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Daft Punk day finally arrives… But does it live up to its astronomical hype? Plus, the latest from Maya Jane Coles, London Grammar, Laura Marling, Eddie Berman and a special Virgin Records announcement »
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Showing posts with label American. Show all posts
Showing posts with label American. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Adam Lambert at the American Idol Season 12 Finale in Los Angeles
Daft Punk day finally arrives… But does it live up to its astronomical hype? Plus, the latest from Maya Jane Coles, London Grammar, Laura Marling, Eddie Berman and a special Virgin Records announcement »
Read more »Thursday, August 8, 2013
An American Looks At Home From Afar
What is going on in America? It's the refrain heard most round the office this week. Wedged between the tragedy that rocked Massachusetts and the fertiliser plant explosion that hit Texas hard, the Senate rejected a bipartisan plan to curb gun violence.
Afterwards, Barack Obama spoke about Washington's shame. This wasn't a move to ban firearms after all; it was a plan to extend background checks on those purchasing guns online and at gun shows - it had 90% support in the polls and it still fell six votes short of going through. And that's when the rest of the world starts scratching its head.
Because unlike in America, where I was born and raised, there seems to be a general consensus in the UK, where I have lived for the past five years, as well as the rest of the western world, that there's no need for guns in private households.
Sitting amongst my friends, a mix of Brits, Aussies and European nationals who make up a spectrum of political beliefs, the topic has again been raised: how is this still an issue in 2013? "Ban guns and shootings go down," they chorus.
It's basic maths, but the reality - the mentality - of growing up American makes this more complicated, burying the reasons (of which there are many) why the US can't seem to shake this topic.
Freedom: Is there a country that more rigorously echoes this mantra? It's the backbone of the States, a concept that is woven through every school lesson - free press! free speech! - starting from the Boston Tea party and fraying out to our involvement with other nations now. But this is it. In a nutshell the nation's historical narrative goes like this: our founding fathers fled religious persecution in England, fought the Brits for our freedom (there it is again), won, and haven't looked back since. The first order of the day was establishing the Bill of Rights, a handy manual that in essence flipped off King James II, making sure we didn't make the same mistakes as the mother country. Instead we made our own.
Pride: Mix this notion of freedom with national pride and you get one toxic cocktail - pounding fists on chest, 'defending' the rights our forefathers won for us. To hear gun supporters tell it, we're all in some episode of Games of Thrones, and would be sorely caught out without our weapons to protect us. This wasn't my experience in the northeast of the country, but if these views are anything to go on I'll steer clear of Texas.
Peer-pressure: You can't avoid the National Rifle Association, which lurks like a mosquito the government just can't squash. For a country that rallies so ardently against bullying, the US seems to be listening increasingly to the whispering devil on its shoulder. That the NRA has a monetary hold is no secret, that we don't know the half of it is bewildering.
*****
Eleven days before Christmas I was reading in my flat next to my husband who watched sports online beside me. "There's been another shooting in America," he said. I looked over at him, and then went back to reading. Another one, I thought, and part of me shut off, folded closed - the part that's been hyper-sensitive since 2001. The part that doesn't seem to heal, it just keeps scabbing over. It's a reality not just for Americans, but every person in every country on every continent.
When I sat down, by myself, to read about Sandy Hook, I felt bile in the back of my throat and salt in my eyes. If, after all this - after Columbine, Virginia Tech, Colorado, Aurora - we can't bring about a change, then when?
After the Dunblane school massacre in Britain in 1996, the Conservative party pushed through a ban on firearms the following year. And, as it was reported this week in the UK, 1 person in 100,000 dies from a gun every year to 3.2 in the US.
Shame - it robs you of the pride you feel for the country, the culture and the memories of home. It's laced with disgust - at the people who raced out to stockpile guns in the wake of Sandy Hook - and frustation - at the people who refuse to see this tragedy as plain, hard proof of what happens when you make it easier to buy a gun than get a driver's license.
The strength of a nation depends on its ability to adapt in an evolving world; America's founders recognised this, while its progeny clings to the past.
If we can't at least limit the means, then how can this end?
« Back to more Life, Love & SexSunday, June 9, 2013
50 Women Who Influenced American Health, The Latest Twinkies News and More!
In honor of Women's History Month, check out these 50 incredible ladies who influenced America's health in all kinds of awesome ways. Pictured is Clara Ross, the incredible woman who founded the Red Cross. [HuffPost]
OMG: Twinkies are making a comeback! A judge has approved the sale of various Hostess products, including this popular cream-filled treat. Expect to see 'em in grocery stores this summer. [CNN]
Some of Princess Diana's dresses are going up for auction. They're still totally gorgeous over a decade after she wore them. Lady had taste! [Telegraph]
It's not easy to have bombshell hair -- all that blow drying, coloring and flat ironing can wreck your mane. Here's how to do serious strand damage control. [YouBeauty]
If you purchased any pairs of the now-infamous Lululemon black pants after March 1, you can get a refund. [Consumerist]
Image Credit: Courtesy of HuffingtonPost
Sunday, August 5, 2012
American Energy Works: Jill
Jill is a district manager for Total Safety, a company that provides service solutions for various aspects of the oil and natural gas industry, as well as power-generation and industrial markets. For her, the industry is about future job security: “It’s really an industry that’s not going away.”
Her video:
Visit American Energy Works.org for more videos and information about the people who’re at work for America’s energy future.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
American Energy Works: Bob
ConocoPhillips’ Bob Morton is chief materials scientist at the company’s technology center in Bartlesville, Okla. The chemical that allowed development of low-sulfur gasoline and diesel – without sacrificing octane and without increasing the cost of the fuel – was developed there, he says.
Coming up with environmentally friendly consumer products is Morton’s mission:
“What I really love about my job is sometimes I’m given the opportunity to see something that nobody has seen before. And when those moments happen truly, those are the things that I think are the most wonderful parts of doing the job.”
Check out Bob’s story:
Visit American Energy Works.org for more videos and information about the people who’re at work for America’s energy future.
Friday, August 3, 2012
American Energy Works: Chris
Chris’ story is one of opportunity – extended and accepted. The oil and natural gas company he works for as a liquid mud coordinator saw work ethic and rewarded it:
“My training is not in energy, engineering or science, but because I was willing to learn, was willing to work, they took me from having no skills to being someone who they’re not afraid to have train the new employees – people who are the future of this company.”
Chris is one of 9.2 million Americans working a job supported by the oil and natural gas industry. Check out his video:
Visit American Energy Works.org for more videos and information about the people who’re at work for America’s energy future.
American Energy Works: Tanker Safety Officer
Janet DeCastro of Polar Tankers wanted a life at sea, so she entered the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. One of the requirements for cadets was to go to sea for a year on a commercial vessel, and DeCastro’s assignment was aboard an oil tanker.
The experience has become a 24-year professional career – and is one of 9.2 million jobs supported by the oil and natural gas industry. In the video below, DeCastro talks about the ships on which she serves, and the role she plays ensuring safe delivery of oil and protection of the environment:
Visit American Energy Works.org for more videos and more stories from the people of the oil and natural gas industry, who are at work for America.
American Energy Works: Driving Economic Growth
Energy-driven economic growth is more than theory in places like Mount Vernon, Ohio, and Chandlersville, about 60 miles to the southeast. Shale energy is building growth in both places – in different ways.
In Mount Vernon, Ariel Corporation is experiencing demand for the reciprocating gas compressors it manufactures, which are used to extract, process, transport, store and distribute natural gas from shale. In Chandlersville, Steve Addis and his wife own and operate Annie’s Restaurant, which is seeing an influx of workers who’re drilling new shale gas wells in the area. Both show how the oil and natural gas industry supports jobs beyond direct industry jobs.
More in this video:
Visit American Energy Works.org for more videos and information about the people who’re at work for America’s energy future.
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Launching: American Energy Works.org
The intersection of a recent anti-natural gas fundraiser at the trendy Brooklyn Winery – featuring fabulous culinary delights prepared by a group of talented chefs – and the natural gas that made the evening possible was, well, simply mouth-watering.
New York Daily News columnist Bill Hammond writes that the “Taste of the Marcellus” event last week was hosted by a group called Chefs for the Marcellus, to showcase the kinds of foods they say could be jeopardized if New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo OKs hydraulic fracturing in that state’s portion of the Marcellus Shale. Hammond:
"Guests were treated to eggplant-stuffed okra, smoked lamb belly with fermented tofu and whipped ricotta jewel on toast — along with wines from the Finger Lakes and beers from Cooperstown’s Ommegang brewery. Th... more »
Jill is a district manager for Total Safety, a company that provides service solutions for various aspects of the oil and natural gas industry, as well as power-generation and industrial markets. For her, the industry is about future job security: “It’s really an industry that’s not going away.”
Her video:
Visit American Energy Works.org for more videos and information about the people who’re at work for America’s energy future.
A new USA Today/Gallup poll finds two of the top three issues that Americans care about the most in this election year are … jobs and reducing the federal budget deficit. Check and check. America’s oil and natural gas industry can help with both. Respondents were asked to weigh the importance of a number of issues (see chart), and 92 percent said creating good jobs is “extremely/very important.” On cutting the federal deficit the figure was 86 percent. Jobs and revenue to the government – we can help.
With the right policies in place – increasing access to American natural resources, the right approach to energy regulation, encouraging energy investments and more – our industry could create 1.4 million jobs by 2030. Here’s how the Wood Mackenzie energy consulting firm charts the pot... more »
Energy-driven economic growth is more than theory in places like Mount Vernon, Ohio, and Chandlersville, about 60 miles to the southeast. Shale energy is building growth in both places – in different ways.
In Mount Vernon, Ariel Corporation is experiencing demand for the reciprocating gas compressors it manufactures, which are used to extract, process, transport, store and distribute natural gas from shale. In Chandlersville, Steve Addis and his wife own and operate Annie’s Restaurant, which is seeing an influx of workers who’re drilling new shale gas wells in the area. Both show how the oil and natural gas industry supports jobs beyond direct industry jobs.
More in this video:
Visit American Energy Works.org for more videos and information about the people who’re at work for Am... more »
ConocoPhillips’ Bob Morton is chief materials scientist at the company’s technology center in Bartlesville, Okla. The chemical that allowed development of low-sulfur gasoline and diesel – without sacrificing octane and without increasing the cost of the fuel – was developed there, he says.
Coming up with environmentally friendly consumer products is Morton’s mission:
“What I really love about my job is sometimes I’m given the opportunity to see something that nobody has seen before. And when those moments happen truly, those are the things that I think are the most wonderful parts of doing the job.”
Check out Bob’s story:
Visit American Energy Works.org for more videos and information about the people who’re at work for America’s energy future.
... more »
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