text:
Built for precision above all else, the CMS System features tremendous adjustability plus a host of features that combine to help you control the work piece, so you get uncompromised results. A smooth-as-glass sliding table, exacting miter gauge, solid extension table, plus feather board and hold-down options come together to deliver a precise, yet portable routing solution that is at home in the workshop or on the jobsite. Independently adjustable fences with precision micro adjustment are just the beginning. Limitless adjustability backed by Festool build-quality guarantees the most precise routing system available, helping you to achieve better results in less time. Designed to work seamlessly with the Festool OF 1400 and OF 1010 routers, the CMS System delivers maximum precision, efficiency, and ease of use without all the fuss and hassle of a patchwork system. The CMS System helps you capture and contain chips and debris at the point of creation, saving time and money wasted on cleanup, while getting you closer to the work and out of your customers garage or driveway. Includes CMS MFT/3 Router Table Extension, Router Module and Fence, Auxiliary Dust Hood with Starting Pin. Compatible with Festool OF 1400 and OF 1010 Routers.
Learn more on our CMS Router Table website.
We're here to help. Feel free to give us a call toll-free at 888-337-8600 or use
our contact form and one of our tool
application specialists will help answer your questions.
Visit the Festool Owners
Group forum, consisting of over 15,000 international members. The forum
is a great place to collaborate with other Festool power tool owners. There's no
better online resource of Festool information than the Festool Owners Group.
© Copyright
Festool USA, Tooltechnic Systems, LLC. All rights reserved. Festool reserves the
right to correct any erroneous information on this site.


text:
Subscribe To Nicole Kidman, Matthew McConaughey And Zac Efron In The Paperboy Trailer Updates
I've already subscribed
After drawing the world's notice with the Oscar-winning melodrama Precious, daring director Lee Daniels chose another gritty book for the inspiration of his much-anticipated follow-up. Based on Peter Dexter's 1955 crime novel The Paperboy, Daniels latest thriller is set in the deep South and delves deep into lust, murder and depravity.
Nicole Kidman stars as a scandalously sexual woman named Charlotte Bless who has fallen for death row inmate Hillary Van Wetter (John Cusack). She believes he is innocent of the charge that he killed the local sheriff. Determined to see him freed so the two can marry, Bless calls on the help of investigative journalist Ward Jensen (Matthew McConaughey) and his doe-eyed newspaper-delivering brother Jack (Zac Efron) to aid her in uncovering evidence that could be grounds for an appeal. But despite their best efforts to keep a level head, these brothers are soon entangled in Bless and Wetter's twisted web. Get a taste of its steamy allure in the trailer below, courtesy of Yahoo:
The Paperboy debuted at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year where it not only scored a coveted nomination for the prestigious Palme d'Or prize, but also raised a stir over disturbing scenes involving Kidman's uninhibited sexpot. Of course, the controversy sort of just adds to the thriller's mystique. And with McConaughey already getting Oscar buzz for his performance in Magic Mike and Kidman winning early praise for her fearless portrayal here, The Paperboy is stacking up to be a fall feature not to be missed.
The Paperboy opens in theaters October 5th.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Searched for: floating breakwater*
(1 - 1 of 1)
- document
The city of Mar del Plata is situated some 400 km South of Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. The city has two main incomes, namely industry and tourism. In summer, beaches of this Atlantic Ocean faced destination are packed with typical Argentine beach tents, which can be rented, and people from all over Argentina come to Mar del Plata....student report 2004


text:
OKLAHOMA CITY – Breathing ground-level ozone is akin to getting a sunburn on your lungs and can result in coughing, throat irritation, chest tightness and shortness of breath. For the 1 in 10 adults and children in Oklahoma with asthma, it can be more harmful, even fatal; the equivalent of choking to death.
When temperatures rise in Oklahoma, so do ozone levels. Simply leaving your car at home for the day can make a huge impact. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, every gallon of gasoline you use releases 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, a major contributor to ozone.
"Improving our air has to be a complete team effort that all Oklahomans participate in and want to see happen," says Jeremy Hughey, executive director, American Lung Association in Oklahoma. "Driving less and taking public transportation are great ways to help clean up our air."
EMBARK is making it easy for Oklahoma City metro residents to do their part to reduce emissions and improve air quality. On Earth Day, April 18, EMBARK is offering free bus rides on all fixed-route bus service. During ozone season, EMBARK will continue to offer free rides every third Friday: May 15, June 19, July 17, Aug. 21 and Sept. 18. On Earth Day and Free Fare Fridays, you can still commute, run errands and attend events around the city while doing your part to help your friends and neighbors breathe easier, simply by taking the bus.
"Good air-quality in central Oklahoma is also an economic development issue," says Roy Williams, president and CEO of the Greater Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce. "Companies that look to locate here consider our air quality as an important factor that contributes to their financial success and the health of their employees. This isn't an issue for companies or government to fix for us – it's up to us as individuals. Public transportation is the single most effective way that we as individuals can improve our air quality."
Vehicle emissions are a primary contributor to air pollution. Each EMBARK bus has the potential to take 35 vehicles off the road. According to the American Public Transportation Association, for every mile traveled on public transit, riders will produce 95 percent less carbon dioxide than driving.
Riding the bus is not just good for the environment. It is also good for your bank account. According to the American Public Transportation Association, people who use public transportation save an average of $9,625 a year.
About EMBARK
To learn more about EMBARK and view bus schedules and routes, visit www.embarkok.com or call (405) 235-RIDE (7433) for personal assistance from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. To learn more about carpooling or to be matched with someone in your area, visit www.getaroundok.com.
Media Contact: Michael Scroggins | 405.297.2107 | email


text:
Washtenaw Community College's Facilities Management Department is proud to present this video titled "I am Facilities Management." The video takes you on a tour of the many people and activities of WCC Facilities Management. It provides a picture of the mostly behind the scenes world of the everyday heroes who keep WCC running.
The video highlights who we are and what we do. It was created by Bill Ghrist, Manager of Energy and Systems Integration, and Brian Steinberg, Facilities Operations Staff, with the support of WCC Media Services.


text:
Billed as a "sandbox fun-shooter," Brick-Force lets players be both the game designer and player, allowing you to build the world you'll battle in. Built with the Unity 3D engine, it's Minecraft meets Team Fortress 2 with an irresistibly adorable comic book art style. If that doesn't make you want to play it right now, we feel very sorry for you.
Take a look through the screenshots above and check out this cool fan-made time-lapse video showing the construction of a complex map below. The Brick-Force closed beta is live right now – and we've got 5,000 keys for all upcoming builders and shooters. Find out how to get your key below.
How to get your beta key
1. Login to www.gamesradar.com. If you're not already a member, click here to register. It only takes a minute.
2. Head to our Brick-Force beta key page to get your code.
3. Make a note of your code and follow instructions to redeem it and start playing.


text:
Online health care degrees are offered in a range of fields, including health care administration and management, nursing, public health, medical billing and coding, medical assisting, and medical office administration.
Online health care students can earn anything from a certificate to a Ph.D., depending on their field of choice. One benefit of online study is that many programs include accelerated options.
Nursing students, for example, can earn a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) online if they are already in possession of a registered nurse's license (RN).
Referred to as RN-to-BSN programs, they are accelerated because the nurse's work experience and hands-on course work for their initial licensure are applied to the BSN's practical requirements. RNs can complete all the classroom work online, at their own convenience, which is especially convenient for nurses who work varied schedules and might otherwise be unable to commit to a traditional campus class schedule.
Indeed, the convenience of an online degree program is one of its most sought-after benefits. Students who have full-time jobs or other commitments enjoy the freedom an online program affords.
When enrolled in an online health care degree program, students receive lessons via email or a message board, and can opt to study in the middle of the night, on a Sunday morning, or while they're eating lunch. Assignments generally have deadlines, but students turn them in online. Many courses offer scheduled opportunities for instructors to interact with students through chat programs, while many use discussion boards to post questions, comments, and other concerns. Such boards can be perused at a student's convenience.
In addition to the flexibility of scheduling, online health care students have access to the same student services offered to on-campus students. Most colleges and universities have extensive online libraries that students can access at their leisure. Career services are also offered online. Tutoring, academic advisement, and financial aid concerns can be addressed online as well.
If you found this online, you can be an online student. For more, visit our Guide to Online Allied Health Care Education and request more information from online health care schools.


text:
NEW YORK (AP) Second baseman Daniel Murphy and the New York Mets have agreed to a one-year contract worth $2,925,000, avoiding salary arbitration.
The 27-year-old Murphy hit .291 with six homers and 65 RBIs last year, when he made $512,196. He had asked for $3.4 million in arbitration and had been offered $2.55 million.
He was the final Mets player to agree to a deal among the three who filed for arbitration. First baseman Ike Davis agreed at $3,125,000 and pitcher Bobby Parnell at $1.7 million.
Free-agent pitcher Shaun Marcum took a physical Tuesday and the Mets hope to finalize his agreement on Wednesday.
The team also signed reliever Scott Atchison to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. The 36-year-old right-hander was 2-1 with a career-best 1.58 ERA in 42 games for Boston last season.


text: Curvy Kate brings full-figured women lingerie unlike any other. Curvy Kate fashions are demure, edgy and amazing for any style and size of woman. All bras are available from 28" to 40" backs and D to K cups, with briefs from size 8/XS to 20/3X. They specialize in the construction of firm sides and back fabric, strong wires, soft elastic and thick wire casing.


text:
Breanne Benson - Only at Aziani.com
Quoted by the gorgeous model herself "I am so fucking horny right now!" She doesn't mess around or waste any time. She strips down to her sexy leopard print bra and panties then gets out her vibrator so she can get off. She rubs the vibrator all over her hot body paying special attention to her pussy and ring. 10 10 10!!


