Clallam County commissioners will review a proposed capital budget at a meeting that will begin at 9 a.m. Monday.

The work session will be in the commissioners board room (160) at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.

The discussion on the capital budget will commence in a continued work session at 1 p.m.

More than $5.2 million in capital spending is being proposed for 2020, according to an executive summary.

An additional $1.5 million in capital requests would be deferred under the current proposal.

Other agenda items for the work session include:

A contract amendment with Salish Behavioral Health Organization for criminal justice account substance use disorder treatment and treatment recovery support services.

An agreement with the state Military Department and U.S. Department of Homeland Security to provide reimbursement to the Sheriffs Office Emergency Management Unit.

A review of Clallam County Heritage Advisory Board draft historic preservation grant application guidelines, application and project ranking criteria.

A call for hearing on a conservation futures fund ordinance.

Discussion and approval of a North Olympic Healthcare Network letter of support.

A discussion on a state Committee on Geographic Names proposal to name Misty Mountains, a geographic feature near Sequim.

An introduction of Streamkeepers Coordinator Noelle Nordstrom.

A memorandum of intent with Olympic National Park for an Olympic Discovery Tail-Spruce Railroad Trail segment along Lake Crescent.

A right-of-way purchase for the Dry Creek Road reconstruction project.

A call for hearing on the proposed six-year Transportation Improvement Program.

A monthly budget performance review.

Commissioners will conduct their regular business meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday.

Action items include:

A proclamation recognizing Oct. 20-26 as Pro Bono Law Week.

An agreement with the state Department of Veterans Affairs for the county veterans officer position.

A land purchase and temporary construction easement from Interfor US, Inc. for the Dry Creek Road reconstruction project.

An agreement with Green Solutions, LLC for the update of the comprehensive solid waste management plan, including a contamination reduction outreach plan.

A bid opening for behavioral health proposals.

Notice of a Nov. 5 public hearing on proposed changes to county policy for employee benefits.

A public hearing for consideration of amendments to county policy for Board of County Commissioners operating guidelines.

Port of Port Angeles

Port of Port Angeles commissioners will consider a settlement agreement with Shell Oil for remediation of a site on the Tumwater Truck Route when they meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

Commissioners will meet at 338 W. First St.

The agreement concerns the site at 220 Tumwater Truck Route, where Shell Oil had operated a bulk fuel facility from 1928 to 1975.

The port acquired the site in 1983. Gasoline and diesel had leaked into the soil and must be cleaned up.

At a workshop before the regular meeting, commissioners will hear updates on the proposed 2020 budget, a settlement with Orion Insurance Company and a Forks Timber Museum grant.

Commissioners also will consider accepting the 2019 airport master plan update and approving an agreement with Century West.

They will consider appointing a treasurer and an auditor.

Port Angeles city

The Port Angeles City Council will review the proposed 2020 budget in a special meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

The work session will be in the City Council chambers at City Hall, 321 E. Fifth St.

No action on the budget will be taken, according to a city announcement.

Other agenda items for the special meeting include a collective bargaining agreement with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union.

North Olympic Library System

The North Olympic Library System Board of Trustees will conduct a first public hearing on the proposed 2020 operating budget at 5:30 p.m. Thursday.

The meeting will be at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St.

Input from the public is welcomed and also can be shared by contacting Library Director Margaret Jakubcin at 360-417-8500 ext. 7714 or [emailprotected]

The agenda packet for the meeting will be available at http://www.nols.org on Monday, library officials said.

Sequim schools

The Sequim School Board will discuss the superintendents contract and a gender inclusive policy when they meet at 6 p.m. Monday.

The board will meet at 503 N. Sequim Ave.

The gender inclusive policy says in part: the board recognizes the importance of an inclusive approach toward transgender and gender-expansive students with regard to key terms, communication and the use of names and pronouns, official student records, confidential health and education information, communication, restroom and locker room use and accessibility, sports and physical education, dress codes, and other school activities, in order to provide these students with an equal opportunity for learning and achievement.

The board also will consider policies on high school graduation requirements and equivalency credit for career and technical education courses.

It will hear reports on finance, enrollment and assessment results.

Marine Resources Committee

The Clallam County Marine Resources Committee meeting for Monday has been canceled because of a Saturday retreat, according to the MRC website.

See the rest here:
EYE ON CLALLAM: County budget to be reviewed - Peninsula Daily News

More than one hundred years after the end of the First World War, the stories of 12 Merritt men who soldiered in the conflict have been captured in the pages of the Royal BC Museums latest book, Once Well Beloved, which is now available.

Starting with the stories of a carpenter, a coal miner and a drifter, all of whom volunteered for the war, Michael Sasges, a retired journalist and former director of the Nicola Valley Museum, paints a detailed picture of the soldier and, through them, the men, women and children of the Nicola Valley.

Once Well Beloved is a well reported historical document about the great impact of World War I on a small Canadian community, Jeff Fleischer writes in Foreword Reviews.

The work of B.C. history and biography is a vivid snapshot Merritt, where a granite cenotaph erected in memory of 44 men who died soldiering in the First World War still stands.

Through the stories of 12 of these 44 soldiers, readers also learn about the dramatic social and historical changes that occurred in the Nicola Valley, which had been suddenly and dramatically settled just a decade before by the will of railway executives and the arrival of British colliers.

The 144-page book, illustrated with black and white photographs from libraries, archives, museums and private collections, retails for $17.95. It is available through local bookshops, at the Royal Museum Shop and online at rbcm.ca/books.

Once Well Beloved is also available in braille, thanks to the National Network for Equitable Library Services Braille Publication Project. To download the electronic braille file, go online here.

The Royal BC Museums publishing department and Sasges are celebrating the launch of the book with two events: on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. at the Kamloops Library, downtown at Victoria Street and Fifth Avenue, and on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria.

