T.R.A.C.S at the Park on River Island
Friday, July 29, 2016
McArthur Park - Donna Summer
"MacArthur Park"
Spring was never waiting for us dear
It ran one step
ahead
As we followed
in the dance
MacArthur's
Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet,
green icing flowing down
Someone left
the cake out in the rain
I don't think
that I can take it
'cause it took
so long to bake it
And I'll never
have that recipe again
Oh, nooooo
I recall the
yellow cotton dress
Foaming like a
wave
On the ground
beneath your knees
The birds like
tender babies in your hands
And the old men
playing chinese checkers by the trees
MacArthur's
Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet
green icing flowing down
Someone left
the cake out in the rain
I don't think
that I can take it
'Cause it took
so long to bake it
And I'll never
have that recipe again
Oh, nooooo
MacArthur's
Park is melting in the dark
All the sweet
green icing flowing down
Someone left my
cake out in the rain
I don't think
that I can take it
'Cause it took
so long to make it
And I'll never
have that recipe again
Oh, nooooo
"MacArthur Park" is written and composed by
Jimmy Webb. Although it was a commercial success several times after its
initial release, "MacArthur Park" has been called the worst song ever
written. Its flowery lyrics and metaphors (most famously, lost love being
likened to a cake left out in the rain) have been described as
"polarizing" and "loopy." Webb commented: "Those
lyrics were all very real to me: there was nothing psychedelic about it to me.
The cake, it was an available object. It was what I saw in the park at the
birthday parties."
PARK
A park is an area of natural, semi-natural, or planted
space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of
wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of grassy areas, rocks, soil, and
trees, but may also contain buildings and other artifacts such as monuments,
fountains or playground structures. In North America, many parks have fields
for playing sports such as soccer, baseball and football, and paved areas for
games such as basketball. Many parks have trails for walking, biking and other
activities. Some parks are built adjacent to bodies of water or watercourses,
and these parks may comprise a beach or boat dock area. Often, the smallest
parks are in urban areas, where a park may take up only a city block or less.
Urban parks often have benches for sitting and they may contain picnic tables
and barbecue grills. Parks have differing rules regarding whether dogs can be
brought into the park: some parks prohibit dogs; some parks allow them with restrictions
(e.g., use of a leash); and some parks, which may be called "dog parks,"
permit dogs to run off-leash.
The largest parks can be vast natural areas of hundreds
of thousands of square kilometers (thousands of square miles), with abundant
wildlife and natural features such as mountains and rivers. In many large
parks, camping in tents is allowed with a permit. Many natural parks are
protected by law, and users may have to follow restrictions (e.g., rules
against open fires or bringing in glass bottles). Large national and
sub-national parks are typically overseen by a park ranger or a park warden.
Large parks may have areas for canoeing and hiking in the warmer months and, in
some northern hemisphere countries, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing in
colder months.
Noorderplantsoen
Noorderplantsoen is an urban public park in the city of
Groningen in the Netherlands, situated slightly north of the city center. Its
name is Dutch for northern public garden.
In 1874 the Vestingswet was passed. This law allowed
cities to expand outside of the city walls and fortifications. Since the
fortifications were no longer in use, they were transformed into a public park.
The earth ramparts were incorporated in the park architecture and the moats
were turned into ponds. The architecture is of an English garden style,
characterized by meandering paths and serpentine ponds, inspired by wild
nature. The shape of the park still reflects the former purpose of the area:
the long but narrow park curves around the old city. The park includes an Art
Nouveau bandstand and a small restaurant.
Until the mid-90s the Noorderplantsoen was split up by a
busy road, but a referendum in 1994 decided - with a narrow majority - to close
this road for motorized traffic.
Events
Every year a number of events take place in the
Noorderplantsoen, of which the Noorderzon Theater Festival is well known. This
cultural event takes place at the end of August and is visited by over 125,000
visitors. Many theater, dance and music groups from The Netherlands and abroad
perform during this 11-day festival.
Another well-known event in the Noorderplantsoen is the
plantsoenloop. This run through the park is held annually in October or early
November and attracts about 500 runners. In 2007 the 50th edition of the
plantsoenloop took place.
 |
The statue of Joost van den Vondel in the late 19th
century
|
The Vondelpark is a public urban park of 47 hectares (120
acres) in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is part of the borough of Amsterdam-Zuid
and situated west from the Leidseplein and the Museumplein. The park was opened
in 1865 and originally named the "Nieuwe Park", but later renamed to
"Vondelpark", after the 17th-century playwright and poet Joost van
den Vondel. Yearly, the park has around 10 million visitors. In the park is an
open-air theatre, a playground and several horeca* facilities.
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Friday, July 22, 2016
MEDITATION PARTY at T.R.A.C.S
We know what you're thinking: "You
want me to sit still and try not to think? I'm way too busy for that." The
Sanskrit word "yoga" means "union with the divine". Meditation
is also a key facet of yoga. But meditation is so much more—practicing has both
mental and physical health benefits.
T.R.A.C.S at the Temple on River Island
Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)
"Orinoco Flow", also released as
"Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)", is a song by the Irish singer-songwriter
and musician Enya, released in October 1988 on Warner Music internationally and
Geffen Records in the United States. It was released as the lead single from
her second studio album, Watermark (1988). It topped the UK singles chart for three weeks.