text:
A SUMMER IN THE CAGE is filmmaker Ben Selkow's feature-length documentary
chronicling his friend Sam's battle with manic-depressive illness,
also known as bipolar disorder. The film follows Sam for seven years
as he suffers delusional manic episodes, battles paralyzing depressions,
and tries to escape the legacy of his father. By showing the difficult
emotional impact of being bipolar on Sam, his family, and the filmmaker,
A Summer in the Cage hopes to put a human face on an illness
that affects millions of American families. But as this dramatic
story unfolds, it also becomes a unique tale about friendship and
the ethical responsibilities of a documentary filmmaker. The intent
was to make a film about successfully living with, and managing, a
mental illness. Throughout the process and when the Hollywood ending
proves too elusive, the filmmaker and the subject are forced to
ask themselves, "When do you turn off the camera?"
IS BIPOLAR DISORDER or MANIC-DEPRESSIVE ILLNESS?
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::


text:
British British Polish Polish at the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle
Now on view at the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw, British British Polish Polish is a comprehensive—nearly overwhelming—exhibition with works by more than 60 artists occupying two floors. Though the individual pieces of the show are often thrilling, their overall placement leaves much to be desired. According to curators Marek Goździewski and Tom Morton, the exhibition is meant to reflect "the extraordinary[…..]


text:
01/01/1970 - general
© 2009 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. R.U.S.E, IRISZOOM Ubisoft, Ubi.com, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks
of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries. Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, and the Xbox logos are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies.,'PlayStation' and 'PLAYSTATION' are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Software platform logo (TM and ©) EMA 2009. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Core, and Core Inside are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.


text:
Byron Bay High School
My portraits seek to encapsulate the watershed between adolescence and adulthood. The bleeding, dribbling stains of watercolour reveal the fragility and tenderness of this defining segue. The sparse incomplete traces of paint on the breath of the raw, chalky paper are tailored to the incompletion of self, the nakedness of uncertainty. My intimate relationship with each subject rendered an honesty and sincerity in their faces, captured in moments of deep emotion and vulnerability.
Art is often a vicarious exploration of oneself. Where we traffic into subject matter, through tone and colour, the truth dribbles out obliquely. With watercolour, my aim is to reveal, and my practice is to conceal. On these occasions we enter art to hide within it. It's where we go to save ourselves.


text:
Winners of the International Bike Design Competition announced
Thumb-operated hydraulic brake, rear light that projects on rider's back and more
A thumb-operated hydraulic brake system, a rear light which projects onto the rider's back to maximise visibility and a bamboo transporter bike for isolated communities were among 10 prize-winning design concepts celebrated at the International Bike Design Competition on Tuesday.
€16,000 (about £13,700) was up for grabs from student designers from all over the world in the 17th edition of the awards, held on the opening day of the Taipei International Cycle Show.
The panel of judges gathered from the top design companies and high echelons of the bike industry reviewed nearly 400 entries from 45 countries.
Entries were judged on a range of factors including innovation, design quality, material choice and social responsibility.
The top five winners each collected more than £2,000 each in prize money. In no particular order they were:
Martina Zbinden from FHNW IID, Switzerland
The Penta Brake System does not require a lot of force making it easier to modulate braking power. The low-maintenance brake is serviced over the handlebars and the stem, whereby the entire top piece can be removed.
Marco Giarrana, University of Design and Art, Basle, Switzerland
The ubqo sixty60 eliminates the only real weak points of pivot designs: it replaces the two small linkages, exposed to extremely high loads, with large ex-centers, better able to cope with the loads better for extra durability and stability.
Kuang-Chung Hao, Yi-Ching Lin and Yen-Liang Chen, National Taipei University of Technology, Taiwan
The Glow Rider is mounted on the rear fender; it acts as a high-powered taillight. At a flick of the switch, it can also project a bright beam of light onto the rider's back. This creates a larger lit surface area, making the rider more visible in the rain or dark.
Thomas Breun, Hochschule Coburg, Integrated Product Design, Germany
ERON combines a conventional bicycle disk brake with a bicycle lighting system. While riding, magnets fitted into the brake disks produce electrical energy in induction coils arranged beside the brake calipers to operate the lights. The front lights are integrated into the brake handles, while the taillight can be attached to the rear brake caliper
Sara Urasini, Free University of Bozen, Italy
BamGoo is a transporter designed for emerging countries where the bike is the most important means of getting about. It is a very simple structure made of the natural materials that are easy to find and easy to work with. It consists of twelve containers positioned symmetrically so that it can be used as a stall at market.
Five additional winners also received prize money for their designs and the judges commended a further 12 entries. One designer, Balazs Filczer from Hungary is currently crowdsourcing funds to take the Dora – a helmet with integrated lights and indicators – closer to production.
All award winners are featured on the IBDC website: www.ibdcaward.org.


text:
- Publish date:
- Updated on
- Year
- 1998
Alice McDermott wins the National Book Award
On this day, Alice McDermott beats out front-runner Tom Wolfe for the National Book Award with her novel Charming Billy, losing a bet with her children.
McDermott felt she was so unlikely to win the award that she told her three children she'd give them whatever they wanted if she won: She ended up owing them a portable TV, an inflatable armchair, and a ski trip.
McDermott grew up on Long Island, which became the setting for much of her writing. She attended the State University of New York at Oswego, then worked in publishing for a year, hoping to rid herself of the writing bug. Failing that, she went to graduate school at the University of New Hampshire and soon began publishing short stories in women's magazines. Her first novel, A Bigamist's Daughter, came out in 1982. Her second, That Night (1987), was nominated for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer.
McDermott and her husband, a neuroscientist, had three children and lived in San Diego and Pittsburgh before settling in Bethesda. She taught at Johns Hopkins University while continuing to write novels, including Child of My Heart (2002) and After This (2006).


text:
100 million cheeks can't be wrong! Aerie's #1 selling undie fit, the Boybrief, now has a new – and cheekier – BFF! Even if a thong is your go-to fit, every girl needs a full coverage undie in her drawer. Our Mini Boybrief is perfect for the girl who likes fuller coverage but still wants just a peek of cheek! Shannon, buyer for undies at Aerie.com, gives the lowdown on our newest fit.
Want to see more from our merchants on styles, trends and products they're loving? Check out our most recent post in our merchant video series!


text:
Can God Bless America?
In this era of terrorism, poverty, oppression and a few less-distinct enemies, waves of patriotism occasionally revive the slogan "God Bless America." Sadly, though, the sentiment long ago became a cliché to which people rarely give serious thought. The …Read More
The Days of the Dead
September 11, 2001, was, in many respects, a rather ordinary day. I began the day working at my desk, writing. But my plans quickly changed. Many of us spent hours staring not at our computer screens but at our television …Read More
Loving Our Enemies
A Pakistani Christian woman is sentenced to death for defiling the name of Muhammad. A suicide bomber outside a church in Egypt kills twenty-one people and wounds many more. An attack on a church in northern Nigeria by a thirty-strong …Read More
A Pastor's Reflection
What do you do when the world falls apart? When the planes struck, I was in my office overlooking Columbia University on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, eight miles north of Ground Zero. I listened helplessly to news reports …Read More
Ten Years Later
The world has changed. We are not the same people we were on September 10, 2001. The events of September 11, 2001, and the events that followed in ensuing years have not only changed America but nations and peoples throughout …Read More
What If or If God?
I love the Lord of the Rings. I remember sitting in a hotel room in Seattle, Washington, in December of 2003, reading the last book of the trilogy, The Return of the King. I had just spent the previous few …Read More


text:
Yesterday I went shopping for flu masks... just in case things worsen (which I suspect they will). It is not flu season here in Hawaii, but it seems that many people are catching the flu (or something).
Just for the sake of argument, I assumed that it would be nice to have a "N95 respirator" type mask. So I started calling around. To make a long story short, I could only find one supply company here in Honolulu that had any for sale. One store said that they had sold out. Another said that they stopped carrying such masks because people were not buying them. I probably missed some stores, but the masks simply were not that widely available.
I went to the store I found and purchased 100 individually wrapped N95 respirator masks for about $120. I also purchased 120 more (better ones) online.
I am giving 5 masks to each of my family members to put in their cars. These are for unexpected use. I also have more at home and work.
Here is my point. I am just one person. If everyone suddenly starting looking for these things, I think there would be a problem. I don't think that the government will just hand them out. And regular masks that you can get at the hardware store might not be good enough. (See the cdc.gov website for its guidelines.)
And one mask can only be used once. They are not good for repeated use. Let's say I have a family of six. In one month, if each person used a mask each day, that is 180 masks! So buying 100 does not sound like that much.
The main thing in Karate is to be prepared (just like Boy Scouts). The time to look for something is before you need it. I have a feeling that buying the right masks if the swine flu pandemic worsens will be like trying to buy a generator during a hurricane. In Hawaii, we know how hard that can be!
Plan ahead.
A last thought. Paying $120 for 100 masks sounds like a lot. But some of the toner cartridges I buy for work cost that much. When you need them, you will probably be willing to pay a great deal... if you can find any. Cost is relative... think about your relatives.
Charles C. Goodin
Flu Masks
Yesterday I went shopping for flu masks... just in case things worsen (which I suspect they will). It is not flu season here in Hawaii, but it seems that many people are catching the flu (or something).
Posted by Charles C. Goodin on Wednesday, July 08, 2009