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Merritt's First World War soldiers subject of new book - Kamloops This Week

The humble library dates back as far as 2600 BC when archives of clay tablets written in cuneiformthe earliest form of writingwere assembled in temples to preserve the knowledge they contained. As civilizations and cultures have grown, so have our librariescultural and learning centres available to everyone for the preservation of history and the betterment of mankind.

A modern ode to knowledge.

Thankfully, their significance and value has rarely been underestimated and as such the world is now blessed with some truly mighty libraries that house not only books, but every type of information storage from newspapers and magazines to music, films, maps, manuscripts and much more. As often as not, the buildings themselves are testaments to our history and majesty equally worthy of exploration and admiration, from vast ancient vaults to towering modernist masterpieces.

Which is why holiday rental search engine Holidu has curated a list of ten European classics worthy of a spot on any visitors bucket list.

Wirtschaftsuniversitt Bibliothek hard to say but beautiful to look at.

Vienna, Austria

While a university library for economics may not leap out as a holiday hotspot, this one is well worth your time. Figuratively overshadowed by Viennas beautiful and more famous Baroque national library, this modernist masterpiece is every bit as storied and extraordinary.

A short walk from the Danube on the university campus, youd be hard pressed to see how this extraordinary six-story edifice of angles, modernism, glass and curves could date back to the librarys inception in 1898. But a 2005 arson attack brought a fresh renovation from the studio of Zaha Hadid Architects. The result is a sensory experience - huge and looming on the outside thanks to its spectacular glass overhang, inside is a futuristic mass of sinuous curving walkways and plays on natural and artificial light.

Catalog: 745,797 books, 59,006 e-books, 1,014 newspapers, 18,116 e-journals, 119 databases

Opening hours: all week from 8am-8pm

With its glass roof and botanical garden, Warsaw's university library is much more than a temple to ... [+] books.

Warsaw, Poland

The Polish capitals university library was founded in 1816 but is another building that emerged from the flames - this time of the damage suffered during World War II - as a beautiful and unique architectural wonder.

Designed by architects Marek Budzyski and Zbigniew Badowski, the new library opened in December 1999 having been blessed six months previously by Pope John Paul II. Its long curving patinated copper facade on Dobra Street features huge blocks of classical texts in scripts including Old Polish and Classical Greek. Its most captivating feature has to be its rooftop botanical garden, one of the largest in Europe, designed by landscape architect Irena Bajerska. Open to everyone it covers four areas offering wonderful views over the Vistula River.

Catalog: 350,000 volumes

Opening hours: all week from 9am-9pm

A black cube on the outside, a snaking curvy white space within.

Copenhagen, Denmark

The Danish capitals Royal Library is affectionately referred to as the Black Diamond and it certainly commands attention, teetering harborside overlooking the Strait of resund. A neo-modern black granite cube hewn through with a vast angular glass atrium, it commands its place as one of Copenhagens most important buildings.

Internally its seven floors blend modern arena space with more traditional library reading rooms, connected by walkways and escalators like arteries keeping the building alive. Keep an eye on the events schedule too, where concerts and plays are performed to crowds of up to 600 on the terrace.

Catalog: 200,000 volumes

Opening hours: all week from 9am-7pm

The Central Library Oodi may only be a year old but is already staking its place among the world's ... [+] best.

Helsinki, Finland

A calling card for Finish architecture, the extravagant and eccentric Oodi is one of the worlds newest libraries, inaugurated at the end of 2018 and perfectly located for an easy visit near the city centre. Created by local firm ALA Architects, it was designed functionally and aesthetically as the perfect public space.

Organized into three distinct and stylized floors, the ground floor is an active space, the top floor a peaceful space and an enclosed middle floor targeted to more specific functions and services. Outside, its wave-like organic shape is clad entirely in spruce to soften and blend with its surroundings in Tl Bay and make it energy efficient.

Catalog: 100,000 books (in 17 languages), newspapers, films and video games

Opening hours: midweek 8am-10pm / weekend 10am-8pm

The heart of Stadtbibliothek Stuttgart.

Stuttgart, Germany

Standing at 40 meters tall (around 130 feet), Stuttgarts public library simple uniform white monolith towers over Mailnder Platz. Studded with glass blocks, it stands an unpretentious gray white in the day but at night comes to life, glowing an iridescent blue making it a spectacular after dark attraction.

Its Korean architect Euo Young Yi wanted its closed, plain exterior to mask another world within. Step inside and you enter a huge hallway reaching upwards 14 meters (45 feet) to an overhead window that floods the space with light. Called the heart, this huge open space is designed to offset the everyday hustle and bustle. Its embrace of everything international is symbolized by the simple inscription of the word library on each of its four walls in English, German, Korean and Arabic.

Catalog: 500,000 volumes

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 9am-6pm

The Neo-Gothic John Rylands library has more than a hint of the Harry Potter about it.

Manchester, UK

Described by many of its visitors as like something from Harry Potter, the extraordinary John Rylands Library in Manchester is a classic example of Neo-Gothic architecture. Founded in 1889 by Enriqueta Ryland in memory of her late husband, it took ten years to build before opening to the public in 1900.

Architect Basil Champneys design can only be described as sumptuous. His high vaulted ceiling Reading Room is a haven of calm embellished with extraordinary detail from the huge stained glass windows to a series of portraits and sculptures detailing the intellectual and artistic history of mankind. Reading alcoves are lit by oriel windows, perfect spots to peruse the extensive book catalog.

Catalog: 1.4 million items

Opening hours: Tuesday to Saturday 10am-5pm / Monday to Sunday 12-5pm

The Admont Abbey library extravagant.

Admont, Austria

In the heart of Austria sits the largest monastery library in the world, sometimes described as the Eighth Wonder of the World. And not without good reason. Architect Josef Huebers 1776 concept was the Enlightenment, and his ingenious vaulted dome design complete with 48 windows was all about achieving brightness, which was equated with knowledge.

