spina bifida and other neural tube defects.
These days though, there are any number of specialist multivitamin and mineral preparations designed for pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as conception. But is there any evidence that they're beneficial?
Micronutrient requirements of pregnant women
The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) lists recommended daily intakes of various nutrients for pregnant and breastfeeding women based on the latest available evidence. The key nutrients for pregnant women are as follows:
Pregnancy increases the need for iron in the diet. Apart from increased vascular blood mass for the mother and placenta, the developing foetus draws iron from the mother for use in the first five or six months after birth too. Although studies show that absorption of iron can increase substantially during pregnancy, the recommended daily intake (RDI) is set at 27mg, and vegetarians, vegans and women carrying more than one baby are at risk of iron deficiency. But too much iron also presents its own problems.
Folic acid
The RDI for women is 600 micrograms (mcg) for one month before conception and for three months after. In 2009, Food Standards mandated that bread be fortified with folic acid, and two slices contain about 80mcg. This will help, but a supplement is still recommended, as are natural sources such as green vegetables and wholegrains. The general recommendation is that in addition to eating folate-rich foods, women planning a pregnancy or in their first trimester should take a daily supplement containing at least 400mcg (preferably 500mcg) of folic acid.
Iodine is necessary for the normal growth and mental development of a baby, and the RDI for pregnant women is 220mcg and 270mcg for breastfeeding women. After milk producers switched from using iodine-based to chlorine-based cleaners to clean dairy equipment, and more people ditched iodised table salt for gourmet salt – or none at all – iodine deficiency became an issue, with pregnant woman in parts of Australia suffering mild to moderate deficiency in the early 2000s.
Since 2009, bread manufacturers have been required to use iodised salt in all bread except organic bread. This is expected to increase average iodine levels by about 54mcg per day. However, on its own this won't ensure pregnant or lactating women are getting enough iodine, and a 150mcg supplement is recommended. The NHMRC recommends you avoid kelp and kelp-derived iodine due to mercury poisoning risks.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D helps the body absorb and use calcium. The most recent recommendations are that an adequate intake (AI) for all adults up to the age of 70, including pregnant and lactating women, is 15mcg (or 600 international units) of dietary vitamin D per day. While we can get our vitamin D from the sun, deficiency is an emerging health issue in Australia. Studies of the general population show that although few people are moderately or severely deficient in vitamin D, a significant number (23–49%) have a mild deficiency.
The main risks for deficiency are having dark skin and covering up for religious or cultural reasons. People living in colder southern parts of Australia are also susceptible to deficiency. Obesity is another risk factor, and a Queensland study found 14% of pregnant women were obese.
Most people will get enough vitamin D by spending 10 minutes in the morning or late afternoon sun with face, arms and hands exposed; this should be a bit longer in winter though (15 minutes generally, or 30 minutes in Tasmania).
The level of vitamin D in pregnancy supplements may be less than the recommended adequate intake of 600 IU. So if you're at increased risk of deficiency, consult your doctor for advice.
A developing foetus needs calcium for healthy bones, teeth, muscles, nerves and their heart. Normal levels of recommended calcium intake will suffice, although pregnant teenagers will need extra. For most people, calcium needs can be met through the diet. Women who avoid dairy products or have a vitamin D deficiency may need a supplement.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is needed for neurodevelopment. It's only found in animal products (meat, eggs and dairy) and some types of algae, so vegans may need vitamin B12 daily supplementation of 250-500mcg.
Omega 3 fatty acids
Many supplements contain fish oil, which provides omega-3 fatty acids essential for the baby's neural development. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists currently don't recommend it in the first trimester, due to a lack of evidence supporting its use and a lack of safety data. But they told us that this position is likely to change soon, with more evidence of its safety now available.
Supplements for morning sickness
Morning sickness affects between 50-80% of women in early pregnancy. Advice for treating it includes eating dry foods, having small, frequent snacks, and avoiding food or situations that cause nausea.
Vitamin B6 and ginger are often recommended to help relieve nausea and vomiting. A large review of studies found that these may help relieve the nausea, but not necessarily the vomiting associated with morning sickness, but the evidence was limited and inconsistent, with some studies finding no effect. Furthermore, too much B6 or ginger can be unsafe.