text:
Kiwi Crash Course
Without a guide, this angler may have been bested by trout. By Thierry BomBeke
The Ambien failed badly, giving me just 45 minutes of sleep dur- ing a 36-hour slog from coastal Maine to New Zealand, specifically the pastoral town of Murchison, where I started the first leg of a three-lodge, eight-day trout blitz
Fortunately, fatigue was overridden by the adrenaline high that comes with visiting an exceedingly exotic new place that, amongst other wonders, harbors large brown and rainbow trout in good numbers. Within minutes of my arrival at Scott and Leya Murray's beautiful River Haven Lodge, we were on the banks of a nearby free- stoner, Scott rigging my 9-foot 5-weight with an 18-foot leader and a strike indicator, the mono tipped with a dark beadhead caddis.
"How in the hell am I going to make accurate casts with this?" I half-jokingly asked.
The mild-mannered guide smiled and said I'd get used to it. He told me that New Zealand's trout behave differently from those in the states and that I should be prepared to do a lot of things differently here. The man was right. Over the course of my visit I'd learn that Kiwi trout spook extremely easily, and that the list of not-so-obvious things that can freak out a fish is as long as your arm. Figure out 10 of those things, and there are seven left you could be doing wrong.
Fortunately, Scott is one of the best guides in a country full of great ones; after just a few minutes of drifting a nymph blindly through the first run, my indicator paused and my hookset was countered with the throbbing weight of a three-pound brown. The fish was brought to net and released and, the ice broken, we moved to a set of riffles 200 feet above to try some sight-fishing. Halfway up the riffles Scott gestured for me to stop. He pointed to a seam in two feet of air-clear water 15 or so yards away. "Do you see that trout?"
I peered sharply at the spot for 10 seconds and responded, "No. I just see a bunch of rocks."
"See the third rock from the top, the light brown one?"
"Yes," I hissed back.
"That's a five-pound brown."
As I cast, I wondered how long it would take me to develop such sighting skills on my own. Way longer than eight days, I surmised. The inaugural drift seemed perfect, but the fish refused. Before I could make a follow-up cast, Scott grabbed my tippet and changed to a lighter-colored caddis, a move that was a little premature, in my unschooled opinion. The first drift with the new fly resulted in another refusal. Bang, another fly change. This time the fish took and exploded from the water. After fending off several dogged runs, I had my first New Zealand trophy. As the released fish swam off, I asked Scott why we didn't give the first two flies more of a chance. He said he could see the fish was in a feeding mode and if we had on the right fly the trout would have gulped it on the first drift. To cast again with the same fly would have risked spooking the fish. On my own I would have changed flies, but only after I had cast a few more times, which in this case would have been a few too many. I then would have spent an hour or more carpet-bombing the fish with every fly/tippet/drift combination imaginable in an attempt to crack the code on a lock-jawed trout. With Scott, however, instead I spent that time picking my way upstream, landing three more browns of four or five pounds before heading back to the lodge for an evening of lamb, domestic red and some much needed Zs.
The following day we hit the Wairau, a veritable helix of watery braid, with islands running down the center of a stunningly picturesque mile-wide valley. Although most of the water was wadeable and looked very fishy, there was an overwhelming amount of it. New Zealand is a land where quality often comes at the expense of quantity, meaning great-looking water can sometimes be barren of fish, but when you do find fish they're the kind that vault your pulse. Left to my own devices, my challenge on the Wairau would have been finding the trout (assuming, of course, that I had the sighting ability to spot them in the first place). In fact, despite a high, bright sun, it even took a master like Scott an hour to find fish, but when he did he hit the motherlode, and that day I got shots at a dozen browns weighing between four and eight pounds. I managed to land half of them, but the most enjoyable fish was one I didn't catcha six-pounder that was finning in 10 inches of water a mere foot off an open bank. Hunching over and quietly shuffling forward on my knees, I was able to get within 15 feet of the fish to make a cast. The fish's proximity to the bank coupled with a current shift a foot above the trout's nose required a mid-air mend that I botched just enough to send the fish packing. I was all smiles nonetheless, my failure to catch the fish vastly overshadowed by an appreciation of the unique "trout commando" aspect of the whole affair.
At the lodge that evening, I confided in one of the other guests that I was feeling a little inadequate about being so dependent on my guide.
"Welcome to the club," he chuckled. "I hire a guide every time I come to New Zealand. I've fished all over the world and held my own without a guide on some very challenging water. This, however, is the only place that intimidates me."
AFTER ANOTHER GREAT DAY IN THE Murchison area, I thanked the Murrays, hopped into my rental car, pointed it toward Wakefield and zipped over to Stonefly Lodge, an incredibly luxurious eco-lodge that overlooks the famous Matueka River. (If you think a zero-carbon footprint and high living are mutually exclusive, trust me, you're wrong.)
The next morning, guide Paul Van der Loos and I were heli-dropped onto a quaint high-country tributary that featured super-clear sapphire-tinted water. In an instant, Yellowstone's Slough Creek was supplanted as the prettiest stream I'd ever seen. But something had apparently disturbed the fish prior to our arrival, making them hair-trigger sensitive. To make things tougher, my casting ability abandoned me and, after putting down a pair of nine-pound fish and losing another pair of smaller ones, I accepted my first (and only) fishless day in New Zealand.
That night, over duck confit and braised root veggies, lodge owner John Kerr asked if I wanted to try something different the next day. He proposed a low- lying spring creek that coursed though a kiwi orchard, and I accepted eagerly. So on day five I was dropping a Parachute Adams in front of beastly browns under the instruction of my Kiwi guide while trying not to hook kiwi fruit with my backcast. The venture proved a winner, with the standout fish being a coy six-pounder that sipped the fly so lightly I could have mistaken it for a six-inch chub were it not plainly visible through the entire rise-and-take sequence. As I released the trout I was struck by the size of its maw.
"That thing could inhale a six-pack of mice in one gulp!" I marveled.
"You wouldn't believe what these big trout eat," responded my guide, Steve Greaney. "I once saw an eight-pound trout at the bottom of a pool shaking a four-pounder like a rag doll. I'm not talking about a turf war, he was trying to eat the bloody thing! I also occasionally see 24-inch trout with the back half of two-foot-long Maori eels hanging out of their mouths. They'll sit there for days, swallowing a few inches at a time until the eel is gone."
Although not much of a skinny-dipper, I vowed to never engage in that activity in a New Zealand trout stream.
THE MELANCHOLY ASSOCIATED WITH LEAVING Stonefly and beginning the final leg of my trip was displaced by the anticipation of new scenery. I was moving from the South Island to the North Island, where I'd get my first crack at rainbows—a fish widely reputed to be dumber than the browns I'd encountered, leading me to believe I could finally be a little less dependent on the guides. My flight schedule got buggered, and by the time I arrived at my final destination, Poronui Ranch in Taupo, it was too late to fish. That didn't turn out to be such a bad thing, since it gave me time to grab a glass of cabernet, visit with the chef as he prepared the evening meal, and explore the elegant main lodge, which oozed with tradition and nostalgia. It also gave me time to review the progress I'd made: Although I had learned a ton from the guides, there were still two very important things that I'd have to figure out before I could catch fish on my own. First, I'd have to get drastically better at seeing fish. Since the beginning of the trip, I had asked each guide to give me first crack at scanning new water. Of the 75 fish we encountered, I spotted only four, and every one of those required at least one hint from the gillie. Second, I'd need to learn the body language of fish; the guides were expert trout profilers, each having the ability to watch a fish, zero in on its disposition and cater to it accordingly.
The next day guide Dave Wood took me to the Mohaka, a clear, fast-flowing river flanked by rugged hills studded with native manuka trees. Although we encountered a good number of trout, only one was a rainbow, a fish of about five pounds that was sta- tioned about 70 feet upstream on the outside edge of a shallow pool. It was a golden opportunity, except for one problem—a four-foot eel sat between me and the fish. Then I noticed the tail of the run above the pool was just shallow enough for me to ford the river. I could cross about 90 feet above the fish and circle back for an upstream presentation without having to mess with the eel. I pointed this out to Dave.
"No go," he replied.
"Really?" I pleaded. "I know I can cross without making noise or causing a wake."
"It's not about that. The fish will smell you when you cross."
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"I shit you not, mate. We've got to try him from here."
So I moved in, the eel refused to give way, I punked out and my day ended sans rainbow.
Twenty-two hours later I was deep into the final day of my New Zealand odyssey. We'd helicoptered to
a remote stream of volcanic origins that was populated exclusively by good-size rainbows. In spite of a stiff breeze that made spotting difficult, we'd stalked and cast to a half-dozen nice fish. I hooked two of them, but each managed to divest themselves of the fly within the first couple headshakes. Landing a hog of a rainbow was an experience I desperately didn't want to leave on the table, but now we had only min- utes to go before our scheduled pick-up. Dave and I scrambled forward to look for one more fish before the bird touched down.
My hopes soared when Dave, who had trotted ahead to check the last hole on the beat, frantically waved me over. When I caught up he pointed out a fish that was finning lazily, just beneath the surface in the middle of the pool. I quietly moved into position, about 35 feet below, and dropped a big spider pattern eight feet above the fish, cursing myself for not having landed that terrestrial closer. Without the luxury of a redo, I stayed with the drift and hoped for the best.
"Bugger!" Dave whispered over my shoulder, as the fly passed unacknowledged over the fish.
Then, just when I was about to pick up the line, he blurted, "Wait!"
In the moments after the fly passed the trout, Dave detected a shift in its demeanor, and in the milliseconds that followed the fish changed its mind from reject to accept, turned around, tracked the fly down and sipped it in. When I whipped the rod side- ways the line tightened with a liquid zip, and the four-pound rainbow vaulted skyward and blasted upstream. This time the hook held. But when the fish turned and charged toward an underwater out- cropping of volcanic rock, elation turned to angst. I immediately thrust the rod tip skyward and dashed toward the rock, keeping the tippet clear of the hazard. From there it was easy going and, several minutes later—as the clip-clip-clip of the approaching helicopter became audible in the distance—I was posing for pictures with my hard-won prize.
I received some great mentoring from gillies during my time in New Zealand. As a result, I feel confident enough to try a few days of unguided fishing when I return. I'll probably still get my ass handed to me, but I'll surely have a blast trying.
Thierry Bombeke is associate publisher of Fly Rod & Reel's sister publication, Shooting Sportsman. For more information on River Haven Lodge, Stonefly Lodge, Poronui Ranch and other fine Kiwi destinations, visit Best of New Zealand Fly Fishing, at www. bestofnzflyfishing.com/
Artikel von
The Best of New Zealand Fly Fishing
Fly Fishing is our central focus, but we are also experts in the many other activities & accommodations available in New Zealand. From a fishing lodge to a charming Bed and Breakfast, we know the right accommodation to suite your needs and budget.


