M Is FOR MASHUP - RERUN - June 10th, 2015
Mashups From France!
By DJ Useo
Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but there's actually people living on the other side of that big body of salt water. Not a lot is known about them aside from they are called "The France". Well, I've uncovered some hitherto unknown information regarding their activities. It seems they actively practice an audio ritual involving cutting, & looping label music into new musical patterns much akin to our "mashups".
The mixes they make are newly available in the 4th volume of "La Masheillaise IV - Mashups francophones". I am personally impressed that the organizer of this project, Chocomang, has managed to not only gather together such gifted talent so successfully, but has repeated it four times. The language barrier inherent in this for English speakers is hardly noticeable, & the music holds no barriers at all. I wager that most people would acclimate quickly, especially after a few wet ones.
The people mixing on this two disc collection reads like a dream assortment to those of us following the bootleg scene. We've received countless instant gems from the likes of Amoraboy, Athom, ToToM, & Fissunix. They're only the beginning, though, as many more accomplished home producers hit the software to give you an entirely new perspective on modern French music. The best of French artists like Yelle, Ilona, & Billy Ze Kick intermingle seamlessly with non-French stars like Green Day, The Black Keys, & Avicii.
So, you realize that the former three excellent volumes are still available. This means you'll be astounded for the next few weeks with a marvelous bounty of French mashups. Zut Alors, I say! That's the extent of my French language knowledge. Aside from that, I got'ta say I'm mighty happy to welcome this new addition of cool people into the rest of us humans. I wonder why we didn't make them welcome before? ;) In any case, big kudos to Chocomang & all the others. Youse mugs rock!
Full album here, plus previous volumes
or here
( audioboots.com/Masheillaise4/ )
( audioboots.com/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/714/la-masheillaise-iv-mashups-francophones )
I'll be back next week with a new super cool all star mashup collection! ( & it's not SUMMER BOOTY 2015…yet )
-DJ Konrad Useo
Recommended Reading
from Bruce
Paul Krugman: Shadows of Smears Past (NY Times Blog)
So now, in a last desperate attempt to beat the arithmetic, the Sanders campaign is turning the implicit character attack explicit, and doing so on the weakest possible ground. Clinton, who has said that coal is on its way out, is a tool of the fossil-fuel industry because some people who work in that industry gave her money? Wow.
Andrew Tobias: "It Won't Be Trump (But It Might Be UPIP)"
Humanity in these next few decades is either hurtling toward unprecedented global health and prosperity - we now have the technology to achieve that - or hurtling off the rails. We have the technology to achieve that, too. Sarah Palin and Donald Trump, though they delight Joe the Plumber, are not where humanity should turn for the necessary leadership to give us the best odds of a good outcome.
Paul Mason: The problem for poor, white kids is that a part of their culture has been destroyed (The Guardian)
Thatcherism didn't just crush the unions, it crushed a story - as the report that says working-class white children go backwards at school proves.
Danny Leigh: Is it cos I is wack? The rise and fall of Sacha Baron Cohen (The Guardian)
He gave us Ali G, Borat and fermented horse urine, all on the way to establishing himself as the king of shock comedy. But his latest film, Grimsby, is a huge flop. Where did it all go wrong?
Lindy West: Batman v Superman is 153 minutes of a grown man whacking two dolls together (The Guardian)
Unlike most of the movie, this latest superhero instalment is not a dream. It is really happening to you.
Ruth Graham: Dummies for Dummies (Slate)
Happy 25th birthday to the perfect guides for when all you know is that you know nothing.
Kris Gunnars, BSc: 11 Graphs That Show Everything That is Wrong With The Modern Diet (Authority Nutrition)
The modern diet is the main reason why people all over the world are fatter and sicker than ever before. Everywhere modern processed foods go, chronic diseases like obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease soon follow.
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Reader Suggestion
Michelle in AZ
from Marc Perkel
Patriot Act
Selected Readings
from that Mad Cat, JD
THE (UN) DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
THE WISDOM OF "MAMAW".
YUK!
"THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY"
THE FASCISTS LOSE ONE.
WHAT A MORON!
Visit JD's site - Kitty Litter Music
In The Chaos Household
Last Night
Sunny and hot.
George Mason Tweaks Law School Name
'ASSoL'
After renaming its law school after late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, George Mason University renamed it again after unintentionally sparking a storm of delightfully immature jokes about the resulting acronym, "ASSoL."
The school first announced it would change the law school's name to The Antonin Scalia School of Law on March 31 to honor the court's revered and reviled conservative, who died on Feb. 13 at the age of 79. The Fairfax, Virginia-based school decided to revise the moniker in order to claim $20 million from an anonymous donor who called for the change as part of the deal. Billionaire conservative activist Charles Koch donated another $10 million to the high-caliber law school known for its conservative legal curriculum.
But the school's Board of Visitors, who approved the initial change, either forgot to eyeball the acronym, or overestimated the maturity of the public.
The official name is still "The Antonin Scalia School of Law," but the website and marketing material is now "The Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University," the Wall Street Journal' was first to note.
The school addressed the switch in a letter to students and alumni. "The name initially announced - The Antonin Scalia School of Law - has caused some acronym controversy on social media. The Antonin Scalia Law School is a logical substitute," the letter said.
'ASSoL
Pulls North Carolina Plan
PayPal
PayPal Holdings Inc on Tuesday canceled plans to open a global operations center in Charlotte, North Carolina and invest $3.6 million in the area after the state passed a controversial law targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) citizens.
The digital payment company's protest is the first by a major business after North Carolina became the first state last month to enact a measure requiring people to use bathrooms or locker rooms in schools and other public facilities that match the gender on their birth certificate rather than their gender identity.
The law, which overturned a Charlotte city ordinance, was widely interpreted as an attack on LGBT rights. State lawmakers also voted to prohibit local governments from enacting anti-discrimination protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
"The new law perpetuates discrimination and it violates the values and principles that are at the core of PayPal's mission and culture," Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman said in a statement.
PayPal
Competency Lawsuit
Sumner Redstone
Lawyers for Viacom Inc Chairman Emeritus Sumner Redstone are in talks to settle a lawsuit challenging the 92-year-old media mogul's mental competency, people familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.
Depositions of Viacom Chief Executive Officer Philippe Dauman and Sumner Redstone's daughter Shari Redstone, which were scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, have been postponed, one of the sources said.
The case, brought by Redstone's ex-girlfriend Manuela Herzer, has raised questions about the billionaire businessman's role in decision-making at Viacom and CBS Corp, where he is the controlling shareholder. In February, Redstone stepped down as executive chair of both CBS and Viacom. A settlement would ease investor concerns about the repercussions of the litigation.
Herzer is challenging her removal last year as Redstone's healthcare agent in favor of Dauman, saying Redstone was not mentally competent to make that decision. Redstone's attorneys say he was fully aware of his actions.
Dauman was set to be deposed on Tuesday about conversations he had with Sumner Redstone on Oct. 8 and Nov. 3. Herzer was forced out of Redstone's home on Oct. 12, and Redstone replaced Dauman on his healthcare directive on Oct. 16.
Sumner Redstone
Flawless Blue Diamond Sells For $31.8 Million
De Beers Millennium Jewel 4
An internally flawless, vivid blue 10.10 carat oval diamond smashed auction records on Tuesday when it sold for $31.8 million at Sotheby's, the highest price paid for a gemstone at auction in Asia.
An anonymous telephone bidder purchased the jewel at Sotheby's spring sales in the auction that lasted just minutes.
The diamond, known as the De Beers Millennium Jewel 4, was mined in South Africa. It is the largest diamond of its kind to appear at auction. It was one of 12 in De Beers Millennium Jewels collection that was unveiled in 2000 in London.
The world auction record for a diamond or gemstone was set in Geneva last November when a 12.03-carat cushion-shaped internally flawless vivid blue diamond fetched $48.5 million.
De Beers Millennium Jewel 4
Legalizes H8
Mississippi
Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant (R-Atavistic) on Tuesday signed a far-reaching law allowing people with religious objections to deny wedding services to same-sex couples and protecting other actions considered discriminatory by gay rights activists.
The measure also clears the way for employers to cite religion in determining workplace policies on dress code, grooming and bathroom and locker access, drawing criticism from civil rights leaders.
Bryant, a Republican, said in a statement he signed the law "to protect sincerely held religious beliefs and moral convictions of individuals, organizations and private associations from discriminatory action by state government."
Mississippi is the latest state drawing national protest for a law seen as anti-lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT). North Carolina recently barred transgender people from choosing bathrooms consistent with their gender identity.
Mississippi
State Book
Tennessee
Derided by critics as everything from unconstitutional to sacrilegious, Tennessee lawmakers nevertheless plowed ahead with designating the Holy Bible as the state's official book.
Sponsors argue that the bill seeks to honor the historical significance of the Bible in Tennessee's history rather than serving as a government endorsement of religion.
But opponents say the measure trivializes the Scripture by placing it alongside other state symbols like the official flower, tree, reptile or folk dance.
The state Senate's approved the bill on a 19-8 vote on Monday night, sending it to Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, who opposes the bill but hasn't said whether he will issue a veto.
"The Bible is the most important book in my life, and I think in the world," Haslam told reporters last week. "But that's very different than being the state's official book."
Tennessee
Dramatic Increase In 2015
Executions
Amnesty International reports that there was a dramatic 54 percent increase in executions globally in 2015, with Iran, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia responsible for nearly 90 percent of the killings.
The human rights organization said that the figure of at least 1,634 people executed last year - up from 1,061 in 2014 - does not include executions in China where data on the death penalty is considered a state secret.
According to the report, the number of executions recorded in Saudi Arabia increased by 76 percent to 158. Executions in Iran rose 31 percent to 977. and the 326 executions in Pakistan were the highest ever recorded by Amnesty International.
Amnesty said it received information that both Iran and Pakistan executed people in 2015 who were under the age of 18 when their crimes were committed, and it said juveniles face the death sentence in several other countries.
In the United States, 28 people were executed in 2015, nearly half in Texas, the most active death penalty state, which put 13 people to death, the report said. Missouri executed six people, Georgia five, Florida two and Oklahoma and Virginia one each. Amnesty said 60 percent of those executed were black or Hispanic, double their percentage in the population.
Executions
Standoff Sheds Light
CSPOA
The actions of two rural Oregon sheriffs during an armed standoff at a national wildlife refuge were striking: one worked with federal officials to end the siege while the other questioned the FBI's authority and offered words of support for the occupiers.
Sheriff Dave Ward of Harney County, where the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is located, cooperated with federal and state police, urging standoff leader Ammon Bundy and his followers to stand down and respect the law.
Meanwhile in Grant County, immediately to the north, Sheriff Glenn Palmer called the occupiers "patriots." When Bundy and others were arrested during a Jan. 26 traffic stop, they were on their way to his county. An Arizona rancher who police fatally shot when they say he reached for a gun shouted he was on his way to meet Palmer.
Palmer is a member of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association, a group that bills itself as "the last line of defense" against a federal government they contend overreaches on gun control and other issues. They see sheriffs as the ultimate law enforcement authority in their dispute with the federal government over control of federal lands.
Critics say the group's views are far outside the mainstream. Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which for decades has advocated against groups it considers extremist, called the CSPOA "a remarkably radical organization, considering who their members are."
CSPOA
Plain of Jars
Laos
Archaeologists have uncovered ancient human remains and various burial practices at the mysterious Plain of Jars in Laos, Australian researchers said Monday, as scientists attempt to unravel the puzzle of the stone vessels.
The Plain of Jars in Laos' central Xieng Khouang province is scattered with thousands of stone jars and scientists have long been perplexed by their original use.
"This will be the first major effort since the 1930s to attempt to understand the purpose of the jars and who created them," Dougald O'Reilly from the Australian National University's school of archaeology said in a statement.
He said excavations uncovered three types of burials at the site. In one practice, bones were buried in pits with a large limestone block placed over them, while other bones were found buried in ceramic vessels, separate from the jars.
The researchers also found for the first time an instance of a body being placed in a grave.
Laos
Prime-Time Nielsens
Ratings
Prime-time viewership numbers compiled by Nielsen for March 28-April 3. Listings include the week's ranking and viewership.
1. "The Big Bang Theory," CBS, 14.24 million.
2. "The Walking Dead," AMC, 14.19 million.
3. "Empire," Fox, 12.46 million.
4. "Dancing With the Stars," ABC, 11.95 million.
5. "The Voice" (Monday), NBC, 11.36 million.
6. "Little Big Shots," NBC, 11.33 million.
7. "Academy of Country Music Awards," CBS, 11.2 million.
8. "The Voice" (Tuesday), NBC, 11.1 million.
9. "Blue Bloods," CBS, 10.4 million.
10. "NCIS," CBS, 10.38 million.
11. NCAA Final Four: North Carolina vs. Syracuse, TBS, 10.15 million.
12. "60 Minutes," CBS, 9.53 million.
13. "Criminal Minds," CBS, 9.18 million.
14. "Survivor," CBS, 9.16 million.
15. "American Idol" (Thursday), Fox, 9.11 million.
16. "NCIS: Los Angeles," CBS, 8.9 million.
17. "NCIS: New Orleans," CBS, 8.89 million.
18. "Scorpion," CBS, 8.72 million.
19. "Chicago Med," NBC, 8.7 million.
20. "Chicago Fire," NBC, 8.66 million.
Ratings
In Memory
Erik Bauersfeld
Erik Bauersfeld, who memorably voiced the Rebellion's Admiral Ackbar in Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, has died. He was 93.
The voice actor and radio drama producer passed away on Sunday morning at his home in Berkeley, Calif., his manager, Derek Maki, confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter.
In the 1983 space opera, Bauersfeld voiced Ackbar - delivering the iconic line, "It's a trap!" - when the fate of the alliance looks grim during the Death Star fleet attack.
He also voiced Jabba the Hutt's staffer Bib Fortuna in the same film. He returned to voice Ackbar in last year's J.J. Abrams-directed blockbuster Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Bauersfeld's other roles include voice work in last year's Guillermo Del Toro film Crimson Peak and Steven Spielberg's 2001 film A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
"The voice work I did in movies was accidental," wrote Bauersfeld on the website for his non-profit, Bay Area Radio Drama. "I was working with Randy Thom on radio dramas at his technical quarters at Lucasfilm. One day Ben Burtt, sound designer for Star Wars, came by and asked if I would audition for a voice in the movie."
He is also credited with voiceover work for the Ackbar character in Star Wars: X-Wing, a 1993 flight simulator video game.
Erik Bauersfeld
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