The song was released as the lead single from Enya's
second studio album, Watermark, in October 1988. It became a global success,
reaching #1 in several countries, including the United Kingdom, where it stayed
at the top of the music charts for three weeks. In the United States, the song
peaked at #24 in the spring of 1989. The song was also highly popular in the
early 1990s and was featured on many pop music compilations.
In 1994, the song was licensed to Virgin Records for
the best-selling new-age music compilation album Pure Moods, and in 1998 a
special-edition 10th-anniversary remix single was released. Part of its name is
derived from Orinoco Studios (now Miloco Studios), where it was recorded, and
its pizzicato chords (generated by altering the Roland D-50 synthesizer's
"Pizzagogo"/"Fantasia" patches) are highly recognizable.
Signed to WEA by Rob Dickins, who served as executive producer of Watermark,
"Orinoco Flow" was inspired by the Venezuelan river, and it paid
homage to Dickins in the line "with Rob Dickins at the wheel."
I think you all know the original. This is a great
remix.
Thursday, July 21, 2016
Meditation
Meditation is a practice where an individual trains
the mind or induces a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefit or
for the mind to simply acknowledge its content without becoming identified with
that content, or as an end in itself.
The term meditation refers to a broad variety of
practices that includes techniques designed to promote relaxation, build
internal energy or life force (qi, ki, prana, etc.) and develop compassion,
love, patience, generosity, and forgiveness. A particularly ambitious form of
meditation aims at effortlessly sustained single-pointed concentration meant to
enable its practitioner to enjoy an indestructible sense of well-being while
engaging in any life activity.
The word meditation carries different meanings in
different contexts. Meditation has been practiced since antiquity as a
component of numerous religious traditions and beliefs. Meditation often
involves an internal effort to self-regulate the mind in some way. Meditation
is often used to clear the mind and ease many health concerns, such as high
blood pressure, depression, and anxiety. It may be done sitting, or in an
active way—for instance, Buddhist monks involve awareness in their day-to-day
activities as a form of mind-training. Prayer beads or other ritual objects are
commonly used during meditation in order to keep track of or remind the
practitioner about some aspect of that training.
Meditation may involve generating an emotional state
for the purpose of analysing that state—such as anger, hatred, etc.—or
cultivating a particular mental response to various phenomena, such as
compassion. The term "meditation" can refer to the state itself, as
well as to practices or techniques employed to cultivate the state. Meditation
may also involve repeating a mantra and closing the eyes. The mantra is chosen
based on its suitability to the individual meditator. Meditation has a calming
effect and directs awareness inward until pure awareness is achieved, described
as "being awake inside without being aware of anything except awareness
itself." In brief, there are dozens of specific styles of meditation
practice, and many different types of activity commonly referred to as
meditative practices.
Saturday, July 16, 2016
Somebody's Watching Me - Rockwell
"Somebody's Watching Me" is a song by
American singer Rockwell from his debut studio album Somebody's Watching Me
(1984). It was released as Rockwell's debut single and lead single from the
album in January 14, 1984, by Motown. It features former Jackson 5 members
Michael Jackson (vocals in the chorus) and Jermaine Jackson (additional backing
vocals).
"Somebody's Watching Me" became a commercial
success internationally, topping the charts in Belgium, France and Spain.
"Somebody's Watching Me" also peaked at number two on the US
Billboard Hot 100, as well as reaching number six on the UK Singles Chart.
MI5
The Security Service, also MI5 (Military Intelligence,
Section 5), is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security
agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret
Intelligence Service (MI6), Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and
Defence Intelligence (DI). MI5 is directed by the Joint Intelligence Committee
(JIC), and the service is bound by the Security Service Act 1989 and the
Intelligence Services Act 1994. The service is directed to protect British
parliamentary democracy and economic interests, and counter terrorism and
espionage within the UK.
Within the civil service community the service is
colloquially known as Box 500 (after its official wartime address of PO Box
500; its current address is PO Box 3255, London SW1P 1AE).
The service has had a national headquarters at Thames
House on Millbank in London since 1995, drawing together personnel from a
number of locations into a single HQ facility.
Thames House was, until March
2013, shared with the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) and is also home to the
Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre, a subordinate organisation to the Security
Service. The service has offices across the United Kingdom including an HQ in
Northern Ireland.
Details of the northern operations centre in Greater
Manchester were revealed by the firm who built it. Plans to open the northern
operations centre were reported by The Manchester Evening News in February
2005, and plans to open a permanent Scottish office in Glasgow were reported by
The Scotsman in January of that year.
16 July 1993: Secret Service goes public
Britain's internal security service, MI5, has held the
first photocall in its 84-year history.
Stella Rimington, 56, became the first Director
General of the MI5 to pose openly for cameras at the launch of a brochure
outlining the organisation's activities
She was made the first female head of MI5 last year -
following another unprecedented public announcement - after 22 years in the
service.
Journalists were invited to their first official
briefing by a senior MI5 official where they were warned that this was not the
beginning of "a great avalanche of openness".
The difference between MI5 and MI6
The MI5 seeks to protect the United Kingdom, its citizens
and interests from internal and external threats while the MI6 focuses
exclusively on external threats. The MI6 is officially known as the Secret
Intelligence Service.
The MI6 is the government agency to which
the famous international spy, James Bond, belongs.
Friday, July 15, 2016
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