text:
First let's step back in time to a sandalwood report published in 1925.
Journal of the Royal Society of Arts
Vol. 74, No. 3813 (DECEMBER 18th, 1925), pp. 119-120
Published by: Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce
Article Stable URL
Over the past 15 years the price has increased on a compound basis by 16 % per annum.
The trial harvest of Australian album oil by TFS in 2011 sold for $US4,000 per kg. This was an 80% premium on the 2011 spot price of $US2,100 per kg. Today Mysore sandalwood oil has a spot price of $US2,500 per kg.
TFS anticipates that it will be the dominant global producer of Santalum album sandalwood by 2020. The markets for sandalwood include perfumery, religious statues and prayer beads as well as incense and medicine. Currently in R&D is a wart removal trial using sandalwood oil.
The world now has a reliable, legal and sustainable supply of Australian album (Santalum album) sandalwood. This will deliver stability for the market uses noted above.
This has been a series of sandalwood dreams which have turned into a heightened and sustainable reality.
How to enter Please leave a comment below letting us know something new or interesting that you learnt from any section of the Series of Sandalwood Dreams.
Draw Now Closed
If you would like to experience Australian album sandalwood oil or wood the contacts are:
Home and Small Business buyers - TFS products page
Commercial Quantity
Australian album Oil - TFS commercial enquiries
Australian album Wood - TFS commercial enquiries
I am loving this website more and more. I heard horrible stories about sandalwood and how it harvest and sol so I am glad to read the following
"After blending and pouring into large drums or small flacons a Certificate of Analysis is logged to the batch number. This means that the final analysis of the oil is traceable back to each plantation. A legal, traceable and transparent supply chain from soil to oil."
Happy holidays all
I've been following the bits and pieces of information about Australian Santalum album, so your series was timely and topical. Such a wealth of information you have provided.
I heard that Santalum album may have been indiginous to the Australian continent and that these plantations in the tropical north are a sort of home coming for the species. I love the native Australian spicatum and have an assortment of Mysore sandalwoods including several antique examples I've collected as well as tiny samples from the late 90's before the crisis. I would love to see how this recent extraction compares. I'm sure aging will help the oil mellow.
I really enjoyed learning about the process of extraction. The low yield, 3.7% is not surprising and will probably increase as the trees mature into their 3rd decade. I also appreciate the effort Tropical Forestry Services is making to eliminate waste in all aspects of production and offer a product that is traceable to the plantation, from soil to oil. That is setting a new standard for world production of key perfumery ingredients.
Thank you for this great series!
Interesting that different batches of oils are blended together for a more consistent odour profile. I thought they'd just blend everything together. Does this mean that some amount of oil is left behind?
Also, I wonder if any of the Australian Santalum Album trees will be allowed to reach their full maturity before being harvested? Maybe this way they could offer a superior grade of oil in addition to the regular one (assuming an older tree would give a superior oil - maybe not?).
I was very interested to learn that the spot price of Australian album was higher than it's Mysore counterpart, but I would suppose that it being a new crop the demand would ultimately be much higher. compared though to the options I find it surprising that Album still commands such high prices especially with austrocaledonicum having more of the sandal woody constituents such as a-santalol which is what gives the it, it's creamyness.
I'm really surprised by the cost of Sandalwood and that, "Over the past 15 years the price has increased on a compound basis by 16 % per annum."
I would like to see more efforts at sustainability and even highlighting a few locations that are getting it right like this:
Happy Holidays to you too David. I like the traceable chain. You are in the draw.
It was a crash course for me too. Fascinating to research. We were awestruck by the same things. Into the hat goes your good name Paimutan.
And thank you for reading Mahboub. Yes it is all about the aging after getting this far. How about a photo of your vintage oils? I like different ones on each wrist to enjoy the nuances. You are in with a grin for the draw.
Ah, yes Woodgirl. As this is a commercial operation the date of harvesting is maximized for yield. It is likely though that some trees will be left to mature to see what the oil yield difference is - don't quote me on that though as it is an assumption. All the best to you for the draw that you are now in.
Hmm, I do not have the facts on that. Maybe there is low-grade oil with less alpha and beta sanatol that is not commercially available. There are other elements as well as those two that perfumers look for to achieve various results.
As for harvesting; a good question which I have commented on in the comment before your one. Furthermore, In Part 4 it does say that a 50-year old tree would only yield slightly more than 3 to 3.7% oil but presumably this would also effect the oil quality. Still I think these very organised people would have optimized the quality to age of tree when they made the date-of-harvest decision. O, and you are so in the draw Renegade!
Ah, Kantofox, I think that is because this oil is actually available while the Mysore is not available at all except for vintage vats held by perfumers. I know what you mean though with Supply and Demand Economics.
Santalum austrocaledonicum is more woody than Mysore but yes it still has the sought-after creaminess and is much much smoother than Santalum spicatum which is the native Australian variety. However as the S austocaledonicum does have have vast plantations on the level of this new enterprise I would imagine that has an effect on price or maybe the demand from perfumers varies. You can let us know if you win the draw that you are now in.
Much nicer than an oil-rig drill! I often wonder what happens to the vacuum left under the earth or sea by the extraction of petroleum oil. Whoops, off topic. Your Persian name is flying into the draw. Thank you for reading Azar.
Well Grabuge you are not the only one who had doubts on this experiment which has now become a major commercial operation. There must be thousands of Indian people who are even more surprised at the success of the oil profile. Hopefully they are glad too that this oil is now sustainable and available. It is all about the chronograph analysis and then your own nose. Or maybe the other way around! You can let us know your reaction if you win the draw. This oil is young and it is an ingredient not a perfume so as long as that all makes sense I hope you have a chance to make your own mind up.
Peace Ryanvars. Thank you for adding to the conversation with the link which I am off to read now. But first let's put you in the draw.
Thank you for this very interesting series on Australian santalum album Mr. Jordan.
Reading my way through, I could not help but notice the similarities between the plight of Sandalwood - Santalum album out of the mysore area of India and Agarwood/Oud - Aquilaria malaccensis out of India and southeast Asia.
Would you know (and be able to share) whether TFS has entertained the cultivation/inoculation of agarwood/oud for commercial harvesting in anyway similar to its efforts with Santalum Album in Australia?
This is great and very educative series of articles. There are many interesting facts I've learned. The most important part for me is the one about the smell, part 7. I'm very happy to read positive opinions of those who have a huge experience with perfumes (Clayton, Portia, Suzanne). As the situation with Mysore sandalwood in India is rather bad, it sounds optimistic to have such a great alternative enriched with the virtues of Australian ground ("...a note of the Australian bush in it – but just a hint"-Suzanne R Banks, "...a fresh version of the Mysore, still rich and lavish but different."- Portia.) It would be interesting to make the same perfume with Mysore and Santalum Album just to see the particular differences. I think that there are perfumers who have already done this experiment in their laboratories. All in all, it seems encouraging.
Reading this series of installments about TFS's success in reestablishing santalum album as a sustainable species is truly a dream come true! "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind!" Thank you for sharing this wonderful news, and a chance to sample the results!
I've been fiddling around with the replacement arochemicals (ebanol, javanol, santaliff, sandella) for ages trying to find something I like. I'm excited to get a sniff of this new supply!!! I'm thrilled to hear the santalol levels are so high!
A very interesting set of articles ! I imagine that TFS is anxious to get on with their harvest, as 14 years is a long time to wait. In time, perhaps they will be growing even older trees ?
I was particularly impressed by their greenhouses, and the number of seedlings they are producing every year !
I learned that the traditional method of sandalwood oil production is burying the cut logs in the ground so that white ants eat the outside wood leaving the oil carrying heartwood uneaten. I also learned that the fragrance of sandalwood is a natural repellant to those ants. I would have thought the yield from the sandalwood would be much higher than 3.7%. This was a great series Jordan, thanks for doing it and thanks for the draw!
I found it interesting that Santalum album requires 3 different trees in order to grow.
I also like how transparent TFS is being with the whole process, from picking through distillation, even being so careful about each batch. It's so nice that there is finally a completely legal source for the oil from this species. Hopefully it will decrease demand for its Indian counterpart and help curb the poaching of an already depleted terroir.
I am interested to know how this compares with the native spicatum in its profile and how it blends.
As a sandalwood lover, it's great to read that the Australian santalum album is now being planted and harvested sustainably and that it can rival the Mysore sandalwood in terms of fragrance profile.
These have been very informative articles. Thank you for sharing.
The most inspiring thing I learned was about the Buddha's scent hut. I have been experimenting with the release of fragrances in contained spaces and the description of the disciples bringing their santal to burn in his presence gave me a sense of spiritual deja doppelganger. So far I am using my own little fumigation tent with my electric incense burner for safety's sake. I would love to put this Australian santal in a diffuser and annoint myself with its healing magick.
I for one am glad to see a viable replacement on the verge. The synthetic takes on sandalwood just do not compare. This gives me hope that current houses can have some of their scents return close to or to their former glory. This entire series has been quite refreshing and has made me aware that there is an effort to find a viable replacement. I cannot wait to see what the future stores!
This whole series has been highly educational--thank you!
I especially liked the Buddhist stories earlier, about the perfumed chamber of Buddha and the transmutation of his hut to crystal through incense smoke. Also the stories about the first highly successful sandalwood merchant who bought a poor man's wood and made a killing selling it to the king. I wonder how that ancient pricing compares to the 16 % compound increase of the past few years?
From this section, I thought it was interesting to hear that its medicinal uses include a wart remover. Useful but not at all glamorous.
Possibly my favorite was all of section 7 wherein I lived vicariously and smelled Australian album through their noses and descriptions. Lovely! I have smelled some kind of non-Mysore 'sandalwood' oil which was very very sharp and not buttery/nutty or even very woody. I was sad to think that was it for naturals, and am very very glad to hear that was wrong.
Please count me in
Bridge of Birds, counting you in now. The ancient pricing became far too complex in translation to calculate interest! I liked the transmutation story too.
It is a 'feel good' story in many ways especially as the effort has been successful. A nice change from the nightly news which I never watch. Sometimes I spray Trayee (Mysore Sandalwood) on my left wrist and Le Labo's Santal 33 (Synthetic Sandalwood) on the right wrist just to enjoy the difference in wafts. This will also tune one's nose to these differences.
Zinan you are in the draw.
Peace David. The Perfumed Chamber was a thrill to discover. Fumigation tent; photo please. I have been bathing in Australian album! Wafting your name into the draw now.
You are very welcome Rattus St. I have been chasing the story since 2012. I am so happy to be able to share this with you. Into the hat goes your good name.
I am often enlightened here myself Fhayat. 'New genre' - sure, such succinctness puts you in the draw. Succincticity to you!
I hope you find out nwguy. One way could be to put you in the draw. Done.
Hey Bande. Yes I loved the stump extractor as did a few others here. Maybe your name will be extracted from the draw which you are now in.
Aha, that was a traditional method used in Indonesia and probably all over South East Asia. The same ants are maybe not in Australia but you never know as they are very close neighbours; make that geographically close. They have issues. Thank you for reading Kingpharroh. You are in the draw.
En pointe Birdboy48. Imagine if they waited 50 years! You would be reading this story in 2063. Half a lifetime in this day and age. Your name has flown into the hat for the draw.
Aha, something new to put in your potions! And a name for the draw; Pharmacist_Blender.
Always the best way Joshua Ang. Only your nose knows what it knows. It will be interesting to smell this batch in 10-years. It will be a collector's item and it may even be in your collection. It will also be interesting for you if you win so into the draw goes your name.
Dream come true; Yes! Hope yours do too demcav. In this case patience and vision played a big role in actualization. Your name just leaped into the draw.
I found it very interesting that Germany was the principle buyer of raw mysore sandalwood in the 1900s. Not the first country that would come to mind! The series was concise and nicely written; well done Jordan.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk
Mr DuNezDeBuzier, a good comparison. I have just written a draft of a 14 part Oud series covering the plight, plantations and outputs from this wood. I like your question but I cannot answer it. I will though when I have an answer. As far as I know Aquilaria trees do not grow in Australia. Maybe no one has tried? Or maybe further research will reveal 7600 hectares ready for harvesting next year after successful inoculation some years ago? There are successful plantations of Agarwood but there are far more unsuccessful ones due to the inconsistent results from the inoculation process. You can cultivate the trees in pretty rows but they do not all produce the resin that is Oud. Back on topic: you are in the draw. Simplex Sigillum Veri to you.
Well Switch245 that was very interesting but why why why did Germany buy buy buy? Maybe you or another Basenoter can answer this question as my research was limited to English, Sanskrit, Pali, Hindi, Bahasa Melayu and Mandarin. Least you think I am showing off; Google Translate is a dear friend of mine. You have a very clever phone that has put you straight into the draw using Tapatalk!
Someone will be making that (cannot say who just yet but the person is quoted in the series but had to do so incognito) and I can't wait to smell the results. The big difference will be the aging at the moment as this 'young' oil's scent profile will deepen and widen with time. Daid you are in the draw.
So many of the natural elements that make perfumery great have taken a beating, I'm very encouraged that someone had the foresight (and business sense) to work on establishing a sustainable source for albam sandalwood. Now, if we can just be sure nobody reports an allergy so that IRFA bans the stuff..............Great set of articles!
--oakmoss fan
Hackensack I hope you are not a prophet! The conspiracy theory is that all naturals will be eventually be banned by the said body so perfumers have to buy from the aromachemical companies in a Monsanto-seed-type scenerio. I do not subscribe to this theory but it is interesting to follow the multitude of opinions. However I know of no deaths or handicaps from let us say, oakmoss! And it is not like perfumers use Deadly Nightshade in their 'fumes. A great cautionary comment though from you, thank you. Let's put you in the draw. Done.
I love sandalwood, but I didn't know anything about how sandalwood is harvested, so this series was very interesting and educational for me. I was especially struck by how incredibly low yielding the whole process is (2-3%???). I would love to compare the different kinds of sandalwood oil side by side some day.
Fascinating reporting, Jordan. Ever since you told me about the new Australian sandalwood, I've wanted to know more, so this was great! I have a couple of thoughts:
I wonder what is done to the soil after a harvest. Is it left fallow for a while or...? Being that it is a mono-culture, I imagine certain nutrients need replenishing. (For comparison, the lyptus plantations of Brazil are said to drain the soil of nutrients.) Is there a companion plant that can be grown together with the trees to replenish as they go?
Also, I was astounded to see the variation in trunk shape (based on the cross section of the logs. I imagine it is quite a craft to be able to use a machine of that size and power to reveal the heartwood without damaging too much of it. Those white ants probably took a lot longer, but I can see why that would have worked.
I love the fact that the oil is traceable back to its growing location. I wish we did better with the tropical woods we get from other countries. Sadly, there seem to be some notable holes in that supply chain. Not to mention the added confusion with renaming woods into trade names and brand names.
Finally - I always love a good legend! This was a great read. Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to put it all together into such a comprehensive presentation. Love it!
3.7% oil yield for this crop Yukiej, which includes the oil from the roots and stump as well as the tree above the ground. Yes, the % was new to me too. I hope you can try the differences on each wrist and one way to have a chance to do so is to pop your good name into the draw. Done.
Anna, thank you. I know you to have a strong ecological conscience and a love for trees. I have never met a tree that I did not like. I will not pretend to know the answers to your pertinent questions. I will however report back here after some further investigation with the answers as I like to know everything too! As the Santalum album is a hemi-parasite it requires 3 host plants to survive. Maybe these host trees regenerate into the soil before the next planting? Ha, now I already know that you will want to know the names of the 3 host plants! OK, I will rustle them up for you and others who may be interested.
Before I continue this research I will plant your good name into the green hat for this draw.
Haha - yes! I am dreadfully predictable... I would love to know the names of those host plants. What a fascinating symbiosis - no wonder the oil is precious!
Annamadeit has already voiced part of what I was going to say.
I am beyond pleased that a sustainable source of good quality sandalwood is being cultivated.
But I, too, must raise questions of wider sustainability.
There is usually little that is ecologically sustainable about plantation monocultures, especially over large tracts of land. Ecological diversity is certainly lost - not just of the flora of that region. However, I'm sure a tree plantation is better than, say, cutting down rainforest to plant GM soy.
Nonetheless monocultures tend to be green deserts. And what about pesticide use? It would be interesting to hear TFS's views on such issues.
Then there is the question of social sustainability. Is the work generated benefitting the local population or does it rely on staff who have been brought in from outside? Is it displacing traditional livelihoods? Does the company try to maximize employment or is the bottom line the only thing that matters - ie greater use of machinery to minimize numbers employed?
Maybe these are unfair questions but they belong in the larger picture of sustainability.
I'm not sure my post qualifies for the draw - but no matter. I have greatly enjoyed reading the articles.
Thank you for this fascinating series of articles. It certainly is inspiring to see sustainable practices used in the service of fragrance materials. I'm curious to know if there are any other surprises from other companies around the world who are trying to keep natural fragrance materials viable in an ever changing marketplace.
Gimmegreen, firstly, questions about any commercial entity are never unfair. I can report that not only are our Aboriginal sisters and brothers employed on this project but that TFS also sponsors soccer teams from these same communities. I think that TFS, based on the scale of the project is certainly increasing livelihoods in the growing regions. Pesticides; I do not know but I am happy to investigate and then report the findings back to you here.
Sure you are in the draw based on your second sentence.
If you come across a surprise from other companies JDB111 please let me know. At the moment I am investigating the Agarwood situation as it is in the red zone of Critically Endangered which is a mere two steps away from extinct. A similar situation exists to what was the sandalwood situation. In this case organic plantations have been planted across Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Viet Nam. The issue is the inoculation process which induces the Oud resin.
These plantations have not all become successful. If this interests you my prelimary investigations (I have to say that the next link includes a reliable source in my opinion in case you think this is promotion) are in the article called The End of Oud.
There is some good news though; you are in the draw.
Oops - I think I posted a reply in the wrong place... so sorry! It has been removed.
See above...
All great, big, relevant questions, for sure, Gimmegreen. I always think of sustainability (or anything else, for that matter) as rings on the water. Everything we do causes a definite ripple effect. But I'm afraid that as long as the sheer number of humans and their many actions on this earth so dramatically skews the fragile balance that true sustainability requires, no effort is ever going to be perfectly sustainable. I once worked on a Living Building Challenge, which has very strict rules about what is permissible. It was hugely challenging, and although everyone did the best they could, and in the end it was as good as we could get it, it still wasn't perfect. A humbling experience indeed. I think we just all have to highlight and cherish those that are trying, and realize that we can always do better. And most importantly - don't ever stop asking the difficult questions! :)
I am extremely surprised to learn the price of Australian sandalwood is more than the Mysore. That's hard to believe considering the price some charge for the oil. Maybe it's due to the availability. I prefer Australian myself. I have some oil from the nineties and it's Mysore but u think its inferior to Australian of today.
Thanks for the great series, Jordan. Interesting to read that the current price for the oil is above that for Indian Mysore oil. I read elsewhere a while ago that the end price is expected to drop when harvesting and production reaches its full potential to around $2700/kg (at around 3.7% yield) - which is still pricey!
Interesting Cason.Only your nose knows what it likes! Into the draw you go.
TXAggie, thank you for your comment. I learnt a lot myself in the research process for this series. Mentioning Supply Chain and History will place you in the drawl Just! With those qualifications I hope you have a rewarding and fascinating job.
Hello Mark. Yes the market could very well do that or not! You have now been placed into the draw for a valuable and an historic oil.
The smell of sandalwood is something I don't know if I've truly experienced, so the "what it smells like" section was particularly interesting to me since I see the different areas it's harvested gives off a different smell. So cool! I would love to have a little bottle of this to experience a true sandalwood experience and relate it to fragrances I have smelled.
I also would love to dabble in fragrance-creation so this would definitely put me over the edge for that. :)
Over the edge you go Ularewolf and into the hat for the draw. If you win remember that this is an ingredient not a composed perfume. This oil is also young not vintage. Hours of fun ahead for you!
What a fascinating series of articles! Thank you Jordan.
I had no idea at all that this industry had been in the planning to this extent in Australia since the '90's. It's very amazing when I think of the time, money, and foresight needed to accomplish this. I'm particularly impressed with the way the distillation process uses waste wood from the local timber industry and recycled water.
It brings me joy that there continues to be such a demand for pure, natural santalum album oil and wood and that its value is still so strongly recognized. I like to imagine that if I were in Purna's place, I would make the same wise investment he did!
I wish TFS all the best in their endeavors!
I'd like to be considered for the draw. Very curious about this oil as I am a sandalwood buff. What I learned that surprised me was the relatively low rate of cost increase per year (in the teens). My experience is that the price has been increasing faster. Maybe this is just retail in my region. I am excited about this project and very curious to smell how young oils like these compare to stuff distilled from older trees. Thanks!
Fascinating to read the description of how the Australian oil smelled and the possible impact of the Australian terroir on the product. It would be interesting to blind test this to make sure it wasn't due to some kind of expectation bias from knowing what is being sniffed.
Hopefully it wasn't due to contamination from eucalypts in some way (e.g. small quantities of eucalyptus leaves getting into the harvest is thought to be responsible for a slightly minty quality in some Australian red wines).
Thank you for a concise and informative history of the Sandalwood industry; especially pleased to read Australia's Santalum Album has been well received. I was surprised to find out the extent to which the plant was harvested (roots included!) and find comfort that forestry sustainability is being employed.
Happy New Year to all!
Juanderer The Wanderder? Cool name. Yes the R&D is a massive and rigorous operation. Ha, inflation, I wonder too. Now I will stop wondering and put your good name in the draw. We will draw this soon.
En pointe Jennapa. Right on time for the draw!
Ah, yes. Oud and Musk grains do the same like vintage wine. Popping you in the hat now Kinglsat.
A Happy New Year upon You DL Johnson. I hope you find comfort with this oil. We will know soon as I have your good name in the hat for the draw.
Those eucalyptus were planted in Issan in North East Thailand and drained the water table before anyone knew what was happening. They have cut them down now; a beautiful tree but only in its native habitat. All the best to you for conducting your own blind test. You are in the draw Darjeeling.
Nothing to consider; in the hat you go Fungusamongus. I hope that you can compare this young oil to vintage ones.
Aha, a Purna avatar called Arlecchino in this the 21st century. Thank you for your fascination. It was fascinating to research and write up for you. Your good name is in the draw.
Oh Drat, was there a deadline that I've missed....? Too bad...
I've been "watching" the Aussie Sandalwood industry grow, wading through the earlier versions of Sandalwood that had the note I don't like, I call it an "Oily parakeet cage" note.
While on the exhibition floor last year in Long Beach California for the Cosmetics Chemists suppliers Day, I happened upon an Aussie Sandlewood distiller who said he'd worked at Mt. Romance, been in charge of something, and he knew exactly what note I was talking about, and he called it a "Cat's Piss" note. He promised me some samples of his new and improved Aussie Sandalwood, But I have yet to hear from him...
I use the Aussie Sandalwood in some of my perfumes, where I can mask that oily parakeet cage note aspect.
I know that I'm spoiled, but after being in Mysore in the late '80's, and enjoying the old mysore grades, and now I've acquired some 1930 Mysore sandalwood oil, I still have to give a nod to old mysore sandalwood. But I am waiting very patiently for the rise of the Aussie Star of Sandalwoods... :-) Hoping it improves every year...
And the Sandalwood Oil Gift Recipients have been announced...
Happy New Everything to you all for 2014 and Beyond.
That is a great note description Pkiler. I have a smelt it too and called it a urinous note. This is not always a bad thing in perfumery which as you state can be masked. Sometimes it is a fleeting note. Very cool to have some vintage. I hope you can enjoy comparing your treasures to the new oil. No draw for you but the contact details are at the end of the post if that interests you. And a Happy New Year to you and your perfumes.
An elf! Hello Elve, you just missed the draw. The root oil was news to me too. All I can do now is wish you a Happy 2014 and hope you do not miss any other treats this year!
Man I love the new basenotes --- I hope I win...one thing I learned is that over the past 15 years the price has increased on a compound basis by 16 % per annum.
Thanks for the opportunity and great article series. I love you guys!
Oh well I missed the draw too -- congrats to the winners. Gotta pay more attention dammit lol.
The results of the draw have been announced here
Hello again Renegade,
Santalum album or in this case Australian album oil is very stable - eg. its composition does not vary significantly from batch to batch however as a natural product, some variation does occur. The blending allows TFS to match a customers' previous order as closely as possible. The blending also achieves a more consistent product like champagne etc. If an oil was "out of whack' then it would be blended up or down for consistency.


text:
Welcome to ProMarketing Wizard, a leading provider
of digital marketing management tools for marketing professionals.
Professional online registration form. Integrated web site. Simple to master. Easy life.
The new FormWizard from ProMarketing Wizard was built by people like yourself, people who have managed dozens of international and local events of all sizes, who understand that the registration system has a strong influence on the success of the event, on the amount of attendees and on real-time assessments.
ProMarketing Wizard was honored and privileged to create a website for the campaign of Nobel Prize winner and candidate for President of the State of Israel, Professor Daniel Shechtman. The site serves as a hub for information regarding Prof. Shectman's hopes, plans and visions for the presidency and provides a link for his social media campaign and petition support.
Would you object to living next-door to a homosexual couple? This is a legitimate question from the Israel Democracy Institute's Democracy Index for 2013. This question, attempts to map the Israeli public's opinions on daily matters in order to understand just how deeply the principles of democracy are rooted in Israeli society.
Promarketing Wizard has launched a new website for Dr. David Friedman Clinics. With both English and Hebrew versions of the site, the new site includes up-to-date news about skin care and Dr. Friedman's blog plus video presentations.
The Invite Wizard, a web based solution, allows you to design, create and send invitations by email, track responses in an automated efficient way, and get a graphic representation of the statistics of the invites your send for every event.
Meeting Planner provides the event manager with interactive tools to allocate and manage meeting rooms and demo stations. Requests for meetings can be set by the administrator or by the sales team.
Contact Us / Leads Management is an advanced app, allowing you to add a "Contact Us" uab to your facebook page. A customizable message will appear at the top of a standard Contact Us form, and upon sending the form as well.
Now you can install an app designed to publish your job openings on your company's facebook page with the click of a button. You may display an unlimited amount of jobs, and users may filter available jobs according to location, type and category.
ProMarketing Wizard is a leading provider of digital marketing management tools for marketing professionals


text:
"As the negotiations for the spending bill continue, it's clear that social conservatives want to ban funding for Planned Parenthood in future spending (negotiations)," said Planned Parenthood Federation of America spokesperson Tait Sye.
The organization also faces a longer-term funding threat in H.R.3, the "Stupak on Steroids" bill, for which congressional subcommittee hearings are set for March 16.
That bill blocks private insurance plans from covering abortion care in the new health care system and imposes tax penalties on small business owners and many other individuals who purchase private insurance plans that cover abortion care. The legislation now has 219 co-sponsors, enough votes to pass the House.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Update: Planned Parenthood's Budget
Luckily the Senate voted down the ridiculous bill passed by the House of Representatives that would have cut all federal funding for Planned Parenthood. But women's health advocates can't celebrate just yet.
Posted by Victoria at 10:22 AM
Labels: Abortion, Personal is Political, Politics
1 comment:
these are prob the same social conservatives that want to ban interracial marriages
- April 8, 2011 at 10:55 PM
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


text: The barons wanted King John to stop seizing their grain. The fish weirs had to go, too. Wikimedia Commons hide caption toggle caption Wikimedia Commons The Salt 13th-Century Food Fights Helped Fuel The Magna Carta April 18, 2012 A greedy king who seized food was a key driver of the Magna Carta. That 13th-century document was a key inspiration for the American Revolution 500 years later. But at the time, the barons who negotiated the deal weren't concerned with the rights of starving peasants — these 1 percenters wanted to protect their own power and property.


text:
MU Extension > calendar
Professional development events
Summer Entrepreneur Boot Camp (Session 2 of 5)
Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
SBTDC500 E. Walnut, Suite 103, Columbia MO map...
The Summer Entrepreneur Boot Camp is an intensive weeklong community of sharing best practices and essential business knowledge. The SBTDC & REDI have teamed up to call on thought leaders across the community to share their knowledge through focused sessions in areas we find key to long-term success. This week is about entrepreneurship, it doesn't matter if you don't have an idea yet or you've been in business for 20 years, there is something for you to learn and grow. The event is free, register online once, and attend whichever sessions you think are most valuable. Please remember the Columbia SBTDC is always available for no-fee 1 to 1 counseling and has many tools to help growing companies.
Olivia Gill, email@example.com Connectorphone: 573-884-4334
Add event to your compatible iCalendar such as Microsoft Outlook or Apple iCal.
© 1993
to 2015 Curators of the University
of Missouri, all rights reserved, DMCA
and other copyright information
University of Missouri Extension is an equal opportunity/ADA institution.
University of Missouri Extension
© 1993
to 2015 Curators of the University of Missouri, all rights reserved


text:
A couple of years ago I wrote about malware attacks that used Twitter API to generate domain names for their malicious sites using trending topics as keys in the domain generating algorithm.
Since 2009, I've seen many revisions of that attack. It has never been the most prevalent issue but as far as I can tell it constantly evolves and mutates. The recent update of the malicious script injected by this attack looked quite interesting and I decided to find out what has changed since late 2009.
Continue »»
Occasional posts from the developer ofUnmask Parasites about things that hackers already know and site owners should know (if they don't want to be victims).
Exploit reviews, security tips, and all that jazz.
This blog in the news


text:
I have just moved to a new city and am making a fresh start on my life, after leaving an abusive relationship. My boyfriend beat me. As a result, I have severe pain that flares up on occasion. I'll be getting health insurance for the first time in years. I'm afraid that my pain episodes will not be covered by my new plan. What should I do?
Healing Steadily
Dear Healing Steadily,
Congratulations on your new life and new job. The Affordable Care Act, also known as "health reform", now prevents insurers from denying claims for illness related to domestic violence. This is true no matter if the illness was present before the person had insurance. The technical lingo is that domestic violence is no longer a "pre-existing condition." A pre-existing condition is an illness that the person had and was treated for in the six months before the plan started. A person who has a pre-existing condition and who has been uninsured for 63 days or more (90 days, in some cases) will have to wait a year before the new insurer will pay for the illness.
So, even though you have been uninsured for years and you had these pain episodes before you become insured, the insurer will pay these bills. The insurer may ask you for a statement or medical records to confirm the pain is related to the domestic violence.
Good luck in your new life!


text:
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has officially put a 30-day hold on production of the controversial drone medal pending a Defense Department review, reports the Washington Post.
The review centers around whether the award for drone pilots and cyber warriors should outrank those typically awarded for actions under fire — in specific the bronze star and purple heart.
From the Washington Post:
A letter from the Senate's top two leaders on military affairs asking Hagel to reconsider was waiting on his desk when he returned Monday from a trip to Afghanistan. He made the decision Monday evening, according to a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity before an official announcement planned for Tuesday afternoon.
Hagel is himself a former enlisted infantrymen, and a two-time recipient of the Purple Heart award.


text:
The record rains in Southern California have done heavy damage to the dairy industry, killing or sickening cows and leaving herds udder-deep in mud and cold water.
CHINO, Calif. The record rains in Southern California have done heavy damage to the dairy industry, killing or sickening cows and leaving herds udder-deep in mud and cold water.
Many farmers are watching their cows die from exhaustion and exposure.
Dairy farmers said the drenching has cost the Southern California industry at least $38 million in lost milk production, dead and sickened animals, and damage to holding ponds and other flood-control features on their farms.
In many cases, the farmers are unable to do much to remove the standing water, because of strict environmental laws regulating dairy-farm runoff, which is usually fouled with manure.
"We have nowhere to go with the water, the ground is soaked. Our dairies aren't designed to deal with this," said Art Marquez, a third-generation dairy farmer in this community about 40 miles east of Los Angeles. Marquez has 4,000 cows at two dairies and said he has lost at least $2,000 a day to the rain over the past few weeks.
Normally, the region receives about 14 inches of rain in the entire winter season, but this year it has registered more than 30 inches since October, he said.
Cows produce less milk when they have to expend so much energy slogging through water. Also, cows resist lying down in standing water and will stand for days in the soggy muck until they collapse _ and sometimes die _ from exhaustion.
In a normal rainy season, each dairy farmer in the region usually loses about two cows a month to exhaustion and disease. The 250 dairies this year in the region are losing about a cow a day.
The Southern California dairy industry consists of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, both of which are east of Los Angeles. They have about 250 dairies with 200,000 cows, and accounted for about 6 billion gallons of milk and $760 million in revenue in 2004.
The economic hit to the region is the worst since 1997, an El Nino year when dairy farmers lost about $60 million and the area was declared a federal disaster area, said Robert Feenstra, executive director of the Chino-based Milk Producers Council.
Bill VerBoort, general manager of the California Dairy Herd Improvement Association, said the troubles will probably not affect milk prices in the area's supermarkets, because Southern California's dairies do not represent enough of the industry to affect the market. Still, farmers fear prices will go up.
Feenstra said the council has provided its loss estimates to Washington, and the farmers hope to receive federal aid.
"The damage is so devastating, farmers aren't going to be able to survive without some help," he said. "The mud and the mire is several feet deep and it's getting worse every day. A lot of the facilities are overflowing with water."


text:
The Battle Rounds Begin Tonight On 'The Voice' – Get A Special Sneak Peek! [VIDEO]
I am a huge fan of The Voice on NBC and I'm excited for the beginning of the battle rounds tonight! In addition to basking in the awesome of the regular Voice coaches, we also get to see the contestants interact with the guest mentors for each team and don't underestimate the 'steal.' It's a serious game changer. But you know they can't keep things status quo. I'm betting that in addition to the steal, we'll see some new twists to the game. Who are you most excited to see tonight on The Voice? Check out a special sneak peak of each of the team's battle round pairings and let us know in the comments section below!
Adam Sneak Peek
Blake Sneak Peek
Shakira Sneak Peek
Usher Sneak Peek


text:
Includes Camera, 16 GB Memory Card, Battery, Camera Carrying Case, Memory Card Reader, Mini Tripod, Screen Protectors, and Cleaning Kit.
The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX10 camera lets you live life on the edge. This stylish and innovative camera will fit perfectly into your active life. Waterproof, shockproof, dustproof, freeze-proof13, HD movies, 3D photos , Sweep Panorama, and a touch screen, this powerful tool follows you to the edge and proves you were there.
Rugged and Stylish
3" Touch screen
16.2 Megapixel Back-illuminated "Exmor R" CMOS Image Sensor
Full HD 1080/60i
3D still image
iSweep Panorama
Background Defocus
Superior Auto mode
Soft Skin mode
Natural Flash
High speed shooting
Carl Zeiss Vario-Tessar Lens with 25mm equivalent wide 4x Optical Zoom
HDMI output
Smile Shutter technology
Face Detection technology
Motion Detection
Anti-blink Function
Sweep Multi Angle mode
Anti-Motion Blur Mode
Backlight Correction HDR
TransferJet technology
Compatible with PC and MAC Systems
Includes Sony PMB (Picture Motion Browser) Software ver. 5.51
Includes Sony PMB Portable software2
Dimensions:W x H x D: 3 7/8" x 2 1/4" x 23/32" (95.6mm x 56.1mm x 17.9mm)Weight:4.7 oz. (133g)Weight(Approx):4.2 oz. (118g)
Receive Our Latest Deals
Connect With Buydig


text:
NEMA supports a comprehensive domestic energy policy that will efficiently provide affordable, safe, and reliable electricity to the American public.
Policymakers should focus on electrical transmission, distribution, and end-use as a way to enhance our nation's economic competitiveness, national security, and way of life, regardless of the fuel source from which electricity is generated.
Wise public policy will include the principles outlined below.
Deploying Energy Efficient Technologies
Rebuilding America's Transmission Infrastructure
Promoting the Smart Grid


text:
26 U.S. Code § 1400H - Renewal community employment credit
prev | next
Renewal community employment credit
(a) In general
Subject to the modification in subsection (b), a renewal community shall be treated as an empowerment zone for purposes of section 1396 with respect to wages paid or incurred after December 31, 2001.
(b) ModificationIn applying section 1396 with respect to renewal communities—
the applicable percentage shall be 15 percent, and
(Added Pub. L. 106–554, § 1(a)(7) [title I, § 101(a)], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A–596.)
LII has no control over and does not endorse any external Internet site that contains links to or references LII.


text:
Don't see your question? Visit our help section.
Get access to great in-store deals and local pick-up
Sign up for our email deals newsletter!
Fable® is a groundbreaking roleplaying-adventure game from Peter Molyneux, in which your every action determines your skills, appearance, and reputation. Create your life story from childhood to death. Grow from an inexperienced adolescent into the most powerful being in the world. Choose the path of righteousness or dedicate your life to evil. Muscles expand with each feat of strength. Force of will increases with each work of wit. Obesity follows gluttony, and skin tans with exposure to sunlight and bleaches bone-white by moonlight. Earn scars in battle and lines of experience with age. Each person you aid, each flower you crush, and each creature you slay will change this world forever. Fable: Who will you be?
Fable: The Lost Chapters © 2005 Lionhead Studios Limited. All rights reserved. Lionhead, the Lionhead logo, and Fable are registered trademarks owned by Lionhead Studios Limited. Published and distributed by Microsoft Corporation. © 2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Microsoft, the Microsoft Game Studios logo, Windows, and Xbox are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Requires the Steam client to install and play
Pro Price


text:
Listen to this article
On a close, muggy evening outside the Royal Albert Hall on Monday, an understandably enthusiastic crowd pitched up in various forms of smart summer wear to hear the first part of Daniel Barenboim's Ring cycle at the BBC Proms. Right place, right time: there is no better way to celebrate impending thunder than a cranky dose of Wagner.
But I was with a small, more bedraggled, and dare I say more select, group that filtered to the right of the hall as we crossed the road. Not for us the bombast and agony of Das Rheingold; we were celebrating the altogether different artistic sensibility of Ian Dury, subject of a first-ever solo exhibition, 13 years after his death, at the adjacent Royal College of Art.
Dury was a one-man Gesamtkunstwerk, rightly feted for his brilliantly inventive pop lyrics, but who trained initially as a fine artist, gaining a place at the RCA ("the only thing I aspired to in my life") after studying at Walthamstow Art College, northeast London. He had just three O-levels under his belt when he went there: English language and literature, and art. No need for any others. Playing with words and images became his life.
The art work on show at the RCA is neither startlingly original nor supremely polished. A meeting in 1961 with Sir Peter Blake pushed Dury in the direction of Pop Art, and he remained fascinated with the minor celebrities and B-list sex symbols that formed the undercurrent of British cultural life.
At the time, it was a radical idea: why shouldn't the cheap and the ephemeral be celebrated with paintings in a gallery? Today, engulfed by witless celebrations of the cheap and the ephemeral, we have no need for Pop Art at all. Blake and Dury were ahead of the game, but probably didn't realise what a squalid preoccupation their work prefigured.
If you don't know much about Dury, the eloquent description of him in the exhibition's preamble serves pretty well: he was somewhere between "a music hall vagabond, a bohemian docker, [and] a Dickensian fairground teddy-boy." That captures the streaks of anti-authority, spontaneity and good humour that infused his work.
But to be truthful it is not his visual art that best serves him. When he left college, he struggled to make it as an artist. He managed to gain a foothold in the commercial world, illustrating features for the Sunday Times magazine, and designing album covers (including one, extraordinarily, for the estimable Vera Lynn). Yet there were limited opportunities for the satirical turns and bawdy nudges that forever sprang to his mind to find expression. To find his true status as an artist, he turned to music.
Dury's career as a bona fide pop star, bookended by 1977's "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" and 1981's "Spasticus Autisticus", was short, and sweeter than you might imagine. Right place, right time. Britain was undergoing a radical and menacing cultural reorientation, and it was not a pretty sight. Wanted: lippy troubadour with GSOH. Dury brought charm and lightness of touch to an angry generation's impatience.
Remember that delicate introduction to "Sweet Gene Vincent"? "Skinny white sailor, the chances were slender, the beauties were brief / Shall I mourn your decline with some Thunderbird wine, and a black handkerchief?" "Sex & Drugs", if you listened carefully, was no call to degeneracy, but an exhortation to be an original thinker.
"Spasticus" was a withering take on sanctimonious tokenism from Dury, whose own mobility was impaired after a childhood bout of polio. The BBC banned both songs, in some shape or form. Last year, "Spasticus" was one of the remarkable highlights of the Paralympic opening ceremony. It is the fate of original thinkers to have to wait for the rest of the world to catch up with them.
Dury always said that he knew he was good enough, at art, to know he wasn't going to be good enough. He saved his attention to detail for his music, which was fresh and scrupulously crafted. He had little in common with the punk movement, which co-opted him for his faux-aggressive demeanour. One of his favourite albums of the era was the super-slick Aja by Steely Dan: no group was more reviled by his bedfellows.
Which was Dury's greater love, art or music? Difficult to tell. But he is not the only figure of the pop age to try his hand at both. Two of the era's greatest lyricists, Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, are also painters (Mitchell regards it as her true vocation; Dylan dabbles). John Lennon's fluent, mischievous drawings have always struck me as truer to his spirit than some of his more portentous lyrics.
Dury disliked any attempt to make too haughty with his achievements; indeed he was embarrassed by some of the more extravagant claims made on his behalf. "I've been accused of philosophy, I've been accused of poetry," he told Sue Lawley while choosing his Desert Island Discs. "I'm not guilty of either."
'Ian Dury: More Than Fair, Paintings, Drawings and Artworks 1961-72', Royal College of Art, until September 1, www.rca.ac.uk
More columns at www.ft.com/aspden
Listen to a podcast of this column at www.ft.com/culturecast
Get alerts on Visual Arts when a new story is published


text:
You are currently browsing the tag archive for the 'hills' tag.
This past week has been a roller coaster of emotions. We ran in a downpour (very fun) and our tears poured down at the loss of Brandon's vibrant Aunt Katie (very sad).
Maddie came home from school last Tuesday and it was raining. It was our day to do hill repeats, and we have the perfect hill for that not far from our house. We didn't think much about the rain as we left for our run. It was a nice change to not have dust swirling around us. About 1 1/2 miles into the run, Mike, who farms near us, pulled up alongside of us in his pickup truck and looked at us rather peculiarly. "You gonna run in this rain?" he wondered aloud. I smiled back at him and replied, "Mental toughness!" He shrugged his shoulders, smiled, and headed up the road.
The hill that we were headed for happened to be within view of Mike's house. Once we arrived at the bottom of "the hill" we sprinted up as fast as we could go and back down again slowly. We repeated the drill over and over again with the rain still coming down. All I could think about was Mike probably looking out his window, shaking his head in disbelief and laughing. Our insanity was confirmed to him at that moment.
On Thursday we attended a funeral for Brandon's Aunt Katie. A fun-loving lady with a fantastic smile. Maddie and our daughter Kendrah sang during the service. They did a beautiful job.
Later that afternoon I told Maddie we should fit in a run. She had every excuse why she shouldn't run… too much homework, too tired, too windy. We ran anyway and I could tell Maddie was having a difficult time the whole run. When we arrived back home, Maddie couldn't hold the tears back any longer. She sobbed and sobbed over the loss of Katie. Her horrible run was explained in an instant.
Your emotional state of mind has such a huge impact on your running. You can't run at your best when your mental state is compromised. Your physical and emotional well-being are so intertwined and dependent on each other.
We don't know what tomorrow may bring. Don't forget to enjoy the simple things like running in the rain 🙂


text:
These are revelatory recordings. The compositional stature of Muzio Clementi has never really been fully acknowledged. Most people get to know his music through those sonatinas we all had to plough through when we were kids – but we didn't notice then that Clementi was one of history's foremost teachers of the piano: his pupils included Field, Cramer, Moscheles, Kalkbrenner and Meyerbeer, and Nicolas Slonimsky calls his Gradus ad Parnassum a "great book of études". The adjective is not one that Slonimsky bandies around easily. Now we find that he was also one of the outstanding symphonists of his generation.
Clementi's piano music has made more headway in the recording studio than his orchestral music has: Horowitz was an early admirer, and his 1950 and '54 performances of three of the Sonatas (Op. 14, #3, Op. 26, #2 and Op. 34, #2) have re-appeared on an outstanding RCA CD, coupled with a 1979/80 live recording of the Sonata, Op. 33, #3 (GD 87753) – real ear-openers. And that live recording is of particular interest now since the first of these landmark discs from AS&V reveals that Op. 33 Sonata to be a version for solo piano of Clementi's only surviving piano concerto – and although it is not authenticated (the single manuscript of the orchestral version is not in Clementi's hand), it certainly sounds thoroughly idiomatic in its fuller form.
The prime mover of the Clementi revival, and soloist in this new recording of the Piano Concerto, is the Italian pianist and musicologist Pietro Spada, who over the years has devoted himself to the editing of Clementi's complete works. These three CDs provide ample justification for his efforts.
Six (largely) complete symphonies by Clementi have survived – two early works and four mature and powerful statements from a composer in full command of his gifts. The 2 Symphonies, Op. 18, published in London in 1787, are all that has made it from what was apparently a copious orchestral output in Clementi's youth. The style owes much to Haydn, as you might expect, but they are sturdy and satisfying works in their own right, well-crafted and enjoyable. As Spada's notes point out, among Italians of the period only Salieri was producing anything of this quality. The undated manuscript of the Minuetto Pastorale bears an instruction that it was to form part of a missing symphony – but obviously a much later one, for the orchestral style shows a considerable advance on those early essays.
Symphony #1 in C Major, like the others, dates from the last 25 years of Clementi's life (Spada doesn't seem to know exactly when), and shows the composer at the height of his powers. The beginning of the first Allegro is missing, and so in the 1930s Alfredo Casella attempted a completion; Spada's edition tries to establish a text closer to Clementi's original. Again like the other three mature symphonies, it is a big-boned work, and Clementi adds to the sense of size by adding three trombones to the orchestra – then an innovative gesture indeed. The sole autograph of the Symphony #2, curiously, is split between two sources (the British Library and the Library of Congress), and once more Spada had to rescue the music from Casella's well-mean editorial interventions. It confirms Clementi's scarcely suspected symphonic talent, its influences now absorbed to produce individual music of moving eloquence and power. With the Third Symphony, the "Great National Symphony", Clementi went some way to shooting himself in the foot, if for the noblest of reasons. In tribute to his adopted homeland, he based the Symphony on "God Save the King", which is hinted at earlier in the work, not least in the second movement, and announced unapologetically by the trombones in the finale. It almost comes off, and might have done with a better tune (now, if he had settled in Paris…). The gem of the four late Symphonies is #4, the source of which is again split between London and Washington. It begins with a spacious slow introduction that announces what was for those days an enormous sense of space; the scoring is similarly muscular. The music then launches into a powerful symphonic allegro that takes the best part of ten minutes to play itself out, displaying along the way a Beethovenian orchestral freedom (listen to the horns at the close, for example). The other three movements are conceived with a similar feeling for size: Spada justifiably claims that the slow movement hints at Schumann and Brahms and that the rhythmic insistence of the minor-key Scherzo (which Clementi rather modestly entitled "Minuet") foreshadows Bruckner; throughout, too, I wonder whether Schubert knew it.
The two straggling works recorded here, icing on a particularly fine cake, are mature symphonic fragments; it isn't clear whether they were written for symphonies that weren't completed or whether they are all that has survived. The Overture in C has come down complete; that in D required Spada to provide a substantial part of the ending: the manuscript breaks off at the beginning of the recapitulation. Its opening, by the way, you'll find as the beginning of the Third Symphony, transposed to G, since that too was missing – Spada's surgery has been attentive and thorough.
Francesco d'Avalos gets predictably fine playing from the Philharmonia, and AS&V give them a satisfyingly full-blooded recorded sound – necessarily so, for Clementi's beefy orchestral textures need it. All three discs can be strongly recommended, but if you want to dip before buying all three, there is no doubt that the Second and Fourth Symphonies are the ones to try first. You'll be back for more.
Copyright © 1993/1996, Martin Anderson


text:
Gregory "the Great"
A candid review of the accomplishments of Gregory, known as "the Great," gives pause to an evangelical Protestant about such an exalted attribution. That he was a conservator of orthodoxy, an effective missiologist, and a zealous and clever churchman …Read More
Augustine, Doctor of Grace
For combination of doctrine and piety, Augustine (354–430) has few peers in the history of Christianity. His writings inform every area of discussion in Christian philosophy, systematic theology, philosophy of history, polemics, rhetoric, and devotion. Though some views support doctrines …Read More