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December 1, 2021 Loknath Das Sports
LSU's new football coach, Brian Kelly, is set to receive just over $100 million in basic compensation over 10 years, according to a term sheet USA TODAY Sports received from the school Tuesday night.
The deal – which is subject to a satisfactory background check and approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors – makes Kelly the first coach at a public school with a nine-figure contract.
His pay is categorized as $400,000 in base salary annually, supplemental compensation that begins at an annual rate of $8.6 million, and a $500,000 "longevity" payment that he will receive if he is on the job each July 1. The start date is "no later than" Nov. 28 and the first year ends Dec. 31, 2023.
His basic total of $9.5 million for 2022 will tie him with Michigan State's Mel Tucker as the second-highest paid public school coach behind Alabama's Nick Saban, who is set to make $9.9 million. Michigan State disclosed the terms of Tucker's 10-year, $95 million deal Monday.
Lincoln Riley on Monday left Oklahoma for the University of Southern California. The terms of that agreement have not been made public.
Kelly's supplemental pay has a series of scheduled increases – to $8.8 million in 2023, $9 million in 2025, $9.2 million in 2027, $9.4 million in 2029 and $9.6 million in 2031. But the deal has provisions that will allow him to increase those payments. It also offers the possibility of $1.325 million in annual bonuses, including $500,000 each time LSU is "bowl eligible." This is likely the largest bonus payment for becoming eligible for a bowl game that does not involve a contract extension.
The first time LSU wins the Southeastern Conference championship game under Kelly, his supplemental pay will increase by $250,000 for each remaining year of the term. If this were to happen in Kelly's first season, that would increase the value of the deal by $2.25 million. Also, the first time LSU wins the national championship, his supplemental pay will increase by $500,000 for each remaining year of the term. So, if this also were to happen in Kelly's first season, the value of the deal would increase by a total of $6.75 million.
Kelly's base salary and supplemental pay – a total that starts at $95 million – is 90% guaranteed if Kelly is fired without cause. If LSU wins a national championship, the remaining base salary and supplemental pay will become 100% guaranteed.
As long as LSU's athletics director continues to be Scott Woodward, Kelly would owe the school money if he terminates the deal without cause. If Kelly leaves LSU without cause before Dec. 31, 2022, he would owe the school $4 million. If Kelly leaves in 2023, he would owe $3 million. After that, he would owe $2 million. If Woodward is no longer LSU's AD, then Kelly will not be subject to any payment to the school for leaving.
Kelly will have ample opportunity to increase his compensation through incentive payments available annually. In addition to the $500,000 bowl-eligibility bonus, if LSU plays in one of the six games connected to the College Football Playoff, he would get the best of:
►$100,000 if the team is in a non-semifinal.
►$200,000 if the team is in a semifinal.
►$300,000 if the team advances to the final.
►$500,000 if the team wins the championship.
If LSU plays in the SEC title game, Kelly will get a $75,000 bonus, plus another $75,000 if the Tigers win.
Kelly can get an additional $125,000 in bonuses for coach-of-the-year awards and $50,000 based on the team's academics.
Kelly's term sheet also says that he will receive an interest-free loan, not to exceed $1.2 million, designed to cover 20% of the purchase price of Kelly's primary residence, which is to be located within 30 miles of LSU's campus in Baton Rouge. Kelly eventually will have to repay the loan, plus 20% of any increase in value of the home.
LSU will cover the amount of any buyout amount that Kelly owes Notre Dame for terminating his contract there, although the term sheet does not provide the actual dollar figure.
In addition, Kelly annually will receive 50 hours of private aircraft time for personal use.
["source=usatoday"]
Tagged $1.2M 10-year bonuses Brian deal eye-popping football? For includes Kelly's loan LSU residence With
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Labour MEPs to vote for greater EU crime-fighting cooperation
Labour MEPs will vote today to strengthen Europol, the EU police agency. The proposals will enable further EU-level cooperation among law-enforcement authorities, aiding the fight against cross-border crime and terrorism.
Claude Moraes MEP, chair of the civil liberties, justice and home affairs committee, said:
"Europol demonstrates the clear benefits of European cooperation in helping national governments to effectively target cross-border crime and combat terrorism. The new regulations will strengthen the agency, which has a proven track record in dealing with crime and terrorism.
"The proposals provide legal certainty for Europol's activities and make EU countries' participation in the agency clearer and more systematic. It will also facilitate Europol's day-to-day activities by making it easier to set up specialised units - such as joint investigation teams - to respond to emerging threats.
"In addition, the new rules include strong data protection safeguards and democratic oversight tools - Labour MEPs have worked to ensure the regulation provides safeguards on the processing of information by Europol, and that it is fully in line with the EU data protection package which was approved by MEPs last month.
"The new law will also establish a joint parliamentary scrutiny group which will monitor Europol's activities, including any potential impact on fundamental rights and freedoms."
Mr Moraes added:
"Key figures such as the director of Europol, Rob Wainwright, a former British police and intelligence officer, have repeatedly shown how the EU is vital to our security and not a threat to it.
"This proposal will help us to achieve closer European cooperation on police and intelligence issues, while ensuring the use of sensitive data complies with fundamental rights practice.
"As we see with the comments from Mr Wainwright, as we have seen with the remarks this week by 13 former US secretaries of state and defence and five former Nato Secretaries-General, as we saw with the warnings from British military leaders - including three former Chiefs of the Defence Staff - to leave the EU would be to gamble with our security.
"Only by remaining in the European Union, only by working with our neighbours, sharing information, pooling intelligence, cooperating and acting together will we be able to most effectively fight crime and terrorism and keep Britain safe."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Get Brian Wilson essential facts below. View Videos or join the Brian Wilson discussion. Add Brian Wilson to your PopFlock.com topic list for future reference or share this resource on social media.
Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. After signing with Capitol Records in 1962, Wilson wrote or co-wrote more than two dozen Top 40 hits for the group. In addition to his lifelong struggles with mental illness, Wilson is known for his unorthodox approaches to pop composition and mastery of recording techniques, and he is widely acknowledged as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the late 20th century.
The Beach Boys were formed by Brian, his brothers Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Brian, who grew up influenced by 1950s rock and roll and jazz-based vocal groups, originally functioned as the band's songwriter, producer, co-lead vocalist, bassist, keyboardist, and de facto leader. He co-wrote, arranged, and produced their LP Pet Sounds (1966), considered one of the greatest albums ever made. The intended follow-up, Smile, was canceled for various reasons, which included Wilson's deteriorating mental health. As he suffered repeated nervous breakdowns, Wilson's contributions to the Beach Boys diminished, and his erratic behavior led to tensions with the band. In the 1970s, he was increasingly reputed for his hermitic lifestyle and substance abuse. Following a court-ordered removal from the care of psychologist Eugene Landy, Wilson started receiving conventional medical treatment, and in the late 1990s, he began performing and recording consistently as a solo artist. He remains a member of the Beach Boys' corporation, Brother Records Incorporated.
Wilson was the first pop artist credited for writing, arranging, producing, and performing his own material. He is considered a major innovator in the field of music production, the principal originator of the California Sound, one of the first music producer auteurs, and one of the most famous examples of the outsider musician. Only 21 years old when he received the freedom to produce his own records with total creative autonomy, he ignited an explosion of like-minded California producers, supplanting New York as the center of popular records, and becoming the first rock producer to use the studio as its own instrument. Wilson effectively set a precedent that allowed bands and artists to enter a recording studio and act as their own producers or co-producers. The zeitgeist of the early 1960s is commonly associated to his early songs, and he helped develop the sound of the wistful Flower Power era that proceeded. In later years, Wilson was regarded as a "godfather" to an era of indie musicians who were inspired by his melodic sensibilities, chamber pop orchestrations, and recording explorations. He is often depicted in media as a "genius".
His honors include being inducted into the 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and winning Grammy Awards for Brian Wilson Presents Smile (2004) and The Smile Sessions (2011). In lists published by Rolling Stone, Wilson ranked 52 for the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time" in 2008 and 12 for the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time in 2015. In 2012, music publication NME ranked Wilson number 8 in its "50 Greatest Producers Ever" list, elaborating "few consider quite how groundbreaking Brian Wilson's studio techniques were in the mid-60s". He is an occasional actor and voice actor, having appeared in television shows, films, and other artists' music videos. His life was dramatized in the 2014 biopic Love & Mercy.
Brian Douglas Wilson was born on June 20, 1942, at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, California, the eldest son of Audree Neva (ne;e Korthof) and musician Murry Wilson. His two younger brothers were Dennis and Carl. He has Dutch, English, German, Irish, and Swedish ancestry. When he was two, the family moved from Inglewood to 3701 West 119th Street in nearby Hawthorne, California. Speaking of Brian's unusual musical abilities prior to his first birthday, his father said that, as a baby, he could repeat the melody from "When the Caissons Go Rolling Along" after only a few verses had been sung by the father. Murry Wilson said, "He was very clever and quick. I just fell in love with him." At about age two, Brian heard George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, which had an enormous emotional impact on him. A few years later, he was discovered to have diminished hearing in his right ear. The exact cause of this hearing loss is unclear, though theories range from him simply being born partially deaf to a blow to the head from his father, or a neighborhood bully, being to blame.
While Brian's father Murry was ostensibly a reasonable provider, he was often abusive.[editorializing] A minor musician and songwriter, he also encouraged his children in this field in numerous ways. At an early age, Brian was given six weeks of lessons on a "toy accordion" and, at seven and eight, sang solos in church with a choir behind him. At Hawthorne High School, Brian was on the football team as a quarterback, played baseball and was a cross-country runner in his senior year. He sang with various students at school functions and with his family and friends at home, teaching his two brothers harmony parts that all three would then practice. He also played piano obsessively after school, deconstructing the harmonies of the Four Freshmen by listening to short segments of their songs on a phonograph, then working to recreate the blended sounds note by note on the keyboard. He received a Wollensak tape recorder on his 16th birthday, allowing him to experiment with recording songs and early group vocals.
One of Brian's earliest public performances was at a fall arts program at his high school. He enlisted his cousin and frequent singing partner Mike Love, and to entice Carl into the group, named the newly formed membership "Carl and the Passions." The performance featured tunes by Dion and the Belmonts and the Four Freshmen ("It's a Blue World"), the latter of which proved difficult for the ensemble. The event was notable for the impression which it made on another musician and classmate of Brian in the audience that night, Al Jardine, who would join the three Wilson brothers and Mike Love a few years later in the Beach Boys.
Wilson enrolled at El Camino College in Los Angeles, majoring in psychology, in September 1960. He continued his music studies at the community college as well. At some point in 1961 he wrote his first all-original melody, loosely based on a Dion and the Belmonts version of "When You Wish Upon a Star". The song was eventually known as "Surfer Girl". Though an early demo of the song was recorded in February 1962 at World-Pacific Studios, it was not re-recorded and released until 1963, when it became a top-ten hit.
Looking for a follow-up single for their radio hit, Wilson and Mike Love wrote "Surfin' Safari", and attempts were made to record a usable take at World Pacific, including overdubs, on February 8, 1962, along with several other tunes including an early version of "Surfer Girl". Only a few days later, discouraged about the band's financial prospects, and objecting to adding some Chubby Checker songs to the Beach Boys live setlist, Al Jardine abruptly left the group, but rejoined shortly thereafter. When Candix Records ran into money problems and sold the Beach Boys' master recordings to another label, Murry Wilson terminated the contract. As "Surfin'" faded from the charts, Brian, who had forged a songwriting partnership with Gary Usher, created several new songs, including a car song, "409", that Usher helped them write. Brian and the Beach Boys cut new tracks at Western Recorders including an updated "Surfin' Safari" and "409". These songs convinced Capitol Records to release the demos as a single; they became a double-sided national hit.
Brian performing on electric bass with the Beach Boys, 1964.
Recording sessions for the band's first album took place in Capitol's basement studios in the famous tower building in August 1962, but early on Brian lobbied for a different place to cut Beach Boy tracks. The large rooms were built to record the big orchestras and ensembles of the 1950s, not small rock groups. At Brian's insistence, Capitol agreed to let the Beach Boys pay for their own outside recording sessions, to which Capitol would own all the rights, and in return the band would receive a higher royalty rate on their record sales. Additionally, during the taping of their first LP Brian fought for, and won, the right to be in charge of the production - though this fact was not acknowledged with an album liner notes production credit.
In January 1963, the Beach Boys recorded their first top-ten (cresting at number three in the United States) single, "Surfin' U.S.A.", which began their long run of highly successful recording efforts at Hollywood's United Western Recorders on Sunset Boulevard. It was during the sessions for this single that Brian made the production decision from that point on to use double tracking on the group's vocals, resulting in a deeper and more resonant sound. The Surfin' U.S.A. album was also a big hit in the United States, reaching number two on the national sales charts by early July 1963. The Beach Boys had become a top-rank recording and touring band.
Brian was for the first time officially credited as the Beach Boys' producer on the Surfer Girl album, recorded in June and July 1963 and released that September. This LP reached number seven on the national charts, containing singles that were top 15 hits. Feeling that surfing songs had become limiting, Brian decided to produce a set of largely car-oriented tunes for the Beach Boys' fourth album, Little Deuce Coupe, which was released in October 1963, only three weeks after the Surfer Girl LP. The departure of guitarist David Marks from the band that month meant that Brian was forced to resume touring with the Beach Boys, for a time reducing his availability in the recording studio.
For much of the decade, Brian attempted to establish himself as a record producer by working with various artists. On July 20, 1963, "Surf City", which he co-wrote with Jan Berry of Jan and Dean, was his first composition to reach the top of the US charts. The resulting success pleased Brian, but angered both Murry and Capitol Records. Murry went so far as to order his oldest son to sever any future collaborations with Jan and Dean. Brian's other non-Beach Boy work in this period included tracks by the Castells, Donna Loren, Sharon Marie, the Timers, and the Survivors. The most notable group to which Wilson would attach himself in this era would be the Honeys, which Wilson intended as the female counterpart to the Beach Boys, and as an attempt to compete with Phil Spector-led girl groups such as the Crystals and the Ronettes. He continued juggling between recording with the Beach Boys and producing records for other artists, but with less success at the latter--except for Jan and Dean.
The Beach Boys' rigorous performing schedule increasingly burdened Wilson, and following a panic attack on board a flight from L.A. to Houston on December 23, 1964, he stopped performing live with the group in an effort to concentrate solely on songwriting and studio production. Wilson explained in 1971: "I felt I had no choice. I was run down mentally and emotionally because I was running around, jumping on jets from one city to another on one-night stands, also producing, writing, arranging, singing, planning, teaching--to the point where I had no peace of mind and no chance to actually sit down and think or even rest."Glen Campbell was called in as his temporary stand-in for live performances, before Bruce Johnston replaced him. As thanks, Wilson "rewarded" Campbell by producing him with the single "Guess I'm Dumb".
During the Pet Sounds sessions, Wilson had been working on another song, which was held back from inclusion on the record as he felt that it was not sufficiently complete. The song "Good Vibrations" set a new standard for musicians and for what could be achieved in the recording studio. Recorded in multiple sessions and in numerous studios, the song eventually cost $50,000 (equivalent to $377,128 in 2017) to record within a six-month period. In October 1966, it was released as a single, giving the Beach Boys their third US number-one hit after "I Get Around" and "Help Me, Rhonda". It sold over a million copies.
Following the cancellation of Smile, the Beach Boys relocated to a studio situated in the living room of Brian Wilson's new mansion in Bel Air (once the home of Edgar Rice Burroughs), where the band would primarily record until 1972. This has been perceived by some commentators as "the moment when the Beach Boys first started slipping from the vanguard to nostalgia." Throughout mid-to-late 1967, Wilson oversaw the production of only a few heavily orchestrated songs holding continuity with his Pet Sounds and Smile work, such as "Can't Wait Too Long" and "Time to Get Alone". Wilson's interest in the Beach Boys began to wane. Carl explained: "When we did Wild Honey, Brian asked me to get more involved in the recording end. He wanted a break. He was tired. He had been doing it all too long."
At a press conference ostensibly convened to promote "Break Away" to the European media shortly thereafter, Wilson intimated that "We owe everyone money. And if we don't pick ourselves off our backsides and have a hit record soon, we will be in worse trouble ... I've always said, 'Be honest with your fans.' I don't see why I should lie and say that everything is rosy when it's not." These incendiary remarks ultimately thwarted long-simmering contract negotiations with Deutsche Grammophon. Although Murry Wilson's sale of the Sea of Tunes publishing company (including the majority of Wilson's oeuvre) to A&M Records' publishing division for $700,000 at the band's commercial nadir in 1969 renewed the longstanding animus between father and son, the younger Wilson stood in for Mike Love during a 1970 Northwest tour when Love was convalescing from illness. He also resumed writing and recording with the Beach Boys at a brisk pace; seven of the twelve new songs on the 1970 album Sunflower were either written or co-written by Wilson. Nevertheless, the album (retrospectively appraised as "perhaps the strongest album they released post-Pet Sounds" by Pitchfork) was a commercial failure in the US, peaking at number 151 during a four-week Billboard chart stay in October 1970. Following the termination of the Capitol contract in 1969, the band's new contract with then-au courant Reprise Records (brokered by Van Dyke Parks, employed as a multimedia executive at the company at the time) stipulated Brian Wilson's proactive involvement with the band in all albums, a factor that would become hugely problematic for the band in the years to come.
Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, Wilson amassed myriad home demo recordings which later became informally known as the "Bedroom Tapes". Most of these recordings remain unreleased and unheard by the public. Some of the material has been described as "schizophrenia on tape," and "intensely personal songs of gentle humanism and strange experimentation, which reflected on his then-fragile emotional state." Beach Boys archivist Alan Boyd observed: "A lot of the music that Brian was creating during this period was full of syncopated exercises and counterpoints piled on top of jittery eighth-note clusters and loping shuffle grooves. You get hints of it earlier in things like the tags to 'California Girls,' 'Wouldn't It Be Nice' and all throughout Smile, but it takes on an almost manic edge in the '70s." Brian's daughter Wendy remembers, "Where other people might take a run to release some stress, he would go to the piano and write a 5-minute song." Her sister Carnie has recounted: "My memories of him are him wandering from room to room ... thinking about something. I always wanted to know what he was thinking, you know? Who knows what he was thinking in his head? ... We got used to what the whole environment was. It was very musical; there was always a piano going. Either "Rhapsody in Blue" was playing, or ..."Be My Baby"--I mean--I woke up every morning to boom boom-boom pow! Boom boom-boom pow! Every day."
While working at the Radiant Radish, Wilson met journalist and radio presenter Jack Rieley, who would manage the Beach Boys and act as Wilson's principal lyricist for the next few years. Wilson played and sang on much of the 1971 Surf's Up album--the band's highest American album chart placement (No. 29) since 1967--and wrote or co-wrote four of the album's ten songs, including the title track. Only one fully formed original song from Wilson emerged during the album's nominal recording sessions, the dirge-like "A Day in the Life of a Tree". According to engineer Stephen Desper, the cumulatively deleterious effects of Wilson's cocaine and tobacco use began to affect his vocal register in earnest during the Surf's Up sessions.
In late 1971 and early 1972, he worked on an album for the American Spring, titled Spring, a new collaboration between erstwhile Honeys Marilyn Wilson and Diane Rovell. He was closely involved in the home-based recordings with co-producer David Sandler and engineer Stephen Desper, and did significant work on more than half of the tracks. As with much of his work in the era, his contributions "ebbed and flowed." According to Dan Peek of America, Wilson "held court like a Mad King as [longtime friend] Danny Hutton scurried about like his court jester" during the ascendant band's engagement at the Whisky a Go Go in February 1972. Concurrently, he contributed to three out of eight songs on Beach Boys' Carl and the Passions - "So Tough" (1972).
Later that year, he reluctantly agreed to accompany the band to the Netherlands, where they based themselves to record Holland. Though physically present, he often yielded to his vices (primarily hashish and hard cider) and rarely participated, confining himself to work on "Funky Pretty" (a collaboration with Mike Love and Jack Rieley); a one-line sung intro to Al Jardine's "California Saga: California"; and Mount Vernon and Fairway (A Fairy Tale), a narrative suite musically inspired by Randy Newman's Sail Away that was promptly rejected by the band. However, Carl Wilson ultimately capitulated and ensured that the suite would be released as a bonus EP with the album. When the album itself was rejected by Reprise, the song "Sail On, Sailor"--a collaboration with Van Dyke Parks dating from 1971 that had grown to encompass additional lyrical contributions solicited by Wilson at parties hosted by Hutton--was inserted at the instigation of Parks and released as the lead single. It promptly garnered a considerable amount of FM radio play, became a minor chart hit, and entered the band's live sets as a concert staple.
Wilson spent a great deal of the two years following his father's June 1973 death secluded in the chauffeur's quarters of his home; sleeping, abusing alcohol, taking drugs (including heroin), overeating, and exhibiting self-destructive behavior. He attempted to drive his vehicle off a cliff, and at another time, demanded that he be pushed into and buried in a grave he had dug in his backyard. During this period, his voice deteriorated significantly as a result of his mass consumption of cocaine and incessant chain smoking. Wilson later said that he was preoccupied with "[doing] drugs and hanging out with Danny Hutton" (whose house became the center of Wilson's social life) during the mid-1970s.John Sebastian often showed up at Wilson's Bel Air home "to jam" and later recalled that "it wasn't all grimness." Although increasingly reclusive during the day, Wilson spent many nights at Hutton's house fraternizing with Hollywood Vampire colleagues such as Alice Cooper and Iggy Pop, who were mutually bemused by an extended Wilson-led singalong of the folk song "Shortnin' Bread"; other visitors of Hutton's home included Vampires Harry Nilsson, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, and Keith Moon.Micky Dolenz recalls taking LSD with Wilson, Lennon, and Nilsson, where Wilson "played just one note on a piano over and over again". On several occasions, Marilyn Wilson sent her friends to climb Hutton's fence and retrieve her husband.
Marilyn and the Wilson family were dismayed by Brian's continued deterioration and were reluctant to payroll him as an active partner in the touring Beach Boys (an arrangement that had persisted for a decade). They enlisted the services of radical therapist Eugene Landy in October 1975. Landy diagnosed Brian as paranoid schizophrenic (a diagnosis later retracted), and the treatment prompted a more stable, socially engaged Brian whose productivity increased again. The tagline "Brian's Back!" became a major promotional tool for the new Beach Boys album 15 Big Ones, released to coincide with their fifteenth anniversary as a band as a mixture of traditional pop covers with newly written original material. The record was released in the summer of 1976 to commercial acclaim and, despite lukewarm reviews, peaked at number 8 on the Billboard album chart. Brian returned to regular stage appearances with the band, alternating between piano and bass, and made a solo appearance on Saturday Night Live in November 1976; to the chagrin of the other Beach Boys, producer Lorne Michaels stipulated Brian's exclusive performance.
Brian's behavior during this time was reported by many to be strange and off-putting, and Landy's role was described as "unethical" and ostentatious. Oftentimes, Wilson would ask for drugs in mid-interview. During this period, Brian was under constant surveillance by bodyguards, which he resented.Rolling Stone editor David Felton chronicled bizarre exchanges between Brian and Landy in "The Healing of Brother Brian", a profile of the resurgent band published by the magazine in November 1976; these included a report of Landy's medical staff promising Brian a cheeseburger in exchange for writing a new song.
Brian expressed a fervent desire to leave the group and record a solo album in this period but could not, due to conflicts that it would create between him and the group, leading him to remark, "Sometimes I feel like a commodity in a stock market." He was also firm in that he wanted to record another work on par with the achievement of Pet Sounds. In April 1977, the all-original Brian album Love You was released bearing the Beach Boys moniker, although the group's contributions were minimal. It was described by Brian as an attempt to relieve himself from mental instability brought on by a period of inactivity.Love You has since been cited as an early work of synthpop. The album features playful lyrics (alternately invoking Johnny Carson, Phil Spector, and adolescent interests) and stark instrumentation (featuring Moog bass lines and gated reverb-drenched drum patterns reflective of contemporaneous work by David Bowie and Tony Visconti). Although Love You only reached number 53 on the Billboard chart, it was lauded as an artistic watershed by many critics, including punk rock lodestar Patti Smith (writing for Hit Parader) and Robert Christgau of The Village Voice.
Brian was under Landy's care for fourteen months until December 1976, when the therapist was dismissed for a dispute on his monthly fee. Throughout the next several years, Brian vacillated between periods of relative stability (writing or co-writing eight of the twelve tracks on 1978's poorly received M.I.U. Album) and resurgences of his addictions. During this period, Marilyn and Brian amicably divorced in 1979 due to the strain of his erratic behavior on their family. He repeatedly checked in and out of hospitals and continued to be plagued by incessant mood swings. At one point, he wandered off alone for several days and was sighted at a gay bar playing piano for drinks. For a short period in 1978, he lived as a vagrant in Balboa Park, San Diego until police officers took him to Alvarado Hospital for alcohol poisoning. Brian's role in the band, as well as the Beach Boys' commercial prospects, began to diminish once more. By 1982, Brian was immersed in debt, owing the government tens of thousands of dollars in back taxes.
Coupled with long, extreme counseling sessions, this therapy was successful in bringing Brian back to physical health, slimming down from 311 pounds (141 kg) to 185 pounds (84 kg). As Brian's recovery consolidated, he rejoined the Beach Boys for Live Aid in 1985 and participated in the recording of the Steve Levine-produced album The Beach Boys. Brian stopped working with the Beach Boys on a regular basis after the release of the album, largely due to the control that Landy exercised. Eventually, Landy's therapy technique created a Svengali-like environment for Brian, controlling every movement in his life, including his musical direction. In the mid 1980s, Landy stated, "I influence all of [Brian]'s thinking. I'm practically a member of the band ... [We're] partners in life." Brian later responded to allegations with, "People say that Dr. Landy runs my life, but the truth is, I'm in charge."
Between 1983 and 1986, Landy charged about $430,000 annually. When he requested more money, Carl Wilson was obliged to give away a quarter of Brian's publishing royalties. In 1988, Wilson said that "Dr. Landy doesn't like me to be in touch with my family too much. He thinks it's unhealthy." Landy responded to the charges that he exerted too much control on the songwriter: "He's got a car phone in his car. If he wants to call somebody, he calls somebody... He can go anywhere, on his own, anytime he wants." Regarding Wilson's relationship to the Beach Boys at that time, Wilson added: "Although we stay together as a group, as people we're a far cry from friends. One time we were doing an interview together, and the interviewer asked Carl what it was between him and me. He goes, 'Well, Brian and I don't have to talk to each other. We're just Beach Boys, but we don't need to be friends.' And that's true. Although, whenever I think about him, I feel rotten."
An excerpt of "Love and Mercy", the lead single from Brian Wilson. Brian named the song a "personal message from me to people."
Brian Wilson signed to a solo record deal with Sire Records label boss Seymour Stein and variously worked with Andy Paley, Russ Titelman and Landy's girlfriend as co-authors on the new material. Old friend and collaborator Gary Usher was a key participant in the early demo work for the album, though Landy later removed him from the project. After several years of genesis, Wilson released his debut solo album Brian Wilson. His work may have been hampered by Landy's influence, since Landy insisted on controlling involvement in every aspect of Wilson's writing and recording and his lyrical influence is significant.
Despite the critical success of his debut solo album, rumors abounded that Wilson had either suffered a stroke or had been permanently disabled due to excessive drug use. The actual problem was that Wilson, who had been prescribed massive amounts of psychotropic drugs by Landy's staff since 1983, had developed tardive dyskinesia, a neurological condition marked by involuntary, repetitive movements, that develops in about 20 percent of patients treated with anti-psychotic drugs for an extended period of time. During recording of the Brian Wilson album, engineering staff had observed what seemed to be "every pharmaceutical on the face of the earth," referring to the medicine bag Landy was using to store Wilson's prescription drugs. In order to dispel these claims,[ambiguous] Landy separated from Brian Wilson in 1989 to prove that Wilson could function independently. However, they remained supposed business partners. Wilson's proposed second solo album under the direction of Landy, titled Sweet Insanity, was rejected by Sire in 1990.
An ostensible memoir, Wouldn't It Be Nice: My Own Story, was published in 1991. In the book, whose authorship is still debated, Brian Wilson spoke about his troubled relationship with his abusive father Murry, his private disputes with the Beach Boys and his lost years of mental illness. In 1992, for an unrelated court case, Wilson testified that he had never read the book.[better source needed] Landy's illegal use of psychotropic drugs on Wilson, and his influence over Brian Wilson's financial affairs, were legally ended by Carl Wilson and other members of the Wilson family after a two-year-long conservatorship battle in Los Angeles. Landy's misconduct led to the loss of his California psychology license, as well as a court-ordered removal and restraining order from Brian.
Wilson released two albums simultaneously in 1995. The first was the soundtrack to Don Was's documentary I Just Wasn't Made for These Times, which consisted of new versions of several Beach Boys and solo songs. The second, Orange Crate Art, saw Wilson as lead vocalist on an album produced, arranged and written by Van Dyke Parks. I Just Wasn't Made for These Times includes Wilson performing for the first time with his now-adult daughters, Wendy and Carnie of the group Wilson Phillips and Van Dyke Parks. During the early 1990s, he also worked on some tracks with power pop band Jellyfish, which remain unreleased.Roger Manning has recounted an anecdote during these sessions involving Wilson falling asleep at the piano yet continuing to play. Later in the decade, Wilson and his daughters Carnie and Wendy would release an album together, titled The Wilsons (1997). Also, around this time, Wilson sang backup vocals on Belinda Carlisle's "California".
The Brian Wilson Band performing in 2005.
In February 2005, Wilson had a cameo in the television series Duck Dodgers in the 24th Century as Daffy Duck's spiritual surfing adviser. On June 26, 2005, Wilson performed at Glastonbury Festival in England to critical success. On July 2, 2005, Wilson performed for the Live 8 concert in Berlin, Germany. In September 2005, Wilson arranged a charity drive to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina, wherein people who donated $100 or more would receive a personal phone call from Wilson. According to the website, over $250K was raised. In November 2005, former bandmate Mike Love sued Wilson over "shamelessly misappropriating ... Love's songs, likeness, and the Beach Boys trademark, as well as the 'Smile' album itself" in the promotion of Smile. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed on grounds that it was meritless.
Around this time, Wilson announced that he was developing another concept album, titled Pleasure Island: A Rock Fantasy. Accordingly: "It's about some guys who took a hike, and they found a place called Pleasure Island. And they met all kinds of chicks, and they went on rides and -- it's just a concept. I haven't developed it yet. I think people are going to love it -- it could be the best thing I've ever done." The album has yet to surface, and for several years, Wilson has consistently maintained in interviews that he wishes his "next album" to be more rock-oriented.
In summer 2009, Wilson signed a two-record deal with Disney after he was approached to record an album of his interpretations of classic Gershwin songs, and to assess unfinished piano pieces by Gershwin for possible expansion into finished songs. After extensive evaluation of a vast body of Gershwin fragments, Wilson chose two to complete. The resulting album, Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin, was released in August 2010 on Disney's Pearl label.Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin achieved Number 1 position on the Billboard Jazz Chart, and had sold 53,000 copies by August 2011. Wilson's second album for Disney was In the Key of Disney, a collection of classic Disney movie songs, which was released on October 25, 2011. Wilson contributed his revival of Buddy Holly's "Listen to Me" to the tribute album, Listen to Me: Buddy Holly, released on September 6, 2011, on Verve Forecast. Rolling Stone praised Wilson's version as "gorgeous," featuring "... angelic harmonies and delicate instrumentation."
In October 2011, Jardine reported that the Beach Boys would reunite in 2012 for 50 American dates and 50-60 overseas dates. The Beach Boys released their new album, That's Why God Made the Radio, on June 5, 2012. The album's title track was released as its first single in April 2012. The new album debuted at Number 3 on the Billboard charts which was their highest album debut to date. Following the reunion a year later, it was announced that Wilson would no longer tour with the band as Mike Love returned the lineup to its pre-Anniversary Tour configuration with him and Bruce Johnston as its only members.
Wilson with his band and Jeff Beck following a 2013 performance in Washington D.C.
Wilson will be making another return during Sarasota for a Christmas show, where he will perform his 1964 Christmas holiday album. He will be joined by the former Beach Boys associates Blondie Chaplin and Al Jardine.
Wilson believes after he first dropped LSD in 1965: "It expanded my mind a little bit, so I could write better songs ... [While] it was worth it, I wouldn't take it again." He has spoken that "It isn't easy for me. So many things have scared me in my life - I've got fears, lots of stuff. I mean, boy, just all the records that have scared me. So many records just rocked my world, man. It's heavy." He named "What a Fool Believes" (1978) as a song he considers a "scary record" and once believed that Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (1967) was his funeral march. He denied that the Beatles ever influenced him, only that they inspired him. Alice Cooper reported that Wilson once considered the traditional standard "Shortnin' Bread" to be the greatest song ever written, as he quotes Wilson for an explanation: "I don't know, it's just the best song ever written."
From late 1964 to 1979, Wilson was married to Marilyn Rovell, with whom he had daughters Carnie and Wendy, who went on to musical success of their own in the early 1990s as two-thirds of Wilson Phillips. In 1995, Wilson married Melinda Kae Ledbetter, a car saleswoman and former model whom he met in 1986. The couple dated for three years before Eugene Landy put an end to their relationship. The couple reconnected in 1992 and married in 1995. As of 1999, Melinda was also acting as Brian's manager, a job which she said is "basically negotiating, and that's what I did every single day when I sold cars." He also has six grandchildren.
In 1999, when asked if he was a religious man, Wilson responded: "I believe in Phil Spector," later clarifying that while he had spiritual beliefs, he did not follow any particular religion, also adding that he believed "music is God's voice". When asked by The Guardian in 2004 if he believed in life after death, Wilson replied "I don't."
Officially diagnosed as a schizoaffective with mild manic depression, Wilson experiences auditory hallucinations that presents itself in the form of disembodied voices. According to him, he began having hallucinations in 1965, shortly after starting to use psychedelic drugs. In recent years, Wilson's mental condition has improved, although he still has auditory hallucinations from time to time. His relationship with his wife and his new regimen of psychiatric care have allowed him to resume his career as a musician. In 1984, Wilson had been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic, with doctors finding evidence of brain damage caused by excessive and sustained drug abuse. The paranoid schizophrenic diagnosis, originally made by Landy, was later retracted.
Whether Wilson truly consents to his semi-regular touring schedule since the 2000s is a subject of debate among fans. In 2011, after speaking to some of Wilson's acquaintances, biographer Jon Stebbins speculated that "Working in the studio and especially touring is not really his choice. His handlers, managers, and wife insist that he work. It's all a bit Landy-like when you look behind the curtain." Although Wilson often says that he enjoys touring, Stebbins writes of a "recent interview [where he was asked] what he disliked the most about touring, Brian replied that it was going on stage and performing. ... Upon hearing Brian say that, his 'handler' quickly reminded Brian, through a fake smile, that he loved performing".
Wilson is widely regarded as one of the most innovative and significant songwriters of the late 20th century, and his work is credited as a major innovation in the field of music production. According to Erik Davis, "Not only did [he] write a soundtrack to the early '60s, but Brian let loose a delicate and joyful art pop unique in music history and presaged the mellowness so fundamental to '70s California pop."The A.V. Club wrote that Wilson was among "studio rats ... [that] set the pace for how pop music could and should sound in the Flower Power era: at once starry-eyed and wistful." Sean O'Hagan of the High Llamas named Wilson an important pioneer of experimental pop. Once Wilson started incorporating quasi-symphonic textures into his work, many people began crediting him for propelling the mid-1960s art pop movement. Carlin wrote that Wilson was the forerunner of "a new kind of art-rock that would combine the transcendent possibilities of art with the mainstream accessibility of pop music". He is also regarded as the most famous outsider musician. Author Irwin Chusid noted Wilson as an ironic example of the genre due to his past commercial success, but believes that Wilson's history of torment, substance abuse, and "loopy" material are what "certify" his outsider status.
As one of the first music producer auteurs, Wilson (along with George Martin) popularized the idea of the recording studio as a compositional tool by using recording sessions as fertile creative terrain in and of themselves, a practice which was unheard of in his time and later shorthanded as "playing the studio". Only 21-years-old when he received the freedom to produce his own records with total creative autonomy, he ignited an explosion of like-minded California producers, supplanting New York as the center of popular records, and becoming the first rock producer to use the studio as a discrete instrument. The Beach Boys were thus one of the first rock groups to exert studio control.
Music producers after the mid 1960s would draw on Wilson's influence, setting a precedent that allowed bands and artists to enter a recording studio and act as producers, either autonomously, or in conjunction with other like minds.The Atlantics Jason Guriel credits Pet Sounds with inventing the modern pop album, that Wilson "paved the way for auteurs ... anticipat[ing] the rise of the producer ... [and] the modern pop-centric era, which privileges producer over artist and blurs the line between entertainment and art. ... Anytime a band or musician disappears into a studio to contrive an album-length mystery, the ghost of Wilson is hovering near. ... [he was] the first to turn an album into an occasion." In the late 1960s, Wilson also started a trend of "project" recording, where an artist records by himself instead of going into an established studio.
2005: Best Rock Instrumental Performance for Mrs. O'Leary's Cow.
2016: Golden Globe nomination for One Kind of Love from Love & Mercy.
In 2014, Wilson's life was dramatized in the biopic Love & Mercy, directed by Bill Pohlad. It stars John Cusack as Brian Wilson during the 1980s and Paul Dano as Brian Wilson during the 1960s; supported by Paul Giamatti as Eugene Landy and Elizabeth Banks as Wilson's second wife Melinda.
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Miller, Jim (1992). "The Beach Boys". In DeCurtis, Anthony; Henke, James; George-Warren, Holly. The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music. New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0-67973-728-5.


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Czech Republic Denmark Germany Poland All countries
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Weather in Dusseldorf (airport)
Weather archive at the weather station ( +5 °C+41 °F )
4 °C39°F
1 hour ago at the airport it was +5 °C+41 °F, mostly cloudy, normal air pressure, very high humidity (93%), moderate breeze (6 m/s) (22 km/h) (13 miles/hour) (12 knots) (4 Bft) blowing from the south-west. Light rain, drizzle.
Today we expect +5..+8 °C°F, +41..+46 °C°F, continuous rain, fresh breeze. Tomorrow: +7..+10 °C°F, +45..+50 °C°F, mainly without precipitation, moderate breeze.
Local time 07 13 19 01 07 13 19 01 07 13 19 01 07 13 19 01 07 13 19 01 07 13
direction SW SW SW SW SW S S S SW SW S S S W SW SW SW S S SW SW SW
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direction SW SW S S S SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW SW S S S S S S S S S S SW SW SW SW S SE S S S NW W W SW SW SW SW SW SW S S S S SW SW SW SW SW direction
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1 hour ago, the minimum air temperature ( -1 oC +30 oF ) was observed in Arnsberg in Kahler Asten.
2 hours ago, the maximum air temperature ( +6 oC +43 oF ) was observed in Dusseldorf in Weeze (airport).
Maastricht (airport)


text:
Nets beat Raptors for fourth win in a row
Kevin Durant (7) y Nic Claxton (33), de los Nets de Brooklyn, y Christian Koloko (35), de los Raptors de Toronto, brincan para intentar bajar un tablero durante la primera mitad del juego de baloncesto de la NBA, el viernes 2 de diciembre de 2022, en Nueva York. (AP Foto/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez) (Eduardo Munoz Avarez, AP)
By Tribune News Service |
PUBLISHED: December 2, 2022 at 10:04 p.m. | UPDATED: December 2, 2022 at 10:05 p.m.
Make it four in a row and seven of their last nine.
The Nets are one of the hottest teams in basketball and moved two games above .500 with a 114-105 victory over the Toronto Raptors in front of a sellout 17,732 fans at Barclays Center on Friday night.
They led by as many as 36 points before letting the Raptors creep back into the game late in the fourth quarter.
After digging a 2-6 hole to start the season, the Nets (13-11) have pulled a complete 180. They are inching closer toward contender status, though they still have tremendous ground to cover separating themselves from the cream of the NBA crop.
And it both looks and feels different when the Nets aren't leaning too heavily on Kevin Durant — or Kyrie Irving, as they did for unending stretches last season.
Durant's minutes have become a point of contention in Brooklyn, as they were last year. He entered Friday's matchup as the league's leader in minutes, points and field goals. At age 34 and in year 15, the Nets star is averaging 37 minutes per game for the second consecutive season.
"We've had to play Kevin more minutes than we've wanted to," head coach Jacque Vaughn said ahead of tipoff. "That's just kind of where we are. He understands that."
It hits different, though, when Durant has help, and it reflects on the scoreboard.
Sharpshooter Joe Harris got hot early, scoring 11 points in the first quarter alone. After breaking out of his shooting slump to hit four out of six threes in Wednesday's win over the Washington Wizards, Harris, who is starting in place of the injured Ben Simmons (calf strain), hit another five threes for 17 points against the Raptors on Friday.
Royce O'Neale hit a trio of timely threes, and Kyrie Irving shouldered a large chunk of the scoring load, scoring 27 points on 17 shot attempts. Veteran forward TJ Warren, in his Nets debut after missing two-plus seasons with consecutive stress fractures in his left foot, scored 10 points on 5-of-11 shooting off the bench.
And Nic Claxton added 15 points and nine rebounds, sealing the game with a putback dunk, then offensive rebound and finish that extended the Nets' lead back to 16.
He forced Raptors coach Nick Nurse to call his second to last timeout with four minutes left in the fourth.
It was Durant's lightest workload of the season. He still played 38 minutes but they were low impact. He only took 10 shots and finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.
The Nets built a lead as large as 36 and watched the Raptors whittle the deficit down to as little as seven in the final minute of the fourth quarter. It wasn't a pretty finish but nothing has come easy for the Nets this season.
They have a chance to make it five in a row on Sunday, though they'll have to go through last year's Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics to get there.
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College Sports |
Minnesota Timberwolves |
For the Timberwolves, better opponents bring out better play
Minnesota Twins |
After busy offseason, Twins are bullish on 2023 season
Hockey Day Minnesota: Hill-Murray edges White Bear Lake in OT
With loss at Northwestern, Gophers are historically bad


At Sheffield Woodland Kindergarten we follow a range of theory's and ethos' that influence our approach with the children. Our team are highly trained, together we run workshops for each other to share our learning and interests and increase our knowledge and ability. Below are details of some of the key things we follow.
"Forest School is all about breathing life into education and allowing children to be creative and imaginative! Allowing them to grow in confidence, becoming positive about, themselves, and growing to love and respect their environment.
An aim of Forest School for children to explore and encourages them to be curious about the world around them, learning within this environment, taking risks and making choices. It's about the importance of children being able to play within a woodland context. It is about them investigating the bright reality of the natural world, and developing emotions as a response to it. Forest schools are set up so children are encouraged to make and develop relationships with peers and adults learning through playing. Rather than structured planned activities children are encouraged to take the lead, with careful facilitation from skilled adults. Knowing when to intervene, and how to do so relies on a sound knowledge and understanding of each individual child within the group. This is certainly what each of our teachers at Sheffield Woodland Kindergarten seeks to promote and do.
Working and being outside in the fresh air, and within the woods means that children are very much in touch with nature. They learn to experience different types of weather and the opportunities that each one brings. As the seasons change children experience firsthand how nature changes. For example new shoots growing, flowers blooming, plants dying and decaying. They are able to go foraging and cook with found leaves and berries. (With adult supervision so they learn what is poisonous and unsafe and what is tasty!) They use all their senses to explore their environment, learning about size, shape, distance, capacity, and measures. It happens naturally and the children are constantly making their own choices and leading the way at the Kindergarten."
"Skogsmulle originates from Sweden. A theory developed by Gustav Frohm, where the term 'I ur och skur' meaning 'come rain or shine' originates from. Gustav developed a program for mothers to train and set up local playgroups in forests - it was a hugely successful volunteer project which developed into kindergartens and spread across the globe. Becoming a staple in many children's education.
In the summer of 2015 I was lucky enough to be one of the first to train in the UK! Skogsmulle and his friends are fictional characters that are used to support children to learn about and care for nature, the world and recycling. They are used to ignite imaginations, tell stories, sing songs and facilitate play opportunities with children under 7. We use games, puppets, story telling and songs to introduce Skogsmulle to the children. We've even been lucky enough to have Skogsmulle visit us a few times too!"
We regularly practice yoga with the children. We use it to support role play, warm us up, cool us down, help manage our feelings and emotions, ability to follow instructions, develop our muscles, coordination and balance - the benefits and learning opportunities are endless! Sessions can last as little as a few minutes but sometimes last up to an hour as the children's ideas develop, they just love it! Often we tell yoga stories involving animals, countries and journeys weaving in poses, breathing, sounds and actions.
Sometimes we use our yoga techniques to help us deal with anger, frustration or other negative feelings blowing out our bad energy like dragons, trying to move the clouds or make the tree tops sway.
summarising what things have been discussed.
The foundations of P4C are creative, critical, caring, and collaborative thinking. In addition to this we foster turn taking, social communication and team working skills with the children through these group sessions.
• question the point rather than the person.
This allows them to practice prime areas of learning and development such as communication and listening, personal, social and emotional development and building reciprocal relationships within the EYFS.
A team member will run a Philsophy for Children session with a small group of children aged 3 plus for approximately 15 minute or until the children have finished discussing their ideas."
Sarah Rowland, Deputy Manager and trained Philsophy for Children practitioner.
Every week we visit Sunny Bank Sheltered Housing retirement home. We have made brilliant inter-generation relationships supporting the children to have care, respect and value for all ages. We enjoy sharing stories and memories together of holidays, families, jobs, celebrations and festivals. Every week we visit we do different activities thing s we have done in the past include carol singing, yoga, dancing to old music, parachute games, card games, friendship bracelets and crafts. The residents have recently had improvements made in the garden so the children have helped to plant seeds, water the crops and harvest the food sharing tomatoes they grew together for snack.


The European Court of Justice (ECJ)'s ruling in the Coty case that luxury goods suppliers should be able to prevent their products from being sold on third party online platforms such as Amazon or eBay in certain circumstances is good news for luxury companies in a number of respects. However, companies must still carefully examine their arrangements to make sure they do not breach competition law.
The judgment relates to a dispute between US beauty products supplier Coty's German subsidiary and German retailer Parfümerie Akzente, which refused to comply with a clause in Coty's contracts requiring it not to supply its products on third party platforms. Coty brought an action in the German courts seeking an order to prevent Parfümerie Akzente from distributing Coty's products via Amazon. The case was referred to the ECJ by the German court to rule on whether the clause was legal and enforceable under EU competition law.
In the judgment available here, the ECJ considered that luxury goods suppliers have an interest in preserving the luxury image of their goods and may wish legitimately to use selective distribution networks to help to preserve the quality of those goods. The ECJ stated that: "The quality of luxury goods is not simply the result of their material characteristics, but also of the allure and prestigious image which bestows on them an aura of luxury. That aura is an essential aspect of those goods".
The ECJ reviewed the relevant case law and considered that selective distribution networks are not necessarily caught by the prohibition on anticompetitive agreements in Article 101 TFEU where they meet three criteria: (1) the resellers are chosen on the basis of objective criteria of a qualitative nature which are laid down uniformly and applied in a non-discriminatory fashion for all potential resellers; (2) the characteristics of the product in question necessitate such a network in order to preserve its quality and ensure its proper use; and (3) the criteria laid down do not go beyond what is necessary.
For luxury goods in particular, the ECJ considered that a selective distribution network may be required in order to preserve the quality of those goods and to ensure that they are used properly. In terms of the specific restriction on selling on third party platforms such as Amazon and eBay, the ECJ considered that a restriction on the use of third party platforms, in the context of a selective distribution system for luxury goods, should not fall within the prohibition on anticompetitive agreements to the extent that the clause has the objective of preserving the luxury image of those goods, that it is laid down uniformly and not applied in a discriminatory fashion, and that it is proportionate in the light of the objective pursued.
The next stage in the proceedings will be for the case to be referred back to the German court to determine whether the online sales restriction was indeed proportionate along with the other criteria. Nevertheless, the ECJ carried out its own assessment and found that "subject to inquiries which it is for the referring court to make, such a prohibition appears to be lawful in relation to Article 101(1) TFEU" which will likely influence the German court.
Coty said in a statement: "Coty welcomes this decision which confirms that the character of luxury brands necessitates and justifies selective distribution, whatever the distribution channel." The European Commission also welcomed the ECJ's judgment stating that it "provides more clarity and legal certainty to market participants" and "confirmed the possibility for the luxury industry to operate certain selective distribution systems without infringing EU competition rules." Andreas Mundt, the Head of the German Competition Authority, which has been active in tackling online sales bans, said, in a statement, that the judgment does not provide companies outside of the luxury space with "a carte blanche to impose blanket bans on selling via platforms".
The Coty case follows several cases in the UK in recent years in which the Competition and Markets Authority has investigated online sales restrictions such as mobility scooters, ping golf clubs, bathroom fittings, commercial catering and light fittings. Companies should take care not to include restrictions in their distribution agreements which may be found to breach competition law and lead to potential penalties including significant fines and damages actions. Although the Coty judgment will provide some comfort to luxury goods suppliers, companies should carefully review their agreements to ensure that any restrictions are proportionate and can be properly defended. Where a company relies on its selective distribution arrangements falling outside the scope of competition law, the circumstances must warrant the use of a selective system.


Pulling their creative direction from the stylings of Manchester and its street trends, EA SPORTS and adidas collaborated to make a series of limited-edition football jerseys to entice the digital age lovers of the sport.
Featuring an iridescent material, the jersey should serve as a reflection of Juventus unexpected willpower.
– Model is 6', 140 lbs, and wearing a size medium.


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6am - Bucks/Heat recap, Curry to Milwaukee?
Chuck and Winkler 6am Hour - Chuck and Bart recapped the Bucks blowout win over the Heat. Plus, they talked about what Bucks' owner Marc Lasry had to say about a trade that may have almost happened involving Stephen Curry back in 2012.


Save on Flatbreads at Love for Salad. Top brands include GM Bakery, Mediterranean Best Food Inc, Breadmasters, Carbzone, & Joyance. Hurry! Limited time offers. Offers valid only while supplies last.
View more products in Packaged Breads.


Thank you for your vision and for sharing your inspirational journey.
I appreciate your comment. I enjoy sharing my journey with others. I also like to think that I am helping other people find their way.


Once A father wanted to test the intelligence of his two sons and allotted to each of them the task of looking after a mango tree promising to reward the boy whose tree yielded the best fruit in abundance. The foolish boy discovered that the leaves were withering off and promptly watered every leaf. The leaves withered still more and the tree eventually died. The wise boy went on watering the root and so finally, the tree was green, healthy and yielded delicious fruits in abundance. Similarly, God gives human birth to man in order to test the evolution of his intelligence. The foolish man seeks to pay attention to the satisfaction of his sense-cravings and to the acquisition of worldly knowledge to get the reward of Eternal Peace and Immortality and finally dies the miserable death of an ignorant man. The wise man devotes himself to the contemplation of God (The Root of all Creation) and thus obtains all the wealth and knowledge of the universe. God gets pleased with him and bestows upon him the reward of Immortality and Eternal Bliss. Water the root (Krishna) of joy in your heart with tears so that you get the chance to sing and praise his name and glory. Do not use the tears of sorrow as they contaminate the Lotus feet of the Lord.
Bhakthi is really unswerving loyalty to God with form, name and attributes (sakaara, saguna, swaruupa). When you place your attachment, your affection, you unswerving loyalty at the feet of Lord, it becomes Nishkaama bhakthi (desireless), paraa bhakthi (Supreme), madhurya bhakthi (Sweet devotion) and Karma Bhakthi (devotion in action). Ghee transforms into white and granular form when exposed to cold from its natural state of colourless liquid. Similary the nirakara is rendered sakara in the cool recesses of the bhaktha's heart.
There is a mixture of reality and unreality in the variety of the universe. The happiness contributed by unreal things is as unreal as you derive from your dreams. When you are drawn towards unreality (i.e., pleasure giving objects and other material gains), you are inviting worry, fear, anxiety and ashaanthi (absence of peace). Your duty is to draw strength from the belief that �Lord is the impeller of all your activities�. Develop faith "All is his and nothing yours" because he is the prompter, the executer, the giver of the required strength and skill and the enjoyer of the fruit. The faith thus gained, holy company and holy thoughts must be applied to the ego-affected mind until Reality is realised.
You are unaware of diseases that eat into the very vitals of your happiness i.e., diseases of envy, malice, hatred and greed. You ignored the divinity in you and the opportunity (life) to unfold it is getting wasted. The gifts of reason and conscience must not be wasted through neglect. You cannot see Lord's Omnipresence because you are blind. Believe that the Lord is living in every heart and so any pain (physical or mental) inflicted on anyone result in the slighting the Lord or denying him because he is everywhere.
When the magnet does not attract the needle, the fault lies in the dirt that covers up the needle. So too, When the Lord does not approach the devotee, the fault lies in the heart of the devotee i.e., it is not pure enough to attract him.


text:
module RDF::SPARQL
  ##
  # A read-only repository view of a SPARQL endpoint.
  #
  # @see RDF::Repository
  class Repository < RDF::Repository

    # @return [RDF::SPARQL::Client]
    attr_reader :client

    ##
    # BY RIK: made more compatible with RDF::Repository
    # TODO: are options ever even used?
    # @overload initialize(url)
    #   @param  [String, RDF::URI] url
    #   @yield  [repository]
    #   @yieldparam [Repository]
    #
    # @overload initialize(options = {})
    #   @param  [Hash{Symbol => Object}] options
    #   @option options [Server] :server (nil)
    #   @option options [String] :id (nil)
    #   @option options [String] :title (nil)
    #   @yield  [repository]
    #   @yieldparam [Repository]
    def initialize(url_or_options, &block)
      if url_or_options.is_a? Hash
        @options = url_or_options.dup
        @client = RDF::SPARQL::Client.new(@options.delete(:endpoint), options)
      else
        unless url_or_options.is_a? String or url_or_options.is_a? RDF::URI
          raise ArgumentError, "expected String, RDF::URI or Hash, but got #{url_or_options.inspect}"
        end
        @client = RDF::SPARQL::Client.new(url_or_options, options)
        @options = {}
      end

      if block_given?
        case block.arity
        when 1 then block.call(self)
        else instance_eval(&block)
        end
      end
    end

    ##
    # Returns `false` to indicate that this is a read-only repository.
    #
    # @return [Boolean]
    # @see    RDF::Mutable#mutable?
    def writable?
      false
    end

    ##
    # @private
    # @see RDF::Repository#supports?
    def supports?(feature)
      case feature.to_sym
        when :context then true # statement contexts / named graphs
        when :sparql then true # BY RIK, supports sparql queries
        else super
      end
    end

    ##
    # @private
    # @see RDF::Enumerable#each_statement
    # @see http://www.openrdf.org/doc/sesame2/system/ch08.html#d0e304
    def each_statement(&block)
      return enum_statement unless block_given?
      # Client will raise his own exceptions if there is an error.
      results = client.query "SELECT DISTINCT * WHERE {{?s ?p ?o} UNION {GRAPH ?g {?s ?p ?o}}}"
      results.each do |result|
        block.call RDF::Statement.new result.s, result.p, result.o, :context => result[:g]
      end
    end
    alias_method :each, :each_statement

    ##
    # Returns `true` if this repository contains the given subject.
    #
    # @param  [RDF::Resource]
    # @return [Boolean]
    # @see    RDF::Repository#has_subject?
    def has_subject?(subject)
      client.ask.whether([subject, :p, :o]).true?
    end

    ##
    # Returns `true` if this repository contains the given predicate.
    #
    # @param  [RDF::URI]
    # @return [Boolean]
    # @see    RDF::Repository#has_predicate?
    def has_predicate?(predicate)
      client.ask.whether([:s, predicate, :o]).true?
    end

    ##
    # TODO: context? (Not in original...)
    # Returns `true` if this repository contains the given object.
    #
    # @param  [RDF::Value]
    # @return [Boolean]
    # @see    RDF::Repository#has_object?
    def has_object?(object)
      client.ask.whether([:s, :p, object]).true?
    end

    ##
    # @private
    # @see RDF::Enumerable#has_context?
    def has_context?(context)
      client.ask.whether([:s, :p, :o, context]).true?
    end

    ##
    # TODO: context? (Not in original...)
    # Iterates over each subject in this repository.
    #
    # @yield  [subject]
    # @yieldparam [RDF::Resource] subject
    # @return [Enumerator]
    # @see    RDF::Repository#each_subject?
    def each_subject(&block)
      unless block_given?
        RDF::Enumerator.new(self, :each_subject)
      else
        client.select(:s).distinct.where([:s, :p, :o]).execute.each { |solution| block.call(solution[:s]) }
      end
    end

    ##
    # TODO: context? (Not in original...)
    # Iterates over each predicate in this repository.
    #
    # @yield  [predicate]
    # @yieldparam [RDF::URI] predicate
    # @return [Enumerator]
    # @see    RDF::Repository#each_predicate?
    def each_predicate(&block)
      unless block_given?
        RDF::Enumerator.new(self, :each_predicate)
      else
        client.select(:p).distinct.where([:s, :p, :o]).execute.each { |solution| block.call(solution[:p]) }
      end
    end

    ##
    # TODO: context? (Not in original...)
    # Iterates over each object in this repository.
    #
    # @yield  [object]
    # @yieldparam [RDF::Value] object
    # @return [Enumerator]
    # @see    RDF::Repository#each_object?
    def each_object(&block)
      unless block_given?
        RDF::Enumerator.new(self, :each_object)
      else
        client.select(:o).distinct.where([:s, :p, :o]).execute.each { |solution| block.call(solution[:o]) }
      end
    end

    ##
    # @private
    # @see RDF::Enumerable#each_context
    def each_context(&block)
      return enum_context unless block_given?
      require 'json' unless defined?(::JSON)
      # Client will raise his own exceptions if there is an error.
      client.query("SELECT DISTINCT ?g WHERE{GRAPH ?g{?s ?p ?o}}").each do |result|
        block.call result.g
      end
    end

    ##
    # Returns `true` if this repository contains the given `triple`.
    #
    # @param  [Array<RDF::Resource, RDF::URI, RDF::Value>] triple
    # @return [Boolean]
    # @see    RDF::Repository#has_triple?
    def has_triple?(triple)
      client.ask.whether(triple.to_a[0...3]).true?
    end

    ##
    # Returns `true` if this repository contains the given `statement`.
    #
    # @param  [RDF::Statement] statement
    # @return [Boolean]
    # @see    RDF::Repository#has_statement?
    # @see RDF::Enumerable#has_quad?
    def has_statement?(statement)
      client.ask.whether(statement).true?
    end
    alias_method :has_quad?, :has_statement?

    ##
    # TODO: maybe contextes should be factored in?
    # Returns the number of statements in this repository.
    #
    # @return [Integer]
    # @see    RDF::Repository#count?
    def count
      begin
        binding = client.query("SELECT COUNT(*) WHERE { ?s ?p ?o }").first.to_hash
        binding[binding.keys.first].value.to_i
      rescue RDF::SPARQL::Client::MalformedQuery => e
        # SPARQL 1.0 does not include support for aggregate functions:
        count = 0
        each_statement { count += 1 } # TODO: optimize this
        count
      end
    end

    alias_method :size,   :count
    alias_method :length, :count

    ##
    # Returns `true` if this repository contains no statements.
    #
    # @return [Boolean]
    # @see    RDF::Repository#empty?
    def empty?
      client.ask.whether([:s, :p, :o]).false?
    end

    ##
    # @see RDF::Queryable#Query
    # Note that this method is compatible with RDF::Queryable#query but also supports
    # additional features (sparql queries directly as String or represented by a
    # RDF::SPARQL::Query object). Rememeber to always check if the repository #supports?(:sparql)
    # before using the additional features.
    def query(pattern, &block)
      raise TypeError, "#{self} is not readable" if respond_to?(:readable?) && !readable?
      return enum_for(:query, pattern).extend(RDF::Queryable, RDF::Enumerable) unless block_given?

      # Allow for direct SPARQL queries:
      sparql = pattern.is_a?(String) ? pattern : RDF::SPARQL::Query.from(pattern)

      results = client.query(sparql.to_s)
      results = [results] unless results.respond_to? :each
      results.each do |result|
        block.call result
      end
    end

  end # class Repository
end # module RDF::SPARQL

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Here's why golfers should care about the new Apple Watch
By Luke Kerr-Dineen
Apple CEO Tim Cook formally introduced the world to Apple's newest creation on Monday: The Apple Watch.
There'll be three versions of the product hitting stores April 24: the Sport edition (which starts at $349), the regular edition (starting at $549), and the gold edition (starting at -- wait for it -- $17,000).
What does the Apple Watch actually do?
Basically everything an iPhone can do, but in the form of a wrist watch. It's become a point of contention among pundits who tend to divide into two different camps: the "what's the point?" crowd, and the "you're missing the point!" crowd.
Skeptics say the Watch is too app-dependent, and that aside from the 18 hours of battery life, it doesn't expand on anything an iPhone can't do already. But that doesn't mean it's a dead end, say the "you're missing the point-ers".
Creating smaller computers is a big deal, writes Vox, because it helps people integrate the same technology more easily into their everyday lives. It wasn't too long ago that critics thought nobody would watch videos or read articles on their phones because the screen was too small, and look how terrible that prediction turned out to be.
__If you're one of those people who loves golf in spite of not being able to check your phone on the course, you might love the Apple Watch. It provides a more discreet way of doing all the things you do most on your iPhone, so whipping-off a few emails in between holes doesn't require any frantic rustling through your golf bag. It's also integrates with apps in ways that probably makes them more helpful. If, for example, you have an app that measures how much you walk, you'd probably rather wear a wristwatch than carry a phone around in your hand or pocket all day.
Bloomberg.com says that in order for the Apple Watch to succeed, its apps need to solve a problem and work better on a watch than it could on an iPhone. It's easy to see how that could apply more expansively to golf: What about an app that could diagnose your swing flaws just by swinging? Could the Apple Watch one day track your stats in real-time, a la GAME Golf or Arccos, without needing the hardware? Could it track your swing speed based on your arm speed? Could an app tell you where to aim, based on where you're standing on the golf course?
It may seem outlandish, but those products all exist in one form already, and if it catches on, there's no reason to believe they couldn't one day live on the Apple Watch.
"Some of the applications...are extraordinary," writes Christopher Mims of the Wall Street Journal. "Apple Watch will be a launching pad for the next wave of billion-dollar consumer-tech startups."__
__Follow @lukekerrdineen


If Eric Schmidt can step away to make time for a personal connection, so can you.
Do we know how to have a conversation, or do we hide behind the technology curtain and believe that no one really needs to talk to anyone anymore? What's the issue here? Technology dependence begins to shift our values and our beliefs. We believe that technology is a panacea. We want to automate everything (almost). The more we automate, the better our sales life, right?
Wrong. People do business with people, not with technology. (Read, "Toss the Technology: Relationships Still Rule".) Bottom line: People do business with those they know, like, and trust. Old news…yes. True…yes.
So pick up the *&#$! phone and talk to your sales prospects and clients. I don't care whether "conversation" is an art or a science—it doesn't matter. What matters is the personal connection. Nothing beats a personal conversation.
Step out from behind the technology curtain and discover the real world; it's waiting for you.


text:
Lillard has season-high 60 points, Blazers beat Jazz 134-124
January 26, 2023, 12:36 a.m. ·3 min read
PORTLA (AP) — Damian Lillard scored a season-high 60 points, hitting nine 3-pointers, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz 134-124 on Wednesday night.
Lillard tied for second-most in the NBA this season. Donovan Mitchell had 71 in an overtime game for Cleveland against Chicago on Jan. 3, and Luka Doncic scored 60 in Dallas' OT victory over New York on Dec. 27.
Jerami Grant added 19 points to help Portland win its second straight game.
Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 24 points. He had a layup followed by a tip shot with 5:20 left that got Utah to 115-108.
Grant and Anfernee Simons had back-to-back dunks to put Portland up 121-110 and the Blazers led comfortably the rest of the way.
When Lillard came to the free-throw line late in the game, the home crowd stood and chanted "MVP! "MVP!" Lillard missed a jump shot with 29.1 seconds left that would have topped his career best 61.
Lillard has four career games of 60 points or more. He's reached 61 twice.
After struggling for much of January, the Blazers were coming off a morale-boosting 147-127 victory over San Antonio on Monday.
Lillard had 26 points in the first half, hitting six 3s.
Lillard finished 21 of 29 from the field, 9 of 15 on 3s and 9 of 10 at the line. He also had eight assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
TIP INS
Jazz: The quick trip to Portland was in the middle of two Jazz homestands. They played three in Utah before the game, then return for five games at home. ... Markkanen has made a 3-pointer in 37 straight games, the most for an NBA 7-footer.
Trail Blazers: It was the fourth game of a six-game homestand for the Blazers. ... Portland was hurt in the first half when starter Josh Hart left with a hamstring injury and did not return. Jusuf Nurkic left the game in the third quarter with left calf soreness and did not return. ... Lillard moved into sixth on the league's all-time 3pointers made list, passing Vince Carter.
Rookie Walker Kessler has been starting for the Jazz in Kelly Olynyk's absence because of a left ankle strain. The 7-foot-1 center ranks among the lead leaders in blocks, with 1.9 per game.
Jazz coach Will Harvey said part of Walker's development is knowing he belongs at the NBA level.
"I think he's getting some good feedback when he watches the film with the coaches, but I really think that he's getting a lot of feedback from his teammates, and they're empowering him," Harvey said. "The things that they say to him in the huddle, in the locker room, pregame, postgame and at practice, make him feel like he's a big part of what we're doing and that he does belong and I think that's where you're seeing his confidence grow."
Jazz: Host Dallas on Saturday night.
Trail Blazers: Host the Raptors on Saturday night.
Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press
Highsmith continues to flash NBA skill set for Heat: 'I just couldn't take him out of the game'
Forward Haywood Highsmith was so impactful for the Miami Heat in the second half of Tuesday's win over the Boston Celtics that coach Erik Spoelstra said he simply couldn't take him out of the game.
NBA All-Star captains will pick teams playground-style just before tipoff
This should be fun.
DALLAS (AP) — The only way the Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars meet again this season is if they make the Stanley Cup Final. While there's still a long way to go, both teams are playing pretty good hockey just before the All-Star break. Martin Necas scored 1:34 into overtime to give the Hurricanes a 3-2 win over the Western Conference leaders in a matchup of first-place teams Wednesday night. "They're playing kind of similar hockey like we do. It's always tough going against them," said Nec
Kylie Jenner Hits Paris in Daring Bondage-Style Black Dress While in Town for Fashion Week
Jenner stepped out Tuesday in her third headline-making fashion inspiration ensemble in as many days during Paris Fashion Week
Marner scores quickly in OT to lift Maple Leafs over Rangers
TORONTO (AP) — Mitch Marner scored 19 seconds into overtime and the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 on Wednesday night in a matchup of Eastern Conference contenders. Pontus Holmberg and Timothy Liljegren had the goals in regulation for Toronto (30-11-8). Ilya Samsonov stopped 27 shots. Filip Chytil scored twice for New York (26-14-8), and Igor Shesterkin made 32 saves. Marner weaved his way past all three Rangers skaters in the 3-on-3 extra period after Toronto won the face
EDMONTON — Kent Johnson scored the overtime winner as the Columbus Blue Jackets came away with a surprise 3-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Johnson's shot from the top of the circle went in off Oilers' goalie Stuart Skinner's glove and into the net 2:29 into the extra session. Boone Jenner and Kirill Marchenko also scored for the Blue Jackets (15-30-3) who have managed to win two of their last three and get five points out of their last possible six. Derek Ryan and Zach Hyman re
Roche has launched a new PCR test to detect a fast-spreading sub-variant of the Omicron variant of Coronavirus, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday. The new test specifically targets the XBB.1.5 Omicron variant and will help researchers closely track the virus's lineage and provide insights into the epidemiology and impact it has on public health, the company added. The XBB.1.5 variant is prevalent in the United States and is quickly spreading to other countries, Roche said.
Sanctioned Haitians continue to hold assets in Canada
Canada has announced sanctions against 15 wealthy Haitian individuals for their alleged role in fuelling the country's spiralling gang violence. But so far there's little evidence of enforcement.
Siakam scores 26, road Raptors sink Kings 113-95
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Pascal Siakam had 26 points and 11 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors beat the Pacific Division-leading Sacramento Kings 113-95 on Wednesday night. "I like him shooting all those perimeter shots," Raptors coach Nick Nurse said of Siakam. "He just got back in command of the game." Fred VanVleet scored 17 points and O.G. Anunoby added 11 for the Raptors, who had lost four of their last six games entering the contest. Precious Achiuwa added 19 points and Chris Boucher came of
CHICAGO (AP) — Jaret Anderson-Dolan scored twice and the Los Angeles Kings beat the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 on Sunday night. Kevin Fiala had two assists and Pheonix Copley stopped 18 shots to help the Kings snap a four-game losing streak. "We were better in a lot of areas," Kings coach Todd McLellan said. "We were tighter, checked well, and for two periods we broke out quickly. If we finished more chances, we would have been in a much more comfortable situation in the end." Defenseman Ian Mitchel
Nick Nurse begrudgingly reveals details of latest film session
Toronto Raptors coach Nick Nurse discusses details of the team's latest film session, how lengthy road trips can help a team find their footing and more.
Lillard scores 37, Blazers beat Spurs 147-127 to stop skid
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Damian Lillard had 37 points and 12 assists, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the San Antonio Spurs 147-127 on Monday night to stop a three-game losing streak. Jusuf Nurkic added 25 points and 11 rebounds for the struggling Blazers, who had lost eight of their previous 10 games. Keldon Johnson scored 20 points for the Spurs, who have lost seven of their last eight games and sit second-to-last in the Western Conference standings, just above the Houston Rockets. The high-s
MacKinnon lifts Avalanche past Kraken 2-1 in SO
SEATTLE (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored the only goal of the shootout and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Seattle Kraken 2-1 Saturday night for their season-high fifth straight win. Alex Newhook scored in regulation for the Avalanche, and Pavel Francouz stopped 26 shots. "You know, we've been playing pretty well here lately. I liked the way our team played again tonight," Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. "It was an evenly matched game obviously. Fitting that it goes to a shootout." Ryan Donato s
Bucks' Portis out at least 2 weeks with sprained MCL, ankle
MILWAUKEE (AP) — Milwaukee Bucks forward Bobby Portis will miss at least the next couple of weeks after spraining his right medial collateral ligament and right ankle in a 150-130 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday. The Bucks announced the severity of Portis' injuries to his knee and ankle on Wednesday and said he would be re-evaluated in two weeks. Portis, who turns 28 on Feb. 10, is averaging 14.4 points and a career-high 10.1 rebounds per game. The 6-foot-11 forward will miss a game f