That light is made the most of in the outrageous Baroque styling. Every inch is covered, from elaborate gold leaf to spectacular frescoes showing the different stages of human knowledge up to the divine revelation detailed in the central dome. The four spectacular bronze statues in the main hall represent death, the resurrection, hell and paradise.

Catalog: 200,000 volumes

Opening hours: all week from 10am-5pm

The Kloster Wiblingen also extravagant.

Ulm, Germany

Wiblingen Abbey was once a Benedictine monastery dating back to 1093 and sits on the confluence of the Danube and Iller rivers. Today it houses several departments of the medical faculty of the University of Ulm and is home to a breathtaking library thats one of the best examples of Rococo Art anywhere in the world.

Set in the monasterys north wing, the 72-meter (236 foot) long library is richly decorated in frescoes, statues and exquisitely detailed and colorful marble columns. When youre there, make sure to visit the abbey church as well, which is every bit as breathtaking.

Catalog: 9,000

Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10am-5pm

The Biblioteca Marciana, surely one of the most satisfying structures in Italian architectural ... [+] history.'

Venice, Italy

No trip to the canal city would be complete without a visit to the Biblioteca Marciana, one of the largest and most prestigious libraries in the world. Occupying a vast site in St Marks Square since its completion in 1588 (more than 200 years after its initial proposal), it holds one of the most important collections of Greek, Latin and Oriental manuscripts in the world.

Designed by Jacopo Sansovino, its a key example of Venetian Renaissance architecture and was described by Frederick Hartt as surely one of the most satisfying structures in Italian architectural history. Once youve explored its treasures, make sure to grab a coffee in the square outside and take the time to admire it in all its glory.

Catalog: 622,804 volumes, 2,887 incunabula, 13,113 manuscripts, 24,069 sixteenth- century manuscripts

Opening hours: during the week 8:20am - 7pm / weekend 8:20am - 1:30pm

The Sainte-Genevieve houses a huge arched reading room.

Paris, France

Frances capital isnt exactly short of amazing buildings, even after the tragic fire that hit Notre Dame last year, but the beautiful Sainte-Genevive Library in the fifth arrondissement is worth making time for.

Completed in 1850 by architect Henri Labrouste, its exterior while attractive isnt really an ode to the delights within. Of particular interest is that the building doesnt conform to any one architectural style, defining it as, of free interpretation. The main facade is in the Neo-Renaissance style, fronting a long oblong reading room thats deceptively simple looking inside two vast naves supported by elaborate wrought iron columns lit from on high by a series of arched windows. Engraved on its walls are the names of its most famous authors.

Catalog: 1.5 million volumes, 85,000 manuscripts, 15,000 periodicals, 87 databases

Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 2pm-6pm

See the original post:
Ten Of The World's Most Beautiful Modern And Old School Libraries - Forbes

Two radio shows designed to relax anxious pets on Bonfire Night will air next month.

Classic FM presenter Bill Turnbull will be bringing back his special Pet Sounds show on 2 and 5 November.

Animal lover Turnbull says the soothing selection of music should help keep owners and pets calm in the season of fireworks.

For years people have been raising concerns about the distress caused to animals by those having private displays, and just last week Sainsbury's announced that they had stopped selling fireworks amid concerns for pets and the elderly.

Turnbull said: "We have created two programmes specifically for pets who may be nervous or anxious around Fireworks Night.

"I call this their radio refuge. While the music on Classic FM is always relaxing, the selection we're planning is even more soothing.

"I've been presenting to humans on Classic FM for the past three-and-a-half years so I'm looking forward to some new four-legged listeners tuning in and enjoying the world's greatest music."

Love pets? So do we! Join our friendly Facebook group Edinburgh Loves Pets to chat with other pet lovers in the city.

To receive one WhatsApp message a day with Edinburgh Live's headlines, as well as breaking news alerts, text NEWS to 07899067815. Then add the number to your contacts as 'Edinburgh Live'.

For more stories from across the Edinburgh area like our Facebook page ,or follow us on Twitter and Instagram .You can also subscribe to our newsletter: enter your email in the blue box at the top of this article.

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Radio shows designed to relax pets distressed by fireworks will air in lead up to Bonfire Night - Edinburgh Live

Musical trends are often directly antithetical to wider societys. In the late 60s, counterculture boomed against rigid political structures, so too did punk in the 70s. Grunge was a reaction to the grandiose absurdity of glam and late 80s pop, and the explosion of indie music in the 90s rejected the increasingly homogenous chokehold that a few major players had over the entertainment industry.

In contemporary society were more switched on than ever; devices in our pockets link us not only to every other person in the world, but every single piece of recorded media. The world is loud, which is precisely why more and more people are choosing to switch off by listening to environmental, minimal, or ambient music.

Image: Cover Art of Strands by Steve Hauschildt

To say a overstimulating world equals a need for relaxing pleasures is a simplification; there are more factors at play when it comes to ones taste in art. To find out exactly what has made ambient music so attractive to modern listeners, we enlisted the opinions of a few key artists in the space.

First I reached out to Alex Albrecht, half of electronic music group Albrecht LaBrooy and the head of Analogue Attic Recordings one of the few Australian labels putting out ambient music. He believed that contemporary listening habits were in line not only with increased connectivity, but a broader acknowledgement of mental well-being.

I think we are certainly more aware of personal wellness and overstimulation these days and Im sure some people actively listen to ambient music with that in mind. Id like to think so anyway! Theres also a big movement surrounding music to fall asleep to, which is something we have explored a bit recently.

The fact that we have access to more music than every before right at our fingertips means its easier for people to find something that caters to their immediate mindset.

Self-care moments are certainly on the rise, but Alex touches on another great point; the popularity of long-form audio media such as podcasts, compilation channels, or live streams. Tens of thousands of Youtube users are tuned into live channels featuring relaxing, downtempo, or ambient music streams as we speak. Theres even an upload of Radioheads Pyramid Songstretched out to 38 minutes which has clocked 1.4 million views.

Meanwhile in podcast world, this year Spotify allocated between $400 and $500 millionto invest in original podcasts, and the amount of Australians downloading podcasts each month has risen from just under one million in 2014 to 1.6 million in 2018. True, this doesnt speak to the popularity of ambient music, but the two mediums do serve a similar purpose for many.

I also wanted to ask Alex, being one of the few bastions of the ambient genre in Australia, if he thought our locale had any effect on the music his label puts out.

A laidback attitude can manifest from the time, space, and access to nature we have in Australia, and if you let it, it can come through in the music.

Nature certainly plays a large part in what contemporary ambient music has become; the latest Albrecht LaBrooy album being an example. Healesville is decorated by sample of bird trills, tractor noises, and distant voices, the perfect remedy for anyone attempting a mind-escape from the city noise.

It calls to mind a genre closely allied to new age and ambient called environmental music, which also bloomed in the 70s with a sound more rooted in natural samples as well as meditative and spiritual practices. Outside of contemporary producers calling back to these gentler sonics, a new market has also allowed for historical releases such as the wonderful Kanky Ongaku to become one of 2019s most talked about reissues.

The liner notes of Brian Enos albumAmbient 1: Music For Airports(many name this as the moment the term ambient was coined, but thats up for debate) decreed that ambient music must be able to accommodate many levels of listening attention without enforcing one in particular, it must be as ignorable as it is interesting.

In other words, its background music. Technically any music can be background music if you listen to it in the background but in ambient musics case, often its the artists intent that you withhold your full attention. More than that, in speaking to a number of composers it has become clear that not only is it therapeutic for listeners, but for those who make it as well.

On his motivations to make this kind of music, Alex Albrecht shared:

The conduciveness to improvisation and musical conversation, as well as the gentle nature, makes it a therapeutic way to make music.

For Steve Hauschildt, a fantastic electronic producer based out of Chicago and signed to Ghostly International, the motivation to make this kind of music is more ephemeral.

Im not usually trying to implicitly adhere to the rules and expectations of a genre when Im in the studio, so if it evokes those qualities of ambient music its happening purely on a subliminal level.

However, I think theres something to be said about emphasising the practice of listening and this is intrinsic to ambient music in much more concrete ways than popular music for example. My motivation comes from an innate desire to express the ineffable via sound.

Hauschildts recordings arent purely ambient; releases such as 2013s S/H orWhere All Is Fled contain moments of thumping percussion or attention-demanding synth swells. His softer compositions are part of an output which covers a wider sonic scope and interestingly, he saw ambients recent popularity differently to Albrecht.

There is some degree of correlation between overstimulation and listening to very slow and repetitive music. Its difficult for me or anyone to quantify popularity with regards to the idea of genre within music as its a relative idea very much reliant on context. No ambient artist will ever reach the same sort of appeal or commercial success as Billie Eilish for obvious reasons. There are levels of popularity and its important to delineate between major and independent labels even though the lines have been blurred.

Fundamentally, the construct of popularity is counter-intuitive to music which seeks to be unobtrusive. But it doesnt mean that success or relative popularity doesnt exist within that small niche that we happen to be aware of just on a different scale. We are definitely seeing a blowback against the fact that we are spending a lot of time on our phones and computers so Im sure some of this seeps into the musical domain.

Where these two musicians opinions synced back up was in terms of delivery of sound; how the absurdly easy way we consume music right now relates to the rise in popularity of certain listening experiences.

I dont think the purpose [of ambient music] has changed much since its inception. The change has more to do with how its delivered to and heard by the audience. Honestly I think that the distillation of ambient into background music or wallpaper music is quite functionally congruent with people putting on algorithmic playlists and not always thinking about what to play.

Outside of this, the increasing accessibility and affordability of recording equipment and electronic instruments over the last forty years has also greatly democratised the ability to make ambient music which has shifted and fractured it in mostly positive ways.

Music streaming has changed many things, one criticism it often faces being that listeners are identifying with artists less and less. Songs become meaningless stops on a 129-track playlist, and often the very names of the artists who create these beautiful, catchy, and often hugely popular songs go completely unremembered.

But isnt that the point of this so-called background music? To morph into a state unrecognised, but to still provide a listener with the pleasure or relaxing feeling theyre seeking? Invisibility brought on by the playlist effect really isnt that different from Brian Eno or Aphex Twin titling the songs on their ambient albums with simple numbers or gibberish.

What has become clear is that the purpose of ambient music never changed, just as Hauschildt says. Rather the need for it has increased.

If this truly is the age of information and overstimulation, its no surprise that more and more listeners are yearning for something quieter, something relaxing, or something that evokes the feeling of being amongst nature. It may never be popular to the mainstream world at large but to a growing niche of humans just searching for a moments quiet? Why not.

Go here to see the original:

Ambient music's place in the age of overstimulation - Happy Mag

Germanys winemaking scene is probably less well-known than its music scene, even though the history of winemaking in Germany spans two millennia. But just because its venerable doesnt mean it isnt hip. The present generation of German winemakers are reaching beyond the Rieslings for which theyre deservedly famous, and emphasizing a style thats youthful, contemporary, and embraces a wide array of brisk, aromatic white varieties and spicy, fruit-forward reds.

Wine and music share many common elements, beyond the obvious (they are each composed of a number of individual notes). In both, there are accords and harmonies, structure and tension, color and tone, theme and variation. For that matter, finding a new wine is a little like finding a new band. We like what we like, we have our baseline preferencesbut we crave novelty. That feeling you get when you find a song that unlocks a whole series of discoveries? Wine does that too. And it shares musics uncanny ability to provoke emotional responses, or to align itself with specific memories.

On which note (see what I did there), wed like to recommend some German wine and music pairings. As with all wine pairings, its really about what you happen to like, and there are no rules. But this can get you started.

1. Sekt Perfect with: Pop Recommended listening: Aurora, Christine and the Queens, Janelle Mone

Sekt is not a varietal but a broad umbrella term for German sparkling wine-it can theoretically be made from any grape (just as pop music is a huge umbrella term). Common grape varieties used to make Sekt include the usual French subjects (the Pinot or Burgunder family) as well as native grapes like Silvaner and Riesling. When its done right, Sekt is bubblier than Colbie Caillat, and as versatile and goes-with-anything as Rihanna. Sekt has long been a staple in Germany, where theyll pop a bottle for everyday drinking and just about any occasionbeyond birthdays and celebrationsthe same way throwing on pop radio is a fail-safe way to liven up a gathering. Now wine lovers outside of Germany are taking notice, and Sekt is emerging as a significant player in the world of sophisticated bubbles (look for the term Winzersekt on the label if you want the best stuffand of course you want the best stuff).

2. Pinot Noir Perfect with: Jazz Recommended listening: Kamasi Washington, Sasha Berliner, Julius Rodriguez

One word: Obbligato. The thing without which the song is no longer the song. Essential in jazz, where repertory is the skeleton on which endless skin and flesh variants can be placed. And essential in Sptburgunder, AKA Pinot Noir, the grape with ten thousand faces. You might not think of Germany when you think of Pinot, but you should. Its a thinkers wine in many ways, but it also has the potential to be the life of the party. The grape is a wizard-grade shapeshifter and can always add another note to the riff. Think notes of cherry, wet leaves, nutmeg, plum, cedarwood, pencil shavings, black truffle, redcurrant, pepper, dark chocolate, gravel, blueberries and more. Difficult to cultivate yet perfectly poised when you get it right, this wine is all about tension. Wynton Marsalisfamously said in jazz, every moment is a crisis, and you bring all your skills to bear on that crisis. German Pinot Noir is grown and produced in a crazy diversity of altitudes, soils and climates, and this grape takes in all of that and plays it back like an old school jazz ensemble, combining seemingly irreconcilable parts and making it seem like they couldnt exist without each other.

3. Dry Riesling Perfect with: Electronica Recommended listening: Kraftwerk, Timo Maas, Ian Chang

German Riesling is something you can study and examine and experience for most of your life and never stop learning. The sine qua non of German wines has been in style for hundreds of years, and deservedly. Riesling has a wide variety of expressions that can be broadly grouped into Trocken or dry wines, Kabinett or off-dry wines and Sptlese or luscious, late-harvest wines, and even dessert-worthy wines, but modern German winemakers are offering more of the dry variety. Dry Riesling is an aromatic suckerpunch and your ideal companion for a variety of foods and some Kraftwerk, perhaps? Something venerable and classic but also forward-thinking? Honestly, a good dry Riesling will go with most things; its whole point is epic versatility. Common notes in this dry white lean toward perfumery, mixing citrus rind and peaches, beeswax and ginger. Classical and pretty, but with a slightly industrial edge and definitely electricits a study in tension. Just as Germany has been an epicenter of the world for electronica from when Kraftwerk first plugged in their synethesizers in the 1970s to the massive crowds at Parookaville this year, its been the proud home of this distinctive style.

4. Off-Dry and Sweet Riesling Perfect with: Hip Hop Recommended listening: Noname, Tierra Whack, Blackalicious

If you find a Riesling labeled Kabinett, Sptlese, or Auslese, youre looking at what probably has to be called The OG (Original German, obviously). People who arent familiar with Riesling often avoid it because they have an idea it will be sweet. In this case thats 100% true and by the way, it isnt a flaw. Sptlese Riesling has serious staying power (you can age it for years, even decades). Its complex and harmonious with a profoundly honeyed nose and characteristics that tend to demand dramatic descriptors (its acidity is keen or piercing or electric, its aromatics heady or seductive). Strong minerality and sometimes a savory salinity are also present. The power player of German wines is a viscous, molten-gold beverage with a big, big personality and impressive structure. Pair it with music thats equally about flaunting your riches, like Kanye Wests Run This Town: Im beasting off the Riseling You trippin when you aint sippin, have a refill.

5. Silvaner Perfect with: Folk Recommended listening: Im With Her, Haley Heynderickx, Justin Townes Earle

If youre looking for the wine equivalent of a Sufjan Stevenstrack, you might find it in Silvaner, an understated yet somehow extremely satisfying little will-o-the-wisp. It has a light, down-to-earth quality and a storied tradition. Silvaner and folk both value simplicity but will stay with you long after the final chord is struck or sip is taken. Its fresh and green and brisk, and it tends to invite comparisons that are not to fruits and flowers at all, but to cloudscapes and weather and Sunday mornings in spring. Crystalline, with a vein of intriguing bitterness at its core, an almost colorless Natures first green is gold kind of tone, Silvaner is a paean to the beauty of simplicity.

6. Mller-Thurgau Perfect with: R&B Recommended listening: Seratones, Frank Ocean, Kali Uchis

A wine grape born of the crossing of Riesling and an obscure grape called Madeleine Royale, Mller-Thurgau is a super vigorous vine. When handled with care, though, lovely things can come from it. From the Riesling side, it brings a bouquet of lavish flowers and peaches, and it can be a shy, sometimes wispy wine. But when made well, its a fresh, flowery, softly aromatic white wine thats close to colorless, and behind that clarity and softness there can be a surprising complexityperfect for the neo-soul and R&B of pioneering crossover acts like Kali Uchis, who draw on the best of a storied tradition and make it feel completely new. Nowhere else does the physical and spiritual collide so wonderfully as R&B, making it the perfect music for Mller-Thurgau.

7. Lemberger Perfect with: Indie Rock Recommended listening: The National, Vampire Weekend, Courtney Barnett

The grape also known as Blaufrankisch is blue with a dusty bloom, and high-yielding (if it were a band it would be putting out an album every year). It thrives in warmer sites, and creates medium-bodied wines with a fairly high tannin level (German Lemberger is by and large less tannic than Austrian Blaufrankisch) and, often, a serious spicy kick. Black peppercorn, allspice, clove and cinnamon can all be expressed, along with black cherry, blackberry or boysenberry, and cocoa. Occasionally floral notes like wild violets will also jump out. Its dark, a little brooding, but essentially put together and harmony-forward, with an individualist streak and a certain melancholy sexiness. In short, it paves its own path like the best indie rockers, never content to rest on its laurels.

8. Pinot Gris Perfect with: 80s pop Recommended listening: The Bangles, a-ha, Modern English

The German iteration of Pinot Gris, called Grauburgunder, is surprisingly complex. They are often well-structured and finely balanced, edgy with citrus notes (lime, grapefruit, lemon and tangerine can all be present), tropical fruit (especially pineapple) and a delightful hit of something like fennel pollen. German Pinot Gris can also express spice notes that dont tend to come up in Italian or American Pinot Gris (sometimes its something a bit exotic and sharp, like saffron), and a trailing salinity on the finish. Its a refined character with just a little bit of a weird side, enough to make it a charming dinner companion. And like the best 80s pop with catchy choruses and polished production, its a classic that should never go awaythose first notes will always bring an instant, recognizable joy.

9. Pinot Blanc Perfect with: Country Recommended listening: The Highwomen, Kacey Musgraves, Yola

Pinot Blanc may taste familiar, but it more than makes up for that in versatilitythis is a wine that just seems to go with everything. The single-word description of this wine is round. It has decent acidity, but the impression isnt of acids-it has a gentleness in the mouth that can come as a welcome change of pace from Pinot Gris. It can have a somewhat subdued bouquet, but a deeply pleasant one, full of apple and pear notes. In Germany (where its called Weissburgunder) it is sometimes barrel-aged, which also adds some layers, including toast, cream or vanilla characteristics. Its a delicate wine in general, and an excellent pairing for any situation where you dont know what to pour, especially when the sun is shining and you can kick back. Its the country music of wines, making every setting more casual and relaxing, and you can always find one that suits your own tastes.

Theres so much to discover when it comes to both German wines and music, and theres plenty of time to expand your palate. Pour a glass, sit back and relax with some new favorite artists.

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Nine German Wines Paired with the Perfect Music - Paste Magazine

MILLIE Bobby Brown has fought monsters in Netflix hit Stranger Things but will soon battle fiercer beasts pop stars.

I can reveal she will launch a music career in 2020, once she turns 16.

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She was in the 2016 video to Sigma song Find Me and is now in talks to join their label 3 Beat also home to Cheryl Tweedy.

A source said: Millie is brilliantly talented. She has millions of Stranger Things fans but also has a passion for singing.

"She already has at least seven songs she loves but isnt planning to release anything until after she turns 16 in February, partly as her schedule is crazy.

"They are deciding how to launch her maybe as vocalist on a dance tune, or releasing her own song. But singing is just natural for her.

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Millie stars as Eleven in sci-fi hit Stranger Things and is its break-out star, leading to roles in movie Godzilla: King Of The Monsters and the video for Drake track In My Feelings.

He is now a mentor, who Millie calls a great friend.

A No1 tune for a teen we are used to seeing with a bloody nose? Stranger Things have happened.

THE music industry was rocked yesterday as Atlantic Records chief Ben Cook stood down over allegations he had blacked up at a work fancy-dress party.

I revealed how it took the fury of Stormzy to force out the exec a full year after Atlantic first learned of the sorry episode.

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Now insiders tell me the rapper was far from alone in his outrage.

Rudimental were just as angry and members of the drum and bass outfit made it clear around the industry they felt further action was necessary.

A source tells me: There were a few artists who disapproved. Stormzy wasnt alone.

Rudimental share the view that this is simply unacceptable in this day and age. Its that growing mood music among artists and big industry players which prompted action.

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Cook, whose 12-year career at the label included signing Ed Sheeran and Stormzy, was allowed to stay in place until yesterday.

Atlantics owner Warner Music put out a typically fudged corporate line on the matter, suggesting the decision had been entirely its own and nothing to do with Stormzy.

But the rapper has done nothing to distance himself from Cooks ousting.

Warners confirmed the exit, while Cook apologised for his behaviour in a wordy statement. But its clear from Warners bid to deflect attention away from our report that bosses know they handled this badly.

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ELTON Johns favourite band The Hu have invited him to join them on their UK tour next year.

The Mongolian rock foursome have been a hit since Elt endorsed them on Beats1 radio.

Their first gig here will be in Brighton in February.

ROSE McGowan has ditched acting to move into music.

The star who was named Time magazines Person of the Year for speaking out about sexual assault and harassment in the #MeToo scandal is releasing an album in the spring called Planet 9, having worked with Daft Punk producer DJ Falcon.

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She said: Hopefully the music world wont be as treacherous as Hollywood. Ill still direct but I dont want to hide behind characters. Its ethereal, meditative music and some bangers to be released in Ibiza.

Rose also revealed she has taken up smoking to cope with stress.

She said: Its relaxing for me.

Shes been through a lot but its still a bad habit.

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KATHERINE Jenkins went full mermaid with her mosaic-like frock for the Lady Garden Gala at Claridges hotel in Londons Mayfair.

The Welsh soprano is known for belting out songs until shes blue in the face.

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And this time she wore a glittering dress to match.

Katherine was joined at the cancer charity bash by Donna Air, Joan Collins and Sarah Ferguson.

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SHAGGY has told fans It Wasnt Me after his Instagram was hacked by internet scammers.

The account had posted pleas to send him money online.

He said: I would like to make it clear that these are nothing more than an internet scam.

ALFIE Boes loyal following of mums could be in for a shock at his next concert.

The cheesy crooner is desperate to reinvent himself as a rock god in the style of Queen or Journey.

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But he is facing pushback from his label Decca Records, which wants him to stick to show tunes and jazz numbers from the 1930s.

In fact, just last month Alfie was forced to announce a new album with fellow Ooh, aint he lovely type Michael Ball, creatively titled Back Together, after their previous albums Together and Together Again.

A source said: Alfie really fancies himself as the bad boy of classical crossover and operatic pop.

He wants to express his wild side by turning his hand to rock music.

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Hes started sneaking songs by the likes of Led Zeppelin and Guns N' Roses into his setlists.

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BAWL ROOM Strictly's Katya Jones' 'floundering' performances blamed on heartbreak over Neil

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YO MAMA Brooklyn Beckham's new girlfriend worked as his mum Victorias lookalike

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URINE BIG TROUBLE Emma Weymouth's aristrocrat husband snapped weeing by bin after Strictly

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GARRA ME OUT OF HERE GMB host Kate Garraway will appear on Im A Celebrity next month

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SHUT UP AND DRIVE Lewis Hamilton's plea for sympathy over environment reeks of hypocrisy

But the label are nervous his fanbase of women of a certain age will be turned off. It has caused some frustration behind the scenes.

If Alfie gets his way, that would be the most polite mosh pit in history.

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Stranger Things Millie Bobby Brown hopes to launch career as pop star once she turns 16 - The Sun

The 49ers, one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the NFL, are aggressively pursuing multiple options at wide receiver, league sources said, viewing an upgrade at the position as the key to a potential deep playoff run.

San Francisco has been much improved on both sides of the ball, with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo finally healthy and one of the more balanced teams in the NFL thus far. However, head coach Kyle Shanahan, who runs the offense and has a keen eye for receiving talent as a former receiver coach, and the front office have identified receiver as an area of specific attention ahead of the trade deadline, which looms after Week 8.

The 49ers have been an aggressive team on the trade market in recent years, landing Garoppolo with an in-season blockbuster. They were pursuing Khalil Mack a year ago, were in the mix for Odell Beckham as well, and landed Dee Ford in an offseason deal. Despite all of their early-season success, the offense has room for growth in the passing game, with few proven options beyond All Pro tight end George Kittle, who has more than twice as many receptions as anyone else on the roster.

The 49ers are among a bevvy of teams with interest in Bengals star A.J. Green, but it remains to be seen if the winless team relents and deals the pending free agent. Emmanuel Sanders was drawing interest as well, but the Broncos are back in the mix in the AFC West after a woeful 0-4 start. A reunion with receiver Mohamed Sanu, who Shanahan coached in Atlanta and is not being featured in the Falcons offense, is quite possible, league sources said. Atlanta is falling out of contention despite a bloated roster, and a coaching change looms. Taylor Gabriel (Bears), who put up career numbers with Shanahan in Atlanta, is not seeing much of the ball in Chicago. Former Dolphins first-round pick Devante Parker, who has yet to show much or stay healthy since being selected in the first round, would likely be a fallback option, sources said.

Rookie receiver Deebo Samuel is second on the 49ers with just 15 catches through five games; no wide receiver on the roster has even 200 yards receiving thus far or more than one touchdown. Garoppolo is completing nearly 70 percent of his passes, and there is hope that youngster Dante Pettis can stay healthy and provide a boost, but the addition of one more legit pass-catching threat could be vital in the team being able to thrive against top defenses in December and January.

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NFL Trade Deadline: 49ers pursuing numerous options for receivers, are highly motivated to make a deal - CBS Sports

In our ever-changing digital world, new information spills out of devices by the second. This means that no matter which career students choose, there will always be more to learn and consider.

As researcher and professor emeritus of education at the University of Maryland, Dr. John T. Guthrie explains, the road to lifelong learning starts with proficient reading. Unfortunately, says Guthrie, students reading motivation is often "shockingly low."

After spending 45 years studying how to motivate and engage students, Guthrie has learned that the secret to developing successful readers lies in understanding the rightand wrongways to motivate them.

Guthrie spoke with EdSurge, sharing how classroom teachers can use intrinsic motivation, text choice, and real-life connections to encourage students to want to read. He also explains how adaptive literacy technology makes adopting these strategies easier for educators.

John T. Guthrie: Two significant barriers to motivation include students low self-efficacyor, confidence in their reading skillsand a lack of input in choosing what they read.

Students confidence levels are challenged when they are given reading material that is too hard for them to understand. If this situation repeats itself, they may cope by retreating and not reading. Teachers intentions might be goodthey want to help students get stronger by giving them challenging material. But, if material is too challenging, it's self-defeating for the teacher and discouraging for the student.

Another issue is when students don't have any input into what they read. Reading interest decreases when the diet is set entirely by the program, the school, the teacher, or the state that they live in.

The problem is: what are they thinking about? Not the books and the content. They're thinking about the ice cream party! The quality of their thinking about the reading material wont be good. Because their motivation is external and superficial, this type of reading wont help students become long-term readers. A lot of people think external motivationgiving students a rewardis going to get them interested in reading. If a teacher says, "If everybody reads well today, we'll have an ice cream party," students will work hard for the ice cream.

Educators should provide activities that encourage intrinsic motivation in students. These activities will create confidence in their skills, interest in the content, value in what they are reading, and belief in the importance of reading. This will also help them to be social in their reading, meaning they want to share and communicate what they've learned with other people.

Teachers can use confidence as a motivator by matching the texts to the students. If it's too hard, they can't learn from it and won't learn to enjoy the process. But if it's too easy, they'll be bored. If teachers can take the time to find texts students can read and help them stay in their zone, it helps build confidence.

Say your students are learning to draw a conclusion from a paragraph. They should be able to read the paragraph out loud almost at the speed at which they can speak. If you have a passage that is well-suited to them, then they can focus on learning the skill you're trying to teach instead of stumbling over some of the words.

It also helps when students see the value in a text. One way to do that is to show how it relates to their lives. For example, students might wonder what the value of knowing about environmental conservation and forests are when their interests lie elsewhere. Teachers can provide a learning experience with videos, picture books, and discussions about forests and their importance today and for future generations. This can be followed up with readings about threats to forests and ways students can aid environmental conservation. When you connect texts to what students know and care about, it creates value.

Another way to motivate students is by making the content useful to them in school on that particular day. Maybe students have to read and explain a text to each other. When a student does that successfully, he can say, It is valuable because it helped me tell my partner about this topic. Or, maybe it helps a student draw a map she needs to complete a project. Collaborating by working in pairs and small teams is also a technique that encourages the social aspect of reading, which is valuable motivation for reading comprehension.

Finding the time and resources to support these strategies can be hard. In a fifth-grade classroom, teachers could have students reading at a 10th-grade level, second-grade level, third-grade level, and so on. Finding material that works for all of them is a challenge. But tools like CommonLit give teachers a large bank of resources. If they need material on the historical westward expansion in the United States, for example, it's easy to find texts on the same topic for students. Students gain the same knowledge and skills, but do it at their own level.

Another challenge teachers face is knowing whether students have gained real, deep competency in the tasks they're working on. If you have 25 students, are they all able to understand this story and understand the character well? Teachers can estimate that. But they can't test every student all the time or track how much of the story they are reading.

But with a computer-based system, such as Reading Plus, educators can do those exact things. Essentially, it provides a tutor who's with the student for every task. And students can read at their own levels and work on their own specific skill sets until they're comfortable and competent. When students have this type of support, and a chance to read a high volume before moving to the next stage of complexity, that promotes deep learning.

Yes, research shows that self-confidence, interest in the material, and collaborative reading and writing are just as important in the digital world as they are in the print world. How frequently students work on reading and the intensity of their engagement are the biggest predictors of whether they learn. Its simple: the kids who read the most grow the fastest.

Original post:
The Secret to Developing Successful Readers Lies In How You Motivate Them - EdSurge

The American Athletic Conference has gone and done it now.

No, the league didnt reverse the replay reversal that never should have been reversed and award Joey Magnifico a catch. It didnt force Memphis and Temple to replay the final two minutes of Saturdays football game to figure out who actually would have won had the AACs replay official done his job correctly and realized indisputable evidence means a play is actually indisputable.

No, the AAC didnt fix that outrageous decision. It created another one.

Seven of its mens basketball coaches picked Houston, not Memphis and its No. 1 recruiting class, to win the AAC this year. Only four tabbed the Tigers as the conference favorites. The two teams were tied for first atop the AACs preseason poll.

Even though Memphis is ranked as high as No. 6 in the country in some preseason polls by national media. Even though Memphis is the only AAC team ranked in every single one of those national preseason polls.

Normally, you dont lose four starters and get picked first in the conference, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson told reporters Monday morning at AAC media day in Philadelphia.

He, apparently, was just as shocked as everyone here in Memphis.

But this slight might be just what the Tigers needed at just the right moment.

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They wanted all the smoke, and plenty was being sent their way of late.

Locally, nobody can imagine anything but a magical season. Elsewhere, ESPN and national college basketball reporters are flocking to town to talk to coach Penny Hardaway and share with the country how hes turned this program back into a title contender again so quickly. Hardaway told The Athletic he thought this team would win a national championship this year.

Whatever doubts Hardaway subsequently mentioned, like last week when he called Memphis the hunters instead of the hunted in the AAC, seemed like transparent attempts to motivate his team, to take the focus off the lofty expectations.

But not anymore.

Now, with one preseason poll, Hardaway has the motivating tool every coach desires. He can use this as fuel all year long.

He can tell his players nobody believes in them, and do it with a straight face. He can tell them nobody believes in him, because how else would you interpret Memphis receiving only four first-place votes given the talent disparity between the Tigers and the rest of the league this year.

"The hate for Penny is real," Stadium's Jeff Goodman tweeted in reaction to the poll.

Which, by the way, brings us to the most ridiculous part in all this.

James Wiseman is the only Memphis player listed on the preseason AAC first team. No Tigers player made the second team. And yet, South Florida, picked to finish fifth in the league, had three players listed. UConn, picked to finish sixth on its way to the Big East next season, had two players listed.

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It would be more forgivable if these picks were made by the media.

Maybe some of the reporters covering the league just dont know much about Precious Achiuwa or Boogie Ellis or Lester Quinones or Damion Baugh or D.J. Jeffries and the rest of this new-look Memphis roster. Perhaps all they heard about was the recruiting class being ranked No. 1, not who specifically made up that class.

But this preseason poll and the preseason all-conference teams are chosen by the American Athletic Conferences coaches.

They should know better.

They should know better than to give Hardaway the ammunition he needs to shove this right back in their faces.

Because heres another prediction: Thats exactly what Memphis basketball is going to do this season.

Want to stay informed on the latest Memphis basketball news? A Commercial Appeal subscription gets you unlimited access to the best inside information and updates on the Tigers, plus podcasts,newsletters and the ability to tap into sports news from throughout the USA TODAY Network's 109 local sites.

You can reach Commercial Appeal columnist Mark Giannotto via email at mgiannotto@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter:@mgiannotto.

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AAC coaches just gave Penny Hardaway, Memphis basketball exactly the motivation they needed - Commercial Appeal