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Wire's sideways analysis of the band's controversial past continues with "so you played in Cuba, did you like it, brother? I bet you felt proud, you silly little fucker. And all the sixties dreamers called us English, said we started something that they could finish."
Already a favourite among fans after being aired on their recent tour, this is the sound of rushing down the Autobahn, in an invigorating tribute to 'European skies, European desires, European dreams, European screams' - voiced with a little help from brilliant German actress Nina Hoss. Herself glamourous, politicised, uncomprising and the offspring of a trade unionist, it seems like a pretty perfect much.
It's enough to make Nigel Farage wet his tweed trousers, but it's also an impressive and surprising left turn for a band for a band who have already gone through so many reinventions. The motorik charge pumps this incredible stomper with one of the most spirited performances that the band have recorded in years.
A gorgeous duet with the Welsh Music Prize-winning Georgia Ruth, this one takes its name from a slogan that adorned a t-shirt of Wire and fellow glamour twin Richey Edwards that found itself on the high street some years ago, for shoppers with more money than 90s music knowledge. One of the much more tender and slow-tempo tracks on the album, but it's clear as to why it wasn't on the folky predecessor Rewind The Film, as beneath the "the victories and failures I daily lose and win", is a Berlin triology-esque tapesty of futuristic sounds and ghostly alien echoes.
Woah. Where did this come from? Anyone who may have feared the Manics have lost their fire in recent years need only be directed to this track - a blistering blend of a weirdly danceable disco beat in the verse before an utterly monolithic chorus.
It's an angsty rollicking ode to the only four certainties in this world as Bradfield spits "no black, no white, no left, no right - just four small words that will not be denied". Wire's piercing mantra of "obsession, posession, confession, recession" leads into one of Bradfield's most bone-shaking choruses to date as he howls the title. "We could have been heroes, but failure's more fun" is going to look great on a t-shirt too.
It's the closest the band come to spite, bile, menace and passion of The Holy Bible on the whole album, with the closing shredding that closes the track a little reminiscent of 'Archives Of Pain'. Wrap it all up is some trademark punk-meets-GnR JDB guitarwork and you've got the makings of what could well be Futurology's finest moment.
This is where the influence of Hansa studios becomes most apparent, with this space odyssey of an instrumental built around the same proto-post-rock template of the likes of 'Speed Of Life', 'A New Career In A New Town' or any of the interlude moments from Bowie's Berlin Trilogy. It's a sharp, shimmering crystal-cut piece of spikey wonder, allowing the underrated musicianship of the Manics to really shine.
Hoss' German refrain from 'Europa Geht Durch Mich' returns to introduce another "Heroes"-esque slower number - adding to album's general feeling of movement by flowing from a cinematic swoon into a Blade Runner age krautrock guitar solo before falling back into a gentle mournful lullaby to 'endless endorsements, slowly passing always'.
Fellow legend Scritti Politti's Green Gartside takes lead vocal on this delightfully curious down-tempo ditty, blending mechanical beats, a meandering bassline, twinkling keys and choppy guitar. Bradfield delivers a heartfelt chorus before delivering the oh-so-Wire and oh-so-Welsh line of "hatred and failure growing perfectly together like the quick and the sad - beautiful and damned. I live through these moments again and again, repeating images of enemies and friends."
A near-mechanical Nicky Wire bassline sees the track in before an Eno-esque blend of synths and strings add a cinematic widescreen element beneath Moore's post-punk drums. Lyrically, it's an artful depiction of doubt and self-loathing ("I am a self-obsessed fool, self-obsessed and bruised"). Flitting between genres with a minial guitar solo and choral chorus, 'Misguided Missile' is a hidden gem on the album - and one hell of a grower.
An acoustic-led tribute to a spot in Newport, Wales, it's soulful sound and nod to their homeland would have fitted quite nicely on Rewind The Film, but the click-track backing and futuristic subtleties add an anchored sense of balance here. It's a beautiful walk to the exit from Futurology, however the clunky and cringeworthy utterance of "the misguided tweets, the sad Facebooking, cheapness surrounds me, but I'm not looking", provides a seldom lull on the record.
Another Bowie-esque razor-sharp instrumental, ending Futurology with a fitting of locomotive movement before a 100mph rush of guitar noodling and the Hoss' echo of "European skies, European desires, European homes, European hopes."
2014 is the year that the Manics celebrate the 20th anniversary of their seminal Holy Bible - a record that would define most bands for the rest of their days, and a landmark that would consume them. However, that seems like a footnote to the Manics in 2014 - if a little irrelevant to the plot. Futurology howls defiance in the face of a culture of touring pantomime rock giants. Here are a band still inventing, still challenging themselves, still refusing to tread any path but their own - ultimately, it's proof that the Manics still matter, and always will.
No, it isn't The Holy Bible part II, nor was it ever going to be. Manic Street Preachers have never made the same album twice, and as a result their eclecticism and sheer range of ground and sounds covered has often been overlooked. But what you'll find here is a band drawing across a wide and vibrant palette of sounds, and stamping their own inimitable character all over it.
Certainly their best record since Journal For Plague Lovers, but for its sense of sheer adventure we'd argue that it's their greatest achievement since Everything Must Go. Well done, Manics.
As a record that embraces the constant sense of movement and progress throughout Europe, it establishes the band themselves as artists in constant revolution. In 2014, celebrate their past yes, but more importantly their present and their future. Celebrate Futurology - celebrate the Manic Street Preachers.
Lord Jesus, when you walked the earth, your humility obscured your Kingship.
Your meekness confused the arrogant, hindering them from grasping your purpose, your nobleness attending to the destitute. Teach me to model after your eminence.
As you progress through Skyrim Special Edition you'll battle various dragons. After you defeat said dragons you'll be able to loot them for their bones and scales. These items are required to make some of the game's best armor.
Problem is, these bones and scales are extremely heavy. Specifically, Dragon Bone weighs 15 and Dragon Scales weigh 10. Looting them isn't a problem if your bags are completely empty but your bags are rarely empty in Skyrim.
If you find yourself over-encumbered in the middle of nowhere you'll need the proper potion or drop some of your precious items to gain extra space.
Or, you could simply download this mod and never have to worry about the weight of Dragon Bones and Scales ever again.
A Wisconsin nonprofit has recently partnered with Madison Metropolitan Schools to launch a food truck serving locally-sourced meals at weekly high school lunchtimes in the district.
Uproot, the name of the new food truck program, is part of REAP Food Group’s larger Farm to School initiative which has previously offered nutrition education lessons for local elementary schools and helped the district procure produce for lunches and snacks.
The Uproot truck will visit each of the four Madison public high schools once a week and serve new menu items with each visit. Last week’s menu featured a Cuban chicken rice bowl with locally-grown sweet potatoes and black beans.
REAP coordinator Ross Cohen describes the Uproot food truck as a hip and alternative meal — fresh, healthy and affordable food that is easy to grab and go. Hopefully it’s different than what a high schooler will see in their daily cafeteria, Cohen said.
He sees the idea as very appealing to young people, since the truck served nearly 100 lunches at Memorial High School last week.
“I think the kids are being really receptive,” Cohen said.
REAP Food Group has been working in Dane County since 1997 to build connections between local, sustainable food producers and consumers throughout southcentral Wisconsin.
Cohen describes their mission as equally focused on the environment, health and economics.
Dane County appears to be a region ripe for potential in expanding its sustainable local agriculture.
University of Wisconsin professor in the School of Human Ecology Lydia Zepeda said the county already hosts an abundance of farmer’s markets, consumer-support agriculture and restaurants that buy local produce.
Access to locally-grown food can provide security and a variety of economic and social benefits to both producers and consumers in a community like Dane County, Zepeda said.
Zepeda also sees local, sustainable agriculture as having great potential for combatting rising food-related illnesses like obesity and Type II Diabetes. She also argued decentralized, local food production is essential to preventing mass outbreaks of contamination observed in recent product recalls.
In the UW dining halls, around 12 percent of the food served is both locally grown and manufactured, executive chef Paul Sprunger said. He noted the dairy offerings, in particular, are entirely represented by Wisconsin-based producers.
UW has also been a partner with REAP Food Group for the last three years, and they frequently help connect them with local produce vendors, Sprunger said.
Sprunger said because of the public nature of the dining halls, any vendors they purchase from face a strict set of risk management and health regulations. This often slows down relationships and transactions with local farmers. The state has a stringent definition of what constitutes “local,” applied at every step of production, which also tends to officially deflate the numbers of local food purchases.
Sprunger recognizes the dining halls are faced with a unique challenge in serving a massive volume of students at economical rates. Many local vendors simply cannot keep up with the quantity of food required, particularly in a school year separate from ideal growing seasons.
Student affordability also remains at the core of mission and it often takes precedence over locality when selecting producers. But Sprunger expressed willingness to select more expensive items with local, sustainable, organic sourcing if students are willing to pay for them.
Though the dining halls face a steep list of obstacles in feeding the UW campus, Sprunger hopes to increase their amount of local purchases the years to come.
When it comes to science, "Take nobody's word for it" - unless they're pushing global warming alarmism, of course: "With the scientific consensus more or less settled that human activity - the burning of fossil fuels, torching of forests, and so forth - is contributing to a warmer and less hospitable planet..."
Tom Zeller Jr., editor of the Times blog Green Inc., joined the rest of the paper in assuring potentially wavering readers the science of global warming is settled, that pesky ClimateGate showing corrupted data being peddled by politicized scientists.
With the scientific consensus more or less settled that human activity - the burning of fossil fuels, torching of forests, and so forth - is contributing to a warmer and less hospitable planet, one might reasonably ask, why is it so hard to agree on a plan to curb those activities?
Given the Times' credulous acceptance of the most alarmist findings by now-discredited climate scientists, it's ironic that another article in the Week in Review, a profile of the British science journal "Philosophical Transactions," began with the Anglicized motto of that journal: "Take nobody's word for it."
Except the word of left-wing climatologists, evidently.
Houston (AP) D'Eriq King threw for three touchdowns and ran for a score, the Cougars converted three turnovers into scores, and Houston became bowl eligible, beating East Carolina 52-27 on Saturday.
King was 15-of-21 passing for 330 yards and scored on a 2-yard run on Houston's (6-3, 4-2 American Athletic Conference) opening drive and the Cougars led 21-0 after the first. King threw a 5-yard TD pass to Courtney Lark, a 75-yarder to Steven Dunbar and a 62-yarder to Linell Bonner that was set up by Emeke Egbule's fumble recovery.
Dunbar gained a career-high 171 yards on six receptions and Bonner had seven catches for 147 yards.
Brandon McDowell had a 74-yard pick-six in the fourth quarter as the Houston defense held the Pirates to 36 yards rushing.
Terrell Williams' interception set up Duke Catalon's 22-yard TD run and Mulbah Car scored on a 1-yard run.
Gardner Minshew set a conference single-game record for completions for East Carolina (2-7, 1-4). He was 52-of-68 passing for 463 yards, with TD throws of 34 and 9 yards to Trevon Brown, who had 11 receptions for 141 yards, and an 18-yarder to Quay Johnson, who caught 14 passes for 115 yards.
9-J.Verity extra point is good.
5-G.Minshew complete to 23-Q.Johnson. 23-Q.Johnson runs 18 yards for a touchdown.
9-J.Verity 52 yards Field Goal is Good.
42-C.Novikoff extra point is good.
5-G.Minshew incomplete. INTERCEPTED by 27-B.McDowell at HOU 26. 27-B.McDowell runs 74 yards for a touchdown.
42-C.Novikoff 44 yards Field Goal is Good.
4-D.King complete to 15-L.Bonner. 15-L.Bonner runs 62 yards for a touchdown.
4-D.King complete to 88-S.Dunbar. 88-S.Dunbar runs 75 yards for a touchdown.
5-G.Minshew complete to 88-T.Brown. 88-T.Brown runs 9 yards for a touchdown.
5-G.Minshew complete to 88-T.Brown. 88-T.Brown runs 34 yards for a touchdown.
34-M.Car runs 1 yard for a touchdown.
9-J.Verity 22 yards Field Goal is Good.
4-D.King complete to 9-C.Lark. 9-C.Lark runs 5 yards for a touchdown.
2-D.Catalon runs 22 yards for a touchdown.
4-D.King runs 2 yards for a touchdown.
The Treasury was "justified" in using taxpayers' money to bail out banks to protect the wider financial system, according to an official report.
The National Audit Office (NAO) review said the UK public so far provided help totalling £850bn.
"It is difficult to imagine the scale of the consequences for the economy and society if major banks had been allowed to collapse," the NAO said.
It said that the final cost to the taxpayer will not be known for "years".
During the financial crisis, the UK government nationalised Northern Rock and took stakes in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and Lloyds Banking Group in return for bailing them out.
RBS also put £282bn of its assets into a government insurance scheme for toxic assets.
The Treasury also provided extra cash to the Bank of England to shore up the banking system.
"The Treasury was justified in using taxpayers' money to safeguard savings and stabilise and restore confidence in the financial system," said Amyas Morse, head of the NAO.
In October 2008, when the Treasury rescued HBOS - which was bought by Lloyds - and RBS, their combined balance sheets were worth £3tn, twice the UK's annual economic output.
The NAO study also shows that by April 2010, the Treasury will have spent £107m on crisis advisers.
According to the report, Credit Suisse could earn as much as £15.4m in fees for its crisis advice. Deutsche Bank was another adviser.
Each was appointed on retainers of £200,000 a month for a year.
"The Treasury considered that the retainers were appropriate in circumstances where it needed external advice at short notice but the precise nature of the advice was uncertain," the NAO said.
But a total of £100m is expected to be refunded by RBS and Lloyds as part of their bail-out conditions to recover these fees.
The NAO also said that though the advisers are owed so-called "success" fees, the contracts did not define success and these are purely at the discretion of the government.
The Treasury estimated in April that there may be a loss to the taxpayer of between £20bn and £50bn, but the final cost would not be known for "a number of years".
The total losses will depend on the price at which the government sells its holdings in RBS and Lloyds - which could yet yield a profit for the government - and what the assets in the insurance scheme are eventually sold for.
Responding to the report, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said it should act as a wake-up call to the banks involved.
"This report shows the sheer scale of the debt that banks owe, both directly and indirectly, to the taxpayer. These banks should understand that with the level of state support they have received, they must be run in the public interest."
Edward Leigh, the Conservative chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said the government had played "fast and loose" with parliamentary rules by its decision to keep secret for 13 months the huge emergency loans made to RBS and HBOS, made just over a year ago.
He described the explanation - that revealing the arrangement sooner could have damaged confidence - as "feeble".
Northern Rock's remaining loan to the UK government remains at about £14.5bn, the bank said last month.
Total taxpayer support for the bank has amounted to £26.9bn, and it will receive a further £8bn of government loans when the restructuring goes through by the end of the year.
The European Union recently approved plans for Northern Rock to be split into a "good" and "bad" bank - paving the way for a partial sale.
agreed in principle to provide insurance for over £600bn of bank assets, reduced to just over £280bn in November 2009.
"The authorities need to put formal arrangements in place to evaluate the effectiveness of the support provided to banks in order to inform future policy makers," Mr Morse said.
"As the crisis begins to subside, lessons must start to be learned."
More support for a statewide smoking ban.
The co-chairman of the Legislature's powerful budget committee, Madison Democrat Mark Pocan, says he backs the bill because it would be better for taverns that the patchwork of local ordinances now seen across Wisconsin.
Pocan says it's a problem for taverns when a variety of communities adopt smoking bans, but then bars in adjoining municipalities do allow customers to light up.
He says a statewide law makes the most sense from a fairness standpoint for the businesses involved.
Legislation enacting a statewide ban is expected to be introduced in the new Legislative session.
Making ends meet is a fight for Valencia Henley, an ethnic studies major graduating from California State University, Sacramento this spring.