Other herbal supplements commonly used by women for morning sickness relief include peppermint, chamomile, and raspberry leaf, with acupressure and homeopathy among other alternative therapies used, but there isn't any reliable evidence available that they're effective.
Be careful taking products containing ginger for travel sickness, as the packaging may not include dosing instructions for pregnancy or a warning about excessive intake in pregnancy. In some cases, if the maximum dose on the package is followed, it would exceed the presumed safe level of 100 milligrams of ginger per day in pregnancy.
Too much of a good thing?
Taking some vitamins in excess can cause problems though, so keep an eye on your intake and be careful not to overdo it. These include:
Vitamin A
Vitamin A is available as retinol or from conversion of beta carotene in brightly coloured fruits and vegetables. The retinol form is found in liver, full-fat dairy products and margarines. The particularly high levels in liver can be toxic, and pregnant women are advised to avoid liver and paté for this reason. Vitamin pills tend to contain the beta carotene form of vitamin A. Avoid those containing retinol.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 may help relieve nausea associated with morning sickness. Many supplements contain 50mg of vitamin B6, which is much greater than the RDI of 1.9mg/day, but is at the upper level of recommended intake for pregnant women. A typical balanced diet will give you a few milligrams in addition to this, but it's extremely unlikely you'd get anywhere near the safe maximum of 100mg per day without additional supplements. More than 100mg per day in the first trimester may be linked to birth defects involving the baby's arms, legs and nerve development.
The RDI for iron is 27mg for pregnant women. The upper intake for iron from all sources is 45mg per day, and most supplements have less than this. At higher levels, there is a risk of gastrointestinal upset and constipation, though this can be minimised by taking the pill with food and drinking plenty of water throughout the day. In cases of iron-deficiency anaemia, it's essential to have a doctor supervise the intake of iron, as too much iron can lead to an excessive increase in red blood cells (called haemoconcentration), which thickens blood and slows its flow, causing, paradoxically, the same problems in foetuses as too little iron: premature birth and low birth weight. Iron supplements are also hazardous for the 1 in 300 people with haemochromatosis, a condition that may not be diagnosed in women during their child-bearing years.
Do you need a special supplement?
Clinical trials have shown the benefit of taking vitamins and mineral supplements designed for pregnancy, but almost all have been conducted in low- or middle-income countries where malnutrition is common. The main benefits reported are reduced risk of neural tube defects and maternal anaemia. Where there's a risk of malnutrition, supplements have been shown to reduce the risk of low-birth-weight babies.
If your diet is generally healthy, with plenty of fruit, vegetables, nuts, pulses and dairy products (or calcium-fortified alternatives), you're unlikely to benefit from a pregnancy supplement. There are lots of nutritional benefits from food that can't be obtained from a vitamin pill – and no pill will undo the negatives of a diet of pies, chips and chocolate.
The reality, however, is that many women – pregnant or not – don't have a diet that's entirely healthy, and some women struggle to eat well if they suffer severe morning sickness, in which case the extra nutrients in pregnancy supplements may be useful.
RANZCOG states that "although, in the general population, a healthy balanced diet should largely obviate the need for vitamin and mineral supplementation, pregnancy and lactation create extra nutritional demands that, for some individuals, may make supplementation advisable."
The college recommends supplements in the following situations, in consultation with your doctor:
- Iodine and folic acid supplementation for all pregnant women.
- Additional folic acid (5mg per day) for women with a multiple pregnancy, taking anti-convulsants, people with diabetes and those who have a tendency toward blood clotting or a family history of neural tube defects.
- Vitamin B12 for vegetarians and vegans.
- Iron for vegetarians and vegans, and women with a multiple pregnancy.
- Calcium for people who avoid dairy (e.g. lactose-intolerant or vegan).
- Vitamin D may be necessary for people at risk of deficiency.
"Pregnancy multivitamins won't cause any harm, and may confer some benefit for women who don't have a healthy diet," says Dr Louise Farrell, Chair of RANZCOG's Women's Health Committee. She points out that maternal micronutrient supplementation and foetal health is a developing science and under continual review.
Herbal medicines in pregnancy
Herbal medicines are often perceived to be natural and safe, but there's not much information about the safety and effectiveness of these products in pregnancy, and many women taking them don't tell their doctor.
There's very real cause for concern, with numerous studies linking herbal medicines with adverse effects in pregnancy. For example, a large study found that using almond oil to prevent stretch marks was linked with increased risk of premature birth, while chamomile and liquorice may be linked to threatened miscarriage and premature birth. Common Chinese herbal medicines, especially when taken in early pregnancy, have been linked with growth and developmental abnormalities in baby mice, and some have also been linked with human abnormalities.
The Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne recommends avoiding, or exercising caution with, the following herbal medicines:
- Aloe vera is OK as a topical gel, but aloe vera latex taken orally in powder or liquid form may cause low blood sugar, uterine contractions, or miscarriage. There's not enough information about safe doses in pregnancy, so it's probably best to avoid aloe vera juice and supplements.
- Black cohosh may cause early labour, so avoid in early pregnancy.
- Evening primrose oil has limited safety information.
- Fenugreek is OK to use in normal quantities in cooking, but the larger quantities found in supplements may cause miscarriage or early labour.
- Garlic as used in a cooking is fine, but avoid large doses in supplements, as they may cause bleeding, miscarriage or early labour.
- Ginger is OK in cooking and in supplement doses of up to 100mg per day. Large doses can cause thinning of the blood and heartburn.
- Ginseng should be avoided during pregnancy, especially early pregnancy, as it can cause serious adverse reactions.
- Liquorice in large quantities, as in liquorice extract or liquorice root, can cause miscarriage and early labour. Black liquorice sold as confectionery may contain the extract, or may be flavoured with aniseed.
- Raspberry leaf is said to help reduce the length of labour, although there's little evidence to support this and there isn't much information about its safety. Avoid in early pregnancy.
- Spirulina has little information about its safety during pregnancy, so it's best to avoid it or seek advice from your doctor.
- St John's Wort may reduce your baby's birth weight, and interferes with certain medicines. Talk to your doctor before taking it while pregnant.
- Valerian has limited safety information about taking it in pregnancy. Talk to your doctor first.
After bub's arrived, you won't need extra nutrients such as iron, but you'll need more of some other nutrients, including vitamins A, all the B complex vitamins, C and E, and most especially iodine. A healthy diet and increased appetite should ensure adequate levels of most of these nutrients, although an iodine supplement may be necessary.
What about conception?
There are several micronutrient formulations available for women and men trying to conceive.
For women, a folic acid supplement is recommended for one month prior to conception to reduce risks of neural tube defects. There's no need for any other special supplement at this stage, although if your diet isn't as healthy and balanced as it should be, now's the time to start good habits to see you through pregnancy and family life.
For men, small studies with low numbers of live births suggest that antioxidants create healthier sperm, and men with low fertility have been found to have lower levels of antioxidants in semen than fertile men. Antioxidant supplements containing vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin E, vitamin C, carotenoids, ubiquinol, folate and zinc are promoted to men for increasing the chances of conception. There's some evidence they can help, but it's based on only a few studies and further work is needed to confirm the findings.
Humans produce their own antioxidants and also get some from plant foods, especially fruit and vegetables. Other contributors to poor sperm health include excessive exercise, alcohol, smoking, drugs, stress and environmental pollution, so this might be the time to spring clean your lifestyle!
CHOICE verdict
In short, if you have a healthy diet you'll need just iodine and folic acid supplements during pregnancy. Depending on your diet and other circumstances, a pregnancy multivitamin might be useful, but choose it based on your needs and on price.
We looked at the ingredients of various pregnancy and breastfeeding formulations. All contained the recommended intake of folic acid and iodine, which many regular multivitamins don't have. Many contained unnecessary vitamins and minerals too, or pointlessly low levels of nutrients, particularly calcium. If you're only after the iodine and folic acid, get a supplement that contains only these nutrients and save money.
More information
- Maternity care in South Australia (SA Department of Health) Perinatal Practice Guidelines – Vitamin and mineral supplementation in pregnancy
- The Royal Women's Hospital, Victoria – Pregnancy and birth fact sheets
- The Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists College statement: Vitamin and Mineral Supplementation in Pregnancy


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Mitsunari wrote:It's a bugger getting the image size right for SoSZ isn't it mate? If you're using Photoshop, 'save for web' will GIF it and trim the size right down.
I agree with Mitsunari 100%. I save for web all of my avatars in Photoshop as gif files. Just make sure it's the smaller, lower color count version of gif.


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By T3 Online
Nintendo Wii U: Best games to buy in 2013 and beyond
Plus: The best Wii U games unveiled by Nintendo at E3
Plus: The best Wii U games unveiled by Nintendo at E3
Still only slated for '2014', despite it having more to play than most titles at E3, Platinum Games' sequel to its acclaimed but disappointing-selling combat masterpiece continues in the same vein. Again, it's absolutely batshit, the titular witch fighting chaotically atop a plane as it ploughs through a city of gigantic demons amongst skyscrapers like a bastard Transformers out-take. We found the "easier" touch-screen mode entirely unresponsive, so turned to classic controls and the magic kicked in. Quite how Nintendo's traditional demographic will take an almost naked woman crying orgasmically as she slays baddies in floods of gore remains to be seen.
UK Release date: 2014 | Trailer: Bayonetta 2
Another challenger for game of E3 for us – say what you want about Nintendo but all their games were playable extensively, no matter how far off, rather than the majority shown as CG trailers – this return to Donkey and a now rocket-packed Diddy's 2.5D platforming roots looks stunning. It plays well, too, the familiar combinations of banana collecting, mine-craft riding and exploding-barrel riding being expanded into a widescreen adventure of island locales. We played through three levels, the standout being a mine-cart roller coaster that took in a relentless flurry of trigger events to avoid, from crashed plans to rising ships.
UK Release date: November 2013 | Trailer: Donkey Koing Country: Tropical Breeze
Nintendo's old reliable racer has upped the ante once more with a very strong shout for our game of E3. With enough of the much-loved formula to feel instantly familiar, but with enough new stuff – anti-gravity courses anyone? – to feel genuinely fresh, we had to be prised off the stand as we took Toad's motorbike to win after glorious win. GamePad motion handling is very smooth indeed, with the screen used for map reading and horn honking. The only downer is that it's not out till spring next year – come on guys, we'd happily play this now.
UK Release date: Spring 2014 | Trailer: Mario Kart 8
More Mario, but this time in classic platform adventure mode - except, well, it isn't. There was initially some consternation that this wasn't the Super Mario Galaxy U that many were expecting, but it takes the series off in another slightly different tangent, much more like Super Mario 3D Land on the 3DS. With up to four-player co-op throughout, a new cat suit so you can clamber up walls (and, most point-scoringly, the end-of-level flagpole) and a variety of different level styles from side-scrolling traversal to into-the-screen monster riding, it's a whole heap of fun.
UK Release date: December 2013 | Trailer: Super Mario 3D World
Charming and typically creative oddity from Platinum Games, this has you controlling a group of mini superheroes who can be turned into collective weapons by drawing a variety of shapes on the touch screen a la Trine 2. You can recruit new heroes to your throng – and you'll need to when the collective has been decimated by a particularly tricky boss – and your powers are directly proportionate to how many you have in your number. It may baffle the mainstream, but it's a gamer's delight, with a depth and control subtlety that can only be admired. Thankfully, unlike most of Nintendo's roster which isn't out till Christmas or well into next year, this lands in August.
UK Release date: 23rd August, 2013 | Trailer: The Wonderful 101
The old NES classic updated for current-gen systems (PS3, Xbox 360 and PC all get a go too), the beautifully redrawn HD graphics are like an interactive cartoon. The game is much the same as you remember, all platforming and walking-stick pogo-ing around the likes of the Amazon and Transylvania looking for treasure, but the attention to details – including voice capture from the original stars of the TV cartoon – makes this far more than a retro cash-in.
UK Release date: Summer 2013 | Trailer: DuckTales Remastered
Famously one of Shigeru Miyamoto's favourite games the puzzler which was one of the few GameCube titles to shout about almost ten years ago, is back. Once again the cutesy real-time strategy title let's you control an army of ant-like creatures around a rich environment with GamePad support that means you can scroll around the map or use Wiimote and Nunchuk from the Wii to navigate the Pikmin around. There's a new Challenge mode and a Rock Pikmin to throw at hard objects and judging from the footage, sports some slick visuals.
UK Release date: 26th July, 2013 | Trailer: Pikmin 3
The first person horror shooter from Ubisoft places you in the shoes of a zombie apocalypse survivor where you can utilize the Wii U Gamepad to scan areas and locate zombies in cover and use it as an inventory manager letting you check to see what's in your backpack without taking your eyes of the zombies gaining ground. We also love that the The 'Tower of London' level means the zombie infestation makes it way to the capital as well.
UK Release date: Out now
After the surprising success of Rayman Origins, the 2D platformer is coming to the Wii U on launch day bringing 5-player Co-op gameplay combining the Wii U GamePad with four Nintendo Wiimote controllers. As well as the new game engine improvements which delivers the gorgeous graphics, you can use the GamePad touchscreen to help negotiate your way through levels and when someone wants to watch the TV, simply continue the action on the GamePad.
UK Release date: Out now
Think GTA but made from blocks, the open world sandbox adventure is brought to you by the guys that developed previous Lego games and this could be the best one yet. Roaming the streets of Lego City solving crimes, you'll be able to use the GamePad to navigate around the fully interactive landscape with over 100 vehicles including aircrafts, cars and motorbikes to drive, but possibly not jack in a Grant Theft kind of way.
UK Release date: Out now
Well it wouldn't be a Nintendo console if the Italian plumber didn't make an appearance, and in the latest Super Mario Bros instalment you can expect a 2D re-imagination of the Mario Bros format rather than a brand new 64-esque 3D adventure. Playing as one of the iconic characters or as your Mii, the Wii U Gamepad support brings multiplayer co-op action, that will test your communication powers, while the new Boost Rush mode should add more gameplay variety.
UK Release date: Out now
Giving the third instalment of the first person shooter a new lease of life, iOS developers Straight Right is now taking over the reins from Bioware to deliver the game on the Wii U. Along with single and multiplayer campaigns, there's an interactive back story to bring Mass Effect newcomers up to speed, GamePad control support to bark orders and add-on missions including "From Ashes" and "Extended Cut".
UK Release date: Out now
Already expected to shift in its millions as it seems to do every year, the latest COD will this time be popping up on the next gen Nintendo console in full HD glory. Amongst the unique Wii U features will be the ability to play multiplayer with one person playing on the GamePad and the other person waging warfare on the TV screen. The GamePad can also be used in single campaign mode to quickly view maps to ensure you don't march directly into enemy territory.
UK Release date: Out now
With new location and a new protagonist to run freely around another open world environment, Assassin's Creed 3 will have the same hand-to-hand combat with human and wild animals as the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, but on the Wii U you can expect exclusive features which include touchscreen maps, weapon select, camera control via the GamePad's built-in accelerometer and an alternative Eagle Vision mode to seek out the enemy or work out if you are roaming in the right direction.
UK Release date: Out now
EA Sports somehow manages to make the beautiful game, well, more beautiful and the Nintendo Wii U is not be left out on the sidelines. As well as the new impact engine, excellent first touch control and improved AI, exclusive Gamepad features include touchscreen tackling and shooting with access to the Manager Hub where you can review player stats, make tactical shake-ups and give the hair dryer treatment at half time.
UK Release date: Out now


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The award-winning bambu KIDS collection offers the benefits of bamboo in a range of safe feeding products, free from dyes and chemicals, designed and sized for small hands and mouths. The handle is designed for parents while the feeding end is designed for baby-sized mouths. These feeding spoons smooth natural surface come in a set of 2. This way you can throw a few in your purse, a few in your drawer, and probably a few behind the couch. Made by bambu, a values-driven company focused on renewable materials and sustainable business practices. The principles foster a close, fair-trade relationship with the workers at the source. Their products and practices have earned bambu Green Americas Green Business Network Seal of Approval. This recognizes bambus commitments toward fair treatment of workers, promoting healthy communities, preserving the environment and providing quality products; also evidenced by their IMO certification. bambus Certified Organic Bamboo is grown without chemicals, pesticides or fertilizers and is sustainably harvested every 3-5 years. Bambu is the only company using Certified Organic bamboo sources for their products. And naturally, they only use water-based formaldehyde-free adhesives. bambus products are a testament to fair-trade, sustainable harvesting and inspirational food-safe design. These feeding spoons are 6 or 16.5 cm. Two spoons per